i notice many people repeating ask about filters, so i will come out with the guide here.

english is not my native language, i started to learn english only 3 years ago, pls feel free to correct my english if i said anything wrong. thank you

Work in Progress, others may contribute if you have thing to add credit will be given.

i will fill it up with photos later, i prefer to use my (or yours) photo then picking up from the internet. of coz, if you have photo to share? please let me know too!


photo i am looking for, basically is polarizer set, with and without.
long exposure for ND post.

sample photo look of Cokin and Tian Ya holder/complete set.

This post has been edited by ieR: Apr 16 2011, 01:58 PM

Filters, what are the uses of filter?

Today's filter uses are quiet different from the old film days. the film was sensitive to UV, hence people uses UV filter for their film camera. Today, filters are commonly used to protect your lens. Filter are something i always advise my friend who buys a new lens, to buy filter together, since you have just brought a lens, surely you can haggle more with the shop for the filter. or haggle for free filter~ (that way, you dont have to come to lowyat.net a week later and ask where or which filter is best to get.... or skim on finding the cheapest filter in penang when u stay at johor...and get back fired. sorry for my sarcasm.)

Digital sensor today will not benefit what-so-ever from an UV filter, because today's Digital Camera comes with a Low Pass (Anti Aliasing) filter, that have UV and IR filtering behavior so that the digital sensor wont pick up any UV/IR spectrum/color. So its noticeable that, china made/imitation/cheap filter would simply print "UV" filter and market it as its use for filtering UV. oppose to Branded filter who spend money in research a proper coating, will sell their filter as Multi Coating *MC filters (which will have UV coating to protect ur eye from seeing through the OVF. some will brand it as UV-MC.) to Enhance the color for digital sensor pickup, and reduction of color aberration, Flare and Ghosting effect

*add-on, was told that UV filter will reduce CA in photo, confirmed, but, higher end camera (crop flagship and FF series) has built in "CA" reduction in the AI-CHIP (digic/expeed/bionz) base on their original lens profile.


Now, Why do we need a Filter?
to me, my answer is simple, i shoot in a dirty environment, dust, oil, water, wine, ice cream gets on my lens, then i would use any available cloth and wipe it. (i bet u wont use lenspen to wipe icecream off the lens!) so, i would risking getting my expensive lens first/front optic/element to scratches!. so what happens is, i get a filter, put it in front, if it get dirty, just wipe it, if it get scratch badly, i just change a new filter, anyway, the filter is around fraction of the lens price. so basically it prevent risking your lens's optic from scratch during cleaning/wiping.

it is cheaper to replace a filter then to replace a lens.

so, if you are the careless, or working in environment that dirt/moist get to ur lens often, get a filter so you can just wipe it off without worry you would damage the lens's coating.

*was told canon L lens require a filter to complete the Weather Sealing, need confirmation on this.

so, What are the differences between the price range the filters offer?
filter can range from rm30, to rm500+
each penny spend on them, is each penny of quality. although this said, be really careful and do some research on the filters before you become a victim of Conned by the shop, how they mark up a china filter to rm450*. *will add a price list bottom of this post.

like i mention that i wipe my filter with any cloth available, a rm50 filter get scratch easily, and i would need to replace it one years later when it get badly scratch, so 5 years, 5 filter, 5 x rm50 = rm250. the scratch might not be physical glass scratch, it would be coating (i wonder rm50 filter really has any coating or not, or just glass?) being reduce*
so i buy only good quality branded one, those with claims of very tough scratch resistant, and after 3 years of using, hardly any scratch.

another thing is, people like to go to the beach and shoot, or islands, the sea water will corrode "eat"(please help me get a better word) the coating due to the acidic or something

difference between filter offer by the same brand? why with so many different pricing?
Some brand will release several 'model/series' of their filter, mainly to widen their market. let learn to see the few main difference on those filter
for example, a major brand, the B+W, has a cheaper F-Pro series, then the slightly more expensive XS-PRO (XS as Xtra Slim).... the XS-Pro CPL series is really scary slim and be used with UWA (which i dont get it since UWA doesnt work well with CPL in first place, missed-marketing?) but the MRC filters will work perfectly UWA

......Filter Size
This is very important, do not end up buying a filter and realize it do not fit your lens when you got home. You can check the size of your lens filter thread from the lens itself, look for the Ø logo. Ø55 means 55mm, Ø67 means 67mm. Get the right filter size thread for your lens.
[img][/img] image no longer available

......Filter Thickness
the common one are the 4-5mm thickness ring, which has double thread, which mean, u can screw one another filter in front of it.

then there is the 2.5-3mm thickness ring, which either has single thread or double thread, which are slimmer, and mainly use for ultra wide angle lens to prevent vignetting. and these slim filter are usually more expensive (no idea why when less material is used)

so if its for a tele-lens, the normal 4-5mm filter will do, because it will not cause vignetting on tele lenses.

