Stonewall Brigade Posted August 10, 2016 Share #1 Posted August 10, 2016 Advertisement (gone after registration) I have made 3 Leica lens purchases and am currently using the B+W Digital MRC Professional and the Hoya NXT HMC protective UV filters. Both brands are multi-coated and priced considerably lower than my local camera shop's Leica-branded filters. Other than the intrinsic "red dot" mystic of the Leica filters, are they really worth 3 times the price, compared to other premium multi-coated filter brands? Thanks in advance for all comments. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted August 10, 2016 Posted August 10, 2016 Hi Stonewall Brigade, Take a look here Leica brand UV filter compared to multi-coated Hoya, B+W, etc.. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
mandelbrot Posted August 10, 2016 Share #2 Posted August 10, 2016 Hi I have the same question related to colored filters. It seams however that there is not a big difference. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
james.liam Posted August 10, 2016 Share #3 Posted August 10, 2016 The latest Leica color filters sport a "Made in Japan" label (? Hoya). B+W and Heliopan are Schneider glass and MRC. If you're going to use filters altogether (reams of arguments pro and con), they are as good as Leica but for far less cost. In fact, even cheaper as second hand. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted August 10, 2016 Share #4 Posted August 10, 2016 Marumi AFAIK. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted August 10, 2016 Share #5 Posted August 10, 2016 I have made 3 Leica lens purchases and am currently using the B+W Digital MRC Professional and the Hoya NXT HMC protective UV filters. Both brands are multi-coated and priced considerably lower than my local camera shop's Leica-branded filters. Other than the intrinsic "red dot" mystic of the Leica filters, are they really worth 3 times the price, compared to other premium multi-coated filter brands? Thanks in advance for all comments. No, they are not. The highest quality is most likely by B&W and Heliopan. The advantage of Leica filters is that the design of the ring matches the design of the lens. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwardkaraa Posted August 10, 2016 Share #6 Posted August 10, 2016 (edited) Noting beats B+W nano filters for ease of cleaning. The coatings are harder than glass and rain slides on them like on oil Edited August 10, 2016 by edwardkaraa 12 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBAUDUI1 Posted August 10, 2016 Share #7 Posted August 10, 2016 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hello, Unfortunately, not all the leica filters have even been designed correctly for the leica lenses so far... The present E43 UVA filter from leica is made in japan and can not be used on the summilux 50mm 1.4 FLE Black Chrome Special Edition, if you want to use it together with the sunshade, as it blocks the sunshade from being inserted and attached on the lens. This lens requires a filter with a tinier diameter than the current one to allow the hood (sunshade) to move to its final position and be attached on the lens. Presently the sunshade does not stay on the lens and falls on the ground... This is a design mistake that was corrected 50 years ago, for all the previous releases of the Summilux 50 non aspherical, but as been forgotten with the new aspherical release of this lens. PS: the standard summilux 50 (FLE ) uses E46 filters, but the special release of the summilux 50 FLE Black Chrome, which is based on the previous shape of the summilux non FLE, uses E43 thin filters of tinier diameter than the current one. Best regards. Dominique! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertknappmd Posted August 10, 2016 Share #8 Posted August 10, 2016 I have always used B+W MRC filters... No problem and no distortion! Albert 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeinzX Posted August 10, 2016 Share #9 Posted August 10, 2016 (edited) I use Heliopan and B&W Filters on different lenses of different brands. All these UV or protective filters work very well. Last filter I have bought was a glass ceramic filter of Sigma - I found it to be the best filter I have used up till now. But the difference is not as big, that it would justify to replace my others filters. But if I buy a new one, these filters would be my choice. Edited August 10, 2016 by HeinzX Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted August 10, 2016 Share #10 Posted August 10, 2016 The problem with cheap filters is mostly the ring. If it is made from Aluminium, it tends to bind. Brass is the better material. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted August 10, 2016 Share #11 Posted August 10, 2016 Worth remembering that Hoya make some of the elements that go into Leica lenses. