Kokonor Filters -- Ever heard of them?

[sarah_fox]

<p>Hi all,</p>

<p>I received a piece of spam today from filterhouse.com. (I've done lots of business with them in the past, and I don't think they've ever spammed me before.)</p>

<p>The purpose of the email was to announce they are carrying a new line of filters made by Kokonor. I've never heard of them, and all of my searches have turned up shoulder shrugs from other photographers. This is their blurb about them:</p>

<p><em>"HD filters with hardened optical glass are the best in camera lens protection filters. For captivating imagery that jumps to life, you need the right tool at just the right moment, and you can rely on Kokonor. <strong>Our High Definition Ultra/Q lens filters are unsurpassed in quality and craftsmanship</strong>, all at price that will please you as much as the results. So make Kokonor HD filters your choice, and start turning your vision into reality." (Boldface emphasis is mine.)</em></p>

<p>It's a pretty big claim to be "unsurpassed in quality and craftsmanship" and yet be almost completely unknown and relatively cheaper. The claim would be that their filters are better than Pro-1 and B+W, both of which I own and love.</p>

<p>I find this a rather dubious claim, and I'm wondering whether there's any truth to it. Does anyone have experience with these filters? Anyone know where they're made or whether they're rebranded filters made by Hoya? (I'm stuck on the word "our" in filterhouse's description -- "our... filters".) I'm not in the market for a filter at the moment, but I'd love to know something about the veracity of this claim, if for no other reason than the fact that I do business occasionally with the company making it (but not so much anymore).</p>

[Alan Marcus]

<p >All filters block or restrict something and conversely pass something. Generally, a filter passes its name. A red filter passes red and stops other colors to some degree. A yellow filter passes yellow and stops some of the blue light. Exception is ultra violet, it blocks ultra violet while an infrared transmits infrared and blocks the visible colors.</p>

<p >Filters play an important role in photography. However, that role has been abridged in modern times. In the days when black-and-white was king, we carried a gadget bag filled with filters and we needed them. Today we take mainly color pictures and filter use is greatly reduced.</p>

<p >The most valuable filter in today's gadget bag is the polarizing screen followed by the neutral density both uniform and variable. Most likely we mount a UV filter which is sold mainly to protect our lenses rather than enhance our pictures. This is true because the UV only works on at high altitudes and on distant landscapes. It has the ability to marginally reduce atmospheric haze. </p>

<p >The Skylight is a UV with a slight warming ability. It acts as the UV and it moderates the bluish cast seen in shadows under sunny skies. </p>

<p >While filters are wonderful, they are also overused. All filters add flare and poor ones degage the optical quality of our lenses. The bottom line is, never mount a filter unless you judge the benefit will outweigh the harm. </p>

[bobatkins]

<p>Since Kokonor is a Chinese word, I'd assume they are some sort of filter produced in China by a company with a creative marketing department. Anyone can claim pretty much anything they want in the way of opinions about a product.</p>

<p>If they're cheap I wouldn't buy them, and if they're expensive, I'd just buy Hoya.</p>

<p>Ask the vendor who makes them and where they are made.</p>

[sarah_fox]

<p>Well... Thanks, Alan! I'm really more interested in knowing if anyone has experience with the Kokonor brand, which I haven't heard of. :-)</p>

<p>Bob, they're not "cheap." They're more expensive than Hoya multi coat (HMC) and less expensive than Pro-1. I think I would probably avoid them if they're Chinese! Dunno... Maybe they have leaded glass. ;-)</p>

<p>I did send off an inquiry to filterhouse. I'm just curious about these things. ;-)</p>

[dbcooper]

<p>Hiya Sarah,</p>

<p>Never heard of them, so I just tried to google them up. Their website had no manufacturer's info, including country of origin. B+H, Hoya, Schneider, etc. are companies that are proud of who they are, but clicking around Kokonor's website only lead me to filterhouse, the apparent sole-source vendor. It smells like filterhouse is having them made abroad as a house brand, most likely in the PRC.</p>

