Jim Bob

IV? Explain please.

ecurb1105

Rather then put another piece of glass in front of your lens, I prefer to protect the lens with a permanently attached lens hood. I only use filters if there is a specific need for one. I haven't used UV filters since I did aerial photos on film, same for a CP or LP filter. If you want to shoot long exposure landscapes, get at least a three stop ND filter.

leftj Loc: Texas

Where can I get an IV filter? Never thought of aging as something expensive. I always thought it just happens.

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

A fool and his money (but not mine) are soon parted. Breakthrough isn’t “hiding” anything. And their filters are excellent.

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

Spot on, sir! 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Your question begs the question as to whether or not you know what the difference between these two filters. Also, you seem to want to add a filter simply to protect that new lens of yours. That's understandable since it takes hard earned money to buy good glass. First, you need to know the differences between the various different screw on filters and how they can make your photography more creative.

UV Filter - does nothing other than add another piece of glass that may or may not be as good as the multiple layers of glass that your lens is made up of. The only thing a UV may do is keep dust and fingerprint smudges off your lens's front element. It may also provide a little layer of protection against bumping the front of your lens against something that may or may not cause damage to your lens's front element. If you keep the lens hood on your lens, it will afford the same level of protection to the front of your lens, so why add another layer of glass to the front of your lens. It's just another added expense.

ND Filter - is like sunglasses for the lens. Graduated ND Filter - half is dark, half is just clear glass. Used to shade the areas of your scene that may be overly bright. Some GND filters have a hard transition, some are medium and some are soft. They all come in various shades of darkness that will reduce brightness of half of the scene, or will reduce the shutter speed by a number of (usually) whole stops. What this means is that a 3 stop filter will allow you to use a shutter speed that is cut in half 3 times. A 10 stop filter, 10 times. Many people use them to make a long exposure picture of water so as to give the water a different soft flow look. ND filters are used in other situations too, but you'll have to google search that or learn from some experts. You can't learn photography in one day, by books, or by watching. You must put these things into practice so that you can really learn them.

Circular Polarizer Filter - Used on bright days outside to add contrast and color saturation to the scene where as the scene might otherwise be so bright by the sun as to wash out some color. They may also make skies bluer, greens greener, and may also reduce specular highlight like bright spots glistening off of the leaves of trees or bright reflections of the sun on water or glass windows. These are screwed onto the end of your lens, and then the filter is rotated until the desired polarization is met. They are most effective when the sun is at about 90 degrees to the lens or off to one side or the other. They don't have much effect when directly above, in front or behind you. You must adjust while looking through the viewfinder and watch the effect it has on the scene. You won't leave this on your lens all the time just as you wouldn't leave a ND or GND filter on all the time. You use them only when needed.

There are other filters that are colored that are used for creative outcomes of your photography. You'll learn about those after you've gained more experience. Google filters and read about some of the other colored filters to see when they might be applied. Simply put, the change the color temperature of the scene or can be even more drastic. The uses for them go as far as your creativity can go.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

First, why would you spend the extra money for an f/2.8 lens and it's extra light gathering capabilities... then turn around and install an ND filter on it that reduces those capabilities? That makes no sense. ND filters are specialized... used for very specific purposes.

Second, contrary to wildly popular opinion, UV filters were never really intended "for protection". In fact, UV filters are a carryover from the days of film, much of which was overly sensitive to UV light and the filters were used to reduce bluish casts in images. Digital doesn't have the same problem with UV light. And, thin glass filters are actually far more fragile than the lens itself. By far the BEST "protection" for a lens are the matched hood and lens cap that came with it. (Those are highly recommended to also protect any filter that's being used.)

Watch this video and decide for yourself, how much faith you can put into a filter for "protection".... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0CLPTd6Bds

That said, when I do use them, I mostly use B+W filters. They're a good value... very high quality at reasonable prices. Your lens probably has 77mm filter threads. In that size:

$38 for B+W "F-Pro" MRC 010M (8-layer "multi-resistant" coating)
$41 for B+W "XS-Pro" MRC Nano 010M (16-layer "Nano, multi-resistant" coatings and a slimmer mounting ring)

Both those B+W filters use high quality, German-made, Schott glass, mounted in brass frames that are less likely to gall and get stuck on lenses. The additional coatings of the XS-Pro make it easier to clean, as well as more resistant to finger prints and dust. I'd note that even the standard frames they use are pretty slim, and that the even slimmer XD-Pro that might be needed for an ultrawide lens, can be a little more difficult to install and remove. But even the slimmer ones have front threads that allow standard lens caps to be used. B+W is a subsidiary of Schneider-Kreuznach, who've been making top quality lenses for 100+ years.

