octopus uv filter?

[JChris]

Hi, say this filter at ebay selling @ $20.

Octopus HMC UV filter 58mm 58 mm Canon Nikon

is this a good one?

UV filter is to avoid ghosting, flares and to protect the lens right?

thank you.

[Octarine]

Originally Posted by JChris Hi, say this filter at ebay selling @ $20. Octopus HMC UV filter 58mm 58 mm Canon Nikon

never heard of this, it's not the brand people recommend here usually.

Originally Posted by JChris UV filter is to avoid ghosting, flares and to protect the lens right?

No. Initially it was used to prevent UV light from entering the camera. In the days of film UV could affect the picture. Also, lens coating was softer. Nowadays it's useless, lenses are coated, the coating is quite solid and the sensors have filters in front. No UV anymore to affect pictures. So the sales pitch of "protection" came into place.
Filters will not prevent flare and ghosting - it will increase your chances for these effects. Lenses were designed to work best without filters.

[PrimePhotog]

My recommendation is to buy only decent filters like b+w or heliopan.hoya is also very good but is not as easy to clean as b+w and has an imferior coating.$20 is way too much even for a $10 hoya uv mrc 58mm.i suspect that the octopus brand filters are terrible.$20 for it is obviously a scam.

[kitkai]

Hoya is also decent lor... depends on which range you buy. Obviously you are using their lowest range vs b+w...
I'm happy with Hoya HD... Their HMC filter still introduces flare... Not sure about SHMC and Pro-1D.

[kitkai]

http://www.lenstip.com/113.3-article...procedure.html
UV filter testing, though I think their testing isn't accurate. They should use a lens that doesn't flare that much in the first place...

[Octarine]

Originally Posted by kitkai http://www.lenstip.com/113.3-article...procedure.html UV filter testing, though I think their testing isn't accurate. They should use a lens that doesn't flare that much in the first place...

But very good comments about the need for filters.

[night86mare]

never heard of it.

at least get a reputable brand, don't need to be rolls royce, but you buy cheap cheap, later got ghosting, got flare galore, got big big image quality degradation,

you cannot even sell, cos no one want to buy, and then you buy a reputable brand after that. so you end up wasting the money spent on the octopus.

[DeadEnd]

Originally Posted by kitkai http://www.lenstip.com/113.3-article...procedure.html UV filter testing, though I think their testing isn't accurate. They should use a lens that doesn't flare that much in the first place...

Very interesting site, was searching for a filter comparison at the time of purchase but could not find any. It will great if they can add Nikon L37c & L1Bc and Marumi L400 to the test as well.

[T.A.]

You might want to look at this.