Going to Place an Order for Some Filters ... What Should I Be Looking For?

astrostu · May 26, 2009

Now that I have two 77mm-thread lenses and only 1 filter (UV) that is 77mm, I'm looking to purchase 4 new filters: 1 UV, 1 circ. polarizer, 1 1.2 ND, and a 4-pt cross-screen.

The UV is to have on the other lens as protection and to forget about it being on there. The other three filters I don't think will be necessary to have in duplicate because I'll use them rarely enough that I'll switch them. The polarizer is for the standard reason. The ND is for shooting waterfalls, and though I would prefer an even stronger one (like this 3.0 one that's a 10-stop filter), I think a less strong ND filter may have more general purposes than a 3.0. (Any comments on that would be helpful.) And the 4-pt is for when I do some astrophotography to have as an option.

All that said, there are a gagillion different brands and coatings and glass types that make these filters run the range from, e.g., $35-$200 each. My basic question is what should I be looking for in terms of glass and coatings - and even brand - when shopping for good-quality filters?

Thanks!

Pure · May 26, 2009

Hoya, B+W, Heliopan, Tiffen, they all make good quality filters. One thing they MUST ALL BE IS MULTI-COATED.

astrostu · May 27, 2009

Thanks for the advice. For some reason, I thought B+W wasn't that good quality. Does anyone else have ideas? (AKA ... bump!)

dxqcanada · May 27, 2009

Forget about the 4-point cross ... too cheezie.

kundalini · May 27, 2009

I bought a B+W 77mm Slim CPOL filter mainly for my 12-24 but since then have added a few other 77mm filter sized lenses. Would suggest to get the standard. No stacking allowed with a Slim.

I have an ND8 Hoya Pro1 and feel this was the right fit for me. Recently bought a Hoya PRO1 CPOL 62mm for three other lenses and it seems to fill the bill and I am wondering if B+W is "all that". The results have been fine.

I have an 8 PT Cross filter B+W and thinks it's useless.... so far. Haven't found the right lighting for it yet. However, with astrophotography, that may differ.

astrostu · May 30, 2009

Okay, so I'm looking at the Hoya Ultraviolet UV(0) Haze Multi-Coated Glass Filter. I didn't see any multi-coted circular polarizers for under $100, so I'm not sure if I should go for the $35 Tiffen or $85 Hoya. I'm guessing the answer is the latter, though.

As for the ND, I just remembered that "1 stop" is actually 3 "clicks" difference in the exposure setting (incredibly annoying that going from, e.g., f/4.0 to f/4.5 is "1/3" of a stop ...). So now I'm thinking that an ND 1.8 is what I want, since that's a 6-stop difference, which could get me to a 30-second exposure from a would-be 0.4-second exposure. With that in mind, the B+W brand is the only one available from the B&H website.

I'll also be placing an order for a Canon 580EX II Speedlite with the filters.