What's wrong with this picture?

[George Slusher]

From an auction of a Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L lens on eBay.





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[Sinh Nhut Nguyen]

Nothing wrong George, it's an early model of the 24-70, the AF/MF switch is different, Canon modified the switch on later version to prevent photographersfrom accidently turn it from AF to MF. I believe the same kind of switch was used on the early model of the 70-200 f/2.8L IS.


Here is the later version's AF/MF switch.


http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=8566562 ("http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=8566562)

[George Slusher]

Look again, higher up.

[George Slusher]

Much higher up.

[Sinh Nhut Nguyen]

Yeah I thought about the UV filter but what's wrong with Hoya UV filter from the Phillipines? [:)]


I've seen a lot of peopleputting cheap UV filter on their high end glass. Other than the UV filter, I don't see anything else though....

[George Slusher]

That's the point. Why pay $1200-1300 for a lens and put a cheap filter in front? Those are the lowest-quality filters Hoya makes. They may be a slight step above "Crystal Optics" and the no-name brands, but not much. If you can afford a $1200 lens, you can afford at least a Hoya HMC filter.

[cian3307]

All my HOYA filters are made in Japan. Didn't know they had a factory in the Philippines but maybe they are assembled there and the optical glass made in their Japanese facility?


I bought a HOYA UV filter on Ebay a while ago that turned out to be counterfeit - it softened my shots so badly I thought my AF was malfunctioning. Always found their genuine filters pretty good.

[George Slusher]

Hoya makes several grades of UV filters. The lowest, the "green box," are made in the Philippines. All the others are made in Japan. Roughly, the grades are (the numbers are the transmission)

Green Box, made in Philippines, UNCOATED, 90%

"Standard" purple box, single coated, 94%

HMC (Hoya Multicoated), grey box, 3 layers of coating on each side, 97%
HMC Super (or Super HMC), black box, 6 layers of coating on each side, 99.7%
Pro1 Digital DMC, blue box, thin glass (3mm vs 5mm), 3 layers of coating on each side with anti-aliasing coating designed for digital sensors, which reflect light more than film
HD Digital, black box, thin glass, 8 layers of new anti-reflective coating on each side



Prices vary a lot. Many reputable outlets won't touch the green box filters. Here are some prices from B&H for 77mm Hoya UV filters:

Standard: $38.85

HMC: $49.35

Super HMC: $56.85

Pro 1: $48.95

HD Digital: $110.85



In contrast, you can get a 77mm green box filter for $15 ("http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390032050762) or even less ("http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230341605569) on eBay.


Did your filter perhaps come in a green box?


I would recommend avoiding the green box filters altogether. The only standard/purple box filters I'd buy might be their neutral density filters. For UV & circular polarizer filters, I'd go with HMC, Super HMC, or Pro1. The Pro1 UV filters have the same ring thickness as many "slim" UV filters (e.g., B+W) and work quite well on my Sigma 10-20mm lens.


I use Hoya or Kenko (made by the same company--THK ("http://www.thkphoto.com/products/hoya/index.html) for Tokina, Hoya, Kenko) Pro1 Circular Polarizer filters. They are also "slimmer" than regular CPL filters but still have front threads, so I can use a regular lens cap. (B+W and other "slim" filters usually have no front threads, so you have to use a push-on lens cap. I prefer the snap-in type, especially center-pinch, which are easier to remove and install with a hood on the lens.)

[George Slusher]

I forgot to put in the transmission numbers for the last two. Pro1 Digital is 97%, HD Digital is 99.35%.


The UV filters that I actually have on lenses (I also have at least one of each size--52, 58, 62, 67, 72, 77--as a backup in case a filter gets broken or I get a new lens, at least until I can get another quality filter):

5 x B+W Multi-Resistant Coated (MRC)
1 x B+W non-MRC (plus 3 as backups)
1 x Hoya HMC (plus 2 as backups)
2 x Hoya Super HMC
2 x Hoya Pro1 Digital
6 x Kenko Pro1 Digital
1 x Tiffen (on cheap teleconverter for my S3 IS, plus 4 as backups)



I have other cheap filters that came with lenses or in collections of filters. (The "backup" filters were often the first filter I had on a lens, later replaced by a better quality filter.)


My CPL filters are Hoya or Kenko Pro1 Digital, except for one B+W MRC.

[Matthew Gilley]

George could you post some 100% crops of identical images showing the difference between the filters you mention? I've done some testing myself but do not have the extensive selection of gear you have access to.

[George Slusher]

Ah, another scientist! [:D] I may do one better than that, when I have a chance. I've considered setting up a contest here to see if anyone can tell the difference. I checked and I have a wide range of 58mm UV filters--B+W MRC, B+W non-MRC, HMC, Hoya Pro1, Kenko Pro1, Tiffen, and a really cheap Crystal Optics. I can use my 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens--a prime lens would probably be better and that lens, in particular, is exceptionally sharp.

Set up a suitable target (WhiBal carc, Gretag-Maceth Mini Color Checker, some fine detail (magazine clipping?), & something with bright colors on my backyard fence. (No suitable place indoors.)
Shoot on a bright overcast day, if possible, to get flat, consistent lighting with little shadows. (Lots of overcast days here in Eugene, Oregon--at least until mid-June.) Absolutely clear sky would be the other choice, to avoid cloud shadows
Mount the camera on my Feisol tripod & Markins ballhead, locked down tight, with some sort of weight on the tripod's hook.
Use manual exposure at about f5.6-8, "neutral" style, appropriate white balance, but autofocus, in case something moves a bit between shots. (The WhiBal card has a focus target).
Take shots (using mirror lockup and a remote trigger) with each filter and some without a filter. (I'll clean the filters before shooting and brush the lens and filters with a LensPen brush when I change filters.) I'll have to put some number in the shots so that I don't get them mixed up.
Do 100% crops from the RAW images using Digital Photo Professional, but no other processing. (Other option would be use the Trim command in Graphic Converter on the JPEG images.)
Post those on a web page, along with scaled versions of the full shots for reference.




The contest would have two tasks: identify the no-filter shot(s)--I'd probably put in two to lower the probability of getting it right by chance--and identify the shot with the el-cheapo filter.


I'll have some sort of prize--maybe the el-cheapo filter! [:P] (Naw, it will probably be something else.)


It will be a week or two before I can get this done.