Polarising Filters
Posted 21/06/2009 - 14:55
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Why would you put a piece of junk in front of an expensive high quality lens. You could have saved yourself a lot of money by buying a rubbish lens to begin with. I'd rather go without than use a cheap filter.
Ken
“We must avoid however, snapping away, shooting quickly and without thought, overloading ourselves with unnecessary images that clutter our memory and diminish the clarity of the whole.” - Henri Cartier-Bresson -
“We must avoid however, snapping away, shooting quickly and without thought, overloading ourselves with unnecessary images that clutter our memory and diminish the clarity of the whole.” - Henri Cartier-Bresson -
Posted 21/06/2009 - 15:09
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gartmore wrote:
Why would you put a piece of junk in front of an expensive high quality lens.
You obviously aren't aquainted with my lens line-up... lol Why would you put a piece of junk in front of an expensive high quality lens.
Seriously, I am after advice, not hectoring. Is there a significant difference? We're talking less than 1mm of glass, after all. All my 'protection' filters (UV and skylight) were £3 from the bargain bin at my local photographic shop, and they do not affect optical quality in any way that I can determine.
Posted 21/06/2009 - 15:12
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I'd have to agree with gartmore, the entire image taking process will only be as good as its weakest element - if you have a nice camera and a nice lens then a cheap filter will only drag it down.
Why not buy one nice filter in the larger (67mm) size and then use a 52>67 step-up ring to allow it to fit on the other lens too?
Why not buy one nice filter in the larger (67mm) size and then use a 52>67 step-up ring to allow it to fit on the other lens too?
Joining the Q
Posted 21/06/2009 - 15:18
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Well here's my contribution, buy yourself one 67mm Hoya polarizing filter, I assume it is for your SMC F 80 - 200mm lens, and a stepping ring to accommodate your 52mm, that way, the money you would have spent on buy two filters, can go towards one quality filter, after all "gartmore" really is quite correct and your lens line up deserves more than "a piece of junk"
Not everything in life is Black & White, If only it were!
Kind Regards,
Rees
Kind Regards,
Rees
Posted 21/06/2009 - 15:18
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Ok. I take both your points, but it is nice to have it explained rather than being bashed over the head! Sometimes I wonder if the supposed superiority of some brands over others is rather overhyped to support the huge price differences, and wonder about the 'real-world' differences...
Any brands to look out for, which are acceptable without eating into my living budget for the coming month?
Edit - missed Rees's post while I was replying to hefty.
Thanks, I'll have a look at the Hoya filters.
Any brands to look out for, which are acceptable without eating into my living budget for the coming month?
Edit - missed Rees's post while I was replying to hefty.
Thanks, I'll have a look at the Hoya filters.
Posted 21/06/2009 - 15:41 - Helpful Comment
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Although the quality of the glass in a filter plays a part it's not the most important one - that honour goes to the coatings in use.
Cheap filters are often uncoated or single coated which means they'll produce glare, false shadows, lack of contrast, etc on your final image. Your Pentax lenses employ the SMC coatings which are generally regarded as being some of the very best in the business, but if you place a cheap filter in front of them then all that hard work is effectively undone.
Hoya and B+W use the best coatings for their filters which should be as good as the coatings on your lens, hence if you don't want to see a reduction in quality then those are the ones to stick with. They're not the cheapest but like everything else in life you get what you pay for...
Cheap filters are often uncoated or single coated which means they'll produce glare, false shadows, lack of contrast, etc on your final image. Your Pentax lenses employ the SMC coatings which are generally regarded as being some of the very best in the business, but if you place a cheap filter in front of them then all that hard work is effectively undone.
Hoya and B+W use the best coatings for their filters which should be as good as the coatings on your lens, hence if you don't want to see a reduction in quality then those are the ones to stick with. They're not the cheapest but like everything else in life you get what you pay for...
Joining the Q
Posted 21/06/2009 - 16:19
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Thanks... a 67mm Hoya filter will soon be ordered! I guess it'll offer plenty of flexibility on future lenses as well.
Reading about how coatings make a difference made me nervous about those cheap s/h UV/sky filters I've got in front of my lenses. Fortunately it turns out they are all Hoya - except one which simply says 'made in Korea'. Lol at least I know where to get a genuine Hoya one for £3.
