Whats the difference in filters for a SLR?

[GoingUp]

I want to know is what does a $160 B+W brand circular polarizing filter give me vs a $30 generic one?

Please recommend me a good UV and Polarizing filter for a 77mm lens. They will be going on the Canon 70-200mm F2.8 IS and Canon 17-55mm F2.8.

Thanks!

Edit: Camera will be a Canon 40D

Edit #2

Do I need both a polarizing filter and UV one?

 

[Anubis]

the difference is teh quality of the glass, the coating and the material the ring is made out of,

i have this one
its very nice
http://www.adorama.com/HP77CPLM.html

 

[Sassy Rabbit]

It depends on what you want the filter for. UV filters just prevent UV light from entering the camera; polarizer filters allow you to adjust the filter to get rid of glare and enhance colors - great for black and white and outdoor shots in bright sunlight. If you just want something to protect the lens - get a cheap skylight or UV filter. If you want something to enhance your photo quality, get a polarizer filter. As far as the later goes - you can get linear and circular polarizers. The linear are far cheaper, but if your camera uses a beam splitter, it will mess up the auto-focus and metering - so for most dSLR's a circular polarizer would be the best option.

BTW - I have a tiffen circular polarizer and I love it.

 

[GoingUp]

Originally posted by: Sassy Rabbit
It depends on what you want the filter for. UV filters just prevent UV light from entering the camera; polarizer filters allow you to adjust the filter to get rid of glare and enhance colors - great for black and white and outdoor shots in bright sunlight. If you just want something to protect the lens - get a cheap skylight or UV filter. If you want something to enhance your photo quality, get a polarizer filter. As far as the later goes - you can get linear and circular polarizers. The linear are far cheaper, but if your camera uses a beam splitter, it will mess up the auto-focus and metering - so for most dSLR's a circular polarizer would be the best option.

BTW - I have a tiffen circular polarizer and I love it.

Camera will be a Canon 40D

 

[virtuamike]

I have a Rodenstock. It's pretty clean. I also have an old Hoya. It's not very clean.

It all depends on how picky you are.

 

[Sukhoi]

I have a B+W 77mm cir polar. It's definitely nice and sturdy. I can't actually tell if the metal is brass or not, but it is supposed to be. It usually does come off the lens pretty easy, and when it does get stuck it's not that hard to unstick.

 

[Heidfirst]

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs


Please recommend me a good UV and Polarizing filter for a 77mm lens. They will be going on the Canon 70-200mm F2.8 IS and Canon 17-55mm F2.8.

as already said it's the quality of the glass/coatings.
You've bought nice glass for your Canon do you want to put an inferior piece of glass in the way between your lens & the subject?

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: Heidfirst

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs


Please recommend me a good UV and Polarizing filter for a 77mm lens. They will be going on the Canon 70-200mm F2.8 IS and Canon 17-55mm F2.8.

as already said it's the quality of the glass/coatings.
You've bought nice glass for your Canon do you want to put an inferior piece of glass in the way between your lens & the subject?

what you are getting at is that all filters result in some IQ loss, the better the filter the smaller the ammnt of IQ loss, its basicially not noticable at all, however the OP asked for suggestions on filters, i assume he knows this

you really cant go wrong with Heliopan, B&W and Hoya, all of them are top quality

i use Helopan, posted a link in my first post to the polarizer i have

the only non Helopan filter i have is my IR filter which is a hoya r72 because heliopan does not make them

 

[GoingUp]

Bump for question about needing separate UV and polarizing filters.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs
Bump for question about needing separate UV and polarizing filters.

You want a UV for situations where you want to protect your front element. Situations include blowing sand, salt water, and rain.

You want a CPL for decreasing glare and bringing out the saturation in skies. You lose a bit of light with the CPL though because it's a dark filter.

So CPLs and UVs are used for different things. If you encounter both things, you should consider getting both filters.

I would not recommend Hoya for the CPL because the aluminum ring construction can get the filter stuck on lenses. Brass is best for CPLs.

 

[GoingUp]

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs
Bump for question about needing separate UV and polarizing filters.

You want a UV for situations where you want to protect your front element. Situations include blowing sand, salt water, and rain.

