How to pick the right filters?

rutt · September 7, 2005

I want to buy some filters, but there are a bewildering variety of filters of the same sort of the same lens. Some are less deep and are supposed to stay out of the way of wider angle lenses, for example. How do I know what's the right one?

Andy · September 7, 2005

rutt wrote:

I want to buy some filters, but there are a bewildering variety of filters of the same sort of the same lens. Some are less deep and are supposed to stay out of the way of wider angle lenses, for example. How do I know what's the right one?

depends on brand preference, and lens type.

i use super slim filters when possible - they will give you the best chance at zero vignetting. the downside is you cannot put your lens cap on (most) of them.

my preferred brand is b+w but hoya, tiffen are good too.

rutt · September 7, 2005

andy wrote:

i use super slim filters when possible - they will give you the best chance at zero vignetting.

Yeah, I find that lens cap thing to be very annoying. Is there a fix?

I'm wanting a circular polarizer for my 10-22 UWA. That lens might actually be wide enough for vignetting to be a problem. For even the widest lenses on my not-quite full frame 1D Mark II, I don't think there would be a problem.

Of course if I do get a full frame camera eventually, there could be a problem. Is there a "correct" way to figure it out other than just always get the super slim?

Andy · September 7, 2005

don't overanalyze

just get the slimmest one you can find. i use a hoya superslim c-pl on my 10-22 and on my 16-35.

rutt · September 7, 2005

andy wrote:

don't overanalyze

just get the slimmest one you can find. i use a hoya superslim c-pl on my 10-22 and on my 16-35.

And what do you do about the lens cap? When I've had those superslim B&W filters, the I was forever losing the lens cap, or it could come off in the bottom of my camera bag.

pathfinder · September 7, 2005

How about using a standard 82mm CPL and a 77-85mm step up ring? That avoids the problems with shallow flter rings - you would then need an 82 lens cap. That is less than $10.

Using polarizing filters with ultrawide angle lenses introduces another problem - that the sky will vary in its color due to variations in the degree of polarization due to the wide diference in the angles of incident light across the field of view of an ultra wide angle lens. Any concerns about this? I think it was John Shaw text on Nature Photography that rec'd against a polarizing filter on lenses shorter than 28mm on full frame cameras due to variations in the sky.

Andy · September 7, 2005

rutt wrote:

And what do you do about the lens cap? When I've had those superslim B&W filters, the I was forever losing the lens cap, or it could come off in the bottom of my camera bag.

i don't worry about the lens cap when i'm using the filter.

ian408 · September 10, 2005

If the angle of the dangle is less than the sum of three equal parts, get
the slim one

I happen to use the square filters (not cp) and just bought a couple of
rings to match the lenses I own.

Ian

luckyrwe · September 10, 2005

I prefer Heliopan and try to get all the same types. I don't like the thin dilters at all. I have a 17mm I need a filter for, so if there is vignetting this may be an exception.

David_S85 · September 10, 2005

Hoya now makes a super slim Pro1 polarizer for WA that also has some threads on the outside. Not cheap, but it's just about as thin as the other thin types.

Andy · September 10, 2005

David_S85 wrote:

Hoya now makes a super slim Pro1 polarizer for WA that also has some threads on the outside. Not cheap, but it's just about as thin as the other thin types.

isn't that nice of those good folks at hoya. bravo!

rutt · September 12, 2005

David_S85 wrote:

Hoya now makes a super slim Pro1 polarizer for WA that also has some threads on the outside. Not cheap, but it's just about as thin as the other thin types.

Do those outside threads mean that a lens cap will stay put. I followed Andy's advice and bought a super thin B&W polarizer for my 10-22mm and the first thing (within 10 minutes) that happened was that I lost the cap. Andy may not care about using a cap with a filter, but I do. It's better to scratch a filter than I lens, but I don't like to do either and I did scratch up at least one expensive B&W filter over the last year.

ian408 · September 12, 2005

rutt wrote:

Do those outside threads mean that a lens cap will stay put. I followed Andy's advice and bought a super thin B&W polarizer for my 10-22mm and the first thing (within 10 minutes) that happened was that I lost the cap. Andy may not care about using a cap with a filter, but I do. It's better to scratch a filter than I lens, but I don't like to do either and I did scratch up at least one expensive B&W filter over the last year.

Slim filters and caps don't really work together. Might I suggest that you add
a lens hood (ew-83e) instead of the cap? If you insist on a cap, you could
try a Pringles can top or another plastic cap that would fit over the lens
(instead of inside the filter).

Ian

rutt · September 12, 2005

ian408 wrote:

Slim filters and caps don't really work together. Might I suggest that you add
a lens hood (ew-83e) instead of the cap? If you insist on a cap, you could
try a Pringles can top or another plastic cap that would fit over the lens
(instead of inside the filter).

Ian

I was talking about the cap that actually came with the filter and it is sort of like a pringles cap instead of like a standard lens cap. I do have the hood. I guess I'm just a creature of habbit. I like to use a cap which stays on.

ian408 · September 12, 2005

rutt wrote:

I was talking about the cap that actually came with the filter and it is sort of like a pringles cap instead of like a standard lens cap. I do have the hood. I guess I'm just a creature of habbit. I like to use a cap which stays on.

Ah. My 10-22's cap is inside thread.

rutt · September 12, 2005

ian408 wrote:

Ah. My 10-22's cap is inside thread.

Yes, but the filter comes with it's own cap, presumably because it's well known that it's impossible to use a conventional cap with it.

How to pick the right filters?

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