Reading about how coatings make a difference made me nervous about those cheap s/h UV/sky filters I've got in front of my lenses. Fortunately it turns out they are all Hoya - except one which simply says 'made in Korea'. Lol at least I know where to get a genuine Hoya one for £3.
Posted 21/06/2009 - 16:37
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You can test the quality I believe of a polarizing filter with a copper coin, it should appear black with high quality polarizing filter. I only have B+W so can't test it
Could someone test it if it's true, i'm not sure you know.
Could someone test it if it's true, i'm not sure you know.
Stefan
K10D, K5
DA* 16-50, DA* 50-135, D-FA 100 Macro, DA 40 Ltd, DA 18-55
AF-540FGZ
K10D, K5
DA* 16-50, DA* 50-135, D-FA 100 Macro, DA 40 Ltd, DA 18-55
AF-540FGZ
Posted 21/06/2009 - 19:33
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I once put some Vaseline on a filter to compare the effect with
a Zeiss Softar. I was amazed how much Vaseline it took before the
image started to soften. I rarely use filters on digital, but still
have mostly Pentax Brand ones.
shim
a Zeiss Softar. I was amazed how much Vaseline it took before the
image started to soften. I rarely use filters on digital, but still
have mostly Pentax Brand ones.
shim
Posted 22/06/2009 - 08:54
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shim wrote:
I once put some Vaseline on a filter to compare the effect with
a Zeiss Softar. I was amazed how much Vaseline it took before the
image started to soften. I rarely use filters on digital, but still
have mostly Pentax Brand ones.
shim
shim, I used to do the very same thing with Vaseline, the problem was, you used quite a few film frames before you knew how much Vaseline to use - Ah - the good old days..
I once put some Vaseline on a filter to compare the effect with
a Zeiss Softar. I was amazed how much Vaseline it took before the
image started to soften. I rarely use filters on digital, but still
have mostly Pentax Brand ones.
shim
Not everything in life is Black & White, If only it were!
Kind Regards,
Rees
Kind Regards,
Rees
Posted 22/06/2009 - 09:14
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Getting the Vaseline off the filter is the follow-up headache. I only ever tried this technique once. What a mess.
Best regards, John
Posted 22/06/2009 - 09:21
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johnriley wrote:
Getting the Vaseline off the filter is the follow-up headache. I only ever tried this technique once. What a mess.
It's still on mine It was good, but nothing comes evenGetting the Vaseline off the filter is the follow-up headache. I only ever tried this technique once. What a mess.
remotely close to a Softar. I also bought a Tiffen soft focus
filter which was really weird. It didn't soften the picture
just reduced the resolution on the lens.... unusable really.
shim
Posted 22/06/2009 - 09:32
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johnriley wrote:
Getting the Vaseline off the filter is the follow-up headache. I only ever tried this technique once. What a mess.
Yes John, I had really forgotten that part of the process, it was as you say very messy, but the things you used to get up to in those days to save a few pennies, 'Heath Robinson' was the expression used in those days.
Getting the Vaseline off the filter is the follow-up headache. I only ever tried this technique once. What a mess.
Not everything in life is Black & White, If only it were!
Kind Regards,
Rees
Kind Regards,
Rees
Posted 22/06/2009 - 12:29
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Quote:
Yes John, I had really forgotten that part of the process, it was as you say very messy, but the things you used to get up to in those days to save a few pennies, 'Heath Robinson' was the expression used in those days.
These days it seems compulsory to fork out silly money on accessories - filters, bags, tripods... seems because DSLRs are expensive, everyone thinks it's fine to ask a fortune on the peripheral items! Yes John, I had really forgotten that part of the process, it was as you say very messy, but the things you used to get up to in those days to save a few pennies, 'Heath Robinson' was the expression used in those days.
I won't be smearing vaseline on my filters that's for sure!
Anyway i've ordered a s/h Hoya 52mm linear polariser. Be interesting to see if the metering works on the K200D with it! Linear vs Circular was covered on another thread, so I'm aware there *might* be an issue...
(Edit - Getting a Kood one to cover the 67mm dia lens; via the P-system mount)
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6794 posts
17 years
Nottingham
Of course, optical quality is important, but build quality is not especially - I have heard the cheap CPLs can split, but am likely to scratch, lose or break it before that happens lol.
Thanks!...