In article <19970109182400.NAA14356@ladder01.news.aol.com>, atcenter@aol.com says...

>Is there really a significant difference between the quality of images
>produced by Tiffen (or other brands) and Top-of-the-line brands like B&W ?
>If so, what's the difference ?

There is no practical difference in image quality among top filters, in
my experience, BUT, I have noticed variations in some Vivitar filters that
might be important for long tele use, and Tiffen filters continue to be
a problem in terms of their excessively thick rims (they vignette some
wide-angles and zooms), and odd tendency to spontaneously fog in storage
(even in Nikon filter boxes, which do not cause the same problem with
Nikkor filters). Inexpensive (in the US...) Hoya filters, single-coated,
with metal rims, are sufficient for most critical needs, I think.
Hope This Helps