Hi Mark ...
Glad to learn that you, too, have seen the light and made the switch
to SMC Pentax filters. While I'm shooting more and more without a
filter, when one is on the lens it should be the best. I've tried
'em all - top of the line Hoyas with their super coating,
multi-coated B+Ws, and even a Heliopan. Nothing compares to the SMC
Pentax.
I just took one out of its case and my first reaction was "How the
hell did this happen? There's no glass in the ring!" Absolutely no
reflections unless held at a very specific angle with light coming
through the window. I only wish the filter were made in sizes for
Leica lenses. Unfortunately, I'm stuck with multi-coated B+W
filters for those lenses. Only a few months ago I could not imagine
ever saying that I was "stuck" with a B+W MC filter.
--
Shel Belinkoff
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"... there is no point in pressing the shutter
unless you are making some caustic comment on the
incongruities of life" - Phillip Jones Griffiths
Mark Cassino wrote:
>
> A couple of weeks ago I was walking through the yard with my
> standard insect setup (Pz-1p, A* 200mm macro, flash). I always
> keep a skylight on this setup since I'm poking the lens around in
> bushes and brambles etc. To my surprise I saw a bight white
> circle on the fence besides me. A little checking showed that
> this was the reflection off the Hoya skylight. I removed the
> filter - no reflection off the lens itself. At that time I
> decided to follow Shel's lead and got online and ordered SMC
> filters. I have them now - NO reflections...
>
> The SMC filters say SMC on them. I have a Pentax 49mm skylight
> that does not say SMC, and compared to an SMC there is a world of
> difference. Based on the reflectivity of the non-SMC Pentax and
> the Hoya, I wonder if they are even single coated.
>
> Personally, I tend to avoid filters unless there is a compelling
> reason to use them. One thing that really surprised me though
> was the graph that came with the SMC skylight. I always thought
> that a skylight was a UV filter that extended some filtration into
> the blue end of the visible spectrum. Actually, according to the
> documentation the skylight blocks some UV, but not nearly as much
> as the UV filter, and then blocks 10 to 18% of the whole spectrum,
> with the most blockage at the blue-green and green band of the
> spectrum. I may shift to a UV filter for use in telephotos...
-
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