Top end UV Protection filter show down
In this post we do practical side by side photos out of the 3 big names in the filter world to see if either of them is better, & if any of them are worth the premium over their slightly cheaper counter parts.
The Hoya HD is 77mm
The B+W & Marumi Exus are 72mm
Here is the final verdict first:
Marumi exus pro is by far the best filter for the quality & features it offers being the cheapest of the 3.Hoya HD is incredibly tough but lesser light transmission than the others, even less than the Marumi, which surprised me.
B+W coatings are very very good, for once you appreciate why filters, even in the digital age are very useful.
However, the good quality coatings are not out of the world & so I dont think worth paying 3x the price of Marumi exus pro.
How we went about it:
We will be mounting these on a Nikon 35mm f1.8G prime lens stopped down to F/10 because it is the sharpest lens in this range available at present, & at F/10 its sharpness equals prime lenses ten times its price & is more than adequate for our testing.
Bokeh & colour rendtion dont matter in our test. It is only the variances between the 3 filters is all we are looking for.
There is some argument around how hand holding things isnt exactly 'ideal', but like most of my tests, I want to see real world differences, not just laboratory numbers.
In such cases, hand holding the filter in front of the lens is more than adequate.
