novice9 Posted December 1, 2009 Share #1 Posted December 1, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) I picked up a new leica lense from my dealer this afternoon. When I inquired about purchasing a UV filter to protect the front element, he tried to sell me a promaster HGX digital filter over a leica or B+W. He explained (or at least tried to) that every digital camera has a low noise filter and that this promaster line is much better than any standard high quality uv filter for the M9. Is there any truth to any of this? If not, I am planning on purchasing a B+W UV filter, but should I get the one with MRC or without? thanks! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted December 1, 2009 Posted December 1, 2009 Hi novice9, Take a look here Digital UV Filter for M9?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
novice9 Posted December 1, 2009 Author Share #2 Posted December 1, 2009 Somebody, Anybody? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lars_bergquist Posted December 1, 2009 Share #3 Posted December 1, 2009 He was speaking nonsense, in the pious belief that you would not spot it. Go elsewhere. "Noise filter"? There is no such thing. Maybe he meant an anti-aliasing filter, which is an internal soft filter that most digital cameras do have -- but not a Leica. If there is already a soft filter over the sensor, then a mediocre lens filter does not make much of a difference, of course. The image is already degraded enough. The old man from the Age of the Yellow Filter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
novice9 Posted December 1, 2009 Author Share #4 Posted December 1, 2009 Thank you! So question, do you (and others) use any filter at all at the end of your lenses to protect them from scratches? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ario Arioldi Posted December 1, 2009 Share #5 Posted December 1, 2009 I always have the hood mounted on the lens and this is for me sufficient to protect the lens from scratches. Cheers, Ario Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noah_addis Posted December 1, 2009 Share #6 Posted December 1, 2009 Go with the B+W MRC filter. I don't know what this guy was talking about but it sounds like nonsense. The MRC filters from B+W are multicoated--definitely choose the MRC version. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lars_bergquist Posted December 1, 2009 Share #7 Posted December 1, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) Thank you! So question, do you (and others) use any filter at all at the end of your lenses to protect them from scratches? Yes, on all my lenses except two: Summilux-M 1:1.4/35mm ASPH, and Summicron-M 1:2/28mm, because these have good solid hoods that create a 'protected space', and have front caps to cover the hoods. All lenses with retractable or shallow hoods have UVa filters permanently on. A plain protecting glass would of course be just as good. Why not filters on the 35 and the 28? Well, the UV/IR filters used with the M8 could give rise to troublesome reflections with strong point sources of light in the image. I do not yet know if the M9 will react the same way. But these two lenses are very often used in low-light shooting with candle flames or the like, and I will wait to see what happens with my 50mm Summilux! Correction: I use a UVa hood on my first version collapsible Elmar 2.8, because pre-1960 lenses do let through some UV. So this is the one exception. The old man from the Age of Lens Hoods Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sm23221 Posted December 1, 2009 Share #8 Posted December 1, 2009 I removed all filters from my lenses (including my Noctilux 0.95) when I got my M9. There's a slim chance you'll harm the front element and this far outweighs the high probability of some image degradation, especially by internal reflection. As a matter of fact, without the filter you'll be even more careful not to harm your lens. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
novice9 Posted December 1, 2009 Author Share #9 Posted December 1, 2009 What would happen if you got a decent scratch on the front element -- could you send it to leica to have it polished away or would the lense effectively be ruined if it impacted the image? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sm23221 Posted December 1, 2009 Share #10 Posted December 1, 2009 I would think they could repair it, but that has never happened to me yet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jager Posted December 2, 2009 Share #11 Posted December 2, 2009 Thank you! So question, do you (and others) use any filter at all at the end of your lenses to protect them from scratches? No. Leica lenses have exquisite optical properties... which come at equally exquisite price points. I see no reason to compromise that quality by using a protective filter. I am reasonably careful with them (as I am with my guns, motorcycles, computers, and other artifacts of life that I care for)... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted December 2, 2009 Share #12 Posted December 2, 2009 No, no filters, except maybe on the beach or such. For protection I use lens hoods, care, passport warrantee and insurance. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted December 2, 2009 Share #13 Posted December 2, 2009 Oh - and that salesman was blathering nonsense. Take your business to a knowledgeble shop. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
novice9 Posted December 2, 2009 Author Share #14 Posted December 2, 2009 Thanks All!! I purchased a filter which will live in my bag and come out only when I find myself in a compromised environment -- and I will take the filters off of my other two leica lenses! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
footsurg Posted December 15, 2009 Share #15 Posted December 15, 2009 I don't understand how a filter could "harm the front element"? What about a Clear 007 MRC XS-PRO Slim from B + W? Protects without changing the image. Too afraid to be a real purist. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adan Posted December 15, 2009 Share #16 Posted December 15, 2009 I don't understand how a filter could "harm the front element"? Well, when the 90 APO was first introduced, it was discovered that some 55mm third-party "thin-line" UV filters would touch (not necessarily harm) the front element when screwed in all the way. I suppose a bit of grit in just the wrong place might get ground into the front element and scuffed it if one was unlucky. Leica's own filters had thicker rings that held the glass further out from the lens (as did most 3rd-party non-"thin-line" filters). But it was something you had to be aware of. The current 18mm and 21 f/1.4 also have protruding front elements that require special filter fittings. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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