Which Ir Filter To Buy?

usccharles

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sorry if this question has already been hashed around, but i just got the call yesterday that my M8 will in here next week, and i'm not sure what to do about the IR filter issue.

is there a consensus on which IR filter is best, then which one did everyone decide on, OR am i supposed to wait until Leica comes out with their own IR filters for this problem, OR has leica already done so?

thank you
 
I would go with the Heliopan. There are reported issues with the B+W. Suposedly, they lack antireflective coating on one side which causes ghosting or reflections of bright objects. No such problem with the Heliopan. I have a few and am waiting for the 46 and 49mm threads next week.
 
Jorge, which specific Heliopan filter do you use, and who's a good supplier?

I know you've posted this once, but I don't recall.
 
The heliopan UV/Infrared filter

Ken Hansen 212-879-3263 East coast number.
 
No one yet has difinatively stated if these IR cut filters can be used when mounted on a camera loaded with film. Seeing as IR is invisable to film I'm guessing it would be no different that using a standard UV filter but I stand corrected. It would suck if I had to take them off each time I wanted to stoll down memory lane.
 
Jorge Torralba said:
I would go with the Heliopan. There are reported issues with the B+W. Suposedly, they lack antireflective coating on one side which causes ghosting or reflections of bright objects. No such problem with the Heliopan. I have a few and am waiting for the 46 and 49mm threads next week.

Do Heliopan filters also have the added benefit of less or no color fringing near the edges of lenses wider then 35mm? (Perhaps "fringing" is not the correct term. What I mean is the color shift to cyan near the edges of the image that occur when IR cut filters are used).

Thanks in advance,
Ted
 
Last edited:
Sailor Ted said:
Do Heliopan filters also have the added benefit of less or no color fringing near the edges of lenses wider then 35mm? (Perhaps "fringing" is not the correct term. What I mean is the color shift to cyan near the edges of the image that occur when IR cut filters are used).

Thanks in advance,
Ted

The jury is still out with regards the better filter. There is a lot more experience with the B+W 486. The reports are pretty conclusive that the IR contamination is removed. The only contraversy with the B+H is whether you are getting an anti-reflection coated one or not. I personally wouldn't get any optical component if it is not coated. I will admit that the coating does NOT solve the flair problem caused by bright light sources included in the feild of view. But it does help.

The Heliopan filters are more of an unknown item as far as the effectiveness of the IR coating. Jorge has these filters and he claims they work great. I have one and it works on my RD1 but I can't say how it works on an M8 because I don't have one...yet. My Heliopan filter is coated on both sides but I don't know if they all are.

The whole filter thing is still a bit of a mess because the dealers and for that matter, the manufacturers don't appear to lnow what they are selling. The cataloque stuff is controdictory, confusing and sometimes just plan wrong.

This whole filter mess will get resolved eventually. I hope Leica gets it figured out before they start sending out their own filters

Rex
 
Heliopan makes a number of Infared Filters. Here is a partial list:

Heliopan Infrared Filters

Heliopan offers IR filters made from Schott Glass, which only pass exact areas of the IR. spectrum.
The following are available. Please refer to chart below for the exact properties.
RG 610
RG 630
RG 645
RG 695 (89B)
RG 715 (88A)
RG 9
RG 780 (87)
RG 830 (87C)
RG 850
RG 1000
When using Color IR. film without a filter the color will be violet color. The following color shifts are achieved with filters.
Yellow # 12 green becomes blue. Red becomes green. Yellow becomes blue.
Infrared becomes red

Which part number is the one that is found to perform adequately to mitigate the IR issue with the M8​
 
The Heliopan one is what they call "Digital Filter" . Adorama and B&H both sell them (may be special order). I bought a 77mm (to use on the 12mm Voitlander, and then with a Filter View slotted adaptor, on other lenses too). Since I have an RD-1 not an M8 I truly only need to watch out for black items under tungsten light. So far I haven't seen it happen outdoors or under florescents.
 
Ben Z said:
The Heliopan one is what they call "Digital Filter" . Adorama and B&H both sell them (may be special order). I bought a 77mm (to use on the 12mm Voitlander, and then with a Filter View slotted adaptor, on other lenses too). Since I have an RD-1 not an M8 I truly only need to watch out for black items under tungsten light. So far I haven't seen it happen outdoors or under florescents.

I have the 77mm Heliopan filter also which I used, when needed on my RD1. I just got my M8 and it appears to work pretty well although I haven't done extensive testing yet. Your right, the RD1 doesn't need the filter often but when it does its nice to have.

The Leica brand filters are now beginning to ship so I am going to hold out until I test them. BTW there is some controversy about whether these are B+W or Hoya.

Rex
 
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