B+W Filter The whole world of filters, for digital and analog photography ––––––––––––– .
B+W Filters: High-tech Made in Germany 3 Mount Types 6 Protection Filters: Clear, UV 10 Polarizing Filters: Käsemann, Circular Polarizing Filters 14 Gray Filters 18 Close-Up Lenses: Close-Up and Macro Lenses 22 Effect Filters: Soft Focus Attachments, Graduated ND Filters, Redhancer 24 Special Filters: Infrared Filters, Blocking Filters, B+W Filters 28 Accessories 32
B+W Filter The passion for optics, with precision, quality and longevity. High tech made in Germany ––––––––––––– . since 1947 Innovation and experience “Made in Germany“ B+W celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2007. Following the merger with Jos. Schneider Optische Werke GmbH in 1985, the company moved into its current premises in Bad Kreuznach. Under the umbrella of Schneider-Kreuznach a lively technology transfer developed.
Perfection for the light, all the best for the picture. For example with surface coating technology: single coat, MC, MRC and MRC nano.
B+W filters for better quality in digital photos Safety through high-tech production Top performance thanks to Multi Resistant Coating (MRC) Particularly in digital photography, B+W filters are important tools for improving image quality. A B+W polarizing filter, for example, provides more saturated colors and higher color contrasts because the bluish-gray haze typical of sunny days is filtered before the image sensor generates the data record.
B+W Filter – quality without rough edges for optical ––––––––––––––––––– Threaded filter mounts. The quality of high-grade filters is determined by various criteria. Many photographers are aware that the plane parallelism and transmission properties of glass and the coating are key factors for image quality. What fewer of them know is that the filter mount must also meet high requirements as a link in the high-tech chain.
B+W quality: A brand that keeps its promise Creative filter technology – the fascination of precise design Precision-engineered mounts Behind the globally recognized B+W filter quality is a continuous process of optimization and quality control which already begins with the raw glass blocks. For the production of the high-precision B+W filters Schott colored glass is used almost exclusively because Schott guarantees the very highest glass quality.
Premium Mount Types: ––––––––––––––––––––– Line Filter mounts – the mechanical specialists Premium Line The important role played by the filter mount and its mechanically complex task are often underestimated. Although mounts are supposed to fix the high-quality filter glass in position “for life”, they must not cause any sharpness-reducing tension in the glass. B+W manufactures various mount types, mainly out of stable brass, on CNC machines.
Professional Mount Types: ––––––––––––––––––––– Line B+W Filter Mount F-Pro B+W Digital-Pro B+W oversized wide-angle mount extra-wide The Standard Filter Mount F-Pro has high mechanical stability despite its shallow design. It can be used on most wide-angle lenses without the danger of vignetting.
The guardian angels for lens and image, the bodyguards against dirt –––––––––––––––––––– : the protective filters from B+W Filter.
Active photography demands a great deal of cameras and lenses. It therefore makes sense to protect the sensitive front element of the lens against flying sand, dust, fingerprints and water with a filter. Filters not only cost a fraction of the price of a lens, but are also easier to clean. B+W protection filters can remain permanently in front of the lens as they are absolutely colorless, highly transparent and extremely low-reflective due to their hard MRC finish.
B+W Protection Filter Clear B+W Protection Filter UV Tip: Multi Resistant Coating with pearl effect This filter fulfils the desire of many photographers for pure lens protection without a filter effect. Its only function is to keep dirt, sand or splashes away from the front lens. The extremely clear special glass with high transmission is MRC or MRC nano-finished. The hydrophobic coating reduces the adhesion of particles and water drops. The advantages are easy cleaning and maximum reflection reduction.
All photographic applications –––––––––––––– for B+W polarizing filters, gray filters, close-up lenses, effect filters and special filters. Not forgetting the B+W filter accessories. But see for yourself.
Polarizing Filters – reflection reduction par excellence –––––––––––––––– . Radiant white clouds against a deep blue sky or saturated fall colors are no coincidence. Polarizing filters (pol filters for short) block the bluish gray veil from the diffusely polarized light of the sky. They augment the purity of true colors and increase color saturation. Polarizing filters are amongst the most important filters in (digital) photography.
B+W ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Polarizing Filters
B+W –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Polarizing Filters 16
B+W “Käsemann“ Polarizing Filter B+W Circular Polarizing Filter For this high-end polarizing filter the foil pieces are selected individually for maximum color neutrality. Following cementing between high-grade optical glass, additional grinding and polishing takes place. This guarantees outstanding sharpness even with very bright, apochromatic lenses. The latest cementing technique ensures lasting stability even in damp climates.
B+W ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Gray Filters
Gray Filters 101, 102, 103, 106 and 110 Gray filters – creative using less light 100 101 102 103 10 106 Transmission τ (%) Gray filters or neutral density (ND) filters are used if too much light restricts creative possibilities. They reduce the light in accordance with their density. They therefore allow longer exposure times or more widely opened apertures. Applications are highly varied and in some cases experimental.
