Filter


BonDeFiant

New Member
Feb 3, 2010
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Boon Lay
Hi Pentaxians,

Need your advice whether should I or not to buy a CPL and ND filter for landscape photography purposes. Failed to get the nice blue sky and calm water during my recent visit. Also I'm unsure about the brand, type and recommended place of the CPL and ND to get if I really need it. I hope that you guys able to guide/help me with this matter. Thank you.
 

Just note that the sky needs to be blue to make it blue :D
If its a cloudy day, with no trace of blue sky, it won't help.
Other than that, yes, do get a ND, GND and CPL. I find that it helps a lot.
 

what are you guys' thoughts on Cokin filters? Troublesome? I find it to be rather flexible but I'm not sure if it would be troublesome to use it. Anyone who has any experience with it?
 

I am thinking of getting a CPL as well!
Can anyone advise on where and what type to get?

thanks!
 

If you get the cheapo Tianya or even the Cokin system, you can actually use a cheap $10 plate polarizing filter instead of a CPL.
 

So should I get the HOYA Pro1D or HD? What is the difference?
 

Plan to buy CPL filter, but what the difference between hoya brand with other brand? dunno which 1 should i choose :confused:
anyone can help?
 

Plan to buy CPL filter, but what the difference between hoya brand with other brand? dunno which 1 should i choose :confused:
anyone can help?

Hoya and B+w more expensive , but the glass they use is those better one . while those cheap filter sometime will degrade the IQ
 

Hoya and B+w more expensive , but the glass they use is those better one . while those cheap filter sometime will degrade the IQ

thanks. then i will buy hoya 1 ;)
 

Nah, Hoya HD is even better than B+W...
 

How come Hoya HD is better than B+W?

Just curious about the quality of the product and the effect to the picture.

Sorry for the NOOB question!
 

High end filters tend to affect minimally to images (Hoya HD and b+w mrc should be fine). When in doubt, you may judge the quality by the prices. Hoya HD and b+w about the same price ($60 from mass sales). The number of layers of coating will determine the transmittivity of the filter. The more layers the better. Hoya HD is touted to be crack and scratch resistant. Somehow, Hoya has a huge range from low end to high end. To me its like Toyota: you can get the VIOS ($20 filters, basic HMC versions) or CAMRY ($60-70 filters, like HD and Pro1D??). B+W has less differentiation. Basically its either MRC (multi-resistant coating) or non-MRC (which you should avoid altogether cos no point getting). I like the b+w rims the best. It's very solid and dense brass. And a last word of advice if you were to buy, get either from the CS mass sales or reputable online sources. Local retail stores sell them for a very high profit margin from my experience.
 

You guys can all argue which brand/filter is better till the cows come home.

Just check out these reviews with controlled tests:

UV filters
CPL filters

Note that Hoya HD not included in these tests. You will be surprised at some of the filters that are kicking butt is not even that expensive (i.e. Marumi Super DHG) but almost impossible to find in Singapore.

If you ask me what I am using. I use Kenko Pro1D for all my protective or UV filters. CPL I have a few but my most used one is also Kenko Pro1D. But I use CPL maybe 5% of the time max.
 

High end filters tend to affect minimally to images (Hoya HD and b+w mrc should be fine). When in doubt, you may judge the quality by the prices. Hoya HD and b+w about the same price ($60 from mass sales). The number of layers of coating will determine the transmittivity of the filter. The more layers the better. Hoya HD is touted to be crack and scratch resistant. Somehow, Hoya has a huge range from low end to high end. To me its like Toyota: you can get the VIOS ($20 filters, basic HMC versions) or CAMRY ($60-70 filters, like HD and Pro1D??). B+W has less differentiation. Basically its either MRC (multi-resistant coating) or non-MRC (which you should avoid altogether cos no point getting). I like the b+w rims the best. It's very solid and dense brass. And a last word of advice if you were to buy, get either from the CS mass sales or reputable online sources. Local retail stores sell them for a very high profit margin from my experience.

Number of layers do not translate to transmission. It depends on a lot of factors, quality of the glass, quality of the "layers", quality of the multicoating, etc.... If you have many many layers but the layers are lousy and the glass is lousy, you will still get lousy transmission.

Your classification according to pricing is also too general. If you look at the tests I posted above, you will see that Hoya HMC UV filters kick major butt. Pricing does not determine quality. If you really think that way, I guess you will be unpleasantly surprised down the road. Food for thought, a couple of decades ago, a toyota rolls off the production line average defects of less than 50. And a Jaguar's average defects is over 400. So Jaguar has higher quality than a Toyota? hmmmm It sure is a lot more expensive though. :think:

BTW, Hoya HMC is not low end, it is mid class. There are cheaper ones like Hoya non-coated (green label), Hoya both sides coated. Above HMC are, SMC, Pro1D and HD.
 

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How come Hoya HD is better than B+W?

Just curious about the quality of the product and the effect to the picture.

Sorry for the NOOB question!

Probably because HD is scratch resistant, as well as it is very tough and hard to break.

Image quality wise I find that they are similarly good. And at about the same pricing. I do not use either, as I feel they are too expensive for my cheapo lenses.
 

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