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i have bought a fair few filters from hvstar and noticed alot of people here have used them/ recommend them aswell. i've always been happy with the quality of the filter, price and service. i was about to buy another one for my 85mm and i noticed that in the title of the product it says "alloy" filter. i had never payed much attention to this before and knowing that B+W use brass rings, i was curious why they would say alloy in the title so i emailed hvstar and asked them the question...

From: Chris K
To: info@hvstar.net
Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:23 PM
Subject: B+W 77mm MRC UV 010 Filter NEW F-PRO Multi-Coated Alloy

Dear Sir/ Madam,
Is this a genuine B+W product ?
B+W advised that they do not make an Alloy filter, they make their filters with brass rings.
Could you please explain why you have alloy in the title of the product.

Regards,
Chris

this is the reply i recieved:

Hi Chris,
YES, it's genuine B+W product of course, actually it is designed for Asia market. the glass quality are absolutely the same.
Thanks!
Yolanda

so, to me this screams "imitation". it says its designed for the asian market, which B+W do not do. they only make one filter. and it says that the glass quality is absolutely the same. ie: NOT the same glass but the same quality. am i being a "conspiracy theorist" or reading too much into this ? has something been lost in translation ?

i compared the filter/ packaging to one i bought from 2filter.com and they look/ feel identical. i also did numerous tests with filter on/ off to see if there is an IQ degredation and i could not pick a difference. so, i dont have a problem necessarily with the filter itself supplied by hvstar cos it seems to be very good. what i do have an issue with though is that they are marketing this as a genuine B+W filter when it appears to me that it isn;t.

anyone else have any experience with this or any comment ?

I would forward copies of the correspondence with hvstar to B+W and ask them to comment on it.

i have spoken to thefiltershop.com.au and their comment was more general, they said there are loads of fakes around and we should only buy from authorised resellers. which is pretty much useless cos the list of resellers from B+W is miniscule and just becasue they are not an "authorised reseller" (as with any other consumer product), does not mean that they are fakes. and ironically, they are not listed on the B+W website as authorised sellers anyway lol.

i do agree with you and intend to send this thru to B+W direct to get their comment. so do you also interpret their reply to say "imitation" ?

Rooz wrote: so do you also interpret their reply to say "imitation" ?

Not necessarily. I tend to presume that for many people, English is not their native language. I further tend to the presumption that even in cases where it is, most people know stuff all about the the correct usage of the language, and will say or write stuff without reading of fully comprehending what it is that they're saying.

And I generally will tend to take advantage of this wherever and whenever I can but that's a whole different story, concept and thread.

just did a quick search and came across this thread.
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/arc ... 92807.html

they wrote to B+W with the same concern and this was scheiders reply...

"Dear Mr. Dang,

your mail has been forwarded by our subsidiary in the USA.
We thank you for your interest in our product.
Because of varied assignation and requirement all around the world there is also different product range from B+W.
The items mentioned are designed for the asisan market.Nowadays business is changing dramatically,. With the internet and it's possibilities we are getting more and more in the direction of a global.
But the optical quality of the B+W filter is worldwide the same. We cannot give you any guarranty that the filter you bought is a genuine or not. If a customer is not sure whether a filter is genuine or faked he has the choice to decide where he is going to buy. Therefore we recommend to buy at an authorized dealer with a higher price.

Best regards / Mit freundlichen Grüßen"

so, (in bold), it would seem to me that B+W do in fact make different versions of the filter. lol anyway, will let you know the outcome when i get it back from schnider.

Having read the various responses here I still don't know if the "designed for the Asian market" really means they are different in anyway, B+W didn't specify the differences. Maybe the word "alloy" was used in a general way, afterall Brass is an alloy!

If anyone has both versions perhaps they can weigh them, brass mounted filter should be slightly heavier.

Just my 2cents

i have, one from B+H and one from hv star there is no difference in look, feel, weight, construction. B+W were non commital as to the genuine nature unless i was prepared to send it in.

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc.

Hi,

This is hvStar. I read this page regarding if hvStar is selling fake B+W Filter. Here I would like to confirm that all filters (including Hoya, B+W, Kenko) we sell are genuine and original and 100% from Schneider Germany.

Do not believe other dealers in your local market. They are making huge profits on photo accessories. They are just afraid of competition. It is very easy to proof if we are selling fake or genuine. Send your filter to Schneider Germany, Hoya Japan, Kenko Japan, they will check and inspect. Only Manufactories have the right to tell if our products are genuine or not!

Regarding Alloy and Brass B+W MRC UV, we are selling both with price slightly different. Brass MRC UV is offered worldwide by B+W and Alloy version is only to certain Asia Market. The optic of both filters is 100% same and identical. The only difference is the material of the ring. The cost of alloy is slightly cheaper than brass that is why alloy version is cheaper a little.

You are welcome to contact us if you have any questions and concers.

Cheers!

Michael