<p>Interesting, too, that their ad copy bills them as 'HD' filters. To me, it looks like they're 'leaning' into the name of the high-end 'HD' filter line Hoya introduced in the last year or so (coincidentally, I just bought four last week). The "list" prices at filterhouse sorta ballpark to the online 'street' price of the Hoya HD line, making the Kokonor selling price look attractive. IMO, it's a not-so-thin co-opt attempt.</p>

<p>IIRC, Kenko is Hoya outside the USA/North America. They're both owned by THK. Kokonor is evidently no relation to them, at least as far as I can tell. Lacking hard test data or reliable independent reviews, I'd pass on Kokonor. Slick ad concept, though. Just my 2¢.</p>

[steven_f1]

<p>Never heard of them.</p>

<blockquote>

<p><strong><em>Our High Definition Ultra/Q lens filters</em></strong></p>

</blockquote>

<p>In my opinion the words "High Definition" is pure marketing. At this time I wouldn't even consider them. I have used at least 4 different brands over the years and I highly doubt they have better "quality and craftsmanship" than BW or Hoya. </p>

[sarah_fox]

<p>Thanks, everyone. I wrote to filterhouse to inquire as to the particulars but still haven't heard anything back. I suspect y'all are right -- in-house label of a chinese filter. I, too, doubt these can be "the best" or even "really, really good" -- probably not as good as Hoya's middle-of-the-road HMC line, but lots more profit margin for filterhouse.</p>

<p>My inquiry was in part to evaluate whether to do any more business with filterhouse. They're often not very competitive in pricing anymore, and I've had one bad experience with them in which they screwed up an order and were unresponsive for a couple of weeks. I heard of a similar experience from someone off list. That's a pity, because I once regarded them as a pretty good source and had referred people there.</p>

[sarah_fox]

<p>OK, I've heard back...</p>

<p>They're supposedly Japanese and supposedly not rebranded Hoyas.</p>

<p>Their flashy website is here... <a href="http://www.forcamerafilters.com">www.forcamerafilters.com</a></p>

<p>... but as DB points out, all roads lead back to filterhouse. ;-)</p>

<p>I think I'll stick with Pro-1 and B+W until I know more. ;-)</p>

[sarah_fox]

<p>Further update. Filterhouse wrote me back...</p>

<p>"They are made for us, you will see that they work the same as Hoya,<br /><br />What size filter do you use? ill send you a sample..."</p>

<p>I suppose they want some good word of mouth and know that some people follow my recommendations. Although I don't have a very large voice in the photographic community, I think I do have a reputation for open-mindedness and objectivity. Not wanting to be a free-loader, I offered to do one better for them. I already have Hoya Pro-1, Hoya HMC, and B+W UV filters in my collection. I offered to test the Kokonor (and perhaps also Kenko) filters beside my Hoya and B+W filters and to put the results up on the Internet -- and then to send them back any filters they sent me. I can easily compare filters for flare, reflectance, internal stress (not expecting to see any), and overall image degradation. I can also show some real-world consequences of filter use. I think it would be a very useful and interesting review.</p>

<p>Unfortunately all I'm hearing is crickets chirping... </p>

<p>It seems strange that they would be willing to <strong>give</strong> me a filter for positive word of mouth but not to <strong>lend</strong> me a few filters for testing. Anyway, if this ever pans out, I guess you'll see a short article about it.</p>

[sarah_fox]

<p>Another follow-up:</p>

<p>I sent them another email, requesting a reply to my email (since that would only be polite). Chris at filterhouse asked me for my number so that he could call me about the product comparison I proposed. I promptly sent him my phone number, and he has still not called me or left any messages.</p>

<p>Bottom line: They're willing to <strong>GIVE</strong> me a Kokonor filter for positive word of mouth. However, they're unwilling to <strong>LEND</strong> me filters for objective, quantitative, side-by-side comparisons.</p>

<p>I'm thinking they don't have much confidence in their Kokonor product.</p>

<p>I'm also thinking their margins must be tremendous, for them to casually offer to give me a sample filter. One might see those sorts of margins on products made in China (claims to the contrary), for instance in the historic Kokonor region of China -- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qinghai_province">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qinghai_province</a>. Hmmmmm...</p>

[mali_john]

<p>Kokonor is the biggest lake in China, therefore, Kokonor filters are probably from China. </p>