Which UV filter

spacegose · Jul 24, 2006

Hello everyone. I have a little question about a UV filter. Today I bought a Hama UV filter 70158 which is tempered. This evening I saw that there is also a Hama UV filter 70658 which has a HTMC 8x coating. Somewhere I read that this coating really reduces the reflections of the filter. What sould I do? Is my 70518 just right and is the 70658 for more advanced users or should I return mine and ask for the 70658??
Help would be very appreciated. Thanks, Chris

NeoDude · Jul 24, 2006

Not using a UV filter also stops the glare

Honestly, whats the point of buying expensive lenses only to cover them with cheap glass filters? I would lose the filter.

DeepSpring · Jul 24, 2006

when i got my camera he threw in a free one cause it would protect the lens if i drop it... which i really dont see me doing.

spacegose · Jul 25, 2006

I understand that the probability will be very very very small that I drop the camera. But still... the filter lies next to me on the table. Would I see a change in picture quality if I compare the 1xcoating to the 8xHTMC coating? Then I would return my filter and either get the money back or pay an extra 10$ to get the higher quality one.

duncanp · Jul 25, 2006

NeoDude said:
Not using a UV filter also stops the glare

Honestly, whats the point of buying expensive lenses only to cover them with cheap glass filters? I would lose the filter.

get one, as you day i would rather lose a v filter when a stone chips it or it gets hit, rather than having to replace an expensive lens...

malweth · Jul 25, 2006

get one, as you day i would rather lose a v filter when a stone chips it or it gets hit, rather than having to replace an expensive lens...

This is my thought too... maybe it depends on the lens you have and what you want to use it for? I bought my camera so I could take amazing pictures of the family, vacations, etc. I don't have "L" glass lenses (Can't afford them), and I also can't afford to lose the lenses I do have. Kids fingerprints are also easier to clean off the filter than the lens itself! (And if I had an "L" lens, I'd still want to protect it - but probably with a pro level filter).

If you do notice flaring or other problems, the filter might be to blame... MC can supposedly fix this. I have all cheap Quantaray MC filters (UV, Diffusion, & Polar) and haven't noticed a problem yet (only had my camera a week, btw).

spacegose · Jul 25, 2006

I have bought a Fujifilm S9500, so it isn't quite a pro camera... something between pro and consumer I think

. I think that I will keep this one until I really notice flaring.

ksmattfish · Jul 25, 2006

spacegose said:
Would I see a change in picture quality if I compare the 1xcoating to the 8xHTMC coating?

It is extremely unlikely. Using your lens hood every time will help 100 times more than any amount of fancy, space age, lens coatings.

LWW · Jul 25, 2006

spacegose said:
Would I see a change in picture quality if I compare the 1xcoating to the 8xHTMC coating? Then I would return my filter and either get the money back or pay an extra 10$ to get the higher quality one.

Maybe on certain occassions.

Nikon UV filters do give slightly better contrast under certain lighting conditions...but are very expensive in comparison.

LWW

964 · Jul 25, 2006

How come anyone thinks a filter will protect anything if a camera is dropped?????????

spacegose · Jul 25, 2006

It's not much helping if you drop your camera. But it protects the lense against scratches, water, sand and other small particles. I went to the store and they ordered the 70658 for me. I think that 4% reflection against 0.4% will be seen on the pictures. Let's hope my camera will arrive soon

.

ksmattfish · Jul 25, 2006

964 said:
How come anyone thinks a filter will protect anything if a camera is dropped?????????

It may not protect the camera from a big fall, but it may protect the lens surface from getting scratched or chipped. Many things that won't scratch glass will maim the multicoatings. You might not even notice a scratch in your photos, but maybe you would...

A common way lenses get scratched is when the camera is hanging from the neck, and the photog bends over, and it swings out and smacks into something lense first. If the lens is wearing a filter hopefully the filter will take the majority of the damage.

That said, I don't use filters for protection unless I think there is a really good chance for lens damage. But that's just me, I figure cameras break. I wouldn't discourage anyone else from protecting their lens anyway they see fit.