I`ve started to use my 24-105 and 17-40 zooms again( see recent thread) I checked the 77mm filters and they were disgusting. So, I ordered two new Hoya UV filters and didn`t take much notice of the small "c". they arrived this morning and I notice a slight pinkish tone to the glass(like the old skylight filters) it`s quite faint but I did really want clear UV filters. Anyway, on looking through one of them in my hand and looking down the garden I noticed a slight better definition to things with the filter in front of my eye. Thinking it`s imagination I got my wife( the one with eagle like eyes and hearing to do the test without saying anything other than" can you see any difference with or without" and right away she said that things look clearer and more defined looking through the filter.
So! my question is? does anyone else use these and how do you find things, do you get any noticeable colour balance effects? or any other comments.
Don`t know if you read this on one of the links you gave me
quote
xthunder, I just received a shipment of filters from Spotlight Photo, a company that I have been buying filters from for the past 6 years. The Hoya HMC UV(0) have now been replaced by Hoya HMC UV(C) filters. Slim frame, multicoated. The UV(0) no longer made (except where old stock is left) and now replaced by the UV(C). Same filter, now says Digital on the left side top of box compared to the old box I have. Also the older UV(0) box shows the filters were made by Tokina Ltd. in Japan. The new UV(C) boxes show made in the Phillipines by Tokina Ltd. end quote
Still confused. it looks like the c has replaced the o but to be honest a modern Hoya Multi coated filter will do a good job. My question was about the slight tint of the c but as I said in my opening page things sure look crisp and defined looking through the c filter. Here`s a link to a Hoya page that still doesn`t mention the tint but I`m gonna unseal them and just use them. If you saw the state that my filters get in then anything would be better me thinks .http://www.hoyafilter.com/products/hoya/coatings.html
I have UV filters, but I haven't put one on a lens in five years.
I have the properly fitted appropriate lenshoods for every lens and I don't think I've clicked the shutter more than once or twice without the lens hood on.
I don't know about the (C) designation, but I can tell you something about (O) and (N).
"O" designates "optical" quality glass -- better formula and ground to uniform thickness. This goes back to the 70s and advent of HMC (Hoya Multi-Coat). This glass grade has been used in all the subsequent higher quality Super- and Pro- multicoated versions (AFAIK). These quality filters were traditionally made in Japan. Today, who knows where anything is made. (Hoya is a glass maker, and has supplied Tokina and even major brands with specialty lens glass.)
"N" designates "normal" glass not the more ideal refractive glass and not ground to uniform thickness. It is usually uncoated or single coated, and I believe has always been manufactured overseas in the Philippines, and either China, Thailand or Malaysia.
I'm not aware of what the "C" stands for, other than "coated". I haven't yet seen anything that shows the "c" glass being used in the upper quality filters, or that it has superceded the "O" glass.
Hoya makes both UV(C) and UV(0) filters. UV(C) variant is more intended as a "protector" filter rather than UV cutting filter. They both come in slim frame, however the glass/coating quality should be determined by the other acronyms in the name (HMC, Pro1, HD etc).
You can see the UV cutting strength in the Hoya catalog at page 56. Can clearly see the UV(C) having a weaker effect on filtering across wavelengths. http://www.hoyafilter.com/pdf/HOYACatalog.pdf
My advice is to stay away from Hoya filters. I had two polarizer that just came apart. Do a quick search and you'll see it is not just a random anomaly. Never again a Hoya for me.
chez -- I've had nothing but good results with Hoya filters for 30 years. Never had one fail or come apart. I'm also a fan of B+W UV and CPL, but they cost more. Those are my two go-to brands when I need/want a filter.
I had a large Hoya polarizer come apart on me on the Tsawwassen>Swartz Bay ferry. Not good. I put it back together and still use it, but not confidently. Wouldn't buy it again.
I can't think of any way a UV filter could improve contrast. It may have been an illusion from the color shift. For cleaning convenience, I've fitted my lenses with Hoya multi-coated clear filters. Even the best UV filters have 2-3% light loss. A clear filter should have 0.5% or less. Digital bodies are UV-filtered already.
alexdi wrote:
I can't think of any way a UV filter could improve contrast. It may have been an illusion from the color shift. For cleaning convenience, I've fitted my lenses with Hoya multi-coated clear filters. Even the best UV filters have 2-3% light loss. A clear filter should have 0.5% or less. Digital bodies are UV-filtered already.
Yeh! I am thinking along those lines ( a bit like looking at the world through rose tinted glasses) as the saying goes. I`ve shot some images now and can see absolutely no difference around my fields with or without the new filter but long distance up at the coast might be a different story.
Monito wrote:
I have UV filters, but I haven't put one on a lens in five years.
I have the properly fitted appropriate lenshoods for every lens and I don't think I've clicked the shutter more than once or twice without the lens hood on.
I agree that the proper lens hood is an absolute must at all times, not only for stray light but from the front of lens protection point of view.
