Should I buy these?

[GaardCeteru]

Im planning on buying some filters for my Canon Rebel XS (18-55mm lens) but I´d like a secon opinion on this product if available; Im referring to these filters by opteka wich I found on Amazon:



What do you think about them? Have you used them before? Do you recommend them? What other filters would you recommend?

This is the link to amazon: Amazon.com: Opteka 58mm HD² 3 Piece (UV, PL, FL) Filter Kit for Canon EF 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6, EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6, 28-90mm f/3.5-5.6, 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 USM, 28-105mm f/4.5.6 USM SLR Lenses: 47th Street Photo

Thanks beforehand for your help and time

[OsmosisStudios]

No.

No No No No No.

No.

Clear?

[GaardCeteru]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

No.

No No No No No.

No.

Clear?

Thanks a lot for replying, it is clear like water that I shouldn´t buy them hehe, yet I am curious: Why not? (that way I can figure what I should look for when buying filters) and, if possible What filters would you recommend?

Sorry if you feel I ask a lot but I am pretty much a rookie at gear and equipment so I have a few doubts about what to look for when buying filters and such things

[firebox40dash5]

For one, 47th Street photo IIRC is about as reputable as Broadway... which is bad.

For two, you will get what you pay for with those, in a bad way. I wouldn't want to shoot anything I care about through a filter that costs $15, let alone 3 that cost $15, not even just a clear protective filter. Call me a snob, but I don't even use basic Tiffen or Hoya 'green series' filters. It's not like you need a large number of filters with digital as you did with film. Maybe a UV/protective if you like, one polarizer, and a few neutral density/graduated neutral density filters will do most of what you need. The flourescent lighting filter that kit has can be duplicated by adjusting the white balance with your camera. The polarizer doesn't state if it's a circular or linear polarizer, which means it's likely linear considering the cost. Linear polarizers are old tech, cheap, and can/will mess with your camera's metering and possibly AF due to the way they work. If it were the more expensive circular polarizer (which has the same effect without messing with metering), I would imagine they would say so.

The upper-level Hoya filters (Pro-1, HD, S-HMC), B+W, Heliopan, or even Tiffen would be infinitely better choices than that. You can't recover the image quality lost by shooting through crappy filters, especially if it's a UV filter that's left on all the time. I'll also add that you should invest in 77mm filters and adapter rings for filters such as polarizers, neutral densities, and other effect filters that you'll want to use with multiple lenses. You can put a big filter on a small lens, but the other way around rarely works well without vignetting or outright clipping the corners off your image, and buying different polarizers for different lens diameters will break the bank quickly.

[natek313]

Originally Posted by firebox40dash5

The upper-level Hoya filters (Pro-1, HD, S-HMC), B+W, Heliopan, or even Tiffen would be infinitely better choices than that.

I can vouch for the Hoya S-HMC UV filters. I have them on my lenses and have nothing bad to say about them. They don't affect image quality at all. They're great, and they're quite reasonably priced.

[GaardCeteru]

Thanks a lot for helping me through with this I really appreciate you taking the time to post and give me a little heads up on how things work

I shall consider other filters and brands then; I've seen Hoya filters to have a nice rating around here.