Filters: Tiffen or Hoya?

[J Costantini]

Hi.

The previous forum about filters made me very excited about getting some new filters for my video camera! The only one that I have is a Hoya UV Haze 1A. I leave it in the camera for protection.

 

I´m about to purchase some filters on B&H and would like to hear some opinions about brands. My camera is a panasonic ag-dvx100 with a 72mm opening.

 

I´m interested in filters such as linear polarizers and soft-fxs.

Does the soft-fx make the difference in video CUs too?

 

They have some good prices for Hoyas and Tiffens. But are they good?

 

Thanks

[DavidSloan]

Hey: Tiffen and Hoya are both reliable brands, you can't go wrong with either of them. I use Hoya for my Nikon still camera, they're great. I haven't shot enough on Video to know if the same logic applies, I'm sure one of our resident experts can hone in on in this.

[Guest Daniel J. Ashley-Smith]

I've never heard of Tiffen, but Hoya seems to be a lot more "heard of".

 

There probably evenly matched, and Hoya is a fantastic make.

 

So, either one. But to play it safe go Hoya.

[Phil Rhodes]

Hi,

 

I use a 72mm haze/UV filter to protect the front element of my lens; it lives on the camera. Bought it from a high-street photo store. Seems fine.

 

Phil

[Luke Prendergast]

Gasp..never heard of Tiffen? I think you should get rid of that tagline buddy.

[Guest Daniel J. Ashley-Smith]

Why? I'm not trying to prove anything. I honestly have never heard of them, Hoya on the other hand I have.

If it shows my in-experience then so be it, I'm in-experienced. I'm not trying to create an image on this board or make out to be a professional you know.

 

 

I do use Hoya and I can't fault them, so they are a safe choice, and they are quite reputable for their quality, even among professionals.

[DavidSloan]

Ira Tiffen is legendary in the film business, and his filters are a staple brand in the industry. The Tiffen brand has also won oscars for technical achievements.

 

@Daniel J. Ashley-Smith: if you admit to being green then why are you recomending people stuff? I reckon that if you've never of Tiffen you're in no position to recomend anyone, *expletive*.

 

Just my 2 cents.

[Mitch Gross]

Tiffen filters are top notch. Hoya brand are, well, a notch below.

[Guest Daniel J. Ashley-Smith]

Ira Tiffen is legendary in the film business, and his filters are a staple brand in the industry.  The Tiffen brand has also won oscars for technical achievements. 

 

@Daniel J. Ashley-Smith: if you admit to being green then why are you recomending people stuff?  I reckon that if you've never of Tiffen you're in no position to recomend anyone, *expletive*.

 

Just my 2 cents.

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I have used Hoya and know for a FACT that they are great and cannot be faulted, so therefore I reccomend them.

[Matt Wells]

Ira Tiffen is legendary in the film business, and his filters are a staple brand in the industry.  The Tiffen brand has also won oscars for technical achievements. 

 

@Daniel J. Ashley-Smith: if you admit to being green then why are you recomending people stuff?  I reckon that if you've never of Tiffen you're in no position to recomend anyone, *expletive*.

 

Just my 2 cents.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

In the UK Tiffen are not nearly so well known as Hoya, or Lee for that matter. I think that this might be a geographical thing.

 

Having said that I have a Tiffen ND filter for use on the Angenieux on my Beaulieu 4008. This was purchased, however, from Pro8mm.

 

Matt

[GregIrwin]

Tiffen is a staple of our biz but I believe that Schnieder makes the best filter available on the market today. I'm currently phasing out all of my Tiffens for Schnieder filtration. As for Hoya, it is a decent consumer filter that is mass produced without the standards that the other two manufacturers use.

[Phil Rhodes]

Hi,

 

Tiffen filters seem slightly greenish to me.

 

Phil

[Greg Gross]

I use Tiffen filters for my professional photography and have always

had good results. Like Phil I always have a uv(58mm) on the front of

my PD-170. When I first broke in to photography over 20 yrs ago there

was a saying that the one filter you always want in your bag is a polarizer.

I know Tiffen makes renditions of the hollywood popular filters. The filters

I use most are diffusion,polarizer,graduated neutral density in various grades.

 

 

Greg Gross,Professional Photographer

Student Cinematographer

 

P.S. Once in a while I get in to the purist thing and I don,t want a filter on my lens.

You need proper subject and light,exposure etc..

[Mitch Gross]

I'd put Schneider B&W filters at the top, with Tiffen and Harrison & Harrison just below. Formatt and Lee have always been a bit inferior to me. Hoya, Quantaray, Cokin, Cavision and other such companies produce consumer-level quality filters which generally do not have the optical purity, even field thickness, diffraction index, or color matching from unit to unit as the professional grade filters do. Take a Hoya filter, wrap it in a black rag and sit it in the summer sun to bake for a few hours and you'll see the colors begin to fade and run. Take 10 of these filters and put them on a sheet of backlit milkglass and you'll see inconsistencies between them.

 

All filters are not created equal, and I'm not even talking about the difference between coated & uncoated glass, wratten filters, gel sandwich filters and so on.

[Matt Pacini]

Daniel, don't get too defensive about some of the comments.