Price Listing, the pricelist mostly are taken from shashinki or yamiya (average pricing, not the cheapest). some people may lower offer somewhere else, but the price listed here will be the average, so if you get price ranging 'near' it, just get it, because even the shop has rental to pay, a family to feed.

(imcomplete)

B+W F-Pro 62mm=RM223, 67mm=RM265, 77mm=RM, 77mmCPL=RM
B+W XS-Pro 62mm=RM268, 67mm=RM318, 77mm=RM328, 77mmCPL=RM
Hoya Pro1 62mm=RM158, 67mm=RM175, 77mm=RM215, 77mmCPL=RM348
Hoya HD 62mm=RM208, 67mm=RM225, 77mm=RM275, 77mmCPL= RM378
Kenko

This post has been edited by ieR: Dec 19 2014, 10:33 PM

post3: brands/quality of filter, and value of it for your lenses.


after a while of thinking, thought for food. initially i plan to close this post, as i afraid will spike a 'fanboy/brand' war among filters. i know there are a lot Big Loyal Die Hard Hoya/B+W/tiffen/kenko fans. (i dislike kenko ). But, this is still very important to help some new user to understand more about Good Filter vs Cheaper Filter.

As i mention earlier, the Filter is merely for 'protection' it doesnt requires a expensive Bullet Proof Filter, but just a filter to protect the front element/lens glass from expose to icecream, wine, sand or snow. But....

good filter make a big differences, yes. less talk, picture moarrrr.....


this is the reason i switched to B+W
*if you see the picture closely, u see reflection of the light above on the opposite side of the picture, the 'light' was bounce inside the lens between the lens and filter that causes it. those who shoot lenscape usually will get city light appear on top of the sky, the reason is because of that cheap filter.

if someone willing to borrow me a 55mm Hoya HD filter, i would redo the comparison VS B+W Fpro.

Careful with Marketing

recently, i saw over 5 unknown branding, claiming that they are Pro1D coating, aka, re-badge from kenko who manufacture them. they are really a lot cheaper (rm50 for 67mm!, super slim 3mm filter). but the worst fear is always there, i had a friend complain how terrible a XXXXX brand lens QC is so bad, but after some test, i took out his filter and found out that filter causes the lens to frontfocus by a whole 15mm! so becareful with cheapo claimed good filter.

(even octopus germany(which is from china) is terrible filter! and kenko to me, is losing its ground as proper filter manufacturer.


so, if one ask, 'is it worth to invest on $$$ filter on a XXX lens?'

this is a very personal opinion,

if your lens is less then rm500, skip the filter, rm50 filter will make it worst.
if your lens is over 500 to 1k, its even harder to decide. if you can afford a good filter, why not? else dont bother with cheaper alternative, it will worsen the IQ.
BUT if you are not a pixel peeper, and since u are shooting under 10mp (or set to medium size), Hoya Pro1D is best choice.
but if your lens is over 1k, just grab a HoyaHD or B+W if u can afford.

This post has been edited by ieR: Aug 15 2011, 08:46 PM

Polarizer Filter

time to time, i meet friendly new photography came to me and ask, "i heard CPL is good, i wanted to get one, which is good?" then i asked back, "do you even know what CPL it?" "Nope" he answered "i just know that its good, everyone is talking bout it."

i find this scenario is true for a lot of people. they do not know what are they getting, just because other photographer said its good. they will be wasting their money buying a CPL (they arent cheap) and do not know the use of it! like a close friend of mine brought one, to shoot long exposure because the boss of the shop said that filter will slow down the shutter. its was half right, CPL will slow down your shutter speed, but not enough to recommend it as long exposure uses (refer to ND filter).

alright, now, What is Polarizer Filter?

its a optic filter that will filter out a certain color(wavelength) by the angle of the filter (rotate-able).

usually people use them for reduce or eliminate reflection. water, window, etc. indirectly, it can help darken the sky because it remove reflection from the vapour/clouds/haze in the sky, it also will help boost the saturation naturally, also by removing unwanted reflection.
so its good for shooting at beach(clearer view of bikini in water), landscape(better balance sky to ground eV), and black&white shooter as boosted saturation mean more contrast-y photo. vegetation (plants) also gain so much green and livelier look.

it wont do much good if used indoor, except for eliminate reflection. because polarizer is known to cut out certain amount of light too, causing it to have slower shutter then usual (it takes up 1-2 stop of light). so be careful when using polarizer indoor.

SAMPLE
Cutting off reflection off water surface.


how do they really work?
well, i am kinda lazy and not a scientist to explain there, but You can read it up bout "Brewster's Angel" in wiki.

