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Hi Everyone,
I was just wondering if anyone is using the newly developed <span id="btAsinTitle"]Hoya HRT Circular Polarizer Glass Filters? I already have B+W UV filters and polarizing filters for all my lenses but I was thinking of trying this new UV/circular polarizing filter combo for existing and new lens purchases.
Anyone know if these are better to have than buying one of each type of filter?
Thanks much for any input you can provide!
Denise
My Hoya HD 77mm cir-pol just came apart (fairly new, never abused or dropped). I am less than impressed with the build quality- pretty angry in fact.
I have not used the HRT filter, but I am pretty sour on Hoya at the moment. I would stick with B&W.
Hi Denise,
First off, the UV/CPL combo is rather irrelevant, IMO. It's a CPL. Since the image sensor in dSLRs is not sensitive to UV, there's no imaging benefit to a UV filter. Unlike with film which is sensitive to UV (causes haze), on a dSLR lens the function of a UV filter is front element protection only - same as using a clear filter (but for various reasons, clear ones sometimes cost more).
TheHigh-Rate Transparencyadvantage of the new Hoya filter means an extra 1/3 stop of light transmittance compared to a typical CPL. Since a normal CPL results in a loss of 1.66-2 stops of light (depending on rotation), the HRT CPL will result in loss of 1.33-1.66 stops. That's still too much loss to leave the CPL on the lens all the time (as you would with a UV/protection filter). That one-third of a stop is unlikely to be necessary in most shooting situations where you need a CPL, i.e. there needs to be sufficient light to polarize, so you're probably not going to be needing a slow shutter speed, unless you are using a narrow aperture (landscapes), in which case you're on a tripod anyway.
So no, I don't see any point in replacing your current B+W CPL(s) with this new Hoya filter.
Personally, I have a UV filter (B+W MRC) on each of my lenses, and it stays on there all the time, except when I remove it to put on a different filter. For my other filters (B+W Käsemann Slim CPL,B+W 0.3 and 3.0 ND filters), I have just one in 77mm diameter, and I have adapter rings to use them with smaller lenses (58→77, 67→77, 72→77). Most of my lenses are 77mm, so there's a significant cost savings with the adapters. The downside to the adapter rings is that they can preclude using the hood (then again, with most hoods it's really hard to reach the CPL anyway), but some are ok (for example, I know I can still mount the hood on my EF 200mm f/2.8<span style="color: red;"]L II with a72→77 adapter ring in place).