[csa]

Anyone have experience with the Promaster filters? I just bought a polarizer from this line. I bought the "thin" one, hoping it will not vignette on my 18-55 WR lens. I was just wondering about the quality of this line.

[Al_Kahollick]

I think with filters, you get what you pay for.

Have a look here: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/54-pentax-lens-articles/65926-beware-chea...tml#post661135

[csa]

Well, I was simply asking if anyone had any experience with this brand.

[Oldbayrunner]

Promaster is a rebranded product similar to Vivitar so the quality can vary according to the price and who the actual manufacturer is. Most filters will have some degree of image degradation. In the past this could be a real problem with cheaper filters but IMO as long as one doesn't purchase too cheap of a filter then with today's software as long as there isn't a high degree of motion blur and/or one isn't in need of critical sharpness then acceptable results can be obtained via post processing.

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Last edited by Oldbayrunner; 04-19-2015 at 02:35 PM.

[jatrax]

What he said ^^^^. There have been some quite nice lenses produced under the Promaster brand. I don't think they actually make anything, just source it. Welcome | ProMaster

So the "you get what you pay for" rule still applies. If you look at their website they list (for example) four CPLs in 52mm ranging from $24.95 to $89.95. Just like most brands today they offer a range of quality. So if someone bought the bargain basement $24.95 one it will likely be comparable to similar less expensive filters and if they got the $89.95 one I would suspect the quality would be comparable to similarly priced ones from Marumi and B+H. In fact the Promaster might actually be made by one of the 'name' brands.

Unfortunately without objective tests the only thing you can go on is price. The only comparison test I am aware of is this one: Polarizing filters test - Results and summary - Lenstip.com which is now quite outdated.

[csa]

Thanks! I'll just have to wait & see the results when I get a chance to use it. Mine's a mid-priced one, so hopefully will be satisfactory.

[jatrax]

Thanks! I'll just have to wait & see the results when I get a chance to use it. Mine's a mid-priced one, so hopefully will be satisfactory.

As someone mentioned above quality control has improved a lot and most filters, except truly cheap junk will be fine. One thing I would test for would be the addition of any color cast. Some less expensive filters are known to introduce a purple or magenta cast. This can be corrected but best if you know in advance.

[csa]

I'll definitely check that out!

[Al_Kahollick]

Well, I was simply asking if anyone had any experience with this brand.

You said you were wondering about the "quality of the line" of Promaster Filters. I gave you my opinion. What's confusing ???

[narual]

"you get what you pay for" may not apply... at least, at my local camera shop,I think all they sell are promoter filters, and they're sometimes priced at a point that makes me laugh -- a B+W filter might be cheaper in some cases. I guess they have to make their profits somewhere, and Promaster must not have restrictions on markups. I bought a yellow filter (for BW film contrast) there the other day to put on the 31mm ltd and I think it was $30 or 40, and the B+W multicoated version is $38.50 from B&H.

If you're trying to save money on filters, look for nice used ones, not cheap new ones.

[jatrax]

"you get what you pay for" may not apply... at least, at my local camera shop,I think all they sell are promoter filters, and they're sometimes priced at a point that makes me laugh -- a B+W filter might be cheaper in some cases. I guess they have to make their profits somewhere, and Promaster must not have restrictions on markups. I bought a yellow filter (for BW film contrast) there the other day to put on the 31mm ltd and I think it was $30 or 40, and the B+W multicoated version is $38.50 from B&H.

This is true unfortunately and one of the (many) reasons online sales are increasing so much. When you start to not trust your local retailer because they sold you a 'promotional' item at a premium price, well next time I don't go back.

I used to shop at Best Buy quite a bit because I like to touch and feel the item. But after being sold a set of cables at about 5x the online price I don't go back there so much. The online market is very competitive and usually the price is a good indicator of quality. But unfortunately that is not always the case at local retailers. As always, do your homework.

[MadMathMind]

I used to shop at Best Buy quite a bit because I like to touch and feel the item. But after being sold a set of cables at about 5x the online price I don't go back there so much. The online market is very competitive and usually the price is a good indicator of quality. But unfortunately that is not always the case at local retailers. As always, do your homework.

An aside, but Best Buy makes their money on the cables and service plans. Or at least they did. If you walk in and buy a $2000 TV, after credit card fees fees, they may make $200 or so. The cables are marked up at something like 5-10x cost. Kick in the $100 service plan and the cable that's where their money is.

Where they really get you is on generic cables. The Monster ones have great profits too, but the store brands are obscene. They sell it to you for $50 and it costs them about $5. It's true of most house brands. When I worked in a drug store back in high school, we'd often recommend the generic over-the-counters to customers. It was a good deal for both: the store made more money and the customer saved money.

I suspect stores like Monoprice have really helped hurt Best Buy's bottom lines.

[jatrax]

An aside, but Best Buy makes their money on the cables and service plans. Or at least they did. If you walk in and buy a $2000 TV, after credit card fees fees, they may make $200 or so. The cables are marked up at something like 5-10x cost. Kick in the $100 service plan and the cable that's where their money is.

Yep. There was a story floating around a couple years ago saying that at Office Depot if you bought a laptop they actually lost money unless you bought the service plan. Their only profit was on the service plan and cables/add-ons. So much so that some stores were telling customers that unless they bought the service plan the item they wanted was out of stock. Which is all good if you are buying a big ticket TV or computer. Not so much if you just want a set of cables and feel ripped off. I do not expect them to meet the online price, 10% or 20% over is fine, they have overhead and sales people to pay. But too much and I lose respect and trust in them.

[hjoseph7]

I have a Promaster 67mm super-thin Polarizer filter that I use with my 16-45mm f4. Haven't used it much lately, but if I remember correctly sometimes it has the tendency to occasionally render the sky with a slight magenta tint, but this was rare . Also if I remember correctly there was slight but noticeable vignette at 16mm, but gone at 20mm or so.

[stevebrot]

I have a couple and would rate them very low.


Steve