How do i use them?
simple, just screw on to your lens filter thread, then seeing through the OVF, turn the filter (yes, they are rotate-able), turn it until your desired result, snap.

so, are there many diff types of Polarizer filter?

there are MANY types mostly use in medical or physic labs, but in photography (and videography) we only have 2.

the Linear polarizer
they are slightly cheaper, but i wont recommend them, because camera AF will not able to function under linear polarizer due to they way it work. but it work perfectly fine with MF because it was design/made during the MF film era!. under some situation, newer DSLR with powerful AF module might struggle to be 'able' to AF but its all out of focus.

* Linear Polarizer will work with Ultra wide angle lenses without problem, aka 16-24mm in FF, or 10-16 in crop.

the Circular polarizer
Circular is the one you should buy, it allow AF to work normally.
but the CPL will have some unpolarized effect on the left hand top corner due to how it works on UWA lenses.


so, it reduce the light into the sensor, but by how much?
i cant really say, it is difference from brand to brand of filters. it also depend of the polarizing angle, vari from half stop to two stop

so, Polarizer works on all lens?
it should work, but due to the nature of how polarizer works, when use CPL on UWA lens (wider then 24mm in FF, and 16mm in APS-C or 12mm in M43rd) will result the left side top corner will not be polarized. so if u shoot a photo with a whole sky, u get darken blue sky with nice cloud except the top left corner will be bright... but this will not happen to (non circular)PL filters.
* some lens design will cause the whole photo un-evenly polarized, google "Ultra Wide Angle Polarizer Effect" and u can get lots of sample photo

so its depend on your say if the photo turn out topleft corner is not polarized, if the photo is acceptable or not.

but a warning for UWA shooting, CPL filter will not be fully effective/working.

This post has been edited by ieR: Dec 19 2014, 10:38 PM

post5: type of filter
ND / GND and the FADER ND.

now, we all know, but setting small enough the aperture (large F/# number) by chance, u get very small light going into your sensor, to gain long shutter speed. but, what if, i wanted to shoot F1.4 are board daylight? or strobe a photo with 1/250ss sync limit?

we grab ND filters.

what are ND filters?
ND filter are a 'dark' piece of filter that cuts down light evenly. Neutral Density, like the name, will reduce light of all color, equally, without changing the saturation/hue of the color rendition. so, No, it will not end up with a more 'red'er color cast photo, unless, its a cheap made in china coated ND filter.

so, what are the uses?
its is subjective base on what you need it for? since there are so many 'level' of ND available for different application.

i) you can use it to do a long shutter on daytime, depending on application, say, a dream effect of waterfall.

(6stop) ND8+4+2 (cokin)filter was used with a GND4 to cut off the top part. that why the tree looks darker

ii) you wanted to get the shallow DOF out of F1.4 under the sun, but turn out overexposed, use ND to cut down the amount of light going into the sensor.

how do we scale ND filters? *chart taken from wikipedia
link removed.

How about GND? *coming really soon.
GND is a little diff by its application and look. the ND is apply gradient-ly over the filter. top to bottom. what it uses is to reduce light on one side of the frame. usually used to reduce the strong bright sky.

This post has been edited by ieR: Apr 23 2016, 06:46 PM

post6: type of rarely used filter - some of then are used in films, because they do not have photoshop to adjust the colors, or edit.

IR filter
IR filters. the hardest topic, try google IR photo, there are plenty around, they are special effect, tree leaves are white like covered in snows, ground is weird yellow in color like in autumns...

there are many IR filter in the market, they are sold base on the light cutoff range. the common one we see are the 720nm

650nm - retain a number of yellow, hence some skintone color can be retain
720nm - yellow is cut off, mostly red, and hint of blue
860nm - yellow and blue are cut off, very red... dark red
920nm - mostly black and white, most visible colors are cut off.

there are some problem with IR photography, due to our sensor has a build in IR filter, the sensor will requires longer time to gather the IR light, hence IR photography(with lens filter) requires long exposure, some up to a minute... hence this style is not very popular...

another IR photography is modding the camera but not sure if i wanted to write infra red modification information here, because there are many conman mod-artist trying to make money out of IR modification, if i release all the information, i will put them out of business



effect filter, star filter, soft filter.




WB correction filter. i have a red filter at home, given by my grandfather, its used during the film era, where the films are stuck with one WB until u swap the film out. so to fix the WB issue, we attach color filter to contra the WB environment.

