B+W UV/IR filters - which type?

[razerx]

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I was about to order some UV/IR filters for my M8.2 at the B&H website when I got confused which ones I needed. They had B+W 486 UV/IR Blocking and B+W 486 UV/IR Cut filters. The Schneider Optics site was not helpful. So do I need the 486 UV/IR "blocking" or the "cut" filters? There are also the digi-pro and f-pro and other variations. Some say MRC and some do not. The tyranny of choice! Which do you recommend? Thanks in advance.

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[01af]

B+W 486 specifies the filter type. Whether you call it 'UV/IR-blocking' or 'UV/IR-cutting' doesn't make difference; that's just two names for the same thing.

 

MRC ('Multi-Resistance Coating') is B+W's name for a high-performance multi-layer water-repellant flare-suppressing coating. Other filter makers offer similar coatings but each brand has their own name for it—Heliopan calls it SH-PMC, for example. B+W filters without MRC are coated, too, but in a less sophisticated and cheaper way. I would definitely recommend the MRC-coated filters. They cost a bit more but you don't want second-best filters on your Leica lenses, do you? (Note that some filter types are not available with MRC coating.)

[razerx]

B+W 486 specifies the filter type. Whether you call it 'UV/IR-blocking' or 'UV/IR-cutting' doesn't make difference; that's just two names for the same thing.

 

 

That makes sense but the "blocking" and "cut" types have different product codes so I wasn't sure. Thanks for your help.

[01af]

That makes sense but the "blocking" and "cut" types have different product codes so I wasn't sure.

Oops!? The product codes would be different for the various sizes, for MRC and non-MRC, and possibly for different filter ring versions like slim and regular or black and chrome, but they should not be different for 'blocking' and 'cutting.'

[farnz]

Perhaps one is an interference filter and the other is a hot-mirror filter.

 

Pete.

[bocaburger]

Is it a different manufacturer p[roduct code, or just a different B&H SKU#? If it's a different product code then B+W should be able to tell you what the difference is.

 

I've seen occasionally B&H will have identical products listed with slightly different names and a different SKU#, it was just a glitch in whoever entered it on their website. Unfortunately you can't really call them and put stock in the answer you'll get from the person on the 'phone, as each operator doesn't really don't know every last little item they sell, nor want to take the time to get you the real answer.

 

As for the IR properties, a 486 is a 486. It's a cut aka blocking filter. There are also IR-absorptive filters, such as the 489. Those don't quite remove all the IR and so there can be a little residual color contamination. Plus, the 489 is a slightly green (dyed) filter so final images sometimes need a little global color tweak. I use a 489 on my 12mm CV Heliar, because there isn't a substitute lens code that deals effectively with the cyan corner fringing of a 486. I can live with what little residual IR remains, and that color tweak is less time-consuming to me than trying to identify every 12mm shot to batch them through Cornerfix.