So many opinions

[JTurner538]

I've recently bought a Hoya Red Enhancing filter from B&H Photo (not the green case one...the case is purple if that matters). When I called B&H i asked if there was much difference from Hoya, B&W, and Tiffin filters. The guy i talked to said no. I looked on the review section of this site earlier....let's just say they had very contraasting views. They didn't review any enhancing filters so i just looked at each brand names general discussion. The hoya reviews said that B&W were better but other reviews pointed toward hoya. I even read a negative review of tiffin. I was under the impression that Tiffin was the best brand of filter. Does anyone have a clear opinion on what brand is best in general? What about in enhancing filters specifically? Have I wasted my money? Pleeeease help!
Justin

[opus]

When I bought my most recent filter at the camera store, I too was told there was no real advantage to any particular brand.

[paulnj]

HELIOPAN and B&W are the best BRANDS(that I own)...... HOYA rocks and SHHHHH ..TIFFEN is OK

NOT to say that all brands DON'T make GREAT filters, but some make some lesser one's too(tiffen does)

to me.... RED IS RED though

[Lionheart]

Well, I must confess, that I put cheapie no name filters on my "L" lenses for a long time based on the salesmen's pitch that it doesn't matter. Then last year I splurged and bought all B&W filters (just the clear UV filters) and replaced the cheapo ones (I don't even remember the brand-really cheap stuff, about $5 a filter). And wonder of wonders, the images are actually sharper and contrastier (is that a proper word?) with the good stuff. Just my observation :-)

[Steph_B]

I've recently bought a Hoya Red Enhancing filter from B&H Photo (not the green case one...the case is purple if that matters). When I called B&H i asked if there was much difference from Hoya, B&W, and Tiffin filters. The guy i talked to said no. I looked on the review section of this site earlier....let's just say they had very contraasting views. They didn't review any enhancing filters so i just looked at each brand names general discussion. The hoya reviews said that B&W were better but other reviews pointed toward hoya. I even read a negative review of tiffin. I was under the impression that Tiffin was the best brand of filter. Does anyone have a clear opinion on what brand is best in general? What about in enhancing filters specifically? Have I wasted my money? Pleeeease help!
Justin

Just to make things even more confused for you: you should also check out the Singh Ray filters. While not using their enhancer filters, I have been very pleased with their warming pola. They are also well known for their split ND.

Steph.

[JTurner538]

Thanks you all for your thoughts. I'm feeling a lot better about my Hoya purchase. I'm really shocked that tiffin isn't rated a lot higher....through B&H Photo they cost the same as b&w....just to show that you dont' always get better by paying more. On a separate note i'm starting to realize that the people working in camera stores really don't know as much as they should. What ever happened to professional retailers who really care about knowing their products...i guess i'm an old man in a young man's body lol. Thanks again!
Justin

[another view]

A filter is the first thing light passes thru on the way to your film or sensor, so you don't want to lose any image quality with it. I've never used an Enhancing filter so I can't comment on them, but have been happy with Hoya multi-coated filters. I heard once that they make filters for Nikon but have no proof of it (I hear Hoya makes glass elements for Coolpix too...). In any case, they're very good.

Comparing the Hoya SMC Polarizer to the Nikon Polarizer, which are built very different so I doubt they're made by the same company, I don't see any difference. The Nikon has a reputation of being very good and neutral in color, too.

B+W are excellent too. They have a brass ring, so they won't as easily get stuck on the lens. The only problem is that they don't mark the filter type on the outside ring which is a hassle for those of us who use stack caps.