What brands do you consider the best? And why?

i have an optex. It was the one the guy at the camera store handed me. Don't know if its the best or not, but it seems alright:P.

depends what you want to spend. they guys at the store said you could spend up to 400-500$ on some NIKON filters. those must be pretty good. i dunno, i have tiffen polarizer, and tamron UV's.

Nikon can keep those filters;-) I have heard Hoya filters are great quality for the price.

I have a couple of Rodenstock, Heliopan and B+W filters. Heliopan and Rodenstock are both German filter companies that use glass from Schott, the same company that supplies glass to Zeiss.

I have found their UV's to be excellent, not only are they free of any optical imperfections/distortions but are also multi-coated to prevent flare. (They have the same blue/green/purple coating as the lens.) As for polarizers, B+W ones are incredibly efficient at cutting out the scattered light. Plus they don't noticeably degrade the image.

I don't often use filters (other than to protect lenses), so I can't really comment too much on them.

I recently purchased a Hoya Pro1 circular polariser and it seams to be very good quality for the money. Hoya are also in the process of rolling out a new range of Pro1 Digital filters optimised for digital SLR's.

When I was at school (more years ago than I care to admit to) Hoya were recommended as good quality and value. I still favour Hoya and have never been disappointed by them.

PS: They make good close up lens sets too.

hoya

Lol, I think Hoya sounds like the highest rated or most common?

I was talking to a guy tonight who makes living by landscape photography and writes a column for a magazine. He reckons that Hoya are OK, except for neutral density filters. The only he neutral density filter he trusts not to give any colour cast is the English made Hitech brand. He also said they are expensive. He fits them into the normal Cokin filter mounts. If your interested here is the Hitech URL: http://www.formatt.co.uk/hitech

My polarizer is some crazy brand that closed down, but they are said to be as good as Tiffen filters which are some of the best. My diffuser is a Quanaray which is pretty junky.

How much are Hoya filters roughly? This isn't my top priority in photography, but using effects such as a dual color filter would be extremely fun.

I don't suppose they ask you what filter size you want a lens to be when they sell it to you...

The three lenses I plan on buying have the filter sizes of 67mm, 52mm, and 58mm. I am considering purchasing a "52-67mm Step-Up Ring" and forgetting about the 58mm (a macro), but I am wondering what the disadvantages of doing this are or possibly stepping down. Anyone who uses or has used a step-up or step-down ring could tell me more than I know.

I use a step up ring frequently to allow me to put my close up filter on more than one lens. It does however stop me using a lens hood on the smaller diameter lens. I expect step down rings could induce vignetting, that is darkening of the image edges especially in the corners.

That is what I thought. Suppose the filter isn't uniform all the way across (like a special effects filter), would having a larger-than-necessary filter distort this somewhat? Is it not enough to worry about? I suppose it is only 7.5 mm on each side...

Is a lens hood necessary? What does it do? What is its practicle purpose?

Well I suppose the filter effect would cover a larger percentage of the image, which might work for or against you. It’s probably one of those try it and see what happens things. The price of a step ring is small enough to experiment with. Over here they cost about the same as a packet of cigarettes.

I saw the brand name step-ups for roughly $30-$50, but others for less than $10 on ebay.

Does anyone here use any of the special effect filters Hoya has to offer such as Color-Spot, Misty-Spot, Dual Color, Dual Image, or Rainbow-Spot?

Could someone fill me in on the full scoop about lens hoods?

Lens hoods shield the front of the lens from stray light, thereby improving contrast and suppressing lens flare. They also protect the front element from coming into contact with anything.

Do lens hoods fit on top of the filter? In that case, should I only buy hoods for the biggest size and always use the step-up ring? Do lens hoods come with a lens ever?

You most likely would not be able to use a lens hood and a step-up ring simultaneously. The hoods work with filters, as long as they are the correct size for the lens. You can't buy different sized hoods for each lens, for instance the only hood that will work with the Canon 70-200 2.8 is the ET-83 II hood. Better lenses include a hood; I'm not sure about the ones you were considering though.

Hehe, ouch! You might as well just use brass knuckles... ;-)

To clarify, does the hood normally snap onto the lens? If a filter us used, does the hood go on top? If a step-up ring is used underneath the filter, would it affect the hood? I am pretty sure I don't understand hwo the setup works, but maybe in a few minutes I will.

