HOYA filters, Let's Make Things Clearer

By Marcus Swales | Technical Product Specialist, Holdan

If you're a photographer or videographer, you know that getting the perfect shot involves a lot more than just pointing your camera and pressing the shutter button. In fact, there are a whole host of accessories and tools that can help you take your photography to the next level and one of the most important of these is the humble camera filter.

Filters are essentially pieces of glass that are placed in front of your camera lens to alter the way that light enters the camera. There are many different types of filters, each with its own specific purpose, but some of the most common include polarizing filters, UV filters, ND (Neutral Density) filters, and colour filters.

First and foremost, filters can help protect your lens from scratches, dust, and other damage. A good quality filter can act as a first line of defence, absorbing any impact or scratches that might otherwise damage the lens itself. This is especially important if you're shooting in harsh or unpredictable environments, like the beach, a construction site, or a crowded event.

But filters can also help you achieve specific creative effects, such as reducing glare, enhancing colours, and controlling light.

So why might you want to use a filter in your photography?

Well, there are many reasons! For example:

• A polarizing filter can help reduce glare and reflections on water, glass, or other shiny surfaces, and can also enhance the colours in a landscape or sky.
• A UV filter can help reduce haze and increase contrast in your photos, especially when shooting on sunny days.
• A neutral density filter can help you achieve longer shutter speeds or wider apertures in bright light conditions, allowing you to capture creative effects like motion blur or shallow depth of field.
• A colour filter can be used to adjust the colour temperature of your photos or to add creative colour effects.

Now, let's talk specifically about HOYA filters. HOYA is a well-known and respected brand in the photography industry, known for producing high-quality photo and video filters. HOYA filters are made with precision optical glass with multi-coating applications to ensure optimal light transmission and minimal flare and ghosting.

One of the great things about HOYA filters is that they come in a wide range of types and sizes to fit most lens threads, so you can find the perfect filter to suit your specific needs. Whether you're shooting landscapes, portraits, or action sports, there's a HOYA filter that can help you get the shot you want.

It's not just photographers who can benefit from HOYA filters! These filters can also be used on PTZ cameras (pan-tilt-zoom cameras), which are commonly used for an array of recordings from broadcasts and gigs to security and surveillance purposes. By adding a filter to a PTZ camera, you can improve image quality and reduce the effects of glare and reflection, helping to ensure that you get clear, accurate footage.

Overall, whether you're a professional photographer or just someone who enjoys taking photos as a hobby, a good set of filters is an essential part of your camera kit. And when it comes to high-quality filters at a reasonable price point, you can't go wrong with HOYA.

Now, let's talk a bit about the different ranges of HOYA filters and why they vary in price. Not all filters are created equal, and it's important to choose high-quality filters that are well-matched to your camera and lens. In particular, if you've invested in a premium lens, it's worth investing in a high-quality filter to ensure that you're getting the full benefit of that lens's optical quality.

HOYA offers a wide range of filters, take the standard filters such as the HOYA UX II. Whether you opted for a polariser or UV filter they will perform as titled despite the lower costs however, if paired with a premium lens they could reduce the clarity of that lens. This is where the premium ranges come in such as HOYA Ultra-Pro’s which feature 16 layers of anti-reflective coatings optimising light transmission up to 99.5%.

These are the kind of filters that you should opt for when you’ve spent thousands of pounds on premium high-end lenses. Not only do these premium filters provide more clarity but they are also made of tougher optical glass that offers ultimate durability and protection to that expensive glass on the front of your lens. Like all things you pay for what you get, but that is not to say the standard low-cost HOYA filters are poor quality, they simply suit a lens that matches the clarity or light transmission of the filter.

If you're serious about photography, filters are a must-have accessory for your camera. They offer a range of benefits that can help you take your photography to the next level, from protection all the way up to light control. We’ve linked our HOYA filter range below; each product has a link to our tech team if you require any support or advice.