[Leica] Puts and IR Cut filters on M8

[henningw at archiphoto.com (Henning Wulff)]

>    With my gratitude to Mr. Puts for sharing his
>research on IR Cut filters and the M8 (Leica M8, Part
>7), I must make known my experience because my results
>contradict his.
>    My placing a B+W 486 filter on Leica lenses of
>different focal lengths under various light conditions
>and at various ISOs consistently produces images of
>more natural color, higher macro contrast and higher
>micro contrast with sharper detail than not using the
>filter. The sharper image is particularly clear in
>landscapes. The tendency to red skin tones is
>significantly reduced with the IR Cut filter.  Puts'
>own portrait images (the blond woman) demonstrate this
>(correct his typo: below is with filter, above is
>without filter).
>    Reflections from strong light sources are a
>potential problem but rarely occur in my experience.
>They are more likely to occur the greater the distance
>the filter is from the lens, i.e., drop-in-hood
>filters are more likely to cause the problem. 
>    The conclusion I've come to is to always keep a 486
>type filter in place on the M8.  (Puts does not
>indicate what type of cut filter he is using.) I'm not
>sure what has generated Puts' results. Literature from
>Schneider specifies that 486 type filters should in
>fact improve color and contrast. My results are
>consistent with Schneider's research.
>    What has been your experience on this issue?
>    Tom P.
>
>

My experience has been that contrast in the coarser frequencies has 
indeed improved, but that finer detail is a bit compromised. Same as 
Erwin's results.

The increased contrast in the coarser details gives that extra bit of 
'punch', which I sometimes introduce through Photoshop; not an 
overall contrast gain, but localized.

I've now taken about 5000 pictures, and I think 90% of those have 
been with the filter on. The only lens I regularly use without the 
filter is the 12/5.6, as I really haven't figured out yet how to 
properly get rid of the cyan corners.

-- 
    *            Henning J. Wulff
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