Better lenses (read expensive lenses) come with a custom made hood that is attached by bayonet mount. Third party hoods usually screw onto the filter thread, they have a second thread inside them so you can still use your filters. They come in a wide variety of sizes.

Haha...Luke, I didn't mean it that way.

I intended to say that the more expensive ones, more-often-than-not, include a hood. I was not sure about whether or not the lenses you were considering came with hoods.

The third party option (that Robert mentions) didn't come to mind, but is a solution to the stepping ring and filter setup. The OEM ones only come in one size for each lens though. I've had to replace a couple of mine, and was only able to find them in one size/style specific to each lens.

Just find an old lampshade and spray paint it black...attach with duct tape and voila!!! They are available at the corner veterinary hospital;-) lol

nobody could ever accuse you of being cheap now could they :-)

It hadn't occured to me to buy name brand in the first place. Ritz has little rubber ones that collapse and expand for storage or use. Are filters stackable? If they are, then one of these should be able to screw on to the most-outside filter which means I would only need to buy one in the size of my largest lens (67mm).

If they are like mine you can do it either way hood first of filter first.

Darryl I’m not sure if you are resourceful or tight :-)

Maybe he isn't the one to ask about what kind of equipment to buy...

"You don't need a wrench, use your teeth!"

LOL Maybe but I think we will give him the benefit of the doubt this time.

Well, at least he doesn't regard the nicest equipment that most can afford as trash. Is anyone here an experienced median between Will and Darryl?

I love you guys, you put a big grin on my face. Just thought I would add the lampshade as a source of humor in this serious discussion. As Mr. Cheapo there is a cheaper option, take one LP and drape it over a supersize McDonalds cup and place in the oven at 250 degrees F. The result is one custom lens hood;-) Adjust the length to avoid vignetting and spray the interior with flat black paint to avoid the reflections from the surface of the hood.

LOL, that sounds plausible have you done it?

Haha, I have not tried any of these crazy things that pop into my head. I have seen the LP's melt in the oven though to produce tacky fruit bowls:-)

Well, at least you are better than Will. I can just visualize his pulse quickening with rage at this un-uniform unprofessionalism. ;-)

To be honest, I am more on Will's side than not, so I better not say anything to harsh. :-D

I am thinking about waiting around for the 50mm f/1.4 instead of the f/1.8 version. I won't be able to buy it as quick, but its filter size would then be the same as my macro lens and it is less of a jump to the next lens' filter size. Also, the USM will allow me to appear a bit more suave when shooting in public places. :-)

Now, the question has turned into one of those "What Would Be Better?" types. Would it be smart to by my filters to fit 2 lenses and use a step down ring for the big one? Would that mean I would have to crop all my photos from the big one because of a small filter size or would 9mm not make that big of a difference? On the other hand, would it be a smart buy to not have to worry about that and use a step up ring on two lenses and have the filter fit properly for only one?

From a purely optics perspective, I would not use a step-down ring. By only stepping up you are much less likely to get vignette effects. For a filter it shouldn't matter at all how far the filter is from the lens as long as all the 'imaging' rays are able to pass through it to the lens (not blocked by the collar).

Take a look at Singh-Ray.com. The filters are expensive and nonreturnable, but produce outstanding results. I have about about $1,000 invested in 4 or 5 pieces of their glass and have never regretted the investment. If you visit the site, check out the pictures by the late Galen Rowell (also at MountainLight.com). He was one of a kind.

Sounds good to me, just a little pocket change. I think I will pick some up this afternoon...

Seriously, now. No matter how sarcastic I get, it is always good to know what the top brands are. If you don't, you (anybody) have nothing to compare against and could be getting worthless stuff weithout knwoing it. Thanks. :-)

has anyone tried the new Hoya Pro1 Digital filters yet? I need a 77mm Circ Polariser which is pretty pricey whichever premium brand you go for so I want to be sure I get a good one. I already use the Hoya Pro1 filters but havent tried the digital series yet.

Is there a difference? Either way, it affects the light before it gets to the lens. Does this change when what is behind the lens changes?

i dont know - it's probably just a marketing ploy/re packaging exercise but my magpie instincts will no doubt over rule my better judgement on this one

old cameras that used a different light sensor didnt need a circular polarizer, so maybe theres a difference there, but i know most film camera's also need a circular polarizer to exposure properly, so theres probably nothing to it