Heliopan Digital Filter - opinions?

[jbrough]

I'm just working out what filter to use on my newly acquired 50mm Summicron on the RD1, and I noticed that Heliopan do a 'Digital' filter which apparently enhances digital images. Has anybody used one (or any Heliopan filter for that matter) and have an opinion? Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[Finder]

Their QC is very bad. I have had a very expensive filter from them with air bubbles in it. The American distributer, HP Marketing, has been a nightmare to work with to resolve the problem.

 

[Gid]

I'm just working out what filter to use on my newly acquired 50mm Summicron on the RD1, and I noticed that Heliopan do a 'Digital' filter which apparently enhances digital images. Has anybody used one (or any Heliopan filter for that matter) and have an opinion? Any help would be much appreciated.

You don't need anything other than a B+W UV filter and that just to protect the front element.

 

[kbg32]

"Digital filters" are a marketing hoax.

 

[Charles Bogel]

The cheapest no-name UV filter is as good as the most expensive "brand name" filter, as long as it has no visible flaws.

A multi-coated filter will have a very slight advantage in some backlit situations.

There is no way for anyone to see any difference in results in a blind A/B test. 99% of the whole "filter" thing is a marketing hoax, much like "stereophile cables".

Save your money.

 

[boilerdoc2]

The only filter that would be necessary is if you have a Leica M8. Since you don't, save your money.
Steve

 

[Ben Z]

The R-D1 will skew colors like the M8 but not nearly as much. It more closely fits Leica's description of the M8 in terms of "slight" magenta under "certain circumstances" with "black synthetics" (the M8 actually skews green foliage outdoors in broad daylight too). In those cases I use the Heliopan Digital Filter (which is not a "hoax", it's a UV/IR-cut filter) and like them very much. I have one for every lens for my M8. I read on the 'net somewhere that someone found out they don't flare as bad as the Leica or B+W brand IR filters, and having just received one of my 2 free Leica filters and compared it to the Heliopan, I have to agree. If I place them side by side I can barely see my reflection in the surface of the Heliopan, however I could shave in the Leica filter 😡 Be forewarned however, that with the R-D1 if you use one of these on lenses wider than 28mm (35mm on the M8) you can get greenish cast in the corners. Unlike the M8 that has firmware to correct this (if the lens is coded), the R-D1 doesn't, so you would need to use Pano-Tools.

 

[GrahamWelland]

The R-D1 will skew colors like the M8 but not nearly as much. It more closely fits Leica's description of the M8 in terms of "slight" magenta under "certain circumstances" with "black synthetics" (the M8 actually skews green foliage outdoors in broad daylight too). In those cases I use the Heliopan Digital Filter (which is not a "hoax", it's a UV/IR-cut filter) and like them very much.

...

Be forewarned however, that with the R-D1 if you use one of these on lenses wider than 28mm (35mm on the M8) you can get greenish cast in the corners. Unlike the M8 that has firmware to correct this (if the lens is coded), the R-D1 doesn't, so you would need to use Pano-Tools.

I built my own Mac version of Cornerfix to work with R-D1 files to fix this. (Mine also looks like a Mac app too 🙂 ).

The UV/IR filters definitely fix magenta issues with the R-D1 as effectively as they do with the M8.

 

[sandymc]

I built my own Mac version of Cornerfix to work with R-D1 files to fix this.

Regular CornerFix will actually work with R-D1 DNGs. It will complain about "unsupported camera model", but will do its thing.

Undocumented feature 😀

Sandy

 

[LCT]

...The UV/IR filters definitely fix magenta issues with the R-D1 as effectively as they do with the M8...

And they overcook green grass and foliage as effectively as well...

 

[Ben Z]

Regular CornerFix will actually work with R-D1 DNGs. It will complain about "unsupported camera model", but will do its thing.

Undocumented feature 😀

Sandy

Do you mean it works with R-D1 RAW files, or that you have to use Photoshop's DNG converter to save the R-D1 files as DNG's first?

 

[cmedin]

"Digital filters" are a marketing hoax.

Kind of like "digital" headphones for mp3 players? 😉

Last time I visited the Wolf superstore in Atlanta (which is now a vacant lot), they had almost all their filters labeled as 'digital UV fillter', 'digital polarizer' etc on the shelves.

 

[sandymc]

Do you mean it works with R-D1 RAW files, or that you have to use Photoshop's DNG converter to save the R-D1 files as DNG's first?

You have to convert to DNG first....

Sandy

 

[villain 2]

Mac fix

Mac fix

I built my own Mac version of Cornerfix to work with R-D1 files to fix this. (Mine also looks like a Mac app too 🙂 ).

The UV/IR filters definitely fix magenta issues with the R-D1 as effectively as they do with the M8.

Would you be willing to share you Mac fix I am always looking for photo editing for my Mac book pro but most editors are just too highly priced?