60 mm filter for Vario-Elmar 80-200?

[vladik]

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Would you please help me to choose correct filter for my just acquired Leica Vario-Elmar-R 80-200 mm f/4 lens. I want a good quality protection one. I have seen on Internet a Heliopan ES 60 UV -0 SH PMS Made in Germany. I cannot find any information regarding thread pitch is it 0.5 mm or 0.75 mm on the lens and also on filter? Alternatively I would consider a B+W. Any and all help will be appreciated, thank you.

[mmradman]

I I have Heliopan E60 UV filter and it works with M and R lenses that have 60mm filter thread.

 

both B&W and Helliopan are excellent brands, buy with confidence.

[Schrödinger's cat]

Locating a filter with the less common thread pitch would be difficult.  Most all filter makers standard E60 filters are the correct pitch for your lens.

 

I tend toward B & W because I like their filter rings, but Helliopan and Hoya are also excellent.  If I the filter designation you posted is the Kasemann version, in my view it is best reserved for someone who has identified his specific need for the sealed edges.  If you don't actually need this feature there are other less expensive and just as serviceable options.

 

 Any high quality name brand filter marketed as clear will be satisfactory, and many people simply use a UV or skylight filter.

 

As long as you don't cheap out you'll be fine.  One Nikon poster on dpreview made a big deal out of how he had tested a bunch of cheap filters and also some expensive filters and couldn't tell any difference, but I suspect this is something of an outlying opinion.  You might enjoy this article on the issue.  http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/UV-and-Clear-Lens-Protection-Filters.aspx

 

Perhaps you are already aware of this, but there is a somewhat polarizing argument over the advantages/disadvantages of using a filter for protection.