need a good filter for HPX170

W

watson

Well-known member
Just got a HPX170 and i need a decent filter for protection. any recommendations? I see B+W has a ton of different 72mm filters, any suggestions? Thanks!
 
Sky 1A or US are the standard lens protectors. Yes, get a good one like B+W or Schneider, it does make a difference. Personally, i just keep mine on for transport, when I shoot, I remove it. One less thing to smudge or get scratched.

Dan
 
I have a B+W UV-Haze filter on my HPX-170 for protection. I was told by some cameraman to take it off during shoot as it'll affect the quality. Is it true?
 
JesterJJZ said:
If you only use it for transport then why not just get the cheapest one available?
Click to expand...

I think most users leave them on and shoot with them. In that case, I would tell them to buy a quality filter. For me, I use cheapo Tiffens or generics for the reason you say. I agree, if you are going to remove it, buy the cheapest, it's just a cover.

D
 
This guy did tests on UV filters using a calibrated UV/visible spectrophotometer and he found that the cheapo UV filters weren't much worse than the B+W and the Hoya filters with the Tiffen Haze-1 being the best and the regular Tiffen being not much different than the rest:

http://photo.net/equipment/filters/

I rarely shoot with a UV filter on the lens and still believe that it'd be impossible to tell the difference between footage shot through a cheap UV filter as opposed to a high cost UV filter (unless haze reduction is the goal.)

.
 
For me, its more about the mechanics. Usually the filter I have on gets scratched up because I carry the HVX/HPX170 in the Ogio Ty Video backpack, neither camera will fit into it with the hood on so the camera is riding around with just the bare lens exposed. My filters has scratches on it anyway so I just remove it when I shoot and put it on when the camera goes back into the backpack ;-)

Wish this backpack was just an inch or two longer. I can cram the cameras in with the hood but they just barely don't fit well.

Dan
 
That test talks about UV absorption only, and says nothing about MTF or contrast or glare or reflections or any of the other problems that a cheapo filter can introduce.

The good B+W and Hoya filters were signficantly better in attenuating UV than the cheap filters too. All the cheap ones seemed useless, but at 350nm the B+W and Hoya were rejecting 95% of UV, whereas the cheap filters were rejecting 15 to 20%. That's a big difference.

I rarely shoot with a UV filter on the lens and still believe that it'd be impossible to tell the difference between footage shot through a cheap UV filter as opposed to a high cost UV filter (unless haze reduction is the goal.)
Click to expand...
In terms of UV reduction, I think there'd be a difference. However, in terms of shooting with no filter on at all (as you and I shoot) vs. shooting with a cheapo filter, I can guarantee you that people can tell the difference. A cheap filter can have a noticeable negative effect on the footage. A long time ago TimurCivan noted how impressed he was with someone else's HVX and how much crisper, sharper, and clearer it was than his own, and ... well, I'll just find his post and quote it:

I have been shooting hapily with my HVX200 for 9 months. Then i had the opportunity to shoot with one that was not mine on a job. When i reviewed the footage it looked incredible. just sharper, and tighter over all.

I thought the HVX had been secretly upgraded, perhaps a better DSP or something.... but it turns out that when i bought my camera, in a paranoid rage, i put on a tiffen UV filter, and haven't taken it off since. Big mistake. I've been sacrificing resolution ever since.

So kids, take off your UV filters until its absolutely necessary.
Click to expand...
 
You guys use a filter for lens protection until you're ready to shoot and then take it off? I thought that was what the lens cap was for:)
 
Sneakle said:
You guys use a filter for lens protection until you're ready to shoot and then take it off? I thought that was what the lens cap was for:)
Click to expand...

You gotta read my post more carefully. Neither the HVX or HPX170 will fit into my backpack with the lens hood on the camera. Lens hood on both cameras is what holds the lens cap, right?

I know, it's weird but I am really much happier using a backpack for my cameras than a camera case. The backpack holds all of the cameras gear as well as my laptop. Camera cases just carry cameras.

Dan
 
its that doofy combo lens hood/cap thing. it makes it hard to fit the camera efficiently into bags and cases.
i too use a cheap uv filter as a lens cap
 
Barry says it much better than I do, but I recommend a very good photography grade UV filter.
I opted to the slim version (even if it's more$) for the practicality.
 
Filters cause a wealth of problems.

Just shoot with the stock lens, and use the protective filter for transport ect
 
I've been using a format HD filter seems to work well. Anyone notice anything negative with that one, I just got my camera so I haven't shot alot with it.
 
Yeah, love Formatt! My polarizer, ND grads and UV clear are all Formatt.

The only problem I've ever had was fumbling and dropping my Formatt polarizer into the Hooker River in the Mt Cook National Park in NZ...that was a bad start to a day's hiking and shooting...!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top