Toronto Photography Meetup Group

Hi guys/girls,

I'm very new to the forum and hope I could learn many things here.

I recently inherited a Canon XTI and a kit lens. And in the near future I will be getting more lenses.

My question for you is: what is the common size lens filter I could get? I've only heard about Hoya, any other trusted filters?

Also, filter types I've seen polarized ones and UV ones, anything else I need to look into?

Thanks in advance!
Rick

different types of filters are for different reasons, but get UV / Skylight / 80b filters for protection of your lenses. CPL, ND, gradients, all those are different types that give you different effects and have a different reason for their usage.

There isn't really a "standard" as it all depends on the lens you purchase. 58mm is the common size for most consumer kit lenses.

If you need some, I'm sure through here you can get something for protection purposes.

Don't buy from Henry's or Vistek or any other company in Toronto. If you're willing to wait a week or two for shipment, you should buy from maxsaver.net. The only thing is you have to pay shipping, but sometimes people here do group buys to save on shipping, so keep an eye out.

And welcome!

+1

thanks to people that replied my thread.

If I go with Hoya and B+W filters (assuming I can get the genuine ones), then I shouldn't have to worry about quality, any other brands I should consider that are popular and reliable?

Hoya has different quality levels of their filter series so just know what you're getting. There's the standard, MC, SuperMC, Pro1Digital, HD etc.

B+W are the most popular for pros but also the most expensive. Hoya is common among casual shooters and amateurs because of their price. Both are reliable. I'd have to say that there is a significant different between a cheap $20 HOYA filter and an expensive $100 B+W filter.

As J said, there are different types of filters for different uses. Hopefully you know what you need and why you need them. I have ND4 and CP filters for two of my lenses but I haven't used them in over a year. In any case, make sure you need them before you purchase them or they'll just sit at home like mine.

I have some cheap Hoya UV filters for all my lenses for protection when I shoot outdoors (which is most of the time). A UV filter might just save your lens if it drops to the ground. I remove them when I shoot indoors. Some say having a filter in front of the lens compromises the image quality. There's a huge debate over that and it's really 50/50.

The size of the filter depends on the lens you have. In your case, the kit lens uses a 58mm filter. All Canon lenses will have it on the front lens, distinguished by the symbol that looks like a circle with a line through it. As the size of the filter increases, so does the price usually. It is also determined by the type, brand, and quality.

Some filters will also have special coatings on them. B+W has what the call "Multi-Resistant Coating" or MRC. It is said that the coatings offer the filter resistant to the influence of dust and moisture, higher resistance to scratches, helps with flare when shooting at bright subjects, and makes cleaning the filters much easier.

More info about the types of filters: http://www.ehow.com/how_4501475_choose- ... ilter.html

And a longer lecture about filters by the one and only Ken Rockwell:
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/filters.htm

+1 - shipping is a flat rate of $15 up to a certain size and weight...the website will estimate the shipping for you...

http://hvstar.net/ is also a popular site.

I checked out this MaxSaver.net site, they offer very good prices on filters. Anyone here interested in doing a group buy for filters? I might want a few items for myself

you may be able to jump your purchase into the remote trigger thread...

that is maxsaver now go for it, you'll save lots of bucks

the remote trigger thread is kind of jumping from store to store, I'm not sure if they are going with maxsaver at this point.

I'm glad that I took his advise about Hoya HD filters: Best bang for the buck, IMHO!

Wow, they repel dirt and fingerprints? That has to be magic.

AND the polarizer has only 1 1/6 stop loss of light! Hummm I might have to upgrade my CPL's.

I do mostly outdoor/landscape photography and I have only one filter. It is a circular polarizer and I use it a lot.

be careful with this guy, take everithing he says with a grain of salt.


I disagree with this statement. I think this shows the guy (KR) does not understand the basics of polarizing filters.

Color saturation provided by Fuji Velvia comes from the balance of chemicals on the film emulsion. Polarizers enhance color saturation of a scene by eliminating unwanted reflexions. Very different things.

BTW, the polarizer effect is the the only one you cannot reproduce in Photoshop. Never will.

B+W spews the same thing about their MRC:

http://www.schneideroptics.com/info/faq/bw.htm#qu4

In reality, Hoya HDs and B+W don't actually "repel" dirt and fingerprints, per say .. but these things stick less to the lens and are MUCH easier to wipe off as compared to most of the rest. Cheers.

As I go though the Ken Rokwell article on filters I pick up more bullshit:



Always use a lens hood. It is good for protection against mishaps and against flare.

The last statement is truly laughable.

about stepping rings is usually true though

I think maxsave and hvstar are the same place, there are some additional savings if you don't use the ebay store.

Filters always have unwanted reflections. B+W MRC filters when compared to HOYA top line filters are clearly better at reducing reflections, this translates into less contrast loss, less glare and less reflection artifacts. The same can not be said for non MRC B+W filters.

The MRC coatings do repel water better because they are more hydrophobic, you can test this by putting a small drop of water on the surface of a filter and see how well it beads this and a electric static neutral charge helps keep dust from sticking. This is not hype it is fact.

A lens-hood is optically better then no hood and will protect the lens against some types of damage. It's interesting that some people will not use a hood and always have the filter on.

If you have a large diameter lens then my advice is to buy the German version of the B+W. The cheaper Asian models have the same filter but the threads are not brass. I tossed a Hoya polarizer in the garbage because in cold weather it kept getting stuck on the lens. Brass does not stick nearly so easy.

Polarizers are great for outdoors but please read up on how to use them or you are just paying more for a 2 stop neutral density filter.

Thanks to all for the feedback. I finished reading ken rockwell's article on filters. Is it true for DSLR we should always use circular polarized filters instead of linear ones, because linear ones will make the metering and exposure less accurate?

Yes

Anyone had any experience doing group buy with maxsaver and coming through our custom?

I haven't done a group buy, but I purchased a little over $300USD in filters and accessories from them in a single purchase. I picked up the package at the local canada post location (the Shoppers Drug Mart on the corner) since I wasn't home to sign for it when it was delivered. I didn't have to pay any duties and there was no customs delay.

In your initial post you mentioned 58mm diameter. To be thrifty, you could always buy a larger CPL filter (67mm for the popular 70-200 F4) or (77mm for 17-55 or 24-105 or 70-200 F2.8 ) and use a conversion ring found on eBay. The idea is you buy one CPL, say 77mm for all of your lenses.
You do have to be careful as some filters will cause vignetting on the images depending on focal length and/or stacking of filters on top of one another.

hvstar/maxsaver sells these step up rings for cheap as well - 58-77 for $1.50USD...

First of all, thanks to everyone that mentioned maxsaver.net. While I was visiting their website I noticed they welcome international resellers, since Wendy mentioned that people on TPMG loves to do group buys, I figure it would be worthwhile for everyone if I signed up to be the only reseller of MaxSaver in Canada.

After several communication with the wholesale manager at MaxSaver.net over the weekend, I would be able to obtain a significant discount on bulk orders, this would mean if you purchase through me you'll be able to save quite a bit on shipping cost.

I will be making my first inventory purchase in the next few weeks. If any of you would like to take the opportunity to order with me, you will not need to pay for shipping cost guaranteed.

very cool

I'd be down on order a few things for sure

Are you now a registered reseller then?