GroovyGeek Offline Upload & Sell: Off
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To clarify, this is a known problem with the HD version of the Hoya filters. Apparently it has caused some long-time distributors to rethink their relationship with Hoya. You rarely see comments like this from a shop that makes its money selling all kinds of filters"
B+W never cleaning issues, like Hoya MC filters, remember HMC in our opinion the hardest ever to clean and not just smear the dirt around
http://2filter.com/
And they get even more explicit, if you have the patience to read through their ramblings
http://2filter.com/hoya/Hoya.html
http://2filter.com/hoya/HoyaHDpricemarketing.html
I knew of the problems with the 77mm HD filters, at some point multiple vendors including B&H stopped selling them until Hoya had a chance to review the situation. At the time it was believed that the smaller sizes were immune. I liked the low profile of the filter and the fact that they seemed to have solved the "stickiness" issue with their HMC coatings, so I bought a 67mm filter. Around 13 months later it fell apart in my hands, like the OP describes. I sent it to Hoya with a request for repair or replacement, they asked for $30. I told them to take the filter and shove it, and have promised myself to never give them another cent of business.
I like the optical quality of much of their stuff, particularly the ND filters that IMO are much better than B+W. However, the worksmanship leaves a lot to be desired. On at least half the Hoya filters I have owned the glass rattles in the fairly flimsy aluminum frame, and when the filter gets stuck and you apply a minor force trying to get it out the frame would flex making the situation even worse.
Do yourself a favor, write off the $100+ that you spent on a 77mm HD CPL as a "lessons learned" thing and never give them another dime.
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