Gray Filters 101, 102, 103, 106 and 110 B+W Gray Filters 101 and 102 B+W Gray Filter 103 B+W Gray Filter 106 The gray filter series begins with low light attenuation. Type 101 reduces the light by exactly one f-stop (filter factor 2x), type 102 by two f-stops (filter factor 4x). This already quite strong gray filter reduces the light by up to three f-stops, equivalent to a filter factor of 8x. It offers more options than weaker gray filters.
B+W ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Gray Filters
B+W–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Special Filters 22 Close-up lenses reduce the minimum focus, produced clear details
Close-Up Lenses – small world in XXL. Close-up lenses – reading glasses for your lenses B+W Close-Up Lens NL 4 B+W Macro Lens Would you like to explore fantastic worlds in miniature? Close-up lenses open up new motifs in an inexpensive way. Like reading glasses, close-up lenses move the focus range into the close-up zone. The effect increases with the diopter number and the focal length of the lens. For shorter focal lengths in digital photography stronger close-up lenses are therefore recommended.
B+W ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Effect Filters
Soft Focus Attachment Soft-Pro – precise beauty softener B+W Soft Focus Attachment Soft-Pro Cross Screen, 4x, 6x and 8x The term “soft focus attachment“ does not do justice to this soft filter. The filter delivers sharp pictures which are softly overlaid with unsharpness. Details such as eyelashes do not taper into unsharpness, while skin blemishes are gently covered up. Small mini-lenses are distributed randomly on a precisely planeparallel glass disc.
B+W ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Effect Filters 26
Graduated filters – reducing extreme contrast Redhancer – luminance for warm tones B+W Redhancer 491 Graduated filters are colorless and compensate excessive contrasts between the sky and the landscape. Clouds gain definition, sky blue acquires depth. The filters can be rotated in the mount in order to adapt the graduation to the horizon. If exposure metering is done through the filter, a minus correction of approx. 0.5 is advisable.
B+W ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Infrared Filters
Special Filters Infrared digital – special filters for the invisible B+W Infrared Filter 093 B+W Digital UV/UR Blocking Filter 486 These two special filters perform contrasting tasks. The UV/IR Blocking Filter 486 blocks unwanted ultraviolet and infrared light components that can produce ghost images and sharpness-reducing interference. The images gain sharpness, detail and fine color gradations.
Black and White Filters 021, 022, 023, 039, 040, 041, 090, 091 Consciously composed black and white photography enjoys undiminished popularity. However, the conversion of the colors into gray-scale values does not correspond to the brightness perception of the human eye, in neither film nor digital photographs. Filters are therefore indispensable for black and white photography. A simple rule explains the mode of action: The filter’s color is made lighter, the complementary color is made darker.
B+W –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Black and White Filters
Accessories B+W Adapter Rings B+W Collapsible Lens Hoods1 If photo equipment is to include lenses with different filter thread diameters, the B+W adapter rings can adapt filters and supplementary lenses to different lens diameters. This is less expensive than buying several lenses with the same filter type – money that would be better invested in a larger selection of filters. When buying filters, first check the largest diameter required.
NEW B+W Snap Cap Pro 3112 Nylon Fabric Filter Pouches2 Hard plastic cap with two spring-loaded plastic claws opposite each other that engage the front thread of the lens (or filter). Simple removal by pressing the two buttons together means fast and uncomplicated one-hand operation. Available for thread sizes 52, 55, 58, 62, 72 and 77. These filter pouches are made of padded, heavyduty and water-repellent nylon fabric with practical Velcro fasteners and a white space for labeling.
You will find overviews of the product range and further information on the B+W filters on the –––––––––––––––– at: www.schneiderkreuznach.
Publisher Jos. Schneider Optische Werke GmbH Business Unit B+W Filters Ringstraße 132 D-55543 Bad Kreuznach www.schneiderkreuznach.com Concept and Design Scheufele Hesse Eigler Kommunikationsagentur GmbH Cretzschmarstraße 10 D-60487 Frankfurt am Main www.scheufele-online.de Photography Achim K. Rösch, cover, page 4, 6, 7, 25, 26, 31 and product shots Gaby Reichert, page 15, 18, 21 Frank Widmann, page 16, 27, 28 Copy IdeaTorial Redaktionsteam, Heinz-Jürgen Kruppa Immenbuschweg 5 D-27389 Vahlde www.
2010/09-1066263 Jos. Schneider Optische Werke GmbH Business Unit B+W Filters Ringstraße 132 D-55543 Bad Kreuznach Phone +49 671 601-122 Fax +49 671 601-302 filter@schneiderkreuznach.com www.schneiderkreuznach.
