Filters?

[woffle]

I've just sold up my medium format kit and digital SLR to fund the purchase of a used M7 and Summicron 50mm. With the Canon digital glass especially there were an abundance of v.high quality filters to help protect the lens from dust etc and filters were the norm rather than the exception.

What's the general opinion of filters for Leica lenses? I know some argue that putting inferior glass in front of the lens doesn't make sense - it's just out of habit I don't like to walk around with my caps on and beyond the hood, I'd feel happier with a 'throwaway' protective layer between the elements and the elements (so to speak).

Are there preferred / recommended brands or stockists? It looks like Leica have done their own filters but some of these look to be $$$$...

Any advice appreciated.


Joe

 

[Rich Silfver]

You're bound to get three type of answers;

A) Don't use filters. You paid a lot for that glass. Don't degrade it by putting a filter on it.

B) Filters are great. Use them as much as you can. They are good for two things: 1) To protect the front element from accidental scratches and 2) to help cut down on post-processing by adjusting contrast/colour right off the bat

C) I don't need no filters but I always use a hood. That seems to be enough protection for my type of shooting.

I fall in the 'B' category. I like the protection the filters give me and I am especially partial to yellow-green filters when shooting b&w.

There is no 'right' answer to this - just a bunch of thoughts based on ones own personal experiences and shooting style.

 

[woffle]

Rich

Just seen your blog (good reading btw) entry on filters - I'll check out B&W MRC filters on your recommendation - any others?

Cheers,

Joe

 

[richard_l]

A protective filter is no substitute for a lens cap if the camera has cloth shutter.
The sun can burn a hole through the shutter curtain.

Richard

 

[Magus]

Post deleted by posters request

 

[richard_l]

What Magus said. Moreover, if you do use a filter, for whatever reason, it is even more important to use a hood. The lens barrel may project beyond the front lens element and thereby provide a little shade, but a filter is usually right at the front of the barrel and thus can be affected by light sources which might not otherwise be a problem.

A rigid hood also provides additional protection for the lens, much more so than a filter alone.

Richard

 

[jaapv]

I think THIS THREAD
will answer most, if not all, of your questions.

 

[Flyfisher Tom]

If you choose to use filters (which I always do), B+W MRC are the best on the market, followed by Heliopan. good luck

 

[Magus]

Post deleted by posters request

 

[jaapv]

If you choose to use filters (which I always do), B+W MRC are the best on the market, followed by Heliopan. good luck

I have a feeling Heliopan is better, but no matter. Heliopan, at any rate, has special ultra-thin and extremely shatter-proof protective filters, which can be highly recommended over the classical UV filters.

 

[Ben Z]

Some people always seize the UV filter debate as an opportunity to denigrate others for wanting to safeguard what they have spent an enormous amount of money for, but I never see those people willing to put their money where there mouths are and give others a written guarantee that they'll pay for new glass if it gets scratched, which seems like a safe enough bet if those people really believe their own rhetoric 😀

Likewise I wonder how those same people are willing to "denigrate" a shot with a color-correcting or b&w filter or polarizer 😀

The B+W filters are made with Schott optical glass, the same used in Zeiss (and probably other fine) lenses. The MRC coating is unbelievable in how it resists reflections, and they seem to clean without smearing like some other multi coated filters. At $40-50 a pop they aren't what I would call "throw away" but compared to the cost of replacing the front element (which is sometimes 2 cemented together) of a Leica lens, it's preferable to me. I recently paid half the going rate for a late-model 28 Elmarit, only because it has a tiny (~1/8") cleaning mark in the front coating. It probably won't affect the pictures in any way I can see, but probably more than a clean MRC filter. It definitely proves that modern Leica coatings can be scratched by cleaning, and it definitely illustrates the fact that cleaning marks, even tiny ones, limit the resale potential and price of a lens. It's nice to claim we buy our lenses to keep forever, but how many of us can say for certain we will never want or need to sell?

 

[back alley]

but I never see those people willing to put their money where there mouths are and give others a written guarantee that they'll pay for new glass if it gets scratched, which seems like a safe enough bet if those people really believe their own rhetoric

in fairness, i think the proof would be if they used their lenses without a filter.

for me, i like having uv filters available for certain situations. living in the snow belt and shooting as much as i can in the winter, i use a uv filter when i shoot in a snow storm or even just flurries. i know the lens will get wet, need to be wiped down and i like the idea of rubbing a filter and not the lens. on a nice clear day, i just use a hood.

 

[jaapv]

Right Joe, Although I never said anything negative about filter users, so I do not feel Ben was aiming at me, I do shoot without filter as a rule and, like you, only put them on when there is a reason.

 

[Michiel Fokkema]

Hi,

I never use filters unless I need an effect like in B&W or a polariser.
The hood has been protetection enough for me the last 20 years and you need that anyway. You will need a hood even more if another glass/air surface has been added.

Cheers,

Michiel Fokkema

 

[Andrew Touchon]

I've just sold up my medium format kit and digital SLR to fund the purchase of a used M7 and Summicron 50mm. With the Canon digital glass especially there were an abundance of v.high quality filters to help protect the lens from dust etc and filters were the norm rather than the exception.

What's the general opinion of filters for Leica lenses? I know some argue that putting inferior glass in front of the lens doesn't make sense - it's just out of habit I don't like to walk around with my caps on and beyond the hood, I'd feel happier with a 'throwaway' protective layer between the elements and the elements (so to speak).

Are there preferred / recommended brands or stockists? It looks like Leica have done their own filters but some of these look to be $$$$...

Any advice appreciated.


Joe

IMHO B+W MRC filters are the best.

 

[Flyfisher Tom]

I read (don't remember where) that Leitz filters are the same as B+W MRC filters ? Anybody know if this is true ?

Roland.

Roland,

I can't say for certain, but I have a newish Leica filter that looks suspiciously like a B+W filter in construction and quality. Practically identical. It has the Leica name on it, so it was more expensive 😛

The non-binding brass mount construction of B+W/Heliopans make them worth it IMHO. And the MRC coating is the best I've seen. You really have to look for the glass in the MRC filters to see them.

 

[peterc]

I've kept the filter in the picture below for more than 20 years as a reminder of the protection filters offer.
It's a Hoya 67mm UV(0).
It took a rock. The front element of the Vivitar Series 1 zoom behind it needed only to have the glass shards carefully dusted off.

Peter

 

[jaapv]

Excuse me, but whom were you photographing to have a rock thrown at you?

 

[jaapv]

Jaap, I really liked your write-up on filter-usage in another thread a few weeks ago.

While we don't have snow in CA, the air is quite salty and you invariably get spots on your front element when walking around without filter, even in downtown SF.

I read (don't remember where) that Leitz filters are the same as B+W MRC filters ? Anybody know if this is true ?

Roland.

Thanks Roland.I took the liberty of repeating it here. Yes, Leica nowadays actually refers you to B&W instead of selling their own, except for the most regular ones.

 

[peterc]

whom were you photographing to have a rock thrown at you?

Nothing nearly that dramatic. The camera fell about a two metres, landing lens first.

Peter