MC UV filter

[ath]

Hi,
normally I prefer not to put a UV filter on my lenses but in some circumstances I want to protect the lens (beach, saltwater...).
I have a B&W MC UV filter which has high quality but is hard to clean and fogs quite fast in damp environment.
The Tamron lens I put that filter on is much easier to clean and did not fog.

So I thought a UV filter from Tamron might be a good idea.

Any experience with these filters? Do they have the same coating as their lens elements or are they just rebranded filters of another manufacturer?
Other recommendations for high quality, easy to clean MC UV filters?

Thanks.

 

[OldBodyOldSoul]

I don't know what high quality exactly means, but the Hoya (S)HMC filters that I use on my some of my Nikkors are excellent and very easy to clean. While with some other filters (Tiffen, usually) I can sometimes notice artifacts, it never happens with lenses that have HMC Hoya on them. In about 90% situations I shoot with my 35/1.4 and never had a single problem. One wipe with a microfiber cloth and it's squeaky clean.

 

[gone]

People seem to like the SHMC filters for being easy to clean. I think the regular HMC are the ones that people complain about. I use Tiffens when possible because I think they are uncoated, which makes them easy to clean. No flare issues either. My experience w/ lenses and filters is they have to be really bad before you see any image degradation, but for sure a foggy filter could cause flare.

 

[250swb]

The highest quality filters are B+W MRC filters, expensive but very easy to clean.

Steve

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

The B+W filter you have will be infinitely better in quality across the board than anything Tamron produces.

B+W multicoated filters should not have anything applied to them to clean them if there is visible dirt; a blower, then brush then wipe over with a microfibre cloth. For stubborn smudges and smears, applying liquid soap (not dishwashing liquid) under a running tap then air drying also works — finish off again with microfibre clean-up. The multicoating is tough for all the filters and this is the reason that attempting to clean a filter results in ugly smudging and smearing.

 

[ath]

Thanks for the feedback so far.
Before my last travel I wet cleaned the B+W filter because it had lots of streaks developed just lying in it's case over a year. A microfiber cloth did not help. Other filters were clean.
During the travel we entered a rather damp region and the filter fogged so badly it was immediately visible in the viewfinder.
Both my Canon (L) and the Tamron lens did not fog after I took off the filter, they do not show streaks on the front element after a year storage and are easy to clean.
Basically I want a UV/protection filter like that.

That B+W filter may be of the best optical quality but that doesn't help if it fogs on duty and is practically not cleanable in the field.
The filter says "multicoated", not MRC. Does anyone have practical experience with both?

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

I have practical experience with B+W (including Kasemann POLs, F-Pro, slims), Hoya (HMC, SHMC, HD), Tiffen HD, Canon, Nikon and Zeta (as good as B+W without the price tag). They all will fog. So do lenses and viewfinders. The difficulties you speak of are very common, not unusual and something photographers have to deal with in the field. I have experienced that immediate fogging in rainforests with all filters due to cold conditions in New Zealand and closer to home. Take the filter off and shoot without it. It is most unlikely there will be any adverse effect from leaving the filter off for a shoot; put it back when you have finished. That's what I did with any and all of my L-series lenses if they fog.

The coating on the lenses is an entirely different and specialised beast and on Canon lenses (all of them), fogging can and does occur in cold and humid conditions. There are anti-fog solutions on the market designed for glasses wearers; you might want to try this on the front surface only​ of filters and see how that goes.

 

[ath]

FWIW I asked Tamron if they apply the same coatings to their UV filters as to their lenses. The answer was: we do not have UV filters. I conclude that the filters sold under the Tamron brand here in Germany are sourced by a Tamron subsidiary and not by the Tamron HQ.

I guess I will either have to live with my B+W filter or go back to a single coated one since I'm not willing to shell out the money for a B+W MRC filter to find out if it's an improvement or not.