Filters for Hassy Lenses

<p>Does anyone have any experience using the new super-duper major-multicoated UV lenses from Hoya or Tiffen on their Zeiss glass? I prefer the older C lenses for the way they render skintones on black-and-white film, but I've noticed that some of my newer lenses seem a little sharper under less-than-perfect lighting conditions.</p>

<p>Would putting a Tiffen HT, Hoya SMC, or crazy-coated filter help with the sharpness of my lens under adverse lighting conditions? Would it affect the rendering of tones? Or am I better off just shooting without a filter at all?</p>

<p>All that adding a filter will do is give you whatever the particular filter was designed to do, plus provide two more surfaces for light to bounce off, adding to the total light that is bouncing around already.</p>

<p>Those two additional surfaces may be multicoated, so reflections will be minimized. But there will still be more reflections.<br />And it does nothing to how light bounces off the other surfaces (i.e. the single coated surfaces in your C lenses).</p>

<p>If you want something to make a difference, and if you don't already, try a good lens hood.</p>

<p>I have Bay 50 to 52mm adapters for my 80mm and 150 CZ lenses and a Bay 60 to 62mm adapter for my 60mm CZ lens. I keep them on, along with a HMC UV(0) filter to protect the front elements. My 40mm CZ lens has a huge front element so I am just very careful about not damaging it.</p>

<p>No filter will ever <em>increase</em> sharpness, it is an extra piece of glass and potentially decrease sharpness and add additional flare. However, for B&W, a 25(A) filter will increase contrast so it will increase <em>apparent</em> sharpness, but it's an illusion.</p>

<p>A filter probably won't cause a loss of sharpness (it will never help), but almost always causes a loss of contrast due to flare and internal reflections. A good coating helps in this regard, and MRC coating makes the filter easier to clean. However any direct light striking even a coated filter will cause a dramatic loss of contrast. A good lens hood is essential, even when shooting under normal (front lighting) conditions.</p>

<p>Thanks guys - I figured as much, but I wanted to be sure. I know multicoating helps, but I was pretty sure any benefit would be lost the second the light hits a lens with older coatings. Since I prefer the look of the older coatings anyway, this is no real loss to me.</p>

<p>And yes Q.G., I am using lens hoods. I may be a fool, but I'm no idiot :)</p>

<p>Most of the time when using a high quality filter (many people use a low quality one, which is a bad move) there is no obvious impact, i.e. there are no practical consequences. In some situations, e.g. city scenes at night, there is a relatively large risk of problems in the forms of ghosts and flare. Due to this, I decide on a case by case basis whether a filter is what I need or not.</p>