Sure, there are some cheaper filters... mostly unspecified glass and mystery multi-coatings in aluminum frames. The majority of quality, multi-coated are a little to a lot more expensive than B+W in 77mm size:

$19... Breakthrough X1 UV MC ("4-layer" multi coating)
$22.50... Hoya Multi-Coated MC (sale price... unspecified glass, coatings or frame material)
$23 to $26... Formatt HiTech Firecrest UV (close-out pricing, normally $42-$52)
$36... Hoya Alpha UV (unspecified glass and unknown coatings)
$49... Breakthrough X2 UV MRC (8-layer multi-coatings)
$50.... Cokin PURE Harmonie UV MC (16-layer multi-coating)
$50... Marumi EXUS Protect (not a UV filter, unknown glass, unspecified multi-coatings)
$54... Hoya NXT (3-layer MC, "optical glass")
$63... Formatt HiTech UV Schott-Desag (Schott glass, unspecified multi-coatings)
$64... Tiffen Digital HT UV
$70... Sony Multi-Coated UV
$72... Vu Ariel UV
$81... Hoya EVO Antistatic UV
$82... Rodenstock UV MC
$99... Breakthrough X4 UV MRC (16-layer multi-coatings)
$102... Vu Sion UV
$115... Hoya HD3 UV
$124... Zeiss T* UV
$126... Rodenstock HR Digital UV
$155... Heliopan SH-PMC UV

I got the pricing above from the B&H Photo website. They stock nearly 40 different "multi-coated" 77mm UV filters. I didn't include some brands I've never heard of.

Whatever you spend on a "protection" filter... Just be aware that it's largely money spend on nothing useful. Personally, for most of my lenses I have UV filters (mostly B+W MRC or better) that spend much of their time stored separate from my lenses, which I'll install if out shooting in a sand storm, at the beach and in certain other circumstances when they might actually serve a protective purpose. And I choose UV instead of plain/clear protection filters because even with digital there are rare occasions when the UV filtration might be helpful to reduce bluish atmospheric haze, too. In other words, UV may have a little more purpose than a plain/clear filter. But even so I probably use them less than 1% of the time. A high quality Circular Polarizer is a far more useful and frequently used type of filter. But I don't use those very much on telephotos, either... much more on wide angle and normal focal length lenses.

You'll have to weigh possible loss of image quality against the benefits of any filter. High quality, multi-coated filters generally have little negative impact on images... under normal lighting conditions. However when conditions aren't normal, even the best filter can cause increased flare and other issues in images. For example, one time you should be sure to remove all filters is when directly photographing a sunset or sunrise.

Jim Bob

Geesus. Another useless lecture and editorial.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

The number of various filters is the same as it was 80 years ago, so there's no difference, its just about the same with which company to pick. The ones you named, like Hoya, is certainly one of the better ones one can buy and they are usually decently priced as well. B&W is anther one to look at!

Raz Theo Loc: Music City

To: amfoto1 and jeep_daddy,
Thanks to you both for taking time to respond to my post in such rich detail, succinc as well as an updatetly and crystal clear. You both think along the same lines. My post was poorly written because, believe it or not, I do know the difference between the filters and what they're used for. My goal was primarily to find UV "protection" for the 70-200 and was looking for advice on the "best" one, as well as updates on the latest NDs. But you each make the point of why muck up a perfectly good lens with another layer of interference? Now that you put it that way, I agree. I also appreciate the reminders and info about the Polarizers and ND filters and will put them to good use.
Thanks

Robeng Loc: California

Not exactly sure but I think you meant the Nikon 70mm-200mm f/2.8 G lens which is Nikon's earlier version. Not the latest "E" version. Just get a good B&W UV filter and you will be fine.

Don't over think it.

Falcon Loc: Abilene, Texas

Jim Bob, I placed an order with Breakthrough Photography (BP) right after thanksgiving knowing that three items (X100 holder, X4 CPL, and a 52mm Brass Adapter ring) were on backorder. After a week with no order status from BP other than an acknowledgment of my order, I emailed Graham to ask if their process was to hold my entire order until the backordered items were available or if they usually ship as items were available in stock. In a reply email Graham said that the X100 holder was 6-8 weeks out but the CPL ships immediately. Within 2 days I received the CPL and 2 other filters with no indication regarding the rest of my in-stock order items. After another 10 days I asked again for a status of my order and received a shipping notice for the remainder of the in-stock items. That shipment should arrive tomorrow. The X100 Holder and 52mm Brass adapter ring are expected to ship (I am told) in "late December or early January". As I mentioned in my original post, the items I have received seem to be very well made and very nicely packaged. The confusion in delivering my order and in communicating with me are likely due to the Holiday season and Graham's move from San Francisco to Denver. I also mentioned that BP was just out (maybe not very far out) of the startup phase after their Kickstarter campaign. I had thought that they might still be trying to get completely organized. They appear to be successful with their products judging from the pleased comments I have seen from members of several other Photography forums. The most hazardous time for any new company is when they are poised on the brink of success and have to grow to meet demand for their product. Being a great photographer, a great designer, a great engineer, and having a great idea doesn't necessarily translate into being a great manager of a company. Running a business isn't always as much fun as taking photos. I sincerely hope Graham can make the change since I think he has a product with great potential.
I will note that once they realized they hadn't shipped my order it showed up quickly--at least part of it did.

DMGill Loc: Colorado

Thanks for the link. The article has some interesting data although the pricing appears to have changed in the 8 years since this article was written. When checking the prices of the top rated Hoya filter in 77mm it is currently 40% higher in price than the third ranked B+W filter.

rwww80a Loc: Hampton, NH

"Protecting the glass" Use a lens hood!
Varying exposure to "create a photograph" try them all. Most of the websites show before and after filter photos.
Buy at your local store, try for the effect, return for a refund those that you don't like.

TheShoe Loc: Lacey, WA

Is it difficult to insert the catheter into a vein?