Filter questions : UV vs CPL, hoya, tokina and Kenko


Status
Not open for further replies.

takengo2003

Deregistered
Oct 6, 2003
962
0
0
I know UV and CPL are different applications, UV can block out unwanted sun rays whereas CPL can take pictures to see through water or glass windows.

some questions:

1)Generally, people will buy UV or CPL?

2)Does CPL has the functions to block out unwanted sun rays too?

3)Which brand is better, I know hoya is good, but will Tokina and Kenko serves the same purpose at almost half the price? Please convince me if you think i should get Hoya instead of tokiina or Kenko.

Many thanks in advance.
 

I know UV and CPL are different applications, UV can block out unwanted sun rays whereas CPL can take pictures to see through water or glass windows.

some questions:

1)Generally, people will buy UV or CPL?

2)Does CPL has the functions to block out unwanted sun rays too?

3)Which brand is better, I know hoya is good, but will Tokina and Kenko serves the same purpose at almost half the price? Please convince me if you think i should get Hoya instead of tokiina or Kenko.

Many thanks in advance.

i think most people buy UV filters to protect their lenses and thus leave it on their lenses all the time. UV filter more like general purpose filter.

CPL lenses r totally different thing from UV lenses, they serve a specific purpose as mentioned by u, by polarising light from certain angles so as to reduce reflection n glare from glass, water, ect. i sometimes use my CPL as ND function.

as for branding, u pay for what u get, that said, also depends on how fussy u r.
 

just a though, do people normally screw in their CPL over their UV filter or remove the UV glass first?

correct me if i'm wrong, CPL on UV combination (thickness) will cause more vignetting on wide range than telezoom range?
 

would like to have more contribution from bros here.

so does CPL also serves as a purpose to block uv rays?
 

If i'm not wrong, i came across somewhere saying that UV rays can cause damage to the lens, exactly how i'm not too sure but i use it to prevent dust, liquids and especially scratches. If you drop ur lens *touchwood*, UV filter can also absorb part of the impact as it shatters, reducing damage on the lens.

Most of the CPL should only filter out rays from some direction, hence do not filter out UV rays.

stacking filters together cause vignetting, i change them rather than stacking if i need to take as wide as possible.
 

CPL is more for outdoor or indoor?

How about UV filter, is it more for outdoor where there is sunlight?
 

Ok. let me clear the air a little bit.

1. UV rays do not cause damage to your lens or hardware. Actually, UV is good as it kills fungus.

2. UV filter is more applicable in the film days, where film can be affected by too much UV light. Digital camera sensors have no problem with UV rays. People use UV filters more or less as a habit from the film days for protection over the lens. Nowadays, you see newer filters called "protector" and Nikon's NC (clear). These filters just protect and do not filter UV. The only thing you need to think about is multi-coating. Since adding a piece of glass in front of your lens can affect IQ in terms of flare and reflections, multi-coating aims to reduce that.

3. CPL is used to reduce glare, reflections and get more color contrast in the sky.

4. Using CPL on top of a UV or protector filter is not advisable. On wider lenses, it can cause vignetting, and the more extra glass you have in front of your lens, the more problems you will get.

5. Remember to remove your UV or protector filters when shooting at night to prevent ghosting or flaring. The best IQ you will get is when there is no filter in front of your lens.

6. Hoya and Kenko filters are same thing branded for different markets. They share some same model naming too, like the Pro 1 D range. Hoya HD = Kenko Zeta. Same. Kenko is slightly cheaper than Hoya. All made by Tokina using Hoya glass. I use Kenko mostly. Kenko is a private ltd and Hoya is a public company. There are talk that Kenko is either owned by one of the founders of Hoya or actually owned by Hoya itself.

7. The relationship between the 2 companies Tokina and Hoya is very tricky and very shaded. Both companies do not talk much about it. But there is talk that Hoya has a very big stake in Tokina (or owns it all). BTW, Tokina manufacture all Hoya/kenko filters using Hoya glass. Tokina is still a private ltd company, so there is no need to reveal who are the owners. But all over the internet it seems to point to the fact that Hoya owns Tokina, either that or the founders of Hoya owns Tokina. BTW, Pentax is also a subsidary of Hoya as well.

8. Price wise, Tokina is cheapest because they do not offer higher ranged filters. Kenko filters are almost identical to Hoya filters. Kenko is always just slightly cheaper, because Kenko stuff are mostly parallel imported into Singapore from China (where stuff are cheaper). Apparently Kenko Japan has a authorized distributor in China, and Kenko is really very popular among China photographers.
 

Last edited:
Ok. let me clear the air a little bit.

1. UV rays do not cause damage to your lens or hardware. Actually, UV is good as it kills fungus.

2. UV filter is more applicable in the film days, where film can be affected by too much UV light. Digital camera sensors have no problem with UV rays. People use UV filters more or less as a habit from the film days for protection over the lens. Nowadays, you see newer filters called "protector" and Nikon's NC (clear). These filters just protect and do not filter UV. The only thing you need to think about is multi-coating. Since adding a piece of glass in front of your lens can affect IQ in terms of flare and reflections, multi-coating aims to reduce that.

3. CPL is used to reduce glare, reflections and get more color contrast in the sky.

4. Using CPL on top of a UV or protector filter is not advisable. On wider lenses, it can cause vignetting, and the more extra glass you have in front of your lens, the more problems you will get.

5. Remember to remove your UV or protector filters when shooting at night to prevent ghosting or flaring. The best IQ you will get is when there is no filter in front of your lens.

