B+W XS-Pro Filters Not Compatible With Zeiss ZF.2 / ZE Lenses

B&H Photo supplied me with a 58mm B+W XS-Pro Digital MRC Nano clear filter for evaluation, after one reader reported that the XS-Pro model was incompatible with the lens shades on Zeiss lenses (but are fine if you do not mount the lens shade).

The B+W filter is ultra high grade glass and construction and coatings, and for that I highly recommend the B+W XS-Pro filters. The B+W XS-Pro filter fit just fine on my Nikon 50/1.8 and 50/1.4 as well as the Canon 85/1.8 and Voigtlander Nokton 50mm ƒ/1.1 (all with lens hoods mounted).

With my Zeiss lenses, the B+W XS-Pro clear filter when screwed in protrudes perhaps 1/2 mm beyond the threads, preventing the Zeiss lens shade from being mounted. Nor can the filter be screwed in after mounting the shade.

Reaer Thorsten K reports that the B+W XS-Pro polarizers fit just fine on the 21/2.8, 100/2.

Since Zeiss offers a line of filters, I’d suggest sticking with color-matched Zeiss T* coatings on the Zeiss filters for Zeiss lenses, and they certainly would be a top pick of mine for other brands also.

Indeed, I would generally avoid the XS-Pro line on this basis: what if one wants to share the filter between lenses, some of which might be Zeiss (now or in the future)? Incompatibility with Zeiss lenses suggests there could be other lenses with similar issues. Investing in a top quality (expensive) filter that is not fully compatible is not a smart move in my view. If you prefer B+W to Zeiss, then B+W still offers its traditional UV 010 line, whose design is slightly thicker, but compatible with Zeiss lens shades.

With B+W, one thing I have disliked a lot in the past few years is the ultra stiff ring on the polarizers— so stiff that it binds, unscrews itself or over-tightens the filter. The Zeiss polarizers are free of this issue.