Cheap filters or expensive filters????

[A4Effort]

So I went to couple photo shops in town and looked at filters. The cheapest polarizer that I found was a Tiffen 58mm. Now I also have been looking on ebay for polarizer and neutral density filters and found them for cheap. My questions is, how much do the cheap filters differ in image results from more expensive filters? I am do photography for fun and probably will not sell ay pictures for quite some time so I am don't go crazy about my image being perfect. That does not mean thought that I look down apon quality. Anyone have any experience or knowledge?

Any help is appreciated.:thumbup:

 

[tirediron]

Cheap filters, meaning low quality filters are something to stay far away from. Remember, these are the first thing that light hits on the way to your camera's sensor, and poor quality ones can cause all sorts of colour castes, flares, and other undesirable results. Always avoid the no-names that abound on eBay. Stick with names such as Tiffen, Hoya, B+W, Rodenstock and Heliopan. If money's' an issue, look for used filters; as long as they're not scratched, there's really nothing to go wrong with them.

 

[rubbertree]

You know the saying "you get what you pay for"? Well this is especially true with cheap filters. You may not be wanting to sell your images now but to start out with cheap filters which may degrade your images are only going to frustrate you. Do yourself a favour and spend the $$ for the good stuff.

 

[A4Effort]

Thats all I needed to know. Thank you for your help.

 

[Village Idiot]

Cheap expensive filters.

Cheapest legit site I've found. www.hvstar.net

They have very good prices on stuff like B+W filters.

 

[ksmattfish]

I would definitely recommend going with a well known filter brand, but you cannot judge filters on price alone. I've run into at least a few B+W and Heliopan filters that use the same cheaper plastic lamination manufacturing method that Tiffen uses rather than solid glass. You are paying 10x the price for an increase quality of the filter frame, but the optics are the same quality. Hoya uses solid glass in their filters and the price is usually similar to Tiffen.

 

[Village Idiot]

I would definitely recommend going with a well known filter brand, but you cannot judge filters on price alone. I've run into at least a few B+W and Heliopan filters that use the same cheaper plastic lamination manufacturing method that Tiffen uses rather than solid glass. You are paying 10x the price for an increase quality of the filter frame, but the optics are the same quality. Hoya uses solid glass in their filters and the price is usually similar to Tiffen.

http://hvstar.net/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=77