77mm Filters (UV and/or CP)
Aldazar
Registered Users Posts: 67 Big grins
I'm looking to buy filters for an EF-S 10-22mm lens, including a UV filter for protection (it's a pretty expensive lens!) and a circular polarizer for those sky/water/glass shots.
As such, I'm looking for recommendations on particular models to buy. Amazon has decent pricing on the Hoya G-Series CP filter, but I hear that's their budget line and it may not be of good quality. While I'm pretty broke and don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on a filter, I do think it'd be a shame to spend a bunch of money on a good lens and body and have the IQ degraded by a crappy filter.
Therefore, recommendations would be appreciated! Specific models if possible please, since, like Hoya, I believe many brands have a whole range of quality in their filters so just naming Hoya and B&W as good brands would not be quite as helpful as specific model ranges or models.
Thanks in advance for your advice!
As such, I'm looking for recommendations on particular models to buy. Amazon has decent pricing on the Hoya G-Series CP filter, but I hear that's their budget line and it may not be of good quality. While I'm pretty broke and don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on a filter, I do think it'd be a shame to spend a bunch of money on a good lens and body and have the IQ degraded by a crappy filter.
Therefore, recommendations would be appreciated! Specific models if possible please, since, like Hoya, I believe many brands have a whole range of quality in their filters so just naming Hoya and B&W as good brands would not be quite as helpful as specific model ranges or models.
Thanks in advance for your advice!
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i recommend checking out http://2filter.com for your filter purchases. i have only used Hoya so far, but been very happy with them (both UV and standard clear/protection only filters). Pro1 series is what i have been using and not paying the extra for the "digital pro" version.
.02
Maybe these threads can provide additional insight:
http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:vw3yX4U-fNQJ:www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-S-10-22mm-f-3.5-4.5-USM-Lens-Review.aspx+%2B10-22mm+%2Bcanon+%2Bfilter&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
http://tiny.cc/0e12p
As a rule, Hoya HMC filters are a good compromise between cost and performance and I have mostly standardized on them.
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
I have the UV on all my lenses mostly to keep grimy fingers out of them and to make cleaning easier. I find that it is necessary to remove them when 1) using the polarizer or other filter, and 2) when shooting night shots/time exposures. The night shots are dreadful for bad filter reflections, regardless of brand.
I also use a B+W Circular Polarizer MRC (B&H), and prefer this over others. The build quality is incredible and I have gotten very good results. I will often use this with my Cokin filters for ND shots, so I want the best clarity etc. They are pricey though. I use a step down ring on this one for smaller diameter lenses, that way I only buy one.
To protect my lenses I always use a good lens hood, but prefer not to use UV filters unless I am around salt water spray or something like that.
Modern lenses are easy to clean with a lens brush and a microfibre cloth.
If you really feel the need for a 72mm filter, consider using a 77mm filter and a 72->77mm adapter ring. 77mm is a pretty standard size for many EOS lenses.
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
Cuong
I wish they had mentioned which filters have brass threads and which have aluminum threads.
I strongly prefer brass threads, and I know/believe the B&Ws are brass. I prefer not to use aluminum threaded filters, personally.
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
Man, sounds like if I want just a decent UV and a decent CP for a 77mm lens I'm looking at spending $200 or more! That's rough!
Fortunately, given the advice I'm getting, I think I may be able to put off buying a CP filter for now...
Thanks again all!
Well, you don't have to. Other brands are perfectly serviceable. I have found that like other things in this hobby, you can pay a smaller amount of money several times, or a larger amount once. Which you choose depends on what is important to you, and how much use you will get from it.
For CPs, I have replaced cheaper ones several times from them getting cracks, being dropped, and for really bad reflections. The last was the lesson on why digital cameras are different, and ALL filters must be coated (MRC). So, if I had bought the B+W MRC the first time, I would have saved tons of $$.
On the other hand, I have ND Grad filters, but, since I use them only rarely, I have chosen to go with the Cokin system for these. They do just fine, and though they are somewhat more delicate and prone to scratch than glass filters, I handle them with care, and of course, use them sparingly. And since they are only about $30 ea, replacing is a no-brainer. It just depends on how much you need them. ND Grads are really for landscape shots, while CPs I use nearly everywhere.
Don't despair--you don't have to spend so much money to get good quality filters.
The deals are out there--you just need to start looking for them.
