Filters - Hoya or Tiffen

[alwayslearning]

I'm wondering if any of you have a preference in filter brands? Hoya? Tiffen? Other? I see that Hoya's tend to run quite a bit higher in price. Not always, but usually that means something.

Looking here, http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?ci=0&shs=neutral+density+77mm&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=yes&O=jsp%2Fproductlist.jsp&A=search&Q=*&bhs=t I see the Hoya's are "multi-coated" and I'm sure that add's to the price. I'm wondering what the difference is though in the end?

Thanks, Larry

[egproductions]

I think brand is more of a personal preference. Any extra glass that you put ove your lens is going to reduce sharpness contrast by a small degree so the question you need ot ask youslef is:

1. Is you lens expensive enough to protect and reduce quality slightly

2. does the effect of the filter outweight the reduction of shaprness. If you need a polarizer to get a nice blue sky I would say of course it is worth it

In regards to price, multicoated is always going to be more expensive. It helps reduce glares that can get traped between your filter and lens. If you aren't shooting in types of situation then don't bother with mutlicoated as they are more expensive and harder to clean.

[alwayslearning]

Thanks for the reply eg.
The lense I'm getting, hopefully by next week, is a $1750 lens and has a 77mm dia. I will definitely have something protective over it. I always buy a medium priced UV filter and haven't been able to tell a difference with or without it. But I'm right now looking into ND filters so they have to be quality for the reasons you mentioned. Are you thinking multi-coat vs. not (i.e. less expensive) is more for such things as relection and not, for example, sharpness? I'm not going to skimp on them (ND's) but I don't want to spend any more than I have to either ... like everyone else.

Larry

[egproductions]

The coatings are definitely for reflections. I think if you stick to the big brands (tiffen, hoya) you won't have a a very noticeable reduction in sharpness multi-coated or not. The multi-coating isn't going to make every picture look better, but the photos that do contain some glare or are prone to glare will benefit from it.

You can spend very little or a lot on a filter. Definitly don't go cheap and I don't think there is a need to get the most expensive one. But do you get a lower middle or higher middle....thats going to be up to your budget. Unfortuntly we (myselft included) don't factor in the cost of a good qualiyt filter when we buy $1700 lenses. If you aren't looking to spend that much, go with a middle low filter and you can always look into upgrading later when you have a better idea of how your lens performs and see if there is any difference.

[alwayslearning]

Good advice eg. Thanks.
It might seem almost goofy to be concerned about a filter's cost when buying a good lens, but my thinking, right or wrong, is that if I can spend less on one item without sacrificing quality, then it's a few more bucks I can spend on something else. If that makes sense .....

So ya, I think that helps knowing a bit more about the coatings thing.

Larry

[DivotDan]

I only use B+W Pro-1 filters on my pro lenses. I use Hoya Multi-coated on my consumer lenses.

[alwayslearning]

Ok Dan, I just looked up B+W filters at http://www.photofilter.com/B+W/b+w_filters.htm

The price is so high I have to ask ...... Do you see a difference? :)

Larry, looking at the 77mm's

[DivotDan]

Well, lets put it this way. With a 77mm Hoya costing about $50-60 bucks, I don't mind spending the extra $40 on a filter for a $1700 lens to make sure I don't have to discover if there is a difference or not. :)

This is debated all the time on the internet, and I don't think that most people will never notice the difference. It's kinda like someone who uses Leica. It's just a high quality product, and only the user really knows the difference.