Ok, someone please explain Hoya/kenko's naming scheme

[996GT2]

So I finally gave in and decided to buy a multicoated UV filter to protect my new Sigma 18-50 Macro. After shooting in a light drizzle last week with the 135L I'm really glad that it came with a 72mm Hoya S-HMC filter on it...it was already hard enough cleaning the water spots off the filter...can't imagine how much of a pain it would be to clean water spots off of the lens...

So I was looking at Hoya/Kenko filters, and their naming scheme is extremely confusing. Here's what I think I got out of it:

In order of low to high quality:

Green-->Standard (Purple)-->HMC-->Pro1 Digital-->Super HMC-->Pro1 SuperHMC-->HD

And for Kenko:

Standard-->MC-->Pro 1D

Is that right?

Also, are the Hoya HMC and Kenko MC both 6-coats? And the Hoya Pro 1D and Kenko Pro 1D 12 coats?

Someone please explain this to me, thanks.


Edit: I'm currently deciding between a 72mm kenko MC and a 72mm Kenko Pro1 Digital. Is the Pro1 Digital worth the extra 12-15 bucks over the MC's $18 or so?

Also, I've noticed that B&W F-Pro filters aren't priced too much higher than Hoya Pro1D (at least for UV filters). Are they better than Hoya/Kenko Pro1D? What are the different grades of B&W filters?

 

[foghorn67]

I don't know about the different grades of B&W,I have a few for my FD lenses that are long gone, but they were (are?) all the rage. If there were any better, it was a short, short list.
Since going EOS, I have been more than pleased with Hoya's HMC and Super HMC. I don't have any experience with Pro 1 Super HMC and HD, although I want to see it's availability on their ND filters.
Maybe I'll spring for a 77mm Hoya UV HD, might be overkill. But my recently acquired Tok 12-24 came with a free cheapie Green UV filter, can't wait to get rid of it. I just use it for secondary lens cap, taking it off each time I shoot with it.

/quickly jumps tabs and types in bhphotovideo

 

[foghorn67]

Okay I thought of a shadetree mechanic's way of testing filters. Spray hard water on the filters, let it dry. Index each of them by the amount of difficulty on removing the hard water spots.

 

[996GT2]

Ok, ended up getting a 72mm Kenko MC Digital for only $15.99 shipped from an eBay store with very high feedback score. From everything I've read, the Kenko MC filters are identical to Hoya HMC...so hopefully this performs well on my Sigma 18-50.

 

[foghorn67]

Originally posted by: 996GT2
Ok, ended up getting a 72mm Kenko MC Digital for only $15.99 shipped from an eBay store with very high feedback score. From everything I've read, the Kenko MC filters are identical to Hoya HMC...so hopefully this performs well on my Sigma 18-50.

Nice, I'l have to look into more Kenko stuff.