HTH,
Heather
My pics
"He who cannot dance will say: "The drum is bad!" --African proverb.
Hoya Pro1 Digital CPL Multicoated Thin/Slim with front threads - 114.44
Marumi Super Digital HG Multicoated Thin/Slim with front threads -107.72
Thanks,
E
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So here's my silly question...
A friend of mine bought a D40 kit and was asking me about the filters that were sold to him by the kid at BestBuy... and I was kind of stomped...
The kid at BestBuy told him that he needed to get both, the UV and a polarizing for his 18-55 lens kit.
His main question was about the quality of his photos... that they were coming out with weird colors... and some darker than others.
My photography is not as advanced for me to use filters (yes... I know... I need to learn this), so I was kind of clueless as to what to tell him... I kind of winged it and told him what's on my lenses, the UV one as a lens protector.
My lenses all have UV filters, but not polarizing ones... would a double filter combo such as this mess up his photos???
www.kabestudios.com
I use a little bit of everything gear wise...
Nikon/Canon/Sony/GoPro/Insta360º/Mavic 2 Pro
The filters they sell I would not even waste my time buying......they are the cheapest pieces of crap I have ever seen.....it your friend is still under the return time limit have him return them and complain to a manager about the unknowledgable idiots working there.
The quality of those lenses is so low that yest the UV alone could make color shifts and so could that polarizer and yes it could get much worse with them stacked.......these are as I have alrteady said the cheapest of cheap and one other thing that will happen some where down the road is: : : : : :........they will get stuck together and when he/she finally gets a large enuff wrench on them to break them loose ......it could break the lens also......not likely but could and I have seen it happen...............
Good Luck.
You do no want to use both filters at the same time ALL the time. And these filters are so cheap, I'm not suprised he is having issues.
Best Buy no longer makes money off their big ticket items, they really can't in the current market. Instead, they like to sell you $150 HDMI cables (when a $5 one works just great) and it's not just BB, their is something called "Consumer Cable Science" which is the BS companies use to try to sell you way over priced cables!
I understand good accessories cost money, I use B+W filters on almost all my lenses, but some of the absolute CRAP they sell, really ticks me off.
EFS 17-55 f/2.8 & 10-22 // Sigma 30mm f/1.4 & 50mm f/1.4
Sigma Bigma OS // Canon 70-200 IS f/2.8
So I've heard of Hoya and B+W filters... I have Tiffen on my lenses... my friend's filters are "Promaster"... has anyone heard of this brand???
I told him to go to BH and get the Tiffen one for 15 bucks including ground shipping...
www.kabestudios.com
I use a little bit of everything gear wise...
Nikon/Canon/Sony/GoPro/Insta360º/Mavic 2 Pro
Promaster is a brand you see often in many local shops, and this is because PRO is a retailer co-op, created to stock a shop with profitable accessories. I have no beef whatsoever with them other than that some salesmen can significantly overstate their value. Promaster is not known for the greatest quality photo gear. Very middle of the road. You won't find any of their lenses rated highly and about the best you hear is a salesman saying that their lenses are 'made by Sigma and just like some Sigma lens'. Hard to say if this is ever true.
Here is the description of the company, which says it all to me:\
The Photographic Research Organization (PRO) is a retailer-owned co-operative distribution company that lowers cost-of-goods and increases inventory turnover for its members and affiliates. PRO also distributes its own line of high quality PROMASTER® photographic and consumer electronic equipment and accessories through PRO members and affiliate retailers throughout the United States for sale to their customers.
Unfortunately Tiffen is a brand which I had serious problems with in my own tests, so I don't recommend them. Our "claudermilk" posted this link to a SmugMug user who tested the cheap Tiffen filters against a Hoya HMC filter, and it fairly well matches my experience:
http://www.kenandchristine.com/gallery/1054387/1
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
I personally have used a regular CP on it and did not see any vignetting. I wouldn't try two filters as stated but you should be fine with one.
Finally, I stopped using UV filters on everything. YUCK
Other Gear: Olympus E-PL1, Pan 20 1.7, Fuji 3D Camera, Lensbaby 2.0, Tamron 28-75 2.8, Alien Bees lighting, CyberSyncs, Domke, HONL, FlipIt.
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Thanks for the post and the link Ziggy...
I just ordered me some Hoya filters... =D
www.kabestudios.com
I use a little bit of everything gear wise...