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bocaburger Posted August 11, 2016 Share #12 Posted August 11, 2016 Unless things have changed in recent times, the Leica-branded filters were not multicoated. The main argument for not using a filter is ghosts, reflections and loss of contrast, and multi-coating is far superior in reducting those to virtually nil. Also the MRC (B+W) coatings are very scratch resistant and do not smear when cleaned like older multi-coated filters. The main advantage to the Leica filters I found is that the front threaded area is deep enough for the push-button lens caps to get a solid grip. Some of the other brands I find the caps tend to pop off easily. One thing I have done in the past is buy up older "Leitz"-branded filters with faded, scratched or broken glass, and transplant the glass from B+W MRC or Heliopan filters. The newer Leica filter glass is held in by a spring retaining clip, whereas the older Leitz ones used a threaded ring with spanner notches, making the job easier (although getting the glass out of the B+W and Heliopans sometimes involves slitting the ring very carefully with a dreml disk). The transplant option is especially good for owners of the e43 version 50 Summilux. Only Leica made filters that accomodated the clip-on hood. Early ones were of smaller diameter, later ones had a circumferential groove that the hood's clips latched onto. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jplomley Posted August 12, 2016 Share #13 Posted August 12, 2016 Is it me, or do the Leica filters thread easier than the B+W and Heliopan? I find the thread pitch on the Leica filters match the lenses much better. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
maximilianm3 Posted August 14, 2016 Share #14 Posted August 14, 2016 Hello, Unfortunately, not all the leica filters have even been designed correctly for the leica lenses so far... The present E43 UVA filter from leica is made in japan and can not be used on the summilux 50mm 1.4 FLE Black Chrome Special Edition, if you want to use it together with the sunshade, as it blocks the sunshade from being inserted and attached on the lens. This lens requires a filter with a tinier diameter than the current one to allow the hood (sunshade) to move to its final position and be attached on the lens. Presently the sunshade does not stay on the lens and falls on the ground... This is a design mistake that was corrected 50 years ago, for all the previous releases of the Summilux 50 non aspherical, but as been forgotten with the new aspherical release of this lens. PS: the standard summilux 50 (FLE ) uses E46 filters, but the special release of the summilux 50 FLE Black Chrome, which is based on the previous shape of the summilux non FLE, uses E43 thin filters of tinier diameter than the current one. Best regards. Dominique! I think you are wrong there. Your lens is supposed to look like the one from the sixties, including the lenshood which requires filters designed for this lens/hood. I have the old 50 1.4 and it works perfectly with the corect filters. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivar B Posted August 16, 2016 Share #15 Posted August 16, 2016 I bought some "Carl Zeiss" filters on eBay. I had some doubt if they would be genuine or fake, but they did not cost much and I decided to try them out. They were very well made and the only error I found was a capital P in the made in Japan lettering. They appear to be multi coated, and in use there were no problems at all. I contacted the seller and told him that he should have mentioned that they were fake, upon which he immediately refunded my money and begged me not to leave a negative. It seems they are selling fake Zeiss filters in large numbers but users are very happy. It looks like it is possible to produce good quality filters at a low cost. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivar B Posted August 16, 2016 Share #16 Posted August 16, 2016 Marumi AFAIK. Who is this? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdlaing Posted August 16, 2016 Share #17 Posted August 16, 2016 (edited) Marumi is a filter maker. The top end is good stuff. Edited August 16, 2016 by jdlaing 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
darylgo Posted August 17, 2016 Share #18 Posted August 17, 2016 Is it me, or do the Leica filters thread easier than the B+W and Heliopan? I find the thread pitch on the Leica filters match the lenses much better. I agree with your findings. The Leica filter fit is better than others I have used, including B+W and Heliopan. Generally it is accepted that brass will resist binding better than aluminum, but Leica lenses are the exception, the Leica aluminum fits and binds less. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwardkaraa Posted August 17, 2016 Share #19 Posted August 17, 2016 I bought some "Carl Zeiss" filters on eBay. I had some doubt if they would be genuine or fake, but they did not cost much and I decided to try them out. They were very well made and the only error I found was a capital P in the made in Japan lettering. They appear to be multi coated, and in use there were no problems at all. I contacted the seller and told him that he should have mentioned that they were fake, upon which he immediately refunded my money and begged me not to leave a negative. It seems they are selling fake Zeiss filters in large numbers but users are very happy. It looks like it is possible to produce good quality filters at a low cost. 90% at least of the b+w filters on eBay are counterfeit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted August 17, 2016 Share #20 Posted August 17, 2016 90% at least of the b+w filters on eBay are counterfeit. And your statistics come from where? As far as I can see the only way to know such a 'fact' is that you either buy 100% of the B&W filters on Ebay so can inspect them all, or your are the person flooding the market with fakes. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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