Where to buy filters?

[Imran Jaffery]

Hey all first post though I have found this forum of great help in my recent GL2 purchase. I'm presently looking to buy a few filters for my camera and am wondering where's a good place to buy them. B&H is an obvious choice, but are there any other recommended sites that may have better prices. I'm leaning towards Hoya filters (S-HMC).

[Ken Tanaka]

Welcome Imran,
There are no real "deals" on good filters. A couple of bucks here or there. But that's about it.

One tip: don't go cheap on filters. Putting cheap filters in front of the fine lens on that GL2 is a crime. Use filters very sparingly and use top-grade coated filters featuring good, low-diffraction glass. B+W, Schneider and Heliopan are the best in my experience. Tiffen has several patented special filters but is in the middle of the quality pack. Hoya is towards the bottom of the mid-range, just above the no-name junk sold as filter kits.

[Marco Leavitt]

Don't forget to check up on Century Optics' sale on Schneider filters. You won't find a better deal than this.

www.centuryoptics.com

[Imran Zaidi]

Hey! Another Imran! Welcome.

I used to have a GL2, and as someone who at first was suckered by a good deal on some filters, I found out first hand what a piece of junk a cheap filter can be. Especially with that GL2 - as Ken said, by far the GL2's best feature is that fine lens it has. Don't abuse it with a cheapo filter. Tiffen is about as cheap as you want to get.

[Devin Doyle]

Imran - You'd be surprised at how much can be accomplished in post as far as filtering is concerned. BUT then again nothing will replace an ND gradient filter to help properly expose things. I've often contemplated a diffusion or pro-mist filter, but after some testing on my own have always found that it's cheaper - and easier to do over - in post! Anyways, good luck on your search!

[Imran Jaffery]

Thanks for the suggestions guys! I've gone ahead and picked up a Hoya UV(0) PRO1 S-HMC Haze Filter and a Tiffen Circular Polarizing filter. Hopefully these will do the trick!

[David Yuen]

<<<-- Originally posted by Devin Doyle : I've often contemplated a diffusion or pro-mist filter, but after some testing on my own have always found that it's cheaper - and easier to do over - in post!-->>>

Are you at liberty to say how you were able to achieve the diffusion/pro-mist filter look without the filter?

[Devin Doyle]

David, I often use a diffusion filter from the tinderbox plugin collection in AE. Below are some examples:

• original image
• some black diffusion
• some white diffusion
• stock preset

Filtration in post is about the only way i fly these days. You often can't afford to redo a take if the diffusion was too much in a certain scene, whereas in post you can tweak all the settings to your heart's desire.

[David Yuen]

Thanks. What kind of video work do you do that involves the Tinderbox diffusion filter?

[Devin Doyle]

I'm a student at Ohio University majoring in Telecommunications (video production). Those stills were grabbed from a single camera show we shot last year.