I will never use a lens without a filter (unless I`m in my small shed/studio) I`m not the most careful person when I`m roaming around the salt marshes, bogs and beaches where I live. I get carried away with getting the picture. Yes, I clean my filters but never touch the front element of the lens. In an ideal world then no filter would be the way to go but you need to "cut your coat according to your cloth" so to speak. I`ve got a good friend who polishes his gear everytime he slips it into his soft lined bag and thats fine for him but I`ve never really seen any images from him that really excite me
I spoke to introphoto today(the importers) and they checked the UVc filters and told me that they are clear and didn`t have a slight pinkish tint and that I should return them. Whilst on the phone I got hold of one filter and took it outside in daylight and put it on a sheet of white paper and would you believe it was clear, I picked it up and as I altered the angle of view the paper underneath turned pink I was still on the phone to the tech guy and we discovered that it was the coating and the way the light fell on it that made it appear coloured( I`ve never seen that in a filter before) I`m not talking about the reflection of the coating but the look through the actual filter. The tech guy got one out and agreed it was strange but normal and confirmed that where I had purchased was dealer selling genuine Hoya filters.
Even the tech guy was a bit unclear about the small letters after the UV but looked up an E mail he had from the States that read o means the UV block is actually in the glass when cast and c means the UV block is in the coating and as far as he knows the c version is the latest and works equally as well.(probably cheaper to make)
I can see no change in exposure reading against a neutral colour with or without the filter.
dave chilvers wrote:
Whilst on the phone I got hold of one filter and took it outside in daylight and put it on a sheet of white paper and would you believe it was clear, I picked it up and as I altered the angle of view the paper underneath turned pink I was still on the phone to the tech guy and we discovered that it was the coating and the way the light fell on it that made it appear coloured( I`ve never seen that in a filter before) I`m not talking about the reflection of the coating but the look through the actual filter....Show more →
It is perhaps a "dichroic" effect, or an interference effect between layers of a multicoated optical surface. If the angle is changed, the thickness of the path through the coatings is changed and that can act as a slight colour selective filter.
However, it seems to be rare and not commonly reported. I've not seen or heard it before.
Kudos to your powers of observation and for following up on it and reporting back.
The difference between UV(0) and UV(c) filters is mentioned on the Hoya web site.
The comparison chart between UV(0) and UV(c) is on the Hoya Catalog Page 56. It is obvious that UV(0) cuts more UV than UV(C) does. You can download the catalog from here, to read more.
www.hoyafilter.com/pdf/HOYACatalog.pdf
It is also worth pointing out the the Hoya HMC (which is muticoated, but not super multicoated) used to contain the lower performance UV(C), while both the HD and the SHMC use the UV(0)...in other words 'less expensive' = C, 'more expensive = 0 filter.
Monito wrote:
It is perhaps a "dichroic" effect, or an interference effect between layers of a multicoated optical surface. If the angle is changed, the thickness of the path through the coatings is changed and that can act as a slight colour selective filter.
However, it seems to be rare and not commonly reported. I've not seen or heard it before.
Kudos to your powers of observation and for following up on it and reporting back.
I`ll report back if anything untoward starts to rear it`s head.
wilt wrote:
The difference between UV(0) and UV(c) filters is mentioned on the Hoya web site.
The comparison chart between UV(0) and UV(c) is on the Hoya Catalog Page 56. It is obvious that UV(0) cuts more UV than UV(C) does. You can download the catalog from here, to read more.
www.hoyafilter.com/pdf/HOYACatalog.pdf
It is also worth pointing out the the Hoya HMC (which is muticoated, but not super multicoated) used to contain the lower performance UV(C), while both the HD and the SHMC use the UV(0)...in other words 'less expensive' = C, 'more expensive = 0 filter.
Thanks for the link. Yeh! you do in general get what you pay for that`s true. On this occasion being as they were going on walk-a-bout zooms and knowing my knack of marking my filters I decided to just get the 77mm HMC versions. Having said that I took this image through the dirtiest sheet of toughened glass at the zoo one day and there is no retouching http://www.pbase.com/davechilvers/image/6103732.
The other day we took in another two small kittens that had been dumped in the street and my wife asked me to take some record shots and was amazed that I had shot the images while the kittens were in the pet cage with none of the cage wires showing in the images
Some time ago I needed to replace the filter on my old Contax 21 2.8 (82mm) and the guy I usually go to was out of the top filters. He tried to tell me that the top Marumi filters were as good! Yeh, tell me another one anyway, he suggested he sent me one on trial for as long as i like and to only ring back and pay if I was completely happy and if not happy to just stick it in the cupboard Well on that super wide lens I gave it the test of it`s life making sure I shot plenty with the sun in the shot etc etc it`s still on the lens to this day and is one of the easiest filters to clean that I`ve come across. Go figure!!!
I have one of their lenshoods as an exact replacement of the Canon lenshood and it works very well. It has a crack in it that I healed with black electrical tape (on the outside only!) when it sacrificed itself to protect the lens when the dog tripped me.
to do the test without saying anything other than" can you see any difference with or without" and right away she said that things look clearer and more defined looking through the filter.
I was still on the phone to the tech guy and we discovered that it was the coating and the way the light fell on it that made it appear coloured( I`ve never seen that in a filter before) I`m not talking about the reflection of the coating but the look through the actual filter. The tech guy got one out and agreed it was strange but normal and confirmed that where I had purchased was dealer selling genuine Hoya filters.
anyway, he suggested he sent me one on trial for as long as i like and to only ring back and pay if I was completely happy and if not happy to just stick it in the cupboard 
Well on that super wide lens I gave it the test of it`s life making sure I shot plenty with the sun in the shot etc etc it`s still on the lens to this day and is one of the easiest filters to clean that I`ve come across. Go figure!!!