Red filter is used to contra Florescent lighting
Blur filter is used to contra Tungsten Lighting

but since we are entering digital age, i bet even some photographer today doesnt even know what is film is like.... the Digital Era Camera has Auto WB build in, and with powerful tools, 2-3 click and repair any whitebalance photo.


color cast filter i admit i have weak knowledge on this, but this is a topic any serious Black and White shooter must at least read once online.
there are still many hardcore B&W shooter still uses color filter to enchance their b&w images....


but again, since digital era, there are many way to do this. this is a BAD video i did not long ago to answer and assist some new b&w shooter (for the recent FB craze B+W 5 day challenge)



This post has been edited by ieR: Dec 19 2014, 11:32 PM

there is another type of filter that uses a holder, that hold on 'square' filter, some professional prefer these filter over the screw on filter because they only have to make a 1 time investment and able to use it on any of their lenses (provided it meet the condition).

one of the common branded brand is the Cokin from France. and Expensive Lee Filters from England, or Rosco from USA. and our asia best friend, China with TianYa filters

Please visit their website for more detailed information if you are seriously planning to buy.

My Guide here is just a brief explanation of what are Holder-type Filter, base on Cokin system.

Why Do Professional pick Holder type filters?
it is simple, because
i) buying a good ND8 for each of your lens with different filter thread is expensive. with holder, u just need 1 set
ii) you cant adjust the height of GND filter with screw type. holder type can.
iii) its easy to detact and attach back to allow focusing to work (having a 10 stop filter in front cutting off all light will make focus impossible)

from Cokin, they have 4-series.

A-series - mainly for compact camera
P-series - mainly for APS-C and FullFrame camera (up to 82mm filter thread, so bigma can use too)
Z-series - mainly for Medium format camera, it also allow a limited use for UWA on FF.
X-series - mainly for Large format, or those "movie" production camera.

the common used are the P-series, so, China, PRO in imitation, replicate the P-series by a company named Tian Ya which are sold at 1/2 of the price.
the Pseries by cokin, has 2 type of holder, the normal one, and the extra slim* one which allow slighter wider shooting angle. the difference is that, the normal one can hold up to 4 filter, while the slim one up to 2**

if you are on DSLR, you can ignore the A-series, they are meant for compact camera.
and you can safely ignore the Z/X series if you are not Wide Angle shooter, and the Z/X series cost twice to triple the amount of investment compare to P series.

*not sure if they still produce the slim holder.
**cant recall was it 2 or 1 only. will check it out again tonight.

i have sold my cokin and upgraded to Lee Filters, (yea they nearly cost me an arm) under spoiler for more info


the Holder design consist of 3 component.

i) Adapter Ring - the cheapest accessories, this is the one that screw onto the lens's filter thread
ii) Filter Holder - a little braket that holds the filter, and clipped on the adapter ring. it can be turned too
iii) Filter(s) - all the ND, GND, PL, CPL, Star filters... just slot into the filter holder.

first one show the adapter ring, then the holder, the last one is 2 type of filter, rotate-able or adjustable plate.

so when you have several different lens thread size, all you need is to get the adapter ring with the right size.

so, how many filter are there to choose from?
rewrite:
it is divided to the size of the filter
Cokin P, Tian Ya, uses the same size filter 80mm, so can easily use them with the same holder.

Lee filter are in the 100mm size filter. so u can find other 100mm filters and use on them... like Singh-Ray RGND is famous and used on Lee system often.

here is my Lee filter + RGND in action...


another thing they have in Lee is the Big Stopper, stopping 10 stop of lights...



so, how much are them?
please refer to www.shashinki.com or any other local online store. i'm not from KL, so i am not so sure which shop to suggest to visit, if you guys has any suggestion, throw them at me, so i can list them here.

Another person you can refer to is LiewWK, he is a professional Landscapist (landscape artist)... he bulk order and sell the Lee filters system. you can easily google his name, and just say edpaul introduced you.

FAQ for Holder System:
1) can i have a screw filter on my lens, then only with the Adapter Ring later on the screw filter?
Yes, it doesn't matter. but it might reduce the widest angle you can shoot by 1-2mm. (eg: 24mm to 26mm)
2) there is a GAP between the lens and filters, so dust easily drop on it, will it affect the IQ of the image?
as long as u are not shooting with F46, focusing on 20cm, those dust wont show up. simple answer, it wont affect the image much.
3)
4)
5)

This post has been edited by ieR: Dec 19 2014, 11:39 PM

post8: FAQ.


This post has been edited by ieR: Apr 15 2011, 11:40 AM

post9: reserved

post 10: reserved.

nice..waiting for additional info's..

im sceptical about few "branded filters" like zeiss compared to b+w and hoya hd

you win some, you lose some.

zeiss coating is not that high scratch resistance. boohoo

but it is VERY clear compare to HD and B+W (i was shock when i saw the test result!)

provided it is very clear, the coating boost natural contrast of the picture, and a little saturation, which confuse me how it able to be so clear in the first place.
the contrast is merely several % (no way i can say how much) but a theory said that, the phase detect system detect base on contrast, having the filter boosting the contrast, it helps the AF. i myself also damn skeptic bout this! hahaha

but the T* coating is amazing. even national geography L shooter several has switch to zeiss lenses (for the T* coating)

again, you win some, you lose some....

