DSLRUsers.com

Hi

I'm about to buy a circular polarizing filter for a new lens and was curious if anyone had any recommendations.

Is the Hoya HD one of the best?

The best is probably B+W. Better built, brass rings & quality glass. I use B+W exclusively now. Before that I used Hoya and they were OK. They're world's apart, but so are their prices

I've used the Hoya HD (I have a 72mm CPL) and now use the B+W (77mm CPL) - they both appear to be well made and nice to use (the B+W heavier and as Peter said appear to be better built).

NB: I purchased mine online @ maxsaver.net and the price difference between say the 77mm Hoya HD and the B+W F-PRO MRC (or even KSM which is on special ATM) is perhaps not as much as you might expect.

The Hoya HD is slimmer though (and has front thread) so that may matter if you're using on a really wide lens (vignetting) - there is a slim version of the B+W but I don't like how it doesn't have front threads and has a pop on cap but thats just me. If you're shooting really wide you may not want to use a CPL anyway since you get variable polarising effects across the frame (because of the extreme angles of view).

If you hurry into the city, Foto Riesel are selling off a bunch of filters very very cheap. There are Rodenstock which are rebadged B+W as well as Hoya Marumi and others. There are some CPL in the box, but sizes are "grab what you can"
I was in there the other day & scored a 52, 77 and 62 Rodenstock CPL. But missed out on the 58 that I really wanted. I did get a 58 UV though.

As for CPL filters, #1 are B+W but I think the Hoya HD are not too far behind and extremely tough. I have a Hoya HD for travel now after scratching a couple of Non-HD on my last trip.

I have Hoya HMC 67mm, Marumi DHG 77mm, B+W KSM 52mm and Rodenstock HR Digital (55/58/67/77).....

The B+W KSM is my best....simply beautiful build and the KSM just "feels" nicer, my Hoya is on its last legs - I had to reseat the glass as it had worked loose and shifted in the ring at some point. The Marumi does its job and is a nice slim one.

The Rodenstock HR Digitals are meant to be the equivalent of the standard B+W (brass rings, Schott glass etc), I picked these up at work as we are currently clearing them at silly prices...$40 each. These will replace the Hoya immediately an most likely the Marumi in the future.

EDIT: beaten by Greg!

Thanks for the advice guys. Much appreciated.


---
I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=-33.857808,151.214149