Where to buy Heliopan 10-stop ND 77mm filter?, HOYA FAIL!

Hi,

So, I have bought and returned 2 Hoya Pro1 1.8 filters. Both had small scratches in the coating. The coating on one of them was even visibly uneven. Granted, the scratches did not seem to affect the image.

Then I decided to give Hoya one more chance and ordered a Hoya HMC 10-stop filter. Same deal--small scratches in the coating. Sigh.....

I don't know what's going on since all the reviews I've read online never mentioned scratches in the coating. I read some about the glass falling out, but not about scratches.

I know B+W has a 10-stop, but half the reviews about it say it has a noticeable color cast. And B+H's own website says that it has a "warming" effect.

So............... I decided on Heliopan. Problem? BH Photo is out of stock, and Adorama and Amazon do not even carry it.

Anyone know a reputable online dealer with similar prices to BH / Adorama that carries this thing?

Thanks!

Here's a Heliopan 10-stopper.

AFAIK, any dense ND filter will produce some sort of cast. My Lee Big Stopper produces some mild, but easily correctable, blue casts.

hollis_f wrote in post #15247994
Here's a Heliopan 10-stopper.

And here's the shot filterless

So the Heliopan also gives a slightly warm colour cast. About the same as the B&W (which I broke before I had a chance to test properly).

thanks hollis for the pics. would you say that the b+w had the same amount of cast as the heliopan? if so, perhaps i'd just buy the b+w instead.

and sorta related question to that--any advantage you see with the heliopan vs the b+w?

Xyclopx wrote in post #15248536
thanks hollis for the pics. would you say that the b+w had the same amount of cast as the heliopan? if so, perhaps i'd just buy the b+w instead.

and sorta related question to that--any advantage you see with the heliopan vs the b+w?

I didn't really have the B+W long enough to form an opinion. I used it for around 30 minutes on Brighton beach. I decided to move along the beach, unscrewed the filter and dropped it onto the pebbles

I replaced it with the Heliopan as it was cheaper. It does the job OK, so I see no need to replace it.

hollis_f wrote in post #15248612
I didn't really have the B+W long enough to form an opinion. I used it for around 30 minutes on Brighton beach. I decided to move along the beach, unscrewed the filter and dropped it onto the pebbles

I replaced it with the Heliopan as it was cheaper. It does the job OK, so I see no need to replace it.

Interesting you say the helio is cheaper. In us the bw non multi coated is far cheaper than it. The multi coated version is about the same but not apples to apples since the helio I believe is single coated I believe?