HD claimed to be knock proof(break proof) while B+W isnt.

i have not tested B+W vs HD clearness, will buy a HD filter soon to test it out.

i personally prefer B+W, no reason why, just... preferred it. (b+w use brass ring, it doesnt bind with ur lens filter aluminum thread)

who dare to test B+W filter as shown in the hoya hd test video ?

hahaha, u pay half, i pay half, i dare! lol

and i will video it down....

This post has been edited by ieR: Apr 16 2011, 12:30 AM

Nice Thread.. thanks TS for the efforts.

I think if somebody could post some info on what is the difference between original vs fake filters and how do you identify them?

just wait until my b+w went scratch XD

but why I love the hoya hd? although I already had b+w, heehee

really good thread TS.. thanks for the effort

I'm aiming for CPL filter. Any recommendations?

anticipating the gnd filter section! kudos TS!

filter brand and price != quality.

http://www.lenstip.com/113.4-article-UV_fi...nd_summary.html




This post has been edited by C-Fu: May 31 2011, 01:06 AM

Thanks cfu

but there are few point you missed (or ignored)

the B+W show they have better light transmission then Hoya. the reason hoya gain hi point because of the UV filtering, like i mention, UV has no-what-so-ever effect on digital sensor. if UV point are to be removed, its clearly show B+W won.

This post has been edited by ieR: Aug 15 2011, 07:17 PM

I still don't know why B+W much more expensive than Hoya HMC,
and those expensive filter definitely is better in terms of flare controlling.

else theres no point to put such high price

so many points ler, what no point pulak

marketing, brand positioning, market differentiation, material/ assembly cost, etc.

like heliopan, it's made in germany, that's one of the major reasons why its so expensive. tiffen, it's for shop owners who want to bundle it with cameras as an added volume since it's cheap.

I find all these filter companies are shady at best

For example look at how Hoya got a superHMC Pro1 and a Pro1 Digital. Why give it such a similar name? Why even have "digital" filter?
and this is not only Hoya but others like B+W as well.

Go to their website and you will be more confused than before. They don't seem to list them with a model number. Even the retailers selling them do not have exact details

And the counterfeit market is not helping this situation either.

oh idoblu, now not just DIGITAL filter, somemore now got HD filter u know!!




me: eh? what are those HD hoya (i think) filters?
shop owner: wah those are super high end u know!
me: is it multi-coated ah? didn't say also
him: not multicoated... but SUPER coated, a lot more than multicoated (wtf!!)
me: wah i see... then whats so special?
him: this one ah... really good one, really cannot see flare, super clear! somemore the glass is sapphire u know cannot scratch!
me: really? can test? i try scratch and see
him: (long pause) if u buy then can test lor
me: uh-huh

hi, to stop some confusion, i forgotten where i read them, google later...

those non "digital" wording in hoya filter are normally old stock or fake stock from china. original ones are 7 layer coating meant for film (filtering UV at max for film)

while the new pro1 digital are meant for digital sensor, it has only 3 layers (dont worry, they are good coating) which didnt bother much with UV as digital sensor are not affected by UV as much as film.

B+W totally stop making film-filters. they are now with all digital MRC filters. currently they offer only 2 type, the Fpro and XS(Xtra Slim)pro filter.

the heliopan are clear filter, but ppl are skeptic with their coating's 'resistant' to scratch and others.

tiffen are known to have micro surface that can make oil/water slip off without leaving mark (that is what i was told)

the Hoya HD, well i would say the best in market now, for
i) hi scratch resistant, like b+w MRC coating
ii) break/crack resistant, u can knock it on table hard but it doesnt break...
*but if drop sideway, it can still crack in from the corners.
iii) easy to clean (but after using a while, i notice, i clean less on B+W coz B+W coating doesnt attract dust/dirt/oil somehow.... so i switch back to b+w.

i myself somehow turn into b+w fan, they are not that expensive if u know the sources/connection to get "stock price" which is farrrrrr cheaper then hoya HD stock price. i love their easy to clean, and the slim profile (the best slim filter i would say is the sony cz *T filter... but they arent hi scratch resistant and hard to clean) nikon filters are hard to clean, sadly.

Thanks for your effort!! appreciate it.. maybe should pin it when it is complete!!

do filters will loose its coating if its clean with normal cloth?
using Hoya Pro1D here.


This post has been edited by four_add: Jun 2 2011, 10:10 AM

no. because the coating is mixed with the silica mix upon creation of the glass. use alcohol if you want.

if the coating wears off, it means that the filter is cheap, coating was just painted on top

after I rub the top surface with thumbprint to clean it, theres a slight different color at that part. I realised my mistake to clean it with normal cloth, so I clean it with lenspen. but the spot is still there.

