Kenko filters any good?

[bilybianca]

A guy is selling circular polarizers from Kenko at favourable prices. Are they any good? I bought an off-off-off brand 77 mm polarizer a few years ago, totally useless. Image degradation was worse than ifputgrease all over the front lens.

Kjell

[Monza76]

I have had some experience with Kenko products, they are probably the best of the bargain brands.

Ira

[Lyrics51]

Kjell, Years ago I had a Kenko 2x doubler for my Minolta set up. It did a pretty good job.

Glenn

[beachboy2]

I just picked up a Hoya CP filter 72mm. Caution, just screw one way or it dismantles and there is grease all over! You twist the polarizer in same direction as mounting on to lens front. It can dismantle if you screw anticlockwise looking for maximum polarization. Hope this makes sense.

[mtngal]

Now that's interesting. I've had a couple of polarizers (linear ones from long ago), but never had one come apart on me, though I have half of one that had been my fathers (I never found the other part of it). The worst thing I've had happen is that they come unscrewed from the lens when I've been turning it that way. I think I'd be taking your Hoya back.

[Monza76]

beachboy2 wrote:

I just picked up a Hoya CP filter 72mm. Caution, just screw one way or it dismantles and there is grease all over! You twist the polarizer in same direction as mounting on to lens front. It can dismantle if you screw anticlockwise looking for maximum polarization. Hope this makes sense.

Definitely calls for caution, I have never seen this happen but I would rather avoid the possibility by only turning one way. Thanks for the warning.

Ira

[beachboy2]

Reassembled the Hoya CP filter. A retaining ring was not installed correctly. Otherwise quite impressed by quality of filter.

[Heathglen]

bilybianca wrote:

A guy is selling circular polarizers from Kenko at favourable prices. Are they any good?

Kjell

When I decided that I needed 3 new filters, someone on this list suggested that Kenko and Hoya are the same filters with different brands. That was all the encouragement I needed and bought 2 Kenko UVs and 1 Kenko Circular Polarizer Pro1 Digital filters for less than the price of a Hoya Circular Polarizer Pro1 Digital filter. They all work well without my noticing any degradation.

Seems to me, that the only difference is in the spelling (HOYA vs KENKO)

Larry in Dallas

[Heathglen]

bilybianca wrote:

A guy is selling circular polarizers from Kenko at favourable prices. Are they any good?

Kjell

When I decided that I needed 3 new filters, someone on this list suggested that Kenko and Hoya are the same filters with different brands. That was all the encouragement I needed and bought 2 Kenko UVs and 1 Kenko Circular Polarizer Pro1 Digital filters for less than the price of a Hoya Circular Polarizer Pro1 Digital filter. They all work well without my noticing any degradation.

Seems to me, that the only difference is in the spelling (HOYA vs KENKO)

Larry in Dallas