Help With A Polarizer

[User5]

Hi,
I'm looking to get a circular polarizer for my camera. There were 3 that I got it down to, and the first one a Tiffen didn't have any coatings, so I think I'll exclude that to 2. The other 2 I was thinking about were a couple of Hoya multicoated ones. I was looking at the HMC and the SHMC. The super sounds to have better/more coatings than the regular, but the super is supposed to be thin and has no front threads. I don't need the front threads so that's not an issue, and I don't need the thinness because I don't have a wide angle lens, but I'm a little stumped on which one would be better. Would the thinness actually be a con? They both are just about the same price.

Thank you in advance.

P.S. I have one more question; do I need to buy a filter pouch, or can I just use the case it comes in in my bag?

 

[Big Mike]

If the thick filter won't cause any vignetting, then I'd probably get that. It's probably a little more sturdy than the thin one.

I keep my filters in their cases, in my camera bag. I don't carry too many. A filter wallet or pouch is good for organization but I don't think the added protection is needed, as long as you have a good camera bag and are relatively careful.

 

[User5]

If the thick filter won't cause any vignetting, then I'd probably get that. It's probably a little more sturdy than the thin one.

I keep my filters in their cases, in my camera bag. I don't carry too many. A filter wallet or pouch is good for organization but I don't think the added protection is needed, as long as you have a good camera bag and are relatively careful.

Thanks Mike!

Any more opinions?

 

[Dubious Drewski]

Wait! The thinner, better coated filters are kind of a big deal. It's all really a matter of cost, not "sturdiness" of the filter. If the filter you buy has mediocre coatings, you're going to sorting through your photos after a day of shooting and be baffled when you notice that all of your images' levels look like this:



With the giant gap on the left side; your contrast has been stolen. Even if you're not facing an obvious source of light, you'll get lens flares that harm your image in this way. I've stopped using my cheap UV filters altogether because they kept wrecking my shots.

 

[Big Mike]

I really don't know much about the different coatings on filters. I know that they are supposed to reduce glare etc...but I don't know the physics of it.

My philosophy for filters is to avoid the cheapest ones and not shell out for the most expensive ones. That being said, I have several CP filters and I found most of them at garage sales or used camera stores.

 

[User5]

They are both supposed to be pretty good filters. The HMC I believe has 97% light transmit, and the SHMC has 99.7% transmition I believe. I just didn't know much about the ultra thinness of the super one, and if it's a con for me or not. It actually costs slightly LESS than the HMC. They both definitely aren't cheap filters at all, though they seem to be at a pretty good price.

It talks a little bit about the HMC and SHMC here:
http://www.hoyafilter.com/products/hoya/coatings.html
It also gives a little graph on normal multicoating vs the super.

Also, I love having my images sharp, so I guess I'm just confused a little all the way around lol.