How important is MRC on a ND filter?

[Sponge]

I've been thinking about getting a B+W 3-stop ND filter for a while but the MRC version is near impossible to find where I'm at and the price difference on the web is about double not to mention extra shipping costs and the possibility of having to pay custom tax. So my question is whether or not the MRC is really that important on a ND filter. Everything I've read about different UV filters has always been clearly slanted towards the MRC version despite cost difference but I wasn't sure if the same holds true with ND filters. Thanks in advance for any advice/opinions on the matter.

[Manfred M]

One wonders how photographers survived before B+W's latest secret sauce was invented. I have one of their MRC Kasemann polarizers and not really found any significant difference versus other brands that use other coating mechanisms; either from a performance or environmental contamination standpoint.

[Sponge]

Hi Manfred,
Would you say then that the MRC coating isn't necessarily going to make much of a difference on a ND filter?
Cheers, Patrick

[darkslide]

A coating, as a general rule, is always useful - but for me at least, not to the exclusion of the filter.

Most decent quality modern filters are multi-coated, and a lot are significantly cheaper than B+W - this doesn't make them bad - it just makes them more readily available, which means you can spend more time using them...

[Manfred M]

Patrick: All I am saying is that I did not notice any significant differences between the filters with this coating and other filters.

I still have to clean the filter when it gets dirty and if anything it seems to show the dirt more. I suspect that all this means is that the anti-reflective coating is so good, that anything on the filter element is even more noticable. I know that they claim that water drops run off, but when I shoot in the rain use a lens hood and rain cover to protect my gear. Again, no real difference noted.

The two differences that I do note have nothing to do with MRC. First issue is that the Kasemann will not take one of my normal lens caps, so it is more sensitive to getting exposure to environmental contaminants and secondly, they use brass rather than aluminum, so they don't bind to the lens as often as the aluminum ones.

[Sponge]

Thanks guys, I think I'm leaning towards the non-MRC version.
Cheers, Patrick