Nikon Filter??

[wuyeah]

When you have a good lens, you don't want to put a cheap filter over it. That is what majority of pro/

sales told me. From some links on this forum, i actually see how bad can a cheap filter do to image

quality.

 

As I know, there are sky high price filter out there that is as expansive as a consumer lens. B+W is

usually pretty expansive, Hoya has different range but super coated are 100 dollar above.

 

My question is.....Nikon has produced their own filter. Are they work better than high quality B+W,

Hoya third company filter?

 

If they worth for the Nikon name, I shouldn't be bad. Since from the same company, those filter should

design better to use on its own lens. That is my assumption. Not sure if it is true.

Does anyone know?

[steve_ql]

"Since from the same company, those filter should design better to use on its own lens." - William Wu

 

Not really. A Canon filter will work just as well on a Nikon lens.

 

As to using one, everyone has their own preferences. I bought

a skylight filter for an 85mm f/1.4, but later preferred the

filterless results from that lens. The included hood already

provided enough protection as well.

[ellis_vener_photography]

for filter quality it is pretty much

 

Nikon = B+W = Heliopan

[alan_chan4]

Not sure if they have improved their coating, but back in late 80's I had some Nikon multicoated filters and they were slightly more flare resistance than HOYA HMC (97%), but inferior to Pentax SMC (99.8%). Since HOYA HMC SUPER (99.7%) is almost as flare resistance as SMC now, I would imagine the Nikon multicoated filters are behind, at least for flare resistance. However, even the best filters do induce the chance of flare, and optically, all the major brand filters are practically as good as the others (except TIFFEN & Cokin IMHO). I have tested some B+W & HOYA CPLs on slides and they look absolutely identically in colour and sharpness even when magnified. To me, I use lens hood whenever possible. If I felt the need, I use HOYA HMC or HMC SUPER UV(0) for protection.

[ShunCheung]

It may be ok to put a less expensive filter over a good lens because in most situations, a "cheap" filter is good enough and you won't be able to tell the difference. And in those situations when a cheap filter may cause problems, such as a night shot with some street light inside the frame, sun in frame ... type situations, you can always remove the filter.

 

My point is, if you have a $300 good lens, I wouldn't necessarily spend another $100 on the most expensive filter. I wouldn't buy the cheapest junk filter either, but a $30 one could easily be good enough.

[photo5]

The HMC SUPER UV(0) filters are available cheap from the auction site. My 77mm arrived yesterday and is now snug on my Tamron 20-40mm zoom and will stay there. I don't feel the need to have German glass on these Japanese lenses. I feel the Japanese made filters, just as Japanese made cars, are equally as good, for a fraction of the price.

 

Dave

[arnabdas]

IMX B+W and SchneiderOptics (heliopan) filters are a touch better than Nikons because they have brass filter rings and threads, very easy to put on and off both plastic and metal threaded lenses. Optically they may be the same. In any case All 3 of them have coating that are *noticeably easier to clean than Hoya HMC/SHMC*. Hoya isn't bad either, I had a couple of those -- though I cannot find them anymore.

 

I used exclusively Nikon filters until five years ago, now I find B+W too good to resist. And the Kaesemann slim CPLs are incredible.

[eric friedemann]

William, I like Nikon's L37c coated UV filters for protection and have used them on all my Nikon lenses for 25 years now. However, B+W, Heliopan and Hoya produce some fine, coated UV filters that I'm sure I'd be just as happy with.

[david_h._hartman]

When buying filters I recommend insisting on multi or super

multi-coated filters. Most Nikon filters are still single coated.

If there isnt a c after the filter designation

its single coated. Examples of multi-coated Nikon filters

are the L37c and L1Bc. Many B+W filters are single coated. The

only B+W filter that Ive owned was single coated.

[arnabdas]

"Many B+W filters are single coated. The only B+W filter that Iﾒve owned was single coated."

 

this is true, but B+W is slowly converting it's whole range to MRC (Multi resistant coating) though they do not specify number of coats -- at least none that I am aware of. Heliopan advertises 16x multicoating, and Hoya advertises 12x multicoating for its SHMC range.

[ky2]

Why use filters? ;)

[richard_liu2]

How can we ever survive without the Japanesse or Germans

[arnabdas]

" I don't feel the need to have German glass on these Japanese lenses." - Dave Lee

 

Well Sony (Carl Zeiss glass), Panasonic (Leica glass) and Kodak/Samsung (both Schneider Kreuznach glass) would probably disagree with that statement ;-) .. just look at their higher end digicams.

[walterh]

Shooting color I rarely use a filter. If I do its either a polariser or a filter for protection against fumes (yellowstone) sand (beach, desert) or UV (high altitude). With BW I still have a collection of old uncotaed "color glass" . Still looking to sell my c-pol filters to upgrade to K䳥mann pol filters. Yes I do go to fog-forests to shoot and there the K䳥mann is a must.

 

William as Shun said think about how often you will use the filter and under which conditions. If you want perfect filters go for one of the better brands mentioned above.