Tamron filter quality?

crumpet8 · Nov 15, 2015

Hey,

Has anyone used a Tamron filter before? How do they stack up compared to the more reputable brands? Loss of sharpness, flaring etc. are the concerns...

Thanks,

Dan

Sirius Glass · Nov 15, 2015

Tamron filters are about the same as most filters such as Hoya and Tiffen, but not the quality of Heliopan or B+W. The Tamron filters are good enough for most photography and I would use them for 35mm and my 4"x5" photography. For the Hasselblad I use Heliopan.

ozphoto · Nov 16, 2015

I had a Tamron UV fitted to my Tamron 300 f2.8 and saw no adverse affects on quality.

crumpet8 · Nov 16, 2015

Is it loss of sharpness or introduction of flaring, haze etc. you expect with use on your Hasselblad Sirius?

AgX · Nov 16, 2015

Sirius Glass said:
Tamron filters are about the same as most filters such as Hoya and Tiffen, but not the quality of Heliopan or B+W.

In what aspects do those two groups differ?

This might be interesting too:
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

miha · Nov 16, 2015

AgX said:
In what aspects do those two groups differ?

Aluminium vs brass rings.

M Carter · Nov 16, 2015

It's really a question of testing 'em. Can anyone look at 2 16x20 prints and tell which was the B&W filter and which was the Tiffen?

When the DSLRs-for-video thing really got going, I did a lot of lens and filter testing (since I use Nikon for much of my 35mm film stuff, it was easy to test my gear on DSLR bodies). I learned a lot about sweet spots for various lens apertures, but also found that even the cheapest NDs - which I bought for initially experimenting with digital video - were great for sharpness and only affected color at extremes - 3 stops and over.

Since I shoot stills and video at all sorts of events, I have to change my skylights yearly - they get dirrrrty. I found Tiffen and Marumi to be fine and they save me a bundle.

In fact, many Marumi filters test very, very well these days. But if you're really concerned, shoot some test film (with filter and without), setup your enlarger for a 20x24, and run some 8x10's of the centers and edges. You'll know in an hour or so.

wiltw · Nov 16, 2015

Tamron is not a major or even minor MAKER of filters...visit the Japan website and see that they do NOT list filters among their products. They do list lenses and lens coatings among their products.

Likely Tamron USA contract with a filter manufacturer to make filters to a specification selected by Tamron USA, which are then sold thru B&H and other retailers. But even Tamron USA web site does little to no mention of optical filters available from them, and they refer customers to Schneider for digital filters.

Since little product information is published, they could be cheap low quality filters (yes, for example Hoya makes cheap filters as well as really good filters, both!)
It is somewhat like Canon USA offering their brand of filters, but Canon don't necessarily manufacture them. And we know their filters are not of terrific quality.

AgX · Nov 16, 2015

But what is a filter...

The most simple filter consits mainly of a piece of coloured glass. There are only few manufacturers worldwide that make such glass anyway.
What is left then is the quality of planing/polishig, of ring threading/its material and any glass coatings if at all.

With laminated filters, from sandwiched gelatin foils up to circular polarizers, more issues come into the game.

This also comes true with effect filters like gratings and such (where I got real junk from Cokin).

RalphLambrecht · Nov 16, 2015

Sirius Glass said:
Tamron filters are about the same as most filters such as Hoya and Tiffen, but not the quality of Heliopan or B+W. The Tamron filters are good enough for most photography and I would use them for 35mm and my 4"x5" photography. For the Hasselblad I use Heliopan.

+1; It's a piece of glass and it doesn't really belong there.

Sirius Glass · Nov 16, 2015

Sirius Glass said:
Tamron filters are about the same as most filters such as Hoya and Tiffen, but not the quality of Heliopan or B+W. The Tamron filters are good enough for most photography and I would use them for 35mm and my 4"x5" photography. For the Hasselblad I use Heliopan.

crumpet8 said:
Is it loss of sharpness or introduction of flaring, haze etc. you expect with use on your Hasselblad Sirius?

miha said:
Aluminium vs brass rings.

The Hasselblads use B50 and B60 filters for most of their lenses. These filters have a bayonet mounts not screw threads, so there are limited manufactures that make them, hence I buy the Heliopan filters. B+W also makes B50 and B60 filters. I have no way to scientifically compare or measure the differences between the two filter groups. However I would assume that the more expensive filters have higher quality glass and better coatings.

crumpet8 · Nov 16, 2015

Sirius Glass said:
The Hasselblads use B50 and B60 filters for most of their lenses. These filters have a bayonet mounts not screw threads, so there are limited manufactures that make them, hence I buy the Heliopan filters. B+W also makes B50 and B60 filters. I have no way to scientifically compare or measure the differences between the two filter groups. However I would assume that the more expensive filters have higher quality glass and better coatings.

What stopped you getting the Hasselblad german made filters Sirius?

Sirius Glass · Nov 16, 2015

I was able to buy all the filters I needed in one swell foop at Bel Air Camera and they were all Heliopan filters. Besides the usual black & white filters and the polarizer, each lens got the same skylight filter so that color photographs would look the same.

AgX · Nov 16, 2015

crumpet8 said:
What stopped you getting the Hasselblad german made filters Sirius?

Within the last 35 years or so there only were two west-german manufacturers of camera filters: Heliopan and B&W
Thus likely they made the Hasselblad filters anyway.

Theo Sulphate · Nov 16, 2015

A comprehensive test of many brands of UV filters, submitted for your reading pleasure:

http://www.lenstip.com/113.1-article-UV_filters_test.html

(although the article mentions a digital sensor, the results produced by the spectrophotometer tests show how filters from these manufacturers perform, regardless of analog or digital capture)

Sirius Glass · Nov 16, 2015

As Mr. Spock would say "Fascinating".

Poisson Du Jour · Nov 17, 2015

Never knew Tamron even made, or had filters made, for them. I suspect though, they are made under licence by Tokina, which makes Kenko, among others (Matin). Hoya may make the Tamron filters, but I have never seen Tamron filters here in Australia. If in doubt about quality, go for the jugular and invest in Tiffen, B+W, Heliopan, or one of the marques' own offerings. The only caveat is that you should not drop any of those: filters break, and some cost around $600 to replace. I know. I've broken them. Often!

Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk

AgX · Nov 17, 2015

Theo Sulphate said:
A comprehensive test of many brands of UV filters, submitted for your reading pleasure:

http://www.lenstip.com/113.1-article-UV_filters_test.html

A very interesting test.

But for a part it relies on an arbitrarily border frequency for the UV-spectrum which practical importance is very questionable.
In contrast to their flare testing.

AgX · Nov 17, 2015

Here a polarizer test by them:

http://www.lenstip.com/139.1-article-Polarizing_filters_test_2015.html

Tamron filter quality?

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