Are B+W or Hoya IR filter = Leica IR cut filter?

[taboyip]

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I've been seraching for Leica IR filter but there is out of stock anywhere. What I can find is only Hoya and some B+W, but are they the same as the Leica's? Or I have to buy from Leica? many thanks!!

[stunsworth]

Hi, and welcome to the forum. I've been buying the B+W ones and as far as I can tell they work identically to the Leica filters - the magenta problem has disappeared.

[jaapv]

There are small differences between B&W, Hoya (do they have IRcut filters?) Heliopan and Leica. The correction in the camera is for Leica. It is only relevant for wideangle lenses of 28 and shorter, but the differences are so slight that it only counts in very critical shots. And then there is always post-processing. Leica filters are only just coming onto the market and are difficult- if at all to find. I personally would have no qualms buying B&W 486 filters instead. As a matter of fact I have

[wattsy]

I think the consensus is that the Leica branded filters only offer an advantage with the shorter focal length lenses (approximately 24mm or wider). I have both Leica and B+W IR/UV filters and they are equally effective (though I don't shoot wider than 28mm nor am I using the latest 'cyan-drift correcting' firmware).

[scott kirkpatrick]

They are not the same, but to tell the difference you need to shoot a known light source, such as a uniformly lit white wall or a diffuser, and analyze the results to a percent or so accuracy. The Leica filters seem to be a little weaker and cause a little less vignetting than B&W/Schneider or Heliopan, and thus can be corrected more precisely. I've measured B&W filters on a 24/2.8-asph and both Leica and B&W on a CV15 (but that one wasn't coded), so my knowledge is pretty incomplete.

 

Remember that the correction that you need depends on color temperature or other characteristics of the light,and lens aperture and the M8's ability to know these is limited. So the errors that you can't avoid are probably comparable to the variations between filters.

 

scott

[taboyip]

So not all Leica lens require IR cut for the magenta problem? I am considering to buy a filter for 21, 35 and 50mm. Hoya offer IR filter, but not IR cut filter. They are different??

[stunsworth]

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No, all lenses - Leica or Voigtlander in my case - benefit from the use of filters. The magenta problem is a sensor issue. No filter = unpredictable blacks.

[robsteve]

So not all Leica lens require IR cut for the magenta problem? I am considering to buy a filter for 21, 35 and 50mm. Hoya offer IR filter, but not IR cut filter. They are different??

 

Yes, they are different. You want a UV/IR cut filter. I think the infrared filters you may be looking at are the opposite of what you need, designed for taking infrared pictures, not blocking infrared light.

[hammam]

I don't know about the Leica since, like moste people, I have yet to see one. But here are two photos taken under the same conditions, no color retouching whatsoever, just conversion from DNG to jpg in LR, levels up a bit and resizing. First one is B+W, second one is Heliopan. Firmware is 1.102. Halogen lamp, WB 3500 K (not perfect but okay) ISO 320. As I had shown a few weeks ago, the Heliopan cuts the IR a tiny bit more than the B+W though, for some reason (I understand they have tweaked firmware to work with the Leica filter which, apparently, is a «weakened» B+W), the difference is less pronounced than in previous firmware (1.92)

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[MP3]

Hi, Chung Hei

 

I've also read your thread at hklfc. If you are in Hong Kong, you may try to call New Francisco at TST Wing On Plaza. They got the Leica UV-IR Cut Filters for 39 and 46mm last Thursday. Try your luck.

 

From all previous threads' discussion, it is evident that Leica filters' IR cut strength are slightly less than that of B+W ones. In other to benefit from v1.102 at its best corner tuning effect, I believe it would be best to select Leica ones from 28mm or wider, esp for 21mm up. I can understand your frustration in sourcing for these filters, me too.

 

Best

Matthew

[bradhusick]

On short focal lengths (less than 21mm) the filters are NOT at all the same. The Leica firmware seems to work well with only Leica filters. See the thread "WATE filtered" for examples.

-Brad

[sean_reid]

The older version of the Leica filter (which was not sent out to the public but was provided to some reviewers for testing) was nearly (maybe completely) identical to the B+W 486. The new version is somewhat different. I've been testing both filters on Leica and non-Leica lenses for an article and, so far, both work equally well with 28 mm and longer lenses. 24/25 may be fine as well.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[Guest tummydoc]

I had a chance to test the 486 against a Heliopan on a coded 21mm ASPH. I found there to be very little difference but neither was completely corrected by the firmware, although it was very nearly so. Since Leica hasn't provided their IR filters in 55mm yet there isn't a way to test them on any lenses wider than 28mm for which there are precise algorithms in the firmware (so discounting tests made with hand-coded lenses).

 

However, what I noticed most definitely is that the firmware does not correct the cyan identically under all lighting conditions. It appears to apply a fixed amount of correction that varies with the lens. Therefore, extrapolating, I would expect there to be situations in which the firmware will not completely correct the cyan (or, over-correct it causing red corners) even with the Leica IR filter. That is speculation until I have a Leica 55mm IR filter (and borrow again the coded Elmarit).

 

What I can say definitively from personal experience is that the firmware corrects well enough with either the 486 or Heliopan that no further correction is needed in most light, and just a touch of Panotools in the severest cases. I will certainly try the 2 free Leica filters whenever they arrive, and perhaps use them on my widest lenses, but if they are as flare-prone as some tests have found, I will more than likely stick to Heliopans for everything, because I found them much less apt to flare than the 486.