I went to Samys Camera on Fairfax yesterday and I was told that they no longer sell black & white contrast filters. They advised that I use the internet. Oh the humanity!
A large camera store no longer sell black & white contrast filters!
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About a year ago, Samy's was selling several NEW HOYA CENTER neutral density filters on EBAY at bargain basement / close-out prices. I'm talking little above the cost of shipping. I thought it was a mistake. I bought all of them. Unfortunately, none of them were the size I could use -- BUT I sold them all on EBAY, individually, for an incredible profit.
I still can't understand what they were thinking. Absolute NUTS!!!
I still can't understand what they were thinking. Absolute NUTS!!!
Even Wilson's camera that only sells film and used film cameras does not carry B&W contrast filters.
Try Freestyle on Sunset. At least they have made a commitment to black and white darkroom supplies. In recent years when I have been to Samy's, their darkroom stuff was pretty limited. The result of everybody scanning and not wet printing, I assume. This film "boom" is limited in scope apparently.
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Good idea. I will give a call!
You're lucky you still have options. There isn't a single place left in Montreal where you can find a good selection of new black and white contrast filters. I have to get mine from B&H (damn American $$$ dans doesn't want to go down) of Amazon.
Even B+W (Schneider) has reduced the number of such filters it manufactures in many sizes. Today's dominant digital photography means the market for such things has shrunk tremendously.
Don't forget Tim Rice at Filterfind.net. Brother Tim has a fine selection BW filters, most used but in excellent condition, and many new.
Just checked, Freestyle has lots of B&W filters. I love those folks. Many are out of stock though, especially the Hoyas. Not sure why, I always had a trouble cleaning those. Last year Sammy's sold me some Ilford enlarging paper that was very reasonable. Then they ran out and that was that.
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I checked with Tim Rice before I posted. He is out of all 95mm filters. I need a medium yellow and red23a.
I suspect much of this has to do with the plethora of used filters on the market for next to nothing. I know that you can buy a new PL filter for $50-75 -- and some people still do -- but you can get a used, like-new one for $5.
Supply and demand.
Supply and demand.
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I have been hitting the used filter market quite hard. I have a green, yellow, UV, polarizer, and 720 IR filters so far.
I have a Tamron 300mm f2.8 Adaptall lens to fit my Pentax and Nikon gear. It requires a 43mm filter as part of the optical system - without that filter the lens won't focus to infinity - and I prefer to put a Skylight or UV filter on all my lenses for protection. That 112mm filter screw-in cost me, 3 or 4 years ago, about $1.00 per millimeter! Could I even find one today?
Filterfind.net shows several, but I can't tell whether they are screw-in or not. Tim Rice has a good assortment of 43mm filters, but a circular polarizer is problematic. Could I rotate it while in the lens? I should buy some 43mm filters for BW work.
Filterfind.net shows several, but I can't tell whether they are screw-in or not. Tim Rice has a good assortment of 43mm filters, but a circular polarizer is problematic. Could I rotate it while in the lens? I should buy some 43mm filters for BW work.
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I would check the Heliopan offerings:
Cameras & accessories Filters,For B/W - fotoimpex.com analogue photography
ADOX M39 *SNAP-ON* Gelatinefilter Green, ADOX M43 *SNAP-ON* Gelatinefilter Green, ADOX M43 *SNAP-ON* yellow (8) gelatine filter, ADOX M46 *SNAP-ON* Ge ...
Heliopan is a German high-quality glass-filter manufacturer for decades. Excellent reputation. Their filter quality is on the same level as B+W (Schneider-Kreuznach). I have both B+W and Heliopan filters and there is no quality difference.
Some rare filters are special order items, so you have to wait a bit. It is produced in small batches by demand. But it is produced.
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I would check the Heliopan offerings:
Cameras & accessories Filters,For B/W - fotoimpex.com analogue photography
ADOX M39 *SNAP-ON* Gelatinefilter Green, ADOX M43 *SNAP-ON* Gelatinefilter Green, ADOX M43 *SNAP-ON* yellow (8) gelatine filter, ADOX M46 *SNAP-ON* Ge ...www.fotoimpex.com
Heliopan is a German high-quality glass-filter manufacturer for decades. Excellent reputation. Their filter quality is on the same level as B+W (Schneider-Kreuznach). I have both B+W and Heliopan filters and there is no quality difference.
Some rare filters are special order items, so you have to wait a bit. It is produced in small batches by demand. But it is produced.
Yes they do, but I do not want to spend $325US on the Red23 when there are good used filters available. I had check them. For the Hasselblad I use Heleopan, B+W and Hasselblad so I am very familiar with them. Thank you for bring this up, I appreciate the thought.
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I'll admit that some unusual filters are hard to find -- new or used. These are usually extra small or extra large, or low-demand filters. It took me over a year of searching to find the Heliopan CND filter that I wanted -- at a half-way decent price, that is!!!
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I have finally located and purchased the 95mm filters I have been looking for: UV, green, medium yellow, orange, Red 23a and IR 720. In the past I could do that in a day or two. Now with aggressive and repetitive search day after day I have them being shipped to me. This took a lot more work than even a year ago. I think that message on the wall is that in the future getting the black & white contrast filter new or used is going to get harder.
The bigger black-and-white contrast filters especially are pretty hard to find unless you want to pay $$$ for new ones (if available). Like Sirius Glass, it took me some time to get 95mm and 105mm covered, but I haven't found any in 112mm since I started looking (fairly recently, I'll admit). I won't need them until I find a Center Filter IVb for my 72mm SAXL, and who knows how long that'll take or if I'll be able to afford it. There are plenty of 112mm circular polarizers and ND filters of varying strengths, but I haven't seen any yellow/orange/red/green.
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I choose the lens first. Most of what I use is the Hasselblad CF lenses and almost all the CF and later lenses use B60 filters so one set of filters is all that is needed. The last lens with the 95mm filter is a Tamron SP 150-600mm f5-6.3 DI VC USD G2 AF Lens and for that I will pay the freight for the larger filters. I do not know about you, but I figure that I will only live once.
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Keep searching several times a day on KEH, Amazon and eBay to find those if you cannot swallow the B&H and Adorama prices.
I never had a lens which required a 95mm filter. Did brick and mortar stores typically carry a selection of 95mm filters?
I had the same problem with my 47mm SAXL. I opted for a Heliopan CND filter. You might want to check out alternatives to Schneider. You can always sell it later if you find the perfect Schneider that you can afford.
http://www.subclub.org/fujinon/center5.htm
Only BIG places carried anything passed 77mm.
Over the last few years, I've found Hoya colour contrast filters on eBay for good prices, in doubles.
I should double check to see if I still have any gaps in coverage.
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