Filters??

[pagani]

Hi all,

Just a question regarding filters if I may, I currently have a 18-200mm lens on my 7D and was looking at getting some filters (as I have none), I've seen a Hoya filter kit that includes a UV, Circular polarizer and a Warming Filter (Intensifier), would this be sufficient? Or should I be paying the extra $$ and get the Pro1 UV and Pro 1 CPL filters. I guess my question is should I be spending the extra dollars on the better filters or would the average filters do the job as the lens i'm using is certainly not the top of the line lens (Canon 18-200mm)?? Sould I spend top $$ on UV over CPL etc??

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as i'm starting to drown in the informatin off the net...........

I've had a salesman tell me you must get the Pro 1 filters as it reduces flare etc, etc, but obviously they are trying to flog me the most expensive gear.

Cheers!!

[Xenedis]

Just a question regarding filters if I may, I currently have a 18-200mm lens on my 7D and was looking at getting some filters (as I have none), I've seen a Hoya filter kit that includes a UV, Circular polarizer and a Warming Filter (Intensifier), would this be sufficient? Or should I be paying the extra $$ and get the Pro1 UV and Pro 1 CPL filters. I guess my question is should I be spending the extra dollars on the better filters or would the average filters do the job as the lens i'm using is certainly not the top of the line lens (Canon 18-200mm)?? Sould I spend top $$ on UV over CPL etc??

The only useful filter in that cheap kit is the circular polariser.

Warming/cooling filters are not necessary with digital imaging, and UV filters aren't necessary at all unless you're at a high altitude, where they can be beneficial in reducing UV light.

My advice is to skip the kit and buy a better polariser. You don't need to spend hundreds on pro-grade filters for use with the lens you have, so you can ignore that salesman (he'd be the type to try and sell you an expensive comprehensive insurance policy for the 20-year-old Corolla you just bought for $1,500).

For a lens such as the one you have, it doesn't make sense to buy expensive filters; but on the other hand, you don't want anything cheap which might degrade image quality.

Something middle-of-the-road would be suitable, but again, skip the useless/gimmicky filters.

[Scotty72]

Agree 100%

I think you'd be better off to get a decent filter box and filters. Then, you can upgrade your lens(es) and keep the same setup.

The only screw in I have is a CPL which I sometimes use.

Scotty

[Othrelos]

I wouldn't use a warming filter, you can adjust the warmth of an image by tinkering with the White balance. As it has been said in the post above UV filters are redundant. The glass they use in lenses these days are terrible transmitters of UV light so the point of using a UV filter in the first place is negated by that fact alone. Secondly,I would recommend getting the best polariser you can get. I have seen a bad polariser completely trash the image quality of a lens. The pro1 digital filters are a good place to start. The Pro1 filters still suffer from flare but compared to the comparably priced filters from other manufacturers they are slightly ahead of the competition.

If you are buying a filter to protect your lens I would say forget it, borosilicate glass they use in lenses these days is pretty damn hard. If you really want to protect your lens, I suggest you get into the habit of using the lens hood. Of course with a lens purchase canon typically doesn't provide the lens hoods with non-L lenses - A policy that is damn annoying.

[Xenedis]

Another useful filter is an ND filter -- most often used for long exposures in bright light (eg, waterfalls in daylight).