is b + W filter good?

[creampuff]

Dear creampuff, i have put myself into their shoes, please do not assume otherwise. I have till date not put any pictures of the cracked filter. After putting up pictures and hearing the recorded conversation, perhaps you want to re - consider your assumption that i don't give them due credit. Like i've said before, i do not doubt their customer service standards but in this case, i did not start out the conversation rudely nor did i intend to bluff them of a filter undeservedly. For your info, i had accidentally dragged my 70 - 200 lens on the ground before but it was purely accidental and i've not done so after. I've been rather careful with my equipment and it wouldn't make sense for me to treat my thousand dollar lens with neglect or to toss them around friviously. and dear cream puff, have you ever bought a B + W filter from cathay before ? they do give a warranty against manufacturer's defect and i'm quite confident this is a manufacturing or perhaps a "version" discrepancy....

Yes I have bought B+W and other brands of filters from OP, CP and a couple of other shops. Never had any issues. Now you mentioned what happened to your lens... so you cracked an expensive filter. These things happen, get over it.

Sure, there might be different grades of B+W filters. And it has nothing to do with warranty against manufacturer's defect. No shop will sell you a cracked filter up front and the onus is on you to check the condition before leaving the store. Which shop will replace a damaged filter due to customer's actions AFTER purchase?

 

[sexalicious]

Creampuff - " so you cracked an expensive filter" .. how did u know i cracked an expensive filter on my 70 - 200 ? i didn't tell you dat ... i said i accidentally dragged the lens only ... but yes, the filter did crack but it was not a B + W filter ... it was an inexpensive hoya filter ... actually, are you an avid supporter of the shop ? i'm quite sure they know i've been saying these things about them. But hey, i'm quite maligned here. Just because i accidentally spoilt one filter before doesn't mean i will do it again. Are you so sure it was purely and entirely my fault the filter cracked ? do you want to view the filter first before you speak ? look, OP isn't stupid and i know they watch this forum closely ... but lets talk facts here... i can show macro shots of the cracked B + W filter from OP and people can see for themselves. They've, at the end of the day, sold me a defective product and cathay has mentioned that if such an incident were to occur to their products, they won't hesitare to change one for me. After all, its only $120 and i've bought a 1D M III from them. so why would i bother to get even with OP if its just about the money. I'm just here to warn others about their trading practices. With evidence and i don't think i've made any assumptions here. Creampuff, don't have to point out i've damaged a lens before n highlight in bold. Maybe you might want to put yourself in my shoes now. Or you don't want to ?anyway, you can continue to rant n rave here but its a FACT my b + w filter cracked which was neither directly or indrectly a cause of my hanlding of my lens. And i went to take it up with OP and i was neither rude nor pushy. I had wanted to reason with them politely and the moment they knew my filter cracked, they had offered to give me a replace hoya filter which i think is rather good service on their part. But when i was at Cathay and i told them my problem, i suspected something was wrong when they explained to me what B + W filters can really do. I don't want to repeat myself, people can scroll back and see what i've said before.
And yes, just to shove a little 8 mile attitude in your worldly-shoes face, i am 17 but doesn't mean i am stupid nor am i opportunistic ... get that straight

 

[sexalicious]

addendum - i bought the 1d MIII from cathey n not OP .. i re read my reply n realised the possible confusion. Ooi, i don't know whether u r really a supporter or not so i asked u, but if u r, and i really mean IF, don't support blindly la ...

 

[sykestang]

For those who have not know... Majority of the B+W filters is now made by Hoya. B+W has outsource most of their common filters to be made by Hoya since abt 2yrs ago.

Sad case for such a good brand to have made this decision...

For me, I trust a original Nikon filter anytime.

 

[FilterFunk]

interesting news.. any link to point to? thanks!

 

[yehosaphat]

For those who have not know... Majority of the B+W filters is now made by Hoya. B+W has outsource most of their common filters to be made by Hoya since abt 2yrs ago.

Sad case for such a good brand to have made this decision...

For me, I trust a original Nikon filter anytime.

I din know that... any proof of the fact?

 

[donnyyeo]

Anyone here uses a B+W 010 UV-Haze x1 MRC filter?

The photo below shows the fluorescent (daylight temperature) light's reflection on two filters.

(WhiBal white balance corrected photo)

The left reflection is green. The right reflection is purple.

Here is how I did the test. A black cloth was placed under the filters. The camera's white balance was set using a WhiBal White Balance Reference Card.

The optimum angle is 30 degrees. At extreme angles ( > 80 degrees), both reflections will turn white.

Question 1: Could you identify which filter is the B+W filter? (left or right)

Answer: Answer both are marketed as B+W 010 UV-Haze x1 MRC.

Note: I actually posted this question as a poll here at Clubsnap around Jun 2007. The thread had been deleted by the moderators...since the forum here is neatly kept at 3 pages long.

The result of the poll was around 50% : 50% split between left and right. So, I assume that there are two versions floating around the market.

After reading this thread, I now realized that there are two distributors in Singapore. CP (official) and OP (china sourced).

I have also email B+W Germany. Their answer is the same with yours.

1. Both are genuine.
2. Alloy for special market.
3. Please buy from authorized distributor if not sure.

The worst part is I paid the same price for it and bought it from the same shop only 1 month apart. I did not notice the differences between the two filters until I removed the filters out from the lens for cleaning. One of the filters was difficult to remove from the lens. One was lighter. Both had a different labeling on the ring mount. Both had different light reflection color. Light transmission quality for both filters are different too. One has a color tint.

