Hoya Filters

Kryptix

Kryptix

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I'm about to buy a few filters for my lenses. I'm starting with just UV filters to protect them.

I've been searching for an answer but unable to find one -- will I benefit from PRO1 over the standard Hoya filters?

Also, does anyone know of a page that explains what certain filters do? I keep seeing words like 'polarize' and I don't know what they mean.

Does anyone know a cheap online place that sells them?
 
Hi,

To be honest the benefit of UV filters is debatable but if you feel they'll be of benefit then I recommend the Pro 1 D, they're particularly useful with wide angle lenses as they have a thinner profile which avoids vignetting

A polarising filter is perhaps THE essential filter if you intend doing any landscape photography, I use mine frequently and it can bring life to an otherwise flat looking shot...

Some info here..

http://www.ephotozine.com/article/Using-filters-4696

simon
 
The box colours denote the quality of Hoya filters.....

From what I remember the green box ones are uncoated, made somewhere like the Philippines and don't get a great reputation for build quality or clarity, but they are very cheap.

The ones in the blue boxes are next up and are single coated and iirc made in Japan, whilst the black box Japanese-made PRO models are multicoated, but quite a bit more expensive.

Hoya filters also come in normal and optical glass, denoted by [n] or [o] after the model name.
 
OK. Cheers. I only want filters (at the moment) to protect the lenses. I've been told a UV filter will do this... Would you say a green Hoya UV would be suitable?
 
If it's just to protect the lens then have a look at Kood filters as well, they're cheap and decent.
 
i've just spent a packet on upgrading all of the filters on my prime lenses to the pro-1 digital UV's, simply because i feel that they do the least harm to light traveling into the lens, i had to do it in stints and actually risked scratching one lens because i noticed enough of a difference between them. i think it also comes down to the lens that they are going on, some you may notice more of a deference than others. my 85mm f1.8 was a world of difference.

pop into a shop and see if they will allow you to test them side by side looking straight through them onto a white then black background.
 
To explain what different filters do I'd recommend the Lee Frost book "the photographers guide to filters" - is a very good read
 
I find UV filters are obsolete, for their UV qualities anyway. In the film days there was no other way from protecting the shot against intense UV rays. But now with digital there's a hot filter over the sensor that proctects from UV IIRC, or there's a coating on lenses. I forget which.

I personally would buy lens hoods for day-to-day, and protection filters for when you're in volatile environments.
 
I personally take the risk that my lenses will not get damaged as apposed to using UV filters as protection. Ive used them in the past and the one thing I always found is that somehow dust still got into the lens... My shots seemed to suffer from allot of flare...

It was a post on here that recomended the use of hoods if you felt your camera was at risk of damage and I have to say... I def now agree now i've tryed it... I even feel that removing the filters has increased the clarity of my shots... although at the same time i started shooting in RAW and that probably makes the bigger difference...

If I where you i'd save the money on the UV filters and spend it on one good poleriser for your walkabout/ wide angle lens.

M
 
Have a look through this thread http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=74329

On the basis of those test and other comparisons elsewhere I got Hoya Pro1 digital protector filters for all my lenses. As I shoot mostly on rallies I use them simply for protecting the front element from dust, mud and flying stones. I'd rather replace a chipped or cracked filter for £20 or so than the front element of a lens... ;)
 
I'm not going to get into the whole filter/no filter argument... but for a decent online supplier at good prices try http://hvstar.net/

If you are going to use filters use top class ones. I prefer Heliopan, B+W or the top end Hoya ones (in that order)

cheers
Bill
 
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