Digital Concepts - Protective Filters, any good?

[sykes]

Hi guys,

I am about to order a Nikon D80 and the store carries Digital Concepts protective filters (UV, polar and FLD). Are the Digital Concepts filters a good quality? If not could you recomend a good brand.

[Rooz]

not really much good to be honest. those filters are just thrown in to make it seem like a sweetener and your getting a good deal. hoya are very good while brands like B+W are probably the best quality around. expect to pay considerabley more though.

there's alot of debate about whether or not to use UV filters as they can degrade image quality. personally i choose to use them but i also spent the money on the best quality one i could get.

on a budget i'd probably recommend the regular Hoya CPL. not the pro or slim ones as i found they are more expensive without much obvious difference .

[sykes]

Rooz,

My sales guy was trying to tell me that filters are a must, if only to add protection to the lens itself. Also I looked up Hoya's and although they are more expensive they are not bank breaking at around $40.

[Rooz]

sykes the debate about whether or not to use UV filters has raged since they were invented ! lol some people swear by them others wouldn;t touch one with a barge pole.

personally i was an anti-UV guy until i almost had a $2000 lens destroyed by a flying rock. i'm now firmly in the "UV" camp. however i also accepted that to do this you need to buy the best possible glass there is for a UV to minimise any effects. you also need to accept that in SOME situations, you will get some form of IQ loss, (particualry light difraction), and things like ghosting and wierd colour casts depending on the type and angle of the light...and of course the quality of the glass from the filter.

no harm you trying one out at a cheap price and taking some test shots yourself. if you can't see any difference then you'll be fine. if you can see zome funny shit going on then you take it off and it hasn;t really cost you much.

[speaklightly]

I am like Rooz-

I would rather loose a filter than the lens itself. It is like a bit of insurance. but do purchase good quality filters, please.

Sarah Joyce

[sykes]

Well I think I will get one and try it out... I have found two and I think I know the ans (B+W) but I sort of feel like a fish out of water... Are both of these the right the UV filters I should be looking at?

B&W Schneider 67mm UV Haze 010 65070138 for $32 delivered link (http://www.digitalfotoclub.com/from-froogle.asp?id=229345009&rf=froogle&dfdate=8_29_2007)
and
Hoya 67mm UV Haze Glass Filter for $17 link (http://www.overstock.com/Electronics/Hoya-67mm-UV-Haze-Glass-Filter/2505397/product.html?cid=25608&fp=F)

[Rooz]

i buy my filters from here:
http://hvstar.net/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=46

i bought the same filter, (010), but the MRC coated one, (in the link above), which is supposed to have a better anti-marking coating. i think optically they are the same though.

the hoya's are good, i used to use hoya. but i found the build quality of the B+W's were just exceptional so i switched not long ago.

can;t remember what lens you said you were getting, so just make sure the size is right. also, if you are bying a CPL, make sure the front of your lens doesn;t rotate otherwise they can be a real bugger to use.

[sykes]

Rooz,

thanks again for all your help. That site has some great prices and with your recommendation I will buy from them... I will get the B+W UV you linked to. I was looking at the CPL but have to ask a qu... I was going to get the cheaper Hoya S-HMC CLP (http://hvstar.net/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=73) but then saw there was one B+W SLIM CPL (http://hvstar.net/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=43) for only $8 more... I would have jumped at the B+W but it was so cheap compared to the other B+Ws that I thought it maybe the wrong thing.

I hate feeling like such a noob and am very great full for all your help. Oh, you asked about the lens I am getting, I am getting the 18-135mm Nikon lens.

[Rooz]

yeah, the lens is fine for a CPL. front doesn't rotate. the filter you linked to is B+W's entry level CPL. no MRC coatings etc. i'm sure it will be ok. the only thing for you to consider is that the slim B+W filters don;t have a front thread that you can clip your lens cap onto. they come with a push on cap which isn't very secure. i have the slim one and i don't mind the push on style but alot of people hate it like that so they don;t buy the slim lime one. the slim CPL's are actually more designed for wide angle lens' to minimise vignetting. they will work no prob with any lens but the question to ask yourself is do you need to spend the extra money ?

i suppose what you have to consider is that if you buy the slim one and have the CPL on all the time when you go out one day, you will always have to be cautious of the lens cap coming off. or you have to take the CPL off and put your proper lens cap on.

the MRC coated one in the regular non-slim size is pretty pricey. if you didn;t want to go with the slim version then the hoya one you linked to is a good option cos its much cheaper and will do the job just fine.

here is a link the the B+W catalogue:
http://www.schneideroptics.com/info/handbook/

and here is a link to their website so you can geta handle on what the different versions of each filter are and why one is more expensive that the other:
http://www.schneideroptics.com/ecommerce/CatalogSubCategoryDisplay.aspx?CID=214

hvstar are also on ebay so you can buy direct from them or thru ebay, the prices are the same. they have soemthing like a 99.9% rating so they are trustworthy and ia hve bought over $500USD worth of filters from them and never had a problem.

don;t feel silly mate, we all start somewhere. it's all part of the learning curve ! :)

[sykes]

wow, that B+W site is great. I looked up Hoya's site but it was so basic and uninformative that I was still very unsure about their products and quality levels.

Thanks for the heads up about the slim filters, I definitely want to fit the full lens cap on there. I upgraded the CPL to get a non-thin one. I wound up with:

Hoya PRO1 DIGITAL CPL
B+W MRC UV 010M

Now I just have to wait for FedEx and HK post, which is made even worse with bank holiday weekend this weekend in the US.

thanks again for all your help

[Rooz]

no worries. here's another link you may find comes in handy in future.
http://stores.ebay.com/Hong-Kong-Supplies_W0QQsspagenameZL2QQtZkm

i've bought most of my gear from them.