Does cheap glass really make a difference?

yzmotoxer807

yzmotoxer807

Well-known member
I have heard two conflicting opinions, one was that the price of a uv and/or polarizing filter does not matter because nothing is different in the quality of the glass or it is not noticeable. The other opinion I heard was that you should get the highest quality filter you can find because the quality of the glass makes a huge difference. So, does the glass quality make a noticeable difference? Is it worth spending more money on a better filter?
 
Definitely worth it, it makes a massive difference. Cheap filters that aren't coated can reflect the front of the lens/filter back into the camera and ruin the image. Never, ever, get anything other then the best when it comes to filters and anything else that sits in front of the lens, no matter how tight your budget.
 
i got a tiffen filter from b and h when i got my dvx a year and a half ago for 25 bucks and it has held up good, im pretty sure there are not marks or anything on it. i think its just plain glass, or at least something that doesnt have an effect on my picture
 
My thought is for protection/clear filters its ok to pinch a few pennies, but for anything else you should go with good quality glass.
 
yzmotoxer807 said:
I have heard two conflicting opinions, one was that the price of a uv and/or polarizing filter does not matter because nothing is different in the quality of the glass or it is not noticeable. The other opinion I heard was that you should get the highest quality filter you can find because the quality of the glass makes a huge difference. So, does the glass quality make a noticeable difference? Is it worth spending more money on a better filter?
Click to expand...

There are options to glass filters (but you'll need a matte box or something to hold the filters).

But as far as threaded glass filters go:

Glass filters are either green glass or water type. They are either made from solid glass or laminated. B+W uses Schott glass. Heliopan also uses Schott glass. Tiffen uses solid glass in their UV protector series but all their other filters are laminated glass. Hoya uses solid glass.

A critical issue is that the glass needs to be totally flat. Normally this is the case, but depending on the ring that holds the glass it could become deformed. B+W and Heliopan come in brass rings which helps keep them rigid and also has the benefit of not getting jammed on the lens. Aluminum rings can sometimes get jammed on lens threads. But brass threads are also heavier.

Coating is also extremely critical and really the big issue. Air to glass surfaces cause loss of light transmission from flare. Lenses already have many elements that create surface to air issues and that's why they are coated. Non coated filters will cause flare and light loss. Older lenses that are either not coated or single coated will flare easily. So, multicoated filters are important.

Hoya: The really inexpensive Hoya filters are green glass, not optically coated, and are not made in Japan. But the HMC and SMC filters are made of water glass with excellent optical multicoating. They transmit almost 100% of the light. HMC filters are a good choice.

Tiffen: UV protectors are solid glass in an aluminum mount with no coating. The rest are laminated and either not coated, single coated, or multi-coated. Despite what the previous poster said about Tiffen being crap, Tiffen has been recognized for its special effects filters for decades in Hollywood. That has always been Tiffen's strength. Under controlled lighting, Tiffen special effects filters work very well and they offer effects filters that you can't find elsewhere.

B+W and Heliopan: Solid Schott glass in brass mounts. Single coated or multicoated. B+W MRC coated filters transmit almost 100% of light. Heliopan offers SH-PMC multicoated or single coated versions.

The trick here is to be sure to get coated glass at the very least. Especially if you cannot control light very easily (outdoors, e.g.) You are adding another glass element to the lens (which already has "too many" elements) and you must try to keep light transmission at maximum levels. Multicoated glass is what you should be buying.

Bottom line: spend the extra $$ for a good, solid glass filter in a strong mount. And one that is multi-coated. A large diameter filter can get very expensive. Take care of it as though it were a lens and keep it scratch free.
 
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