Question 2: Which one is for the "china" market?

Answer 2: Refer to the next post.

 

[donnyyeo]

The left filter has the B+W 77 010 UV-Haze 1x MRC label engraved on the front of the rim.

The right filter does not have any label on the front of the rim.

Left filter

The left filter has the B+W 77 010 UV-Haze 1x MRC label engraved on the front of the rim.

On the side of the rim, the B+W logo, F-PRO and MADE IN GERMANY label. The label are printed in gold color.

The left filter is heavier than the right filter.

Right filter

The right filter does not have any label on the front of the rim.

Instead, the 77 010 UV Haze MRC 1x label is on the side of the rim. The label is printed in gold color.

Other than that, there are B+W logo, F-PRO and MADE IN GERMANY labels on the side of the rim. Also, printed in gold color.

Also, the right filter is lighter than the left filter.

Continue...due to 5 images limit in one post.

 

[donnyyeo]

Box

The product ID 70252 is missing on the bottom box.

The product ID 70252 is also missing from the bar code of the bottom box.

Question: Which one is for the China market (left/right)?

Answer: I dunno for sure. However, I suspect it is the lighter filter on the right with the purple reflection and missing product ID on the top label on the box.

Moral of the story: Just like what B+W Germany said, "3. Please buy from authorized distributor if not sure."

 

[flipfreak]

thanks for the pics and comparison. it is certainly helpful for ppl like me to distinguish the original and the oem b+w stuff.

 

[donnyyeo]

The saddest part is I paid the same price (RM280) for both filters and got it from the same shop.

Btw, I am from Malaysia.

From the box and packaging, one cannot tell if the filter is brass or aluminum alloy version. For this B+W, scores a very low point for marketing their product.

Since, B+W Germany said that both filter are genuine, I cannot go back to the shop and complaint about it.

So, is B+W Germany claming that all B+W filters are genuine by looking at a JPEG photo?
If I am a manufacturer, I would not have made such a daring claim. I would need that the customers send the filter back to me for inspection. Later, run some tests on it.

 

[StrifeYun]

thanks mann, should put as sticky

 

[FilterFunk]

interesting findings. thanks for sharing.
really helpful information.

 

[donnyyeo]

Both filters were marketed as MRC ("Multi Resistant Coating). [1]

Then, I wondered... what is the coating relection's color of a MRC or multi-coated filters. Here are the results of Googling. Below, are citations from the web.

"look straight at the reflection in the front of the filter. If it's plain white it's uncoated glass. On Nikon if the reflection's blue it's single coat, if it's a deep green it's multicoated. Simple." [2]

"How to see what kind of coating you have: look at the reflection directly from the front of a filter against the dark. The white reflection is from an uncoated filter, the magenta reflection is single coated, and the dark green reflection is from a multi-coated filter." [3]

"Multicoated lenses usually have more reflection colours, particulatly green, while SC lenses usually only show yellow and purple." [4]

P/S: I don't have a PhD in Optical Anti-reflective multilayer coatings. Therefore, I cannot validate the truth on any results from any website. Sorry.

What I do know, is the coating reflection from my EF 70-200 f/2.8 IS USM, EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS USM and Nikon 77mm Circular Polarizer Glass Filter II (Slim) filter is green. The reflection from Hoya UV(0) (single-coated) is purple.

 

[nightwolf75]

in case you guys are wondering, there are 2 different versions of B+W on sale in SG. the ones found in CP (eg) are the ones made in Germany - brass rings and all. the others, sold (hopefully) slightly cheaper are made in HK and meant for the china market. the filters' rings are made from aluminum and hence slightly lighter. there is also a difference in the lens' coating as donnyyeo demoed.

u can actually ask the staff at CP peninuslar for a photocopy of the letter from B+W germany explaining this. IIRC, CP is the official distributor of made in germany B+W.

 

[Cheesecake]

if u're getting a B + W filter(since u've paid a premium for ur sexy lens, wat's a few $$ to u over a quality filter for ur sexy lens???), it would be best to get from CP(authorised dealer in this case).

 

[sexalicious]

if u're getting a B + W filter(since u've paid a premium for ur sexy lens, wat's a few $$ to u over a quality filter for ur sexy lens???), it would be best to get from CP(authorised dealer in this case).

Sexy lens not much, of course if i wee to known that CP was the Dealer for Sg, i would have gladly gotten it from then, at the point of time i didnt know, so decided to get from OP since i hang around there quite often, so i didnt knew the sold inferior stuff(china market filters) i thought all b+w filter are the same. now all my B+W filter are all brought for CP, and cover every of my lens.

 

[Cheesecake]

Sexy lens not much, of course if i wee to known that CP was the Dealer for Sg, i would have gladly gotten it from then, at the point of time i didnt know, so decided to get from OP since i hang around there quite often, so i didnt knew the sold inferior stuff(china market filters) i thought all b+w filter are the same. now all my B+W filter are all brought for CP, and cover every of my lens.

OP???

anyway, some advise...

always do ur homework before u make a camera equipment purchase in CS. find out the best price n source.

and of cos, caveat emptor.

 

[sexalicious]

OP???

anyway, some advise...

always do ur homework before u make a camera equipment purchase in CS. find out the best price n source.

and of cos, caveat emptor.

orient photos.

yeah, but at that point of time, it's only 2 mths? how much can u expect me to know?

caveat emptor??? what this?

 

[flipfreak]

caveat emptor = let the buyer beware.