So funny enough, I told you guys in September that there were some suspicious B+W lens filters popping up…
And now here we are…
Buyer Beware: Counterfeit B+W Filters Are Being Sold on Amazon
A site visitor recently reached out to us with concerns regarding a few B+W filters he purchased on Amazon (via third-party). While shooting test images with the filters, he noticed a significant drop in image quality and suspected they may have been counterfeit.
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Source: https://www.the-digital-picture.com/News/News-Post.aspx?News=22622
In September, while comparing the prices of several brands of 72mm lens filters I came across a price discrepancy for B+W XS-Pro filters on Amazon… the third party seller was selling them for significantly less than the price listed at Adorama and B&H.
I ended up purchasing the filter from B&H and thank goodness I did.
Because it is quite clear that some unscrupulous individuals out there are still using Amazon to push counterfeit B+W XS-Pro filters…
So things to remember about B+W XS-Pro filters:
- B+W XS-Pro filters are made of brass and will feel somewhat heavy.
- B+W places the filter info on the front and not the side of the filter.
- There should be a hologram sticker on the packaging.
- Your filter should not change image quality… blatant counterfeits that use non-optical glass will change how things appear significantly.
Y’all need to be careful out there.
If you think you’ve ended up with a counterfeit lens feel free to share the details below (minus your personal info) to help other photographers not end up with a counterfeit in their bag…
A side note… Amazon does sell filters itself. What’s happening is that third party sellers are undercutting Amazon’s price, so Amazon is showing the third party counterfeit filters. You can purchase a filter directly from Amazon instead, which will presumably be genuine, by looking under “Other Sellers” on the product page.