Product Description

High Quality German Filters

Product Details

• Brand: B&W
• Model: 66-070243
• Dimensions: .17 pounds

Features

• Brass Ring for higher Quality Image
• Highest possible polishiing technique
• World's best optical glass
• New thinner Pro mount. No vignetting
• USA Warranty

Customer Reviews

Excellent - and this is the MRC version
I bought this recently and am using it on my ef 28-135mm lens on my Canon 40d. Fits perfectly and no more worries for my lens. Just to clarify, this is exactly the "MRC" version. just that amazon has a slightly different title as multi coated 2c. I never take out the filter off my camera except when I am using it with flash indoors. The lens flare is noticable when used with flash indoors since there is too much bright light reflection from the walls closeby. (But this is unavoidable with any filter that is out there). B+W UV MRC is regarded as the best by all and I certainly agree with it.

B+W 72E CLEAR UV HAZE MRC (010M) (I believe) with Nikkor 18-200
Been my first time on Amazon and english not my motherlanguage I was full of doubts, but, following one step after another, everything was clarified and I had a good surprise at the end, as I could pay in euros. Delivery was as previewed, so I am perfectly satisfied with service.
About the filter, I am no expert, but after searching a lot, I concluded that B+W were optically at least one of the best and their MRC (Multi Resistent Coating) an aditional advantage. My doubts:
1- Slim or "normal" (this item). One hard to find information was the real differences between them (perhaps too evident for someone that had the filter in his hand, which was not my case), finally I believed that I found out that the slim version was slimmer because there was no outer thread, so also no possibility to attach a second filter and also the lens cap would not fit well. But (I read) B+W would advise to use the slim version with lenses with focal lenghts under 28 mm because of vignetting, and my Nikkor 18-200 is equivalent to 27 mm in wide angle. I decided to take the risk, and after a few trials, I see no vignetting. Attached, the filter only shows a thickness of 4 mm (better than an older 62 mm filter (for another lens) I have with 5 mm. The lens cap fits perfectly.
2- Filter identification: At Schneider they call the filter 72E CLEAR UV HAZE MRC (010M), that is not exactly like at Amazon (the all important MRC misses), fortunatly the item number 66-070243 clarified and the filter I received has MRC written on it.
3- Price: "A UV filter should be cheap" (I think), don't they say it protects our expensive lenses? I would say 5% of the lens value would be the most, that was not the case here, but with the help of Amazon I could make it for 9%... (well, at least I have the best filter in the world).

good quality, but some undesireable side-effects
This is my first haze filter, so please consider that with the comments I write. The product appears to be excellently made, the glass is immaculate and there are no imperfections to be detected anywhere. It screws on easily and securely to the end of my Canon 40D with a 28-130mm kit lens. The lens cap fits on over the filter very well too. For all this: 5 stars.

My experience with this filter might be the same for any UV filter, so dont take this necessarily as an assesment of the filter's quality, just as a synopsis of what I am experiencing with my Canon 40D camera with a 28-130mm kit lens in combination with this filter; heres the info, now you be the judge:

a.) the images are darker - I've been told to expect this, but its even darker than I hoped. The colors seem to have blue hues strengthened: all white objects have a light-purple tint. Take filter off, it goes away. The reds are deeper in tone, again, probably more blue added. Obviously the light metering and color balancing in my camera is now off-balance with the added filter. This can be custom adjusted in the camera software to compensate via white balance, or post-processed afterwards to fix it.

b.) any haze reduction is nearly imperceptible, or maybe I am only just telling myself I can see a small difference to justify the cost? Perhaps the built-in UV filter in the Canon 40D was already doing a good job so a supplemental UV filter doesnt add much benefit? My shots of the Alps (plenty of haze) show no difference in clarity, neither forground nor distant.

c.) my autofocus is slightly off now too for close-ups. Both the kit lens and the filter are very clean, so I dont know why I am having this effect when I attach the filter.

So for the side-effects I give the experience I am having with a UV filter a 3. I am sure the quality of the lens is very good and if you are an experienced Photographer then these symptoms may perhaps be exactly what one should expect. Obviously for my set-up some tuning of the camera needs to be made if I am going to continue with this filter. Your experience might be similar so consider this review carefully and use only what information it can offer.