Is my filer fake? bought at RM175 for Hoya Pro1Digital 67mm.

dear lens masters!
i want to get something that i can fit my s95 with additional lenses. i've heard about lensmate adapter, but is it sold locally or can i only get it via ebay? terima kasih

naise tread.!!!

four_add: Hoya Pro1Digital should have a very tough coating, how did u manage to scrap the coating off??? could be fake

adam_lss: not so sure, but these adapter cost a lot (200-300) and the image quality is not that impressive.

for peace of mind you guys just get B+W / Hoya HD UV lar

I won't use cheap filter anymore for my lens

Malaysian RInggit or USD? If usd then i rather wait till i save enuf and get a proper dslr
by d way, where to find such adapters in malaysia?

Can tell me what filter to use for Nikon 18-55mm kit lens? :-) /shy

adam_lss: MYR la... USD gila liao... lol. not sure where or who carries them, usually these thing seldom ppl buy, so shop wont carry them. u are like one of 1000 who will buy.

hidden830726: you see, that kitlens is worth less then rm500 (some say rm300)... so it wont be smart to invest on a rm200 filter. i think just use it filter-less, if it break, that rm200 filter investment can go to a new better lens /notshy

LOL
morning bro

tot of getting this,
http://www.lensmateonline.com/store/s90v2.php

usd seems to be dropping and with shipping is will cost around $40 only...

This post has been edited by adam_lss: Jun 3 2011, 09:10 AM

bump, anyone got thing to share? pics etc?

there is this shop that told me hoya pro1d 67mm filters that are less than rm250 is counterfeit.... is that true? or just trying their luck to butcher my wallet?

butcher, and be careful with fake Hoya pro1D too.

So do nikkon kitlens 18mm-105mm worth to have a good filter?

thanks.... luckily i check prices online before surveying in shops.... how to tell between fake n real filters? actually for a canon 18135 kit lens, is it worth to get an expensive filter? i just need it for protection purpose, is hoya pro1d a recommended choice?

how about this item?
http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopic=1902932&hl=

variable nd filter ?? Any comment on it? looks promising for saving money but don't know about the quality...

Also, any recommendation for CPL filter?

ima using 18-55mm kit lens.. T,T

Bought from reputable shop gua.

Q1,

I thought of buying this: Hoya 58mm Digital Filter Kit with Filter Pouch (Circular Polarizer + Neutral Density 8 + UV Glass Filter)

http://shashinki.com/shop/hoya-58mm-digita...ter-p-7236.html

Good enough?



Q2,

I only got 50mm1.8g, so i get 58mm filter or bigger filter and buy additional step up ring?


Thank you for reply in advance

This post has been edited by hidden830726: Aug 13 2011, 12:11 PM

Q3,

Can we stack filter?

E/.g. UV Glass Filter on the lens all the time, and Circular Polarizer or Neutral Density stack on the first filter when need the CPL or ND?

This post has been edited by hidden830726: Aug 13 2011, 12:11 PM

Anyone can tell me whether this is orginal or fake Hoya HMC filter? Bought this from one of the shop in digital mall last month.



This post has been edited by unknown_obj: Aug 13 2011, 01:59 PM

Big no-no. The more layer of extra glass, the worse it gets. Can degrade image quality (either it's noticeable or unnoticeable) and ghosting.

This post has been edited by seanwc101: Aug 13 2011, 01:44 PM

This, is up to u to decide. but to value both lens vs filter. Hoya own Pro1D is recommended for both standard lens, but if me, myself will get better ones, like what i did last night at starbuck, every of my friend get ghosting (reflection) from light via filter in their pic, except B+W. its so obvious.

variable ND, i only trust one brand, Light Craft Workshop. i used before china brand, it really degrade the IQ compare to LCW. but LCW is damnnnn expensive.

Q1: yes, they are good, but expensive too, for that price, if u plan to have more lens, you can consider adding more fund to get a cokin system.

Q2: errr, which filter? if normal UV filter, get one for its size. if CPL, usually advise is that, get a 77mm ones, then get step up rings, then in future can use on bigger filter lenses. no need buy too many CPL.

(new diff size CPL = rm1xx, VS step up ring = rm25)

Q3: YES, filter are design that way. BUT, do understand what are u doing. like seanwc101 said if you use cheap filter, IQ will drop and cause ghosting and vignetting on wide angles.

for a moment there i couldn't find this vari-ND on their website. then i realise it is called Fader ND.

cool, as i am looking for a vari ND myself and i am thinking of getting singh-ray filter. but at usd 340 a pop, rather than usd 125 for the light craft workshop (both at 77mm size) i might go for the cheaper version. wonder are they good?

u try lor, if u are not super IQ freak, no issue... since long exposure sometimes will soft if u not using stable tripod....

after reading all I can at Hoya and B+W website, I will go with B+W simply because they explained the differences between their many choices. Much more easy to understand their whole lineup than Hoya.
Just choose the mount which is F-Pro, XS-Pro or Digital Pro. B+W filters with MRC coating is easier to clean as well

Digital Pro and F-Pro is the same thing but Digital Pro mount is chrome in color and F-Pro is black. Then you choose either MRC or none. MRC of course is better and the mount is made of brass. The non-MRC type are made of alloy.