Saying you've never heard of Tiffen, is like saying you've never heard of Panavision or Arri.

 

Anyways, on filters, anybody here have any pro's & cons with in-front or behind the lens filtration?

I've got these nifty behind-the-lens filter doohickeys for my CP-16, but frankly, I'm somewhat paranoid to use them.

Seems to me, if there were a speck of dust or any irregularity, it would be greatly magnified as compared to a front of the lens filter.

Am I being too paranoid?

 

In 16mm this could be a big deal.

What do you guys think?

 

Matt Pacini

[Guest Daniel J. Ashley-Smith]

Well, I have heard of them. I apply filters digitally most of the time, unless it's something like a starlight effect, which is bloody hard to achieve digitally. Anyway yeh, back to the filters.

 

I had a look at both ranges today. You can't really tell the quality, Hoya have different grades, some with more coatings e.t.c.

 

I and millions of other photographers including professionals use Hoya.

 

" In the UK Tiffen are not nearly so well known as Hoya, or Lee for that matter. I think that this might be a geographical thing. "

Exactly. I've heard of both Hoya and Lee, never Tiffen.

[Greg Gross]

I don't have enough experience with movie cameras to know exactly

how you access rear of lens(your camera) to insert filter. But one thing

for sure is that the filter needs to be super clean! Some still lenses have

filters built into them(internally) and they can be selected. Specks of dirt

on filter would definitely cause a problem. Have you ever viewed a film

where the projecter lens was dirty or the film itself was smudged? I would

just keep filters clean and use them so long as they stay clean for a reason-

able length of time(while in use).

 

Greg Gross,Professional Photographer

Student Cinematographer

[Dan Salzmann]

It is rather mindblowing not to have heard of Tiffen. They have been a mainstay in the cinema business for a long time.

I own mostly Tiffen and Schneider glass. I have a set of Harrison and Harrison sepia filters that are truly amazing.

I would never consider putting a Hoya filter on a lens unless it was a Filmo or something that I was going to throw off a cliff or I wanted a soft effect with lots of vaseline or something and didn't want to gum up a good filter.

[Guest Daniel J. Ashley-Smith]

I would never consider putting a Hoya filter on a lens unless it was a Filmo or something that I was going to throw off a cliff or I wanted a soft effect with lots of vaseline or something and didn't want to gum up a good filter.

Yeh.. right...

 

Have you ever used Hoya??

[Ryan Puckett]

Daniel,

Less then 24 hours ago you stated that you had never even heard of Tiffen. Yet you feel that you have the knowledge to criticize the statements made by other more experienced members of this forum?

 

Have you performed side by side comparisons of these two brands? Nobody is saying that your Hoya filters are rubbish. But in a side by side comparison the Tiffens, Schnieders, and Harrison filters are going to be on average better filters. The attention to detail in manufacturing, and the quality control exercised during these processes leads to a better end product. And believe me you pay for it. Tiffen filters are great, and in a lot of ways are a great bargain for the money considering the quality to price ratio compared to other professional filters on the market. I own at least one or more of each of these brands, and I can say the Hoya is good, but it isn't a Tiffen.

 

You also need to understand that you are making comparisons to what you know and use on a still camera, opposed to a motion picture camera. The larger negative area, and less sophisticated optics of still photography deminish the need for such stringent filter quality.

 

Tiffen has probably invested more money and effort into developing their diverse range of cinematography specific filters, then any other single filter company. It seems rediculous that you would assume a company such as Hoya who has little if any presence in this industry could compete with a company that has such an established knowledge base in the progression of motion picture technology.

 

Don't stop using your Hoya filters, and don't preach to anybody about what you "know" about them. But understand that there are members of this forum who get paid to know these things, and they have the proof to back up their statements.

And after all of that... Don't ask the question, if you don't want the answer.

[Guest Daniel J. Ashley-Smith]

I'm not saying Hoya is better, nor criticizing other peoples comments. But, I really don't like the way people criticize Hoya filters.

Just because someone is more experienced than me, doesn't always mean I will agree with what they say, facts are different from opinions.

 

My opinion says that Hoya are fantastic, nothing wrong with them. But a lot of experienced DP's are far too confident and feel that their opinion is fact. Which of course, it isn't..

 

People can be as experienced as they like, but I?ll never accept that Hoya filters are useless and are merely used for shots where the camera is thrown of a cliff. In MY opinion anyway.

[Ryan Puckett]

I have no problem with the statement of an opinion.

But you might consider changing your quote until you can differentiate clearly between fact and opinion.

[Luke Prendergast]

I have used Hoya and know for a FACT that they are great...

 

.. facts are different from opinions.

 

My opinion says that Hoya are fantastic...

 

...and feel that their opinion is fact. Which of course, it isn't..

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[Guest Daniel J. Ashley-Smith]

Arghhh............................. Ok this debate is just getting really lame now.....

 

Lets back track a bit. Forget anything I've said already.

 

Hoya filters are good.

 

That ok??

[Alvin Pingol]

Don't worry about it, Daniel. A friend of mine (still photographer) loves Hoya brand filters, and won't go near Tiffen.

 

But of course, he's never used Tiffen filters, but rejects them because of negative word of mouth at his local camera shop. Go figure.