Any reason to try BW filters over Hoya?

pwm2 wrote in post #16099677
Just a note, but the company that I work for have production in China. You wouldn't believe some of the names they have. Alas, I can't duplicate them here but we have made lots of jokes about them at office. And when people don't believe it we have forwarded some of the mails receievd from the factory.

Same when I worked for another company - also a couple of very interesting names on some of the contact people.

If I were selling fake B+W filters, I'd post a couple of emails on the forums and around the internet about real aluminium filters being as good and "slightly cheaper" popping up in funny locations.

I'll believe it when BHphoto starts carrying gray market alum filters or when I hear from schneider directly when I care to send them an email.

pwm2 wrote in post #16099692
But can you give one single reason why Schneider would not put up a note that aluminium UV filters are fake unless they make such filters? Even more - when web shops specifically gives Schneider article numbers, it would be so trivial for Schneider to officially declare that they have no such article numbers.

I don't know.

Maybe they find it more productive to make a list of authorized distributors instead and let the buyer understand that other sources are not legit? This way they don't need the manpower to look through the internet?

They're not silent. They warn of fakes and give a list of distributors. A friend of mine broke his lens and got another one in japan. The BW filter was brass.

Do you think they're automatically inept because they don't do things the way you'd do them?

DocFrankenstein wrote in post #16099721
I don't know.

Maybe they find it more productive to make a list of authorized distributors instead and let the buyer understand that other sources are not legit? This way they don't need the manpower to look through the internet?

They don't have a valid list of all authorized distributors. When they don't give you a 404 error, they give you an incomplete list.

No. But I do not believe we would not have seen any official reaction from Schneider for all this time since the debate about Maxsaver have been ongoing since at least 6 years now.

Have you seen one (1) post of a filter buyer who have been able to come to the conclusion that he has a fake filter? Something that should be totally trivial in case the B+W filters didn't exist with aluminium ring.

We all know this world is full of fake products. But how long do you think Sandisk would stay silent if someone started to sell 27GB memory cards?

Low cost line makes little sense. Brass is not much harder to machine than aluminium and it hardly adds to the cost of the filter. Material cost is minimal, machine time is the same. It's like Leica making a low cost line with fake leather instead of real leather to save a buck on each camera for the "asian market".

Like I said above, I don't know for sure but I find it to be a strange situation on multiple levels.

And I find it way stranger for Schneider to not say that Maxsaver sells fakes.

DocFrankenstein wrote in post #16099709
I'll believe it when BHphoto starts carrying gray market alum filters or when I hear from schneider directly when I care to send them an email.

There's a difference between genuine but "grey market" products and counterfeits.

I think Maxsaver stopped selling B+W filters.
I just checked and they only have Hoya, Marumi and two other brands I've never heard of.

I've compared Maxsaver B+W vs one I got from B&H (who I later learnt was not B+W authorized) - I can't tell difference and photo looks same. With price difference of over $30, it was no brainer to use Maxsaver.