B+W The Best Filters I've Ever Owned
B+W filters are the best filters I have ever seen. Made in German by Schneider, a leading manufacturer of high-quality view camera lenses, I'm happy in the knowledge that, unlike cheaper plastic filters, B+W filters won't lessen the quality of my high priced Nikon and Leica-M series lenses.
I use B&W UV filters exclusively
Made to the highest of standards, from arguably the world's best optical glass, this filter uses the B+W F-Pro filter mount. The result, a thinner design that helps prevent vignetting, even on wide angle lenses, including most 24mm focal lengths on full frame camera bodies (i.e. Canon 5D Mark III and Nikon D800/e).
Made to last and encased within a brass ring to ensure that the filter thread won't become cross threaded if screwed on too tightly to your lens, as is commonly the case with cheaper filters utilizing plastic threads.
Why I Use a UV Filter
Theoretically a UV Filter is attached to the front of your lens to block the adverse effects of Ultra Violet (UV) radiation. While UV is beyond the visible spectrum, meaning we can't actually see it, it can have an adverse effect on our photos. Problems traditionally resulting from the adverse affects of UV light include the following:
* bluish color cast
* loss of sharpness
* over exposure (images record lighter than they otherwise would, resulting in potential loss of delicate highlight detail)
UV Filters are particularly useful where UV radiation is high, such as when photographing distance mountain views at high altitudes.
Because the filter is clear no exposure adjustment is required. You can make photos without a second thought.
In practice a UV filter is usually employed to protect the front element of your lens from scratches, fingerprints and foreign bodies such as dust, sand, sea water spray and salt. A dirty filter will likely result in reduced contrast and image sharpness and, when photographing light sources (i.e. street lamps, sunrise and sunset) a blooming or spreading of the light and a smearing of color can result. Remember to keep both the filter and the front element of your lens clean is, therefore, essential to extract the best quality from your lens.
High quality filters incorporate a special Multi-Resistant Coating (MRC) which provides the filter with a water and dirt repelling coating. This helps keep the filter cleaner for longer and, when cleaning is required, makes it easier to achieve.
The MRC coating also reduces internal reflections, between the filter and the front element of your lens, resulting in reduced occurrence of flare and ghosting.
I keep a B+W filter on my lens at all times. Usually it's a UV filter but, when its time to attach a polarizing filter, its removed. Never stack filters on top of each other. If you do you'll be courting poor quality, which defeats the purpose of buying great glass (i.e. lens and filter) in the first place.
B+W 58mm Clear UV Haze with Multi-Resistant Coating (010M)
$31.10
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B+W 62mm Clear UV Haze with Multi-Resistant Coating (010M)
$31.82
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B+W 72mm XS-Pro Clear UV Haze with Multi-Resistant Nano Coating (010M)
$46.20
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B+W 77mm XS-Pro Clear UV Haze with Multi-Resistant Nano Coating (010M)
$52.23
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