SRB filters

[Musotographer]

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Has anyone used B&W filters from this company? They seem suspiciously cheap to me......

[Ken Abrahams]

Most of the filters for my Monochrom work are B&W brand. Next to the Leica brand of filters they might seem cheap and there are other brands much cheaper than B&W. 

They are good quality filters from my experience working with them,  

[pgk]

SRB are a long established and well known company. I've bought from them in the past but not for some time. I assume that they make the filters themselves (see the about section) which might explain the prices.

[Anbaric]

Do you mean this company?:

https://www.srb-photographic.co.uk/

They've been going for decades, and have a good reputation. I've bought the odd filter from them a long time ago, and they were very helpful about a quote for a custom adapter. My guess would be that their £12.50 filters aren't coated - might be worth enquiring if this is an issue for you (I would generally choose a multicoated filter for anything I use often).

If you mean B+W the company, as Ken mentions, they are very good:

https://schneiderkreuznach.com/en/photo-optics/b-w-filters/filtertypes

They have various ranges - I would choose something with their MRC or MRC nano coating, which are multicoated and easy to clean.

[Musotographer]

 Sorry for the confusion with B+W, I should of course have written 'black & white' to avoid that.

Thanks everyone - it looks as though the SRB ones may be worth a punt for occasional use. They would be for my R80/1.4 which I rarely use with filters and has a 67mm thread, so getting really good ones would be expensive.

[Bikie John]

I think the SRB ones are gel, so they are not coated and need to be looked after fairly carefully. I have used them occasionally on M Monochroms (original and M10M) and have been pleasantly surprised that they don't seem to compromise sharpness. Of course, your usage and demands may be different.

As other have said, SRB are a well-established engineering company, I think they have done a lot of work for TV cameras and they know what they are about. Years ago I wanted a big plain filter to keep rain off the front of a monster telephoto. The boss Ian (now retired I think) invited me up to Leighton Buzzard and we spent a fascinating few hours at his house and then their workshop in Luton measuring up and talking about all sorts of odd stuff. The workshop was wonderful - walls full of bits and pieces, a bit like the largest Meccano set a young lad could ever dream about!

In summary - worth a punt, and if they don't meet your standards you will be a lot less poor than if you went straight for a B&W.

John

Edited December 17, 2020 by Bikie John
Correct typo

[Musotographer]

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On 12/17/2020 at 9:15 AM, Bikie John said:

I think the SRB ones are gel, so they are not coated and need to be looked after fairly carefully. I have used them occasionally on M Monochroms (original and M10M) and have been pleasantly surprised that they don't seem to compromise sharpness. Of course, your usage and demands may be different.

As other have said, SRB are a well-established engineering company, I think they have done a lot of work for TV cameras and they know what they are about. Years ago I wanted a big plain filter to keep rain off the front of a monster telephoto. The boss Ian (now retired I think) invited me up to Leighton Buzzard and we spent a fascinating few hours at his house and then their workshop in Luton measuring up and talking about all sorts of odd stuff. The workshop was wonderful - walls full of bits and pieces, a bit like the largest Meccano set a young lad could ever dream about!

In summary - worth a punt, and if they don't meet your standards you will be a lot less poor than if you went straight for a B&W.

John

Thanks very much - who knew what wonders lurk in Leighton Buzzard! 😁

I have ordered yellow and orange in 67mm - if they seem to be good I'll get a couple of red ones for very occasional use on other lenses. I find that orange is drama enough in most situations.

Christopher

[Bikie John]

Good luck - I hope it works well for you.

John

[AceVentura1986]

On 12/16/2020 at 4:55 PM, Ken Abrahams said:

Most of the filters for my Monochrom work are B&W brand. Next to the Leica brand of filters they might seem cheap and there are other brands much cheaper than B&W. 

They are good quality filters from my experience working with them,  

Same here, B+W filters exclusively. Why? Their reputation amd my experience with them. 

[digger1914]

I have Heliopan red, yellow and orange filters and find them to be excellent

[Musotographer]

On 12/19/2020 at 11:07 AM, Bikie John said:

Good luck - I hope it works well for you.

John

They seem to be optically fine. I've no idea what the actual rings are made of - it's clearly not brass - so care screwing and unscrewing is probably sensible. But at £15 each they seem to be a bargain for occasional use.