The XS-Pro is just a slimmer mount. If you are using it with extreme wide angle lenses, then get the XS-Pro, if not save some money as F-Pro will do. F-Pro is now thinner and can be use with 24mm wide angle lenses. If you are using M lenses which needs 46mm you are out of luck as XS-Pro smallest size is 49mm


26. What are the differences between the various B+W filter mounts?

F-Pro: Compared to the earlier standard mount introduced in 2001, the F-Pro mount has become thinner. Now it can be used with wide angle lenses, including most 24mm focal lengths on a full frame body, without vignetting. Another advantage of the F-Pro mount is it's modified retaining ring, which is no longer threaded in from the front, but holds the filter glass in place from the back. When removing a filter or lens hood that has been screwed on too tight to the filter, the retaining ring is not at risk of loosening. Diopters are mounted in the older mount due to glass thickness.

XS-Pro Digital: This mount is especially suited for DSLRs with wide angle and zoom lenses. It has a front thread for additional accessories such as lens caps or hoods. All XS-Pro Digital mounts are made of brass and are matte black to prevent reflections. Only UV, Clear, and Käsemann Circular Polarizers are offered in this mount, with the latest MRC nano coating.
Multi-Resistant Coating (MRC) with Nano Technology
The nano coating is an outer layer of protection that comes standard with all XS-Pro Digital MRC filters. The nanotechnology based characteristic (lotus effect) produces a better beading effect with water making the cleaning of this filter even simpler and faster than ever before. MRC nano has an improved outer (8th) layer over regular MRC.

Digital-Pro: The term "Digital-Pro" refers to the use of a brushed chrome ring as opposed to the standard black ring. There is no optical difference when comparing similar glass types. Digital-Pro filters may be used with both film and digital cameras.

This post has been edited by idoblu: Aug 16 2011, 01:36 PM

good one idoblu, how bout the DMRC for B+W Gold series?

Gold series price cost more than real gold lol

Dunno much about them but copied this from yamiya
They are suppose to be limited edition I think
http://www.schneiderkreuznach.com/fotofilt...dition-gold.htm


Description

 


This post has been edited by idoblu: Aug 16 2011, 02:19 PM

wahahaha! when i first saw the B+W Gold, i fell in love instantly... and clicked buy without knowing it =.=|||

Anyone knows where to buy Sony Filters wth T* coating except sony centre?

those who might doubt the toughness of B+W, here are my accidentally test
my d7k with 35 with speedlite fell down from table...
all survive...and have look here

what the conclusion ?

WOW! brass is hard... not very, but harder then those aluminum used by cheap filters..

haha...that weird, why the filter threat 'kemek'

not very, but harder then alu, alu use hand also can bend >.<

on why neutral density filter is important

singhray.blogspot

amazing stuff you got here!!

oh.. now I know..my B=W filter are alloy, no wonder my filter 'kemek' -,-

alloy are fake b+w =____=

really hah? so the MPA sold at me are fake one?

not sure, are u sure is ALLOY? i only know there is one series (old series) which is alloy, but its old, unless u buy at least 2 years back. during this time, a lot imitation of B+W.... Brass is expensive, so imitation dont follow liao after they upgrade to brass, that why b+w are expensive.

---

Added on October 13, 2011, 11:54 pmopps my mistake, ALU and ALLOY is diff, BRASS is a kind of ALLOY.

ALU is ALUMINUM, weak metal.

ok, my mistake, ALLOY is the old series, which is HARD too, then they redesign and use Brass... more solid. there are fakes one that uses Aluminum which are soft metal.... but alloy is hard too~ but brass is harder.

This post has been edited by ieR: Oct 13 2011, 11:56 PM

Bought this beauty at last week KLPF


B+W XS Pro 77mm by zhengyang89, on Flickr

HOYA sucks. now its dented and i cant get it off my lens thread. should have bought the HD

dear friend, hoya does not suck, the reason it got bent is human error. anyway, if its badly bend, the only way to take it off is the break the glass, and cut the from side, bend it inwards to take out (that is how i help my customer remove jammed filter)

can u help me? i cant seem to remove it.

I m using EF 24-105 f4L 77mm.

HOYA Pro1D, Hoya HD, B+W XS Pro :

Give opinion on which is better. I use in clean environment, so only need clear and beautiful photos.

im in Miri Sarawak.

either one will do it doesnt matter. both are great filter.

speaking of which, i wanted to buy a cpl.. when i say i wanted Hoya HD, the shop owner keep telling me no need get HD, get the slim version will do.. what's the basis of this? should i just get the normal CPL or the Hoya HD?

if you can invest more, there is no harm you take HD the material glass are difference.

hmm..now I need to spend 2 more filter, the scratch one and the 'kemek' one..
hmm..b+w xs pro nano?