Nikon/Canon/Sony/GoPro/Insta360º/Mavic 2 Pro
Opinions welcome.
There are different thicknesses in step adapter rings and different materials used for their construction. I suggest getting a better quality brass adapter and mounting/demounting should not be a problem. The better brass adapters also tend to be somewhat thinner than the aluminum and definitely thinner than the plastic, so they tend to produce less vignetting as well.
On a crop camera, I should not think that vignetting would be a problem with the 17-40mm zoom, but test to be sure. On a FF sensor I would be more particular.
I use a 67-77 step-up ring myself and have no problems with my applications (but I don't use a polarizer with the 17-40mm so I haven't tested that.)
A very good explanation of the issues here:
http://www.2filter.com/prices/products/rings.html
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
Another question: does multi-coating improve the image quality or just the durability? There is a (for me) big difference in price in the Hoya and B+W 77mm CPs if you go to multi-coating. My primary interest is to control reflections when shooting through plate glass windows on the street.
A polarizing filter can eliminate reflections off a window, but how well it will do it depends on the angle the light is hitting the window and where you are standing.
BTW 2filter.com says that B+W filters are available in aluminum or brass and they sell only the brass ones.
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http://www.pluralsight.com
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Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
I don't see why a step-up ring wouldn't work; the polarizer doesn't care, and the step-up ring shouldn't cause any extra vignetting. You probably won't be able to use the step-up ring and a lens hood at the same time. Your call whether that's a deal-breaker or not. For me it would be. In your place, particularly since I tend not to use a CP on the 17-40 because of the dark-band effect that can occur with wide-angle CP shots, I would buy a 67mm CP and maybe get a 77mm CP later.
Got bored with digital and went back to film.
Well, there's no such thing as a reflection "within the filter itself" -- I think what you probably mean is reflections within the camera, such as when light comes in through the filter and lens, bounces off the sensor, reflects back off the filter, and bounces back to the sensor again, creating a ghost image. But I believe you are right that the coating does not affect the polarizing function itself.
And it also depends on what angle you have the CP set to. Polarized light can be oriented at different angles, and you rotate the CP to eliminate the light you don't want.
Got bored with digital and went back to film.
I think you may be right, Craig. My immediate interests are for the 67mm lenses and I don't really know whether I would ever use it on the 17-40. So with the money I'm "saving" I can get a multi-coated one. Excellent!
Ok... so now I have another question for you guys regarding this also, and yes, I'll probably sound like a NOOB, but here it goes...
I got the Hoya 72mm Circular Polarizer Filter - basic one, meaning no coating for $75 bucks at B&H... but they also have the Multi-Coated and Super-Multi-Coated and the Pro Digital 1 Multi-Coated...
I took off the Tiffen UV that I had been using as a lens protector and have been using the Hoya one as my main lens filter/protector... but after seeing someone @ CES smash his filter (and thank God for the filter, his lens was not damaged), now I'm curious... should I attach the Tiffen UV (or maybe even a Hoya UV) on top of this to protect the filter???
Granted, $75 bucks to replace the CP filter may not be much... but the way things are going, it kind of really is much right now... you know what I mean???
Would this type of stacking be a good idea, a bad idea, a worse idea???
Thanks for the input guys...
www.kabestudios.com
I use a little bit of everything gear wise...
Nikon/Canon/Sony/GoPro/Insta360º/Mavic 2 Pro
I would not recommend using a polarizing filter for a protective filter just because they absorb too much light.
I do recommend the Hoya Multicoated (HMC) filters and I use HMC filters to protect the lenses in my kit that are worthy/expensive except in one case where I use a B+W multicoated filter instead.
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
The more stuff you put in front of the lens, the more issues you will have with image quality. I don't normally shoot with any filters at all, unless I know that I will be shooting in a hostile environment--sand blowing around, for example. I always have a hood on my lenses, and so far, that has protected them from collisions. But if you want to keep a filter on at all times, you probably shouldn't use a CP, as you may lose at least one EV stop. Use the CP when you need it for dealing with reflections, glare or to darken skies--that's what it's for. If you really think your lens is in danger, use a UV filter. It makes little sense to put a cheap filter on an expensive lens, though, if you want to make the most of your glass.
So basically, get a good UV filter to keep on the lens and thread the CP whenever needed???
www.kabestudios.com
I use a little bit of everything gear wise...
Nikon/Canon/Sony/GoPro/Insta360º/Mavic 2 Pro