Filter for APO 77 - which one

[Rob Smallwood]

Having suffered damage to my objective lens twice now, the latter probably by salt water, I am considering buying a filter to protect it.

I have no idea what I am looking for, other than have found a couple by Hoya which appear to fit the bill.

Can anyone recommend one, advise me how it is fitted and more importantly are there any drawbacks to using one?

I do use the 'scope for digiscoping if that makes a difference.

Thanks in advance.

(By the way - thumbs up to Leica again - they repaired and returned the 'scope in 6 days again and repaired it under warranty - top service from a top manufacturer)

[griffin]

Having suffered damage to my objective lens twice now, the latter probably by salt water, I am considering buying a filter to protect it.

I have no idea what I am looking for, other than have found a couple by Hoya which appear to fit the bill.

Can anyone recommend one, advise me how it is fitted and more importantly are there any drawbacks to using one?

I do use the 'scope for digiscoping if that makes a difference.

Thanks in advance.

(By the way - thumbs up to Leica again - they repaired and returned the 'scope in 6 days again and repaired it under warranty - top service from a top manufacturer)

Hi Rob,

I tried a hoya one and it distorted the image. I ended up paying about £80 for the leica one (UV) and it is really good.


Linz

[Leicaman]

Hi Rob,

I tried a hoya one and it distorted the image. I ended up paying about £80 for the leica one (UV) and it is really good.


Linz

I also tried a Hoya with the result that the image was distorted. A B+W gave me a perfect image.

[griffin]

I had problems with an Apo 62 scope - scratches and marks on front lens. Leica graciously replaced it ( twice) but the same problem was evident even on a brand new lens. The dealer refunded the cost in the end.

Some say it is the quartz coating which marks easily or "peels" off. When I bought the 77 ( just after I got the 62) I put on the filter and have never touched or cleaned the front objective in 4 years. This did not effect me negatively as I am perfectly happy with the 77 and don't see me ever replacing it and recently bought some Ultravids which are fantastic.


The Leica UV filter has no negative effect as far as I can see - the image is fantastic, though some have reported negatively on it here on Bird Forum. I have digiscoped successfully with the fliter on.


Linz

[Rob Smallwood]

I also tried a Hoya with the result that the image was distorted. A B+W gave me a perfect image.

B & W? Is that a brand like Hoya?

[laservet]

Having suffered damage to my objective lens twice now, the latter probably by salt water, I am considering buying a filter to protect it.

I have no idea what I am looking for, other than have found a couple by Hoya which appear to fit the bill.

Can anyone recommend one, advise me how it is fitted and more importantly are there any drawbacks to using one?

I do use the 'scope for digiscoping if that makes a difference.

Thanks in advance.

(By the way - thumbs up to Leica again - they repaired and returned the 'scope in 6 days again and repaired it under warranty - top service from a top manufacturer)

I use a B+W Kaesemann KSM circular polarizing filter with MRC coatings, no problems noted.

http://tinyurl.com/2jdcom

[Swissboy]

B & W? Is that a brand like Hoya?

Yes, it is one of the more expensive ones, but apparently better both optically and mechanically. I assume it's usually written in one word like this B+W.

[Leif]

Both Canon and Nikon make clear protective filters. I bought a Canon Protect for my scope and the quality is excellent. I also use them on camera lenses. They are not too expensive if bought from ebay.

[Patriot222]

Rob S. I believe you asked how it was fitted. The filters are threaded and just screw in with 2-4 turns depending on the filter.

I started off with the Hoya super multi-coated 77, but the image wasn't as focused. I switched to the expensive Leica and it was better, but above 32X noticable degradation is still appearent, although not as bad as with the Hoya.

I really think it depends on how picky you are. I consider myself pretty crital about optical quality but some people arn't. I've been very careful and have been fortunate enough to avoid damage to mine. My rule is; if the scope is moving I have my lens cover on it.

[postcardcv]

I used a Hoya filter on my APO77 without any noticable degredation of image quality (used for viewing and digiscoping). The only problem I had was that the filter got in the way of the lens hood making it harder to pull out, not a big issue, but it was annoying.