SIGH. how do u plan to remove it if you were me?

glass already broken of course, now the thread is so kissed together

komputermuzik: saw, saw it slowly cutting one side of the filter (not the lens)... then 3mm away saw one more, then 3mm away saw one more, 3 'lubang' now bend the metal into a M shape inwards, then the whole ring should be lose from the lens.

if only i'm a handyman with tools. neway thanx

Planing to get a CPL filter, but not sure what size to grab, should I grab the same size that match for my lens or just grab the biggest size 77mm and use adapter to attach ?

grab 77 then buy adapters.. they're pretty cheap compared to CPL filters

Is it able to search those adapter size for my lens? Because I got 2 lens which is 52mm & 67mm.
I planing to get Kenko CPL, is it nice or any suggestion around rm200?

http://www.t-dimension.com/revamp/filters-hoya-c-745_803

found the hoya you talking about. looks ok to me. not too expensive here. but sorry to here that's it bent

yes u can find them, the real name is call "step up ring/filter" hope with the name, it will ease your search.

www.shashinki.com sells them, if i recall its only rm2x

Thank you ieR & tctham, I will check around on Shashinki.
I appreciated.

When I was surfing on B&H. I found 2 different items. One is Sony 62mm MC UV and claimed to have T* coating, another is the Carl Zeiss branded 62mm MC UV with T*.

Both seem to be the same but are priced for 53USD and 78USD respectively. I'm curious about their difference

anyone heard of posso filter ? saw them in fotokem sunway pyramid

salesman claimed better than kenko normal uv filter

also, any nice 58mm wide angle filter to recommend ?

we always stick with reputable brands. all the weird weird name, the salesman can claim anything they wan, we will always be a victim to them.

i dont to use filter, i prefer lens hood instead since cheap filter tends to affect image quality

a video to share, related to the use of filter

any ND filter for tokina 11-16? should i go for cokin (or alike) series for wideangle? i saw plenty website complain on the vignetting for P series, but no idea how the wide angle series does.. or should i get a stepupring from 77mm-82mm and buy a flexi-ND filter at 82mm?

Thanks

erm, there is this logic most ppl dont follow.
u use ND, usually for landscape.
for landscape, usually use darker aperture, eg F8
at F8, usually vignetting is gone.

hence, i really dont know what the hell the review online or people online is complaining about, they uses F2.8 for a landscape shoot, isnt that silly?

okay, here to answer ur question.
i) i suggest to go for screw on filter. but u might still loose about 2mm of shooting angle, meaning vignet free at 13mm F8.

ii) the wide angle case. if u use just ND, u can turn the holder 90degree(filter fit in horizontally) to use it. If u use GND, where filter must be vertically to use, u may still have vignetting issue at 11mm.

unless u go for 100mm filter holders, Lee filter or Cokin Z.

iii) the step up ring will make any vignetting worst (from my experience)

and worst, 'flexi' (actual name is called FADER ND) is actually two CPL reversed, if u know, UWA doesnt work well with CPL.

This post has been edited by ieR: Mar 23 2012, 04:14 PM

Thanks alot,

so anything at 11-12mm is unusable? Tian-Ya Wide Angle Square Filter and Cokin "P" BPW-400 wide angle Holder is it the same? how these two perform?

Lee filter and Cokin Z is way too expensive..

u mean CPL wont work good on UWA? u meant uneven effect in the sky? actually im planning to get cpl for tokina11-16.

This post has been edited by Alexdino: Mar 23 2012, 04:46 PM

i) they are the same, the TianYa is copy/pirate of cokin P series. i cant really say, coz i have not used wideangle P on tokina1116, but even Lee filter will lose 1-2mm on FF.
ii) yes i know, i just sold all my cokin P, the money just enough for Lee holder only, not to mention filters and rings and the stupid CPL cost 1.5k!
iii) yes, not uneven, usually is the top left side, it is not fully polarized. hence u get a bright spot on top left, depend on u, some ppl can accept, some ppl just PP away. it wont work effectively, doesnt meant it cant work at all. its up to your solving skill to fix/improve on the issue.

i found on ebay one brand call fotga from china, it is more cheaper than tianya... , maybe i will try ?

may i know which filter is useful if i want to save cost, ND2, ND4, ND8, GND2, GND4, GND8? or i need all 6 to be safe?

This post has been edited by Alexdino: Apr 2 2012, 05:19 PM

pointless to grab china filter, as their coating has color cast, u never know ur photo end up more red or pink or purple, or blue.

yup, found a few reviews, they are bad... stick back to Tianya