Toronto Photography Meetup Group

Can anyone give opinions on filters brands?

Which to get, which to avoid, etc.

Thanks
Ian

I am very happy with bw. hoya is ok too. it depends on the lens and your budget. stay away from canadian retail shops as their insane price could cost as much as the lens itself. buy from usa or hk.

If you are looking for a basic filter for your lens, then just get a "protector filter". It's just a piece of glass for $30. Don't be fooled into thinking that the "basic" filter for your lens is a UV filter. Only film is affected by UV rays, if you don't plan on shooting film, don't bother.

Some say UV filters are necessary to reduce flaring/glare/whatever but if you use your lens hood, you shouldn't notice the difference.

It's all pretty debatable though; I don't think there's any scientific charts or graphs that compare this stuff, I wouldn't be surprised if someone on here pipes up and says that a $150 UV filter is necessary.

As for effects type filters, such as ND's and Polarizers; I would say yes, brand matters, as the quality of the coatings on top of the glass vary from brand to brand.

well, see here for a comparison between cheap and expensive filters:

http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2011/06 ... ad-filters

Hahaha that's a pretty bad way of comparing them. UV filters are coated. So they would fall into the column of "brand does matter".

Lee.

all filters should be coated.

Here is a more scientific approach to filter testing: http://www.lenstip.com/113.1-article-UV_filters_test.html

IMHO it is more scientific in part only. Surprisingly the most important parameter is not tested in a scientific manner.

Every filter degrades the image to a certain degree: Reflections cause flare and ghosting; Transmission loses cost you exposure; Optical distortions and vignetting distort the image. Then there are the mechanical quality: the strength of the glass and the coating; the quality of the holder and the type of material can reduce the chance of damage to your camera.

They really only scientifically tested for UV transmission curves yet this is almost of no importance in real world photography. You would have to be in the high mountains for UV or own a Leica m8 to see any difference and I doubt it even then as the sensor already has a built in UV and IR filter.

Personally I would not buy a filter on the advice of there rating system.

On a positive note last time I was in Downtown Camera I noticed that the price on a 72mm HOYA's top line filter are at least half of what they were a few years ago.

Personally I will stick with the BW MRC brass mount filters even if they don't have the best UV absorption. Warning if you buy from the far east make sure you are getting the brass mount rather then the cheaper recently introduced to the Asian market composite metal mount.

I'm interested, can you elaborate on the importance of the mount being brass vs some other alloy? Is the other alloy they use softer?

Some lens filter ring mounts are made from aluminum. Brass will not bind to aluminum - over time your filter will be subject to heat, and other stresses that could cause the filters to "stick" real good.

Kenko is the brand I normally use since it is middle of the pack in quality and price point.

what foggy said^^^ binding can be a real problem with the large diameter filters specially if they are the thin ones.