polarizing filter with little nick on coating; much cheaper but should I buy?

[Treymac]

[Edit: here is a photo which shows the wear: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v164/theaussiepea/Hoya%20CPL%20Filter/GMK_20080601_2662.jpg ]

Hey guys. I found an awesome deal on a Hoya 77mm Pro1 Digital Circular Polarizing Filter. It would be great to have, but the only problem is that it's so cheap because apparently it has a little nick in the coating (looks to be 1mm in length). I'm planning to get this filter for my soon to have 10-20mm lens (and also a step up to use with my 58mm).

So my questions are:

Will a little nick show up in a photo? I'm thinking that since it's on a wide angle lens, the size of the nick might be magnified in the photo (or would it be the other way around, and actually minimized?)

Also, if something like that did show up, would it be possible to photoshop out?

Thanks.

 

[tirediron]

No! Glass, whether as filters or lenses is the most important part of the photographic process. This mark might not show up at all, or only under certain conditions if does, likely it would either be a flare or as an unpolarized spec in the image. You could probably photoshop it out, but why? Even a top-end CPOL is <$200. Never, ever go cheap on glass!!!!!

 

[Treymac]

I should have included the price I could get it for; $35 including shipping. Normally it's usually at least $100 more.

A flare is the only thing that bothers me. If it comes out just as a little line on the photo, most likely I could fix it with photoshop, but a flare would completely ruin the photo.

Judging from that photo, it looks like the marks are along the edge. If I use it with my 58mm with a step up, would those marks be outside of the lens? Because if they would be, I could at least use it for that lens, which would be a fairly good deal?

P.S. tirediron, those are some sweet firework pictures on your webpage.

 

[Iron Flatline]

No. It's broken.

 

[Treymac]

what do you mean by broken? Would your guess be that it would not be able to be used with my 58mm either? Since it's 20mm wider, there would be 10mm around the edge of the filter that would not show on that lens.

I guess my question would be, does it look like those marks are within 1cm of the edge of the filter?

 

[Garbz]

I think he was joking. I'd say go for it. I wouldn't be visible at all is my guess unless you shoot at your nearest focus distance at the smallest aperture. And if it is, it's not like you lost much money.

tirediron that is a top end CPL filter. It's so top end that it even has bull**** marketing stacked on top of it. Even the Hoya SHMC (next model down from that one) is very top of the line.

It's not that god awful standard Hoya CPL which is known for it's bleeding colours and uneven polarising surface.

 

[Treymac]

I'm kinda kicking myself for my decidedness now. Somebody else bought it. :er:

Anyways, now I'm thinking about just taking the plunge and putting out some money for a B+W 77mm Kaesemann CPL. It's $145 with shipping.

The thing that is holding me back on this is that since I would be using it on a ultra wide-angle 10-20mm, the filter has to be really thin. Does anybody know if this filter would be thin enough for this lens?

Here is the filter on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300230320627&fromMakeTrack=true

[edit: After reading around on the internet, I have included two Hoya filters into consideration:

The 77mm PRO1 Super HMC - http://cgi.ebay.ca/Hoya-77mm-PRO1-S...ameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

And

The 77mm Pro1 Digital again - http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150254240851&_trksid=p2759.l1259

 

[Garbz]

Normally I'd say write off the digital one because it's pretty much the same as the SHMC with more marketing slapped on it. But in this case they are the same price.

 

[tirediron]

Thanks!

As for the CPOL - I'll agree with Garbz' first comment - you don't want to buy broken gear. Used is fine, in fact, used is good! Damaged not so much.

I can't see eBay from work, but I would suggest getting a B+W thinmount (This picture: http://www.rthtg.net/john/crete/Buildings2_5x7 (Large).jpg was taken with one). I use pretty much exclusively B+W for my circ filters now, and have never been disapointed. I know it's a lot more $$, but you'll be happy later on.

I honestly can't comment on the Hoyas, not having used them, but I know that at the very least, they make a decent fliter.

 

[Iron Flatline]

I wasn't kidding - a scratch is not good for passing light. And don't buy "temporary" stuff. If you're going to buy a filter, buy one that makes sense with all your gear. You'll notice that Canon's L lenses are all 77mm. That way you can share filters. Buy those. Buy things that will last, not cheapos that will work for a little while. That's spending twice the money.

 

[Helen B]

Scratches and chips can be serious problems in lens elements and filters - as already mentioned. Light hits the defect and heads off the wrong way. If the defect is fairly small the simple answer may be to paint over it carefully with black paint or even a permanent marker (eg a Sharpie). It depends a lot on where the defect is and how defocused it will be. That's the problem with very wide lenses - anything on the front of the filter may appear as an out-of-focus image.

As you probably know, polarizing filters (if they are doing their job) produce banding in skies when used with very wide angle lenses.

Defects that are solely in the coating are usually less serious than ones in the glass.

Best,
Helen

 

[icassell]

On a related note (as mentioned by Helen), polarizers can be a little wierd with ultra wide angle lenses. I have the Sigma 10-20 and I don't often use the polarizer with it (although it can add some interesting effects). The other issue is to make sure you get a filter that is designed for the wide angle lens (very thin) to avoid vignetting -- these frequently can't accept a lens cap because they are so thin.

 

[tirediron]

<snipped>

The other issue is to make sure you get a filter that is designed for the wide angle lens (very thin) to avoid vignetting -- these frequently can't accept a lens cap because they are so thin.

Another reason to buy the B+W; their thinmount comes with it's own lenscap.