Tianya Filter Review

[hazmee]

I ordered these 3 filters from PQ23. See MO here. I am rather impressed with its build quality and it doesn't feel or look cheap at all (though the price is much cheaper than Lee or Cokin). Here's my unscientific test with the 3 filters I've bought. Please excuse the dust spots because I haven't cleaned my sensor for the longest time.

Original image:



Graduated Grey (ND). Gives a slight yellow cast but can be easily fixed in post production unlike Cokin which can be quite a pain to remove. My Lee ND Grad still gives the most neutral gray but its costs 13 times more.



Graduated Blue.



Graduated Orange-sunset


I also purchased the filter holder and ring and I have sad news for full frame users though. At 17mm the sides of the filter holder can be seen very clearly. Only at 20mm then you'll get no vignetting. I am using a 17-40L + 1Ds btw.

Overall, I am pretty pleased with the Tianya filters. Thanks to PQ23 for the MO and bringing in good products at decent prices.

More testing will be updated here once I go out and do a more extensive test. Watch this space for updates and hope that helps all who have any doubts about the Tianya filters.

[ryuggen]

I"m wondering if IQ will be reduced drastically using Tianya filter

[hazmee]

Originally Posted by ryuggen I"m wondering if IQ will be reduced drastically using Tianya filter

From what my eyes perceive, I see no drastic change in 'image quality' where softness, chromatic abberations, color cast can occur when stacking filters. I wouldn't recommend stacking more than 2 filters if you're really picky about 'image quality'. I don't pixel peep as much as I used to. Hope that helps.

[Splutter]

I been using it for a while now. Build is so so, but image quality still looks pretty ok. I think it's pretty much worth it for how much it cost.

[hazmee]

Originally Posted by Splutter I been using it for a while now. Build is so so, but image quality still looks pretty ok. I think it's pretty much worth it for how much it cost.

I put my Cokin, Lee and Tianya side by side and did some simple touch and feel test. I really can't tell difference between the Cokin and Tianya but Lee still feels, looks and works great. There's always a trade-off. Cheers!

[ExplorerZ]

My experience is, image quality is stil there maybe slightly lower if you check very carefully (1 filter only) but will reduce quite a lot if you stack 2 or 3 piece... I tried stacking 3 pieces before, the image looks pretty soft.

[zoossh]

Originally Posted by hazmee I put my Cokin, Lee and Tianya side by side and did some simple touch and feel test. I really can't tell difference between the Cokin and Tianya but Lee still feels, looks and works great. There's always a trade-off. Cheers!

apart from the above, any significant IQ difference between singh ray and tianya, anyone?

[hazmee]

Originally Posted by zoossh apart from the above, any significant IQ difference between singh ray and tianya, anyone?

Singh Ray filters are way beyond reach for some of us. Even Cathay Photo don't bring in those high end items. I heard its even more costly than the Lee Filters.