6. Hoya and Kenko filters are same thing branded for different markets. They share some same model naming too, like the Pro 1 D range. Hoya HD = Kenko Zeta. Same. Kenko is slightly cheaper than Hoya. All made by Tokina using Hoya glass. I use Kenko mostly. Kenko is a private ltd and Hoya is a public company. There are talk that Kenko is either owned by one of the founders of Hoya or actually owned by Hoya itself.

7. The relationship between the 2 companies Tokina and Hoya is very tricky and very shaded. Both companies do not talk much about it. But there is talk that Hoya has a very big stake in Tokina (or owns it all). BTW, Tokina manufacture all Hoya/kenko filters using Hoya glass. Tokina is still a private ltd company, so there is no need to reveal who are the owners. But all over the internet it seems to point to the fact that Hoya owns Tokina, either that or the founders of Hoya owns Tokina. BTW, Pentax is also a subsidary of Hoya as well.

8. Price wise, Tokina is cheapest because they do not offer higher ranged filters. Kenko filters are almost identical to Hoya filters. Kenko is always just slightly cheaper, because Kenko stuff are mostly parallel imported into Singapore from China (where stuff are cheaper). Apparently Kenko Japan has a authorized distributor in China, and Kenko is really very popular among China photographers.


thanks bro for the detail explaination.

so what filter do you use for day and night?

no filters at night, meaning CPL also not suitable?
 

thanks bro for the detail explaination.

so what filter do you use for day and night?

no filters at night, meaning CPL also not suitable?

Please google up on "photographic filters". You will learn a lot, including what a CPL is for. If you know what it's for, basic common sense will tell you it is NOT advisable at night.
 

thanks bro for the detail explaination.

so what filter do you use for day and night?

no filters at night, meaning CPL also not suitable?

What is a CPL used for:
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/polarizers.shtml

So what are you trying to achieve at night by using a CPL. If you do not know, means you do not need. Personally, I have never found a reason why I want to use a CPL at night.


Filters are used for a specific purpose. If you cannot say what purpose or effect you are trying to achieve, it means you are not ready for it yet.

I've already told you a UV or protector is useful for protection. But it is your choice to see if you need it. I know many who do not use UV or protector. They just use their lens hood as protection.
 

since Digital camera sensors have no problem with UV rays, the only reason why we should buy UV is protect the lens, hence, should i just go for the CPL for day, and remove the filter at night.
 

since Digital camera sensors have no problem with UV rays, the only reason why we should buy UV is protect the lens, hence, should i just go for the CPL for day, and remove the filter at night.

Please, for once, read the info that has been provided to you. Look at the links, do some research, and you will see that CPL filters are NOT an "always on filter".

Stop expecting to be spoonfed. Do some reading.
 

Please, for once, read the info that has been provided to you. Look at the links, do some research, and you will see that CPL filters are NOT an "always on filter".

Stop expecting to be spoonfed. Do some reading.

bro, stop being so rude, you can actually rephrase your words nicely.
 

OT: If I remember correctly from some reading I have done last time, one of the medium format company(mamiya, i think) actually belongs to Hoya.

Business in Japan and Korea are quite complicated, hard to figure out who is the ultimate owner as each owns a certain fraction of each other.
 

OT: If I remember correctly from some reading I have done last time, one of the medium format company(mamiya, i think) actually belongs to Hoya.

Business in Japan and Korea are quite complicated, hard to figure out who is the ultimate owner as each owns a certain fraction of each other.

firstly, thanks for coming in here to share info.

Seems like Hoya is related to a few companies, if Kenko and Tokina are using hoya glass, can i say the hoya, kenko and tokina glass quality is the same.
so is it more economical to get kenko or tokina?
 

UV from the sun cannot kill fungus. what about fungal spores? totally out of the question.
 

........

6. Hoya and Kenko filters are same thing branded for different markets. They share some same model naming too, like the Pro 1 D range. Hoya HD = Kenko Zeta. Same. Kenko is slightly cheaper than Hoya. All made by Tokina using Hoya glass. I use Kenko mostly. Kenko is a private ltd and Hoya is a public company. There are talk that Kenko is either owned by one of the founders of Hoya or actually owned by Hoya itself.

7. The relationship between the 2 companies Tokina and Hoya is very tricky and very shaded. Both companies do not talk much about it. But there is talk that Hoya has a very big stake in Tokina (or owns it all). BTW, Tokina manufacture all Hoya/kenko filters using Hoya glass. Tokina is still a private ltd company, so there is no need to reveal who are the owners. But all over the internet it seems to point to the fact that Hoya owns Tokina, either that or the founders of Hoya owns Tokina. BTW, Pentax is also a subsidary of Hoya as well.

8. Price wise, Tokina is cheapest because they do not offer higher ranged filters. Kenko filters are almost identical to Hoya filters. Kenko is always just slightly cheaper, because Kenko stuff are mostly parallel imported into Singapore from China (where stuff are cheaper). Apparently Kenko Japan has a authorized distributor in China, and Kenko is really very popular among China photographers.

firstly, thanks for coming in here to share info.

Seems like Hoya is related to a few companies, if Kenko and Tokina are using hoya glass, can i say the hoya, kenko and tokina glass quality is the same.
so is it more economical to get kenko or tokina?

Dude, read man, read. Posted it in plain sight for you and you can keep asking the same stuff over and over again. Makes me feel stupid and useless.
 

Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.