You want a CPL for decreasing glare and bringing out the saturation in skies. You lose a bit of light with the CPL though because it's a dark filter.

So CPLs and UVs are used for different things. If you encounter both things, you should consider getting both filters.

I would not recommend Hoya for the CPL because the aluminum ring construction can get the filter stuck on lenses. Brass is best for CPLs.

Thanks. Recommend me a good CPL and UV filter then please

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs
Bump for question about needing separate UV and polarizing filters.

You want a UV for situations where you want to protect your front element. Situations include blowing sand, salt water, and rain.

You want a CPL for decreasing glare and bringing out the saturation in skies. You lose a bit of light with the CPL though because it's a dark filter.

So CPLs and UVs are used for different things. If you encounter both things, you should consider getting both filters.

I would not recommend Hoya for the CPL because the aluminum ring construction can get the filter stuck on lenses. Brass is best for CPLs.

Thanks. Recommend me a good CPL and UV filter then please

http://hvstar.net/index.asp?Pa...on=VIEWPROD&ProdID=319
http://hvstar.net/index.asp?Pa...ion=VIEWPROD&ProdID=66
http://hvstar.net/index.asp?Pa...ion=VIEWPROD&ProdID=35
http://hvstar.net/index.asp?Pa...ion=VIEWPROD&ProdID=26

Slim CPLs are the safest for ultrawide lenses because they eliminate the chance for vignetting. Unfortunately, slim CPLs are not compatible with screw-on and snap-on lens caps. They require push-on lens caps.

 

[Jawo]

I have used UV filters since day one on my lenses. I have a Hoya HMC UV filter that just seems to work better than the uncoated Tiffen I have on another lens. I have been looking at getting this polarizer as well.

 

[dug777]

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs
Bump for question about needing separate UV and polarizing filters.

You want a UV for situations where you want to protect your front element. Situations include blowing sand, salt water, and rain.

You want a CPL for decreasing glare and bringing out the saturation in skies. You lose a bit of light with the CPL though because it's a dark filter.

So CPLs and UVs are used for different things. If you encounter both things, you should consider getting both filters.

I would not recommend Hoya for the CPL because the aluminum ring construction can get the filter stuck on lenses. Brass is best for CPLs.

I've used a variety of Hoya CPLs on a variety of lenses, and never managed to get one stuck, so I'm not sure how much weight to place on that particular problem. Just don't screw them in like you stole the lens

 

[Heidfirst]

Originally posted by: anubis

what you are getting at is that all filters result in some IQ loss, the better the filter the smaller the ammnt of IQ loss, its basicially not noticable at all,

I beg to differ that the difference between good & bad filters isn't noticeable but everyone is entitled to their own opinion e.g. I know people that prefer not to use any filters purely for lens protection purposes whereas I prefer to have the added insurance.

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny

You want a CPL for decreasing glare and bringing out the saturation in skies.

Polarisers are especially useful for cutting down on reflections e.g. from water or glass, perspex etc.

 

[AndrewR]

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: Heidfirst

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs


Please recommend me a good UV and Polarizing filter for a 77mm lens. They will be going on the Canon 70-200mm F2.8 IS and Canon 17-55mm F2.8.

as already said it's the quality of the glass/coatings.
You've bought nice glass for your Canon do you want to put an inferior piece of glass in the way between your lens & the subject?

what you are getting at is that all filters result in some IQ loss, the better the filter the smaller the ammnt of IQ loss, its basicially not noticable at all, however the OP asked for suggestions on filters, i assume he knows this

you really cant go wrong with Heliopan, B&W and Hoya, all of them are top quality

i use Helopan, posted a link in my first post to the polarizer i have

the only non Helopan filter i have is my IR filter which is a hoya r72 because heliopan does not make them

I'd add Cokin to that list as well -- they make good quality filters.

I just can't bring myself to buy a B+W CPL though I know they are the best. For my largest lens (77mm), the B+W is $140 or so which is more than I paid for the lens, admittedly at a significant discount. I wound up buying a cheap Sunpak CPL in 77mm, and I have a Cokin 58mm that I use with a stepdown for my 55mm lenses. I need to buy an actual 55mm at some point because it's a pain to not be able to use the lens caps or hoods.