Filters, and specifically Quantaray

Sorry for all the backstory, but I want you to know I HAVE done some

research and thought on all this. Ok, here's the deal. I picked up

a 17-40 and 70-200 2.8 IS a couple of weeks ago. I hadn't had time

to pick filters before ordering, they sold me some Tiffens along

with the order, they arrived in less than mint condition shall we

say, and I sent them back.

 

I want UV filters for each lens and a (circular) polarizer. I want

the former because a) I shoot usually around 7k-14k feet and b) I'm

in a wide range of conditions (dust/moisture) doing so. I don't

really care about brass vs. aluminum. In ten years of shooting I've

yet to have an aluminum bind on me. I've been using Tiffens - a

haze 1 and skylight 1a for years, and a circular polarizer three our

four times over the last few months (I found it one day while

hiking). Done a lot of reading, and it seems recommended brands are

B+W, Heliopan, Hoya, Tiffen in that order. I'm not willing to spend

as much on filters as I did on a lens *unless* I can see proof it's

worth the money. I'd have had no problem paying twice as much for

the 16-35 if I hadn't come to the conclusion it wasn't significantly

better than the 17-40. Unfortunately, most people don't buy the

same filter from different brands to compare them.

 

I had kind of decided to go with Tiffen Haze 2s and a Tiffen

polarizer. The former because I haven't seen that anyone else makes

a comparible one, the latter because several people have said that

Tiffen's was the most neutral of all cps they'd tried. I've seen

the same thing said about their NDs, but I'm not specifically

planning to get those right now though I will add them later.

 

I looked around town and found Hoyas, Quantaray, and Promaster.

Quantaray is Ritz/Wolf house brand. I asked who made them, they

said Hoya. I found this old thread (http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-

and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=000nwT) which seemed to confirm that. They

are less expensive than the Hoya branded ones, but they ARE

multicoated according to the label. I can't really find anything

more than that. Are they the same as the HMC filters (as opposed to

SMC), or are they a lower class? Anyone have any experience with

them? I know you get what you pay for, but I'm wondering if the

difference in this case is brand naming and purchasing volume.

Another big plus for Quantaray right now is what appears to be an

annual buy two get one free deal. I haven't done any digging into

Promaster yet so I've no idea who makes them, but it's the brand

carried by both the major camera stores here and where my parents

live.

 

Does anyone know of websites that have done brand comparisons for

filters? Doesn't have to be as detailed/scientific as Bob's article

on here (which was interesting and helpful in its own right). I've

seen a few text summary kinds of things, but I'd prefer actual

images. I have a feeling I may have to do that myself though if I

really want to know.

 

Thanks for taking the time to read all that, and more thanks if you

have any answers! :)

I have no pics for you. I may be wrong but you won't find much discussion or very many

images from people with those lenses with Quantaray filters. Quantaray is a well known

name, but it is known for making very inexpensive, low end stuff in comparison to high

end Canon L glass. You'd be well served by relying on reputation and choosing what most

others use with good glass, Hoya Pro, B&W, Heliopan. Leica, etc.

I'd think I'd stick with the names. You never really know what the Quantaray stuff is. They could change suppliers and you'd never know. I'm sure they can get anyone to write "Quantaray" on a lens or filter for them. Word at one time was their lenses were made by Sigma, but again, you can never be sure.

 

It's not like Tiffen and Hoya filters are really, really, expensive either. I'm not sure it makes much sense to save a couple of dollars buying "off brand" filters. Tiffen and Hoya are a good compromise between dirt cheap and overly expensive!

 

I suppose you could get the Quantarays and test them. If you don't see a difference in sharpness on and off the lens, I guess you got a good one. If you do, just take them back to Ritz.

Since I bought my last camera, Canon EOS 300D Rebel at Ritz, I ended up buying three filters there. Quantaray. UV, ND and Circ Polarizer. I have used them for six months. Extensive use, traveled in Europe for seven weeks, and Western USA as well. I have had no problems and I am perfectly satisfied with them. My other filters for my Nikon, Leica and Pentax 35mm are mostly HOYA and I also never had any problems with them. I am extremely doubtful that the additional cost for more expensive filters is going to make a whit of a difference. I am not qualified to say that the Canon filter is superior to the Quantaray or the HOYA , I guees for me, it is whatever works. I understand the difference in lenses, but filters , not me.

Canon brand filters are made by Tiffen. They both come in the same plastic outer packaging.

 

Quantaray is a cheap house brand. No idea who makes them. If they are from Hoya, they are probably built to a price and are not to the same level as the Hoya-branded products. As to the lenses, you can easily tell if a Quantaray is a Sigma or not. They look identical except for thr lettering. They used to get a few of the good Sigma lenses, but I think it's now all low-end. Price-wise, Ritz is a good place to avoid for new equipment purchases except fot closeout items.

You bought excellent lenses yet willing to put less-than-excellent filters on them. That logic defies me.

 

Happy shooting,

Yakim.

I have used a mixture of quantaray, B+W and Hoya multicoated UV filters. To be honest I replaced my quantaray ones with B+W and Hoya, just for peace of mind and arguments like Yakim's above. But reality tells me I can't see any difference at all in the pictures.

 

There is, however, a slight difference between multicoated and non-multicoated from the point of view of controlling flare, IMO.

I recently published a 10x13 inch image @300 dpi CMYK (more demanding than a home inkjet printer) from a cropped transparency in a national magazine with a Canon 70-200 f/2.8L and a 77mm Quantaray MC UV on the front, and also an 8x10 calendar image (not counting bleed) @300 dpi CMYK with a 50mm prime and a Quantaray MC UV filter, so who still thinks Quantaray is crap? Maybe you need to print at 16x20 (assuming 300 dpi CMYK for an "apples to apples" comparison) before it becomes noticeable in a 35mm image?

<p>One of the best optics are ALL made in Germany or Japan. There is a company called, Schneider Optics, who makes the one of the finest optics in the world. B+W makes its filters from the optics made by Schneider Optics. so, technically speaking, B+W should be superior filters but I seriously doubt, I mean seriously, that any of you can tell the any tiny difference between Quantaray MC(multi coated) filters and B+W or HOYA HMC filters. You won't be able to because you are only human.<br>

<br />Despite all the bad reps that Quantaray has, they are mad in JAPAN, which I think that it's better optics than Hoya's, which are made in phillipines or other unsuspecting countries. in my opinion, of course. If you can, buy B+W, othwise, save your self $20-$40 and go to ritz camera in your neighbor pay $29 for multi-coated quantaray filters. Just make sure your quantaray is made in JAPAN.</p>

<p>Hummmmmmmm ............ don't take this wrong but "Made in Japan for the Ray Enterprises LLC. Baltimore MD 20705" is printed on the on the back of each little sturdy plastic case. I happen to own four filters UV, R2, YA2 and Y2. Japanese glass is as good as it gets -- btw, mine work beautifully. You bloggers all sound like a bunch of name-dropping snobs who wouldn't know quality if it jumped up and bit you in the ass!<br>

<a href="http://www.macraesbluebook.com/search/company.cfm?company=1152352">http://www.macraesbluebook.com/search/company.cfm?company=1152352</a><br>

Follow the link then give them a call.</p><div></div>

<p>Hoya is made in the Philippines because it has a factory there just like Apple has factories in China and Nike in Indonesia. For many years, you've been buying Timex watches made in the Philippines. If B + W and Heliopan put up factories in Somalia and Djibouti or even South Sudan, are you not going to buy it anymore?</p>