filters for PD150

Hey everyone,

first of all, I'd like everyone that helped me decide not to deal with ebay when buying cameras. The 2 bids I won turned out to be duds (especially when I dared to ask questions. The nerve of me!!!!)

Anyhows, I was able to get a great deal for a PD150 from a video rental/sales office. Now I have a question regarding filters. I now the PD150 has internal NDs, but what other filters would you recommend and why? I'll probably be asked how I want to use the filters, but what I really want to know is what would you say would be good filters to have in your kit, no matter the circumstances. Adding to that, if you have any suggestions to other filters that work, and why, I'd love to hear it.

Thanks a lot guys,

Jackie

I know that this may not be something specific to the PD150, but hey you never know. This camera might have a few quirks that other cameras don't.

[Matt Stahley]

a UV filter for lens protection and a circular polarizer seem to be the standards .

[Mike Rehmus]

I agree. All the others you can simulate in the edit suite. Except the split-screen auxiliary lenses.

Make certain the filters are expressly labled, "muliticoated" or "antireflection coated". I found out the sad way that in the interim between my purchases of 35mm camera filters in the 70's and today, some of the main-line manufacturers dropped the multi-coating or now make a line with and without multi-coating.

You won't like the results if it is not multi-coated.

[Chris Tsamados]

Sorry to butt in but I bought a UV filter for my VX2000 and when I used it dirt was very visible on the lens and was recorded onto the footage.

I've since brought a lens cleaner but no matter how much I polish the filter I always get the same problem.

Can anyone help?

[Mike Rehmus]

In full wide angle, you can probably focus on the dirt on a filter.

In certain lighting situations, dirt on the lens or filters can be seen as spots in the video.

To properly clean a filter or lens, you have to take a bit of care and also not overdo it. I always find shot from a can of compressed nitrogen to be a good final cleanup.

To make certain dirt stays off the lens/filter, you have to check it between takes.

In most cases, since the dirt is not in focus and you don't have the intense, in-the-lens light, it is not apparent.

[Chris Tsamados]

Thanks Mike are have to get my hands on some gas.

[Bryan Beasleigh]

Your better off buying a rubber squeeze bulb. The canned "air" is actually liquid refrigerant. if you kant the can you could wind up spraying liqid refigerant on the lens, this will cause condensation. I bought a large rubber bulb for under $10, it will last for years and it's enviromentally friendly.

[Mike Rehmus]

That is why I specifically said, 'Nitrogen.' It is normally used in the electronics industry. One can also get micro-filtered 'Air.' for less demanding applications.

Neither one is a refrigerant, the use of which, for these purposes, is supposed to be illegal.

The rubber bulb is a good idea, if you can find the correct one. Frequently the bulb has a harder plastic nozzle which is a bit dangerous around optics. And, since they don't have a thin, long nozzle, it is more difficult to get crevices and recessed areas clean.

[Bryan Beasleigh]

Mike
I'm a Refigeration Field Eng for a very large manufacturer. I've been in the bussiness for 40 years.
Nitrogen is dangerous to handle and not used in electronics. Nitrogen comes as a pressurized gas at 1800-2000 psi and the smallest cylinder is usually "C" size (about 3 feet tall) It is foolhardy to use without a regulator. Liquified nitrogen is a cryogenic refrigerant and will cause 3 rd degree burns, it would also crack a lense or create no end of condensation.

The "Canned Air "products are actually liquified gases that boil in the can to maintain a constant pressure ( a refrigerant) Refrigerants come in all pressure ranges and boiling points. CFC's have been outlawed and HFC's are controlled but that's only a few of the many hundreds available.

Freon 11 was a favorite of the electronics industry but was about the worst of the CFC's. It's been totally banned along with R-12 and R-502.

[Mike Rehmus]

Here in Silicon Valley, one can go into the surplus electronics stores and from time-to-time purchase cans of Nitrogen and cans of clean air. How long they last or whether they have a propellant on the other side of a membrane I don't know. But they do exist.

Nitrogen does not have to be in liquid form to be compressed. It is just the most compact form for storage. It is still a gas and that makes it compressable with ordinary machinery.

They even have millipore filters for the nozzles of these cans if one wishes. Obviously they are used in the semiconductor industry.

Another thought about using canned 'air.'

Some of the 'air' has other 'stuff' in the can. I can remember not reading the fine print that said always hold the can upright. I got a shot of white plastic goo all over a Nikon lens.

The other reason for not inverting a can of 'air' is that sometimes the propellant/air will be ejected in liquid form. Even the 'air' from these cans can be very cold. So don't get them [the nozzle] very close to any optical component because you could cause it to crack or delaminate the lens cement.

[Adi Head]

i looked up uv protectiv filters at b&h for the pd150 and saw a wide range of 58mm filters at a wide range of prices. what's the difference? is it worth the extra $?

here are some examples of multi-coated uv haze filters and their prices at b&h:

Hoya
58mm UV Haze (HMC) Multi-Coated Glass Filter - Ultra Thin ($29)

Hoya
58mm Haze UV(0) Pro 1 (S-HMC) Super Multi-Coated Glass Filter ($51)

Hoya
58mm Haze UV(0) (HMC) Multi-Coated Glass Filter ($18)

Heliopan
58 SH-PMC (Multi-Coated) UV Haze Filter ($43)

B+W
58mm UV Haze 010 (MRC) Multi-Resistant Coating Glass Filter ($34)

B+W
58mm UV Haze 010 (MRC) Multi-Resistant Coating Glass Filter Slim ($80)

thanks adi.

[Charles Papert]

B&W is one of the top names in the film industry for filters, if that helps.

[Mike Rehmus]

The difference in filter costs can normally be attributed to the quality of the glass, the quality of the the coloring agent (if used), and the number and quality of the surface coatings.

Here is a short FAQ reference to multi-coating http://www.2filter.com/faq/multicoatedfaq.html
You will read that the HMC grade of filter (Hoya term) means that most of the light will make it through the filter, etc., etc.

It is worth reading.

Just a thought, the super thin filters are probably not going to be of much use in protecting a lens. I'd probably select the 'normal' thickness if possible.

I do note that the H&W filters are the only ones listed on that web site that use mounting rings of brass. All the others appear to be of aluminum. The difference is that brass is 'harder' than aluminum and is considered, in the camera world, to be a bit better. Anodized aluminum is OK too. I use both. But I prefer brass for a filter ring.

Question for everyone. Is there a 'filter' available that is built to be a lens protector? i.e., tempered like Pyrex.

[Mike Rehmus]

Reading a little further on the web site, I found out that the super-thin filters frequently have no threads on their front side.

That means you cannot thread another filter onto their front so you always have to remove it to install another.

You should not stack filters unless you absolutely need to. Every extra surface contributes to unwanted reflections and flare.

Flare is a phenomenon that can 'wash' out your colors and obscure object details.

Reflections at glass surfaces cause the dancing points of light that sometimes seem to echo across the field of view and are reduced by multi-coating both lens and filter. Effectively, multi-coatings reduce it to insignificance in our work.

The really cheap Hoya (and other) filters are made with glass that is a faint green in color. The better filters are made with white glass.

http://www.2filter.com/faq/facts.html will explain this better.

The bottom line is that the company, The Filter Connection, says that B&W MRC filters are the best available in their catalog.

[Chris Tsamados]

I went for the squeezy rubber air bulb option in the end, and was able to attach my UV filter without any dust or hair being trapped between the lens and filter.

Thanks for peoples advice.