best filter brand

I have a 24-70 lens and are going to buy uv or skylight filter . but

it is a shame to have the best optics and screw bad quality filter to

it. I currently have hoya filters on my cheaper lenses and have

noticed inperfections in glass. salespersons always advise what they

have, and at that size they usualy dont have much so i will probably

order one in.

Some Hoya filters are very good but some are terrible. However, I hear that they are difficult to clean. Anyway, the best brands are Heliopan and B+W.

 

 

Happy shooting ,

Yakim.

Canon makes filters. Nikon makes filters. As does Hoya, Tiffen, B+W, Heliopan.

 

 

 

If one or two 'air bubbles' on the filter do not appear on your film (very likely,) then you should be spending more time shooting with your camera and less time in the 'worry mode,' resulting in a more constructive use of your time.

 

 

 

 

To search for anything 'perfect' is gaining nothing for your peace of mind.

B+W MRCs.

HOYA HMC & SHMC fliters compare favorably with B+W filters, with their Skylight HMC 1b scoring higher than the B+W skylight filter.<p><i>Every one of my five "Pro" lenses wear HOYA HMC 1b filters</i> all the time. Never without them.

Another vote for B+W MRC

<p>

<a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?ci=1&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=yes&O=SearchBar&A=search&Q=*&shs=MRC+77mm">http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?ci=1&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=yes&O=SearchBar&A=search&Q=*&shs=MRC+77mm</a>

<p>

<a href="http://www.schneideroptics.com/filters/filters_for_still_photography/the_b%2Bw_difference/">The B+W Difference</a>

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<a href="http://www.schneideroptics.com/filters/filters_for_still_photography/">B+W filter overview</a>

Nikon L37C

Sure you can spend a lot of money on filters. A haze filter could be $15 from Tiffen or $80 from B+W. B+W (and other premium manufacturers) can rattle on all they like about how their filters are hand ground by highly trained monks, but in the field you are rarely going to see any difference. Dust in the lens won't show up, scatches on your lens probably won't show up, so fractional differences in filter quality will only be visible under the most exacting tests.

Spend your money on good quality lenses not fancy filters.

Just buy good quality un-coated glass filters.

I use Hoya, Jessops, Hamma and Kood. Never had a problem.

Too many people worry about nothing.

B+W MRC F-Pro.

Hi Greg,

 

At the moment (well for the last 7 or 8 years anyway), Hoya's Super Hoya Multi-Coated filter line has had the highest light transmission rate of any commercial filter made. They far surpass B+W MRC filters in light transmission, this shows up as less lens flair caused by the front filter.

 

Hoya's S-HMC filters are coated with five layers of AR coatings and one protective, easy to clean coating on both the front and rear surfaces of the filter for a total of 12 layers of coatings all together. Hoya also uses the same water clear quality glass as the much more expensive B+W line and each Hoya filter is cut, ground and polished flat before coating the same as all high quality filters are. I was a B+W user for a long time but have found the Hoya S-HMC filters to be much better optically and cost less to replace.

 

Whatever you do don't buy cheap plain glass filters and use them on your good lenses. Uncoated or single coated filters cause flair and reduce contrast and anyone with even minor experience that cares about image quality as a photographer can confirm this fact. If you can't or won't pay the money for decent multicoated filters don't use a filter at all, you'll be better off without them.

 

HTH

B+W, but why bother with a UV?! Get a circular polorizing filter and remember give it a

spin and see what it does when shooting outdoors.

Heliopans are my pick for the best!

I agree with the comment about not using non-coated filters. They tend to flare quite easily, and will turn a decent performing lens into a flare-fest. Couple that with the fact that a fair number of lenses are designed with a deep recess on the front, so quite frequently a hood is not required, or at least the hood is quite effective.

 

When you screw a filter on the front, you present a glass surface that is frequently quite far out from the original lens surface, so the recommended lens hood for that lens turns out not to be very useful.

 

Having an assistant (or yourself, if you are using a tripod) hold their hand or some flat object over the lens to shade it from direct sunlight is a very good way to stop a lot of flare conditions.

 

Even then, you will see a noticeable difference with using even just single-coated filters vs. uncoated in a lot of difficult lighting situations.

 

I tend to prefer multi-coated filters, like Hoya HMCs. They may not be the absolute best, but are orders of magnitude better than sticking an uncoated filter on a lens. The difference in quality seen in prints between Hoya HMCs and ultra-expensive filters may only be in the mind of the beholder (or not -- I've never spent much time or angst comparing such differences).