Experience of the Hoya Filter Kit 11

**Robert N** · 01-16-2018, 10:35 AM

Has anyone tried the Hoya Filter Kit 11, which consists of a UV, ND and circular polarising filter. Is the quality sufficiently high as not to affect the resolution of the K-3 with HD-DA 16-85mm F3.5-5.6 ED DC WR Lens. I am principally interested a ND filter, but this kit sounds interesting, particularly for the addition of the polarising filter. I have a standard Hoya UV filter which does slightly reduce the sharpness. Is it worth the additional investment in the Hoya 'Pro' range of filters, or is the filter kit of sufficiently good quality.

Na Horuk · 01-16-2018, 12:30 PM

I tried some Hoya in the past. Their HD line is pretty good, but I would stay away from the lower tier. I had a polarizer from another brand that was pretty cheap, but ended up getting scratch marks from any touch, and then stuff got in between the layers. Basically wasted that money. So it makes sense to pay a little extra and get a filter you can use for years, instead of for just a few months.
A kit might make sense if you will actually use the filters. UV are not really needed on DSLR. ND can be used, but only if you do that kind of photography (for example you want to make shutter slower for blurred water, or you want to use f1.4 with flash in daylight so you add ND to keep things from being too bright). Polarizers can be useful, but only if you take photos of reflective things (like water) or landscapes with a lot of sky (to make sky darker; but polarizers don't work well with UWA lenses because they make sky blotchy).
Also, make sure the filters are the right size for your lenses. Pentax uses 49mm on a lot of primes and some bigger sizes for zooms.

Tl;dr: I like Hoya HD, but would avoid "affordable" filters. But if they fit your specific uses, go for it.

**Robert N** · 01-16-2018, 01:18 PM - **1 Like**

Na Horuk, many thanks for your opinion. This has really confirmed my own thoughts, particularly on the basis the standard Hoya UV filter I own does not quite match up to the K-3 resolution. I now do not use UV filters for lens protection, but make sure lens hoods are fitted at all times. I will probably go for a higher specification ND filter for occasional landscape work.
Kind regards,

Robert N

01-16-2018, 10:35 AM	#1
Robert N Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: Sale, Cheshire Posts: 247	Experience of the Hoya Filter Kit 11 Has anyone tried the Hoya Filter Kit 11, which consists of a UV, ND and circular polarising filter. Is the quality sufficiently high as not to affect the resolution of the K-3 with HD-DA 16-85mm F3.5-5.6 ED DC WR Lens. I am principally interested a ND filter, but this kit sounds interesting, particularly for the addition of the polarising filter. I have a standard Hoya UV filter which does slightly reduce the sharpness. Is it worth the additional investment in the Hoya 'Pro' range of filters, or is the filter kit of sufficiently good quality.

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01-16-2018, 12:30 PM	#2
Na Horuk Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Slovenia, probably Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 11,186	I tried some Hoya in the past. Their HD line is pretty good, but I would stay away from the lower tier. I had a polarizer from another brand that was pretty cheap, but ended up getting scratch marks from any touch, and then stuff got in between the layers. Basically wasted that money. So it makes sense to pay a little extra and get a filter you can use for years, instead of for just a few months. A kit might make sense if you will actually use the filters. UV are not really needed on DSLR. ND can be used, but only if you do that kind of photography (for example you want to make shutter slower for blurred water, or you want to use f1.4 with flash in daylight so you add ND to keep things from being too bright). Polarizers can be useful, but only if you take photos of reflective things (like water) or landscapes with a lot of sky (to make sky darker; but polarizers don't work well with UWA lenses because they make sky blotchy). Also, make sure the filters are the right size for your lenses. Pentax uses 49mm on a lot of primes and some bigger sizes for zooms. Tl;dr: I like Hoya HD, but would avoid "affordable" filters. But if they fit your specific uses, go for it.

01-16-2018, 01:18 PM - 1 Like	#3
Robert N Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: Sale, Cheshire Posts: 247 Original Poster	Na Horuk, many thanks for your opinion. This has really confirmed my own thoughts, particularly on the basis the standard Hoya UV filter I own does not quite match up to the K-3 resolution. I now do not use UV filters for lens protection, but make sure lens hoods are fitted at all times. I will probably go for a higher specification ND filter for occasional landscape work. Kind regards, Robert N