RE: [Leica] Leica or B+W Filters

["Bob Walkden" <bobwalkden@hotmail.com>]

Hi,

I know this through recent experience of buying a whole new set of filters. 
I looked into Hoya, B+W, Heliopan and Contax filters. As your links show, 
the Heliopans are not available off-the-shelf in multi-coating. In fact, 
your links show that more are available in mc than were when I looked a 
couple of months ago, but still only on special order. B+W on the other hand 
are widely available in MC off the shelf.

I have not specifically tested the difference between Heliopan double-coated 
filters and B+W multicoated filters, and I doubt that I have the ability or 
equipment to be able to make or judge such a test. However, I note that 
Heliopan give a number for the amount of reflection that their double-coated 
filters remove - 50% - yet they do not give a number for the multicoated 
filters. B+W otoh give a figure of > 99% iirc for the reflections eliminated 
by their mc filters.

When I asked the main retailers in the UK (Teamwork Photographic) of 
Heliopan filters why the filters were not mc they told me that it was 
because the mc filters were more easily scratched and marked than the 
standard ones.

Cheers,

Bob

>From: Austin Franklin <austin@darkroom.com>
>
>Do you know this through experience of your own, or other reference to be a
>problem with Heliopan filters?  I've used all three, Leica, Heliopan and
>B&W, and find no problem with any of them.
>
>Heliopan does have a line of filters that is 14 layer multi-coated (7 each
>side) called "SH-MC", the other line is called 'Standard' and is 'double'
>coated (coated on each side).
>
>This is a good blurb on the Heliopan filter coatings:
>
>http://www.heliopan.com/helio1.htm
>
>They also have body and lense caps for those looking for them:
>
>http://www.heliopan.com/hoods.htm#Lens Caps

________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com