📸 Hoya 77mm HD3 UV Filter: Optimal Protection for Crystal Clear Images Review

This is the best polarizer I've ever used, the only downside is the high price, but it's worth it. The reduction in light leakage alone is worth the entry price, but the oil and water resistant coating seals the deal.

This filter is very difficult to clean. I have several other Hoya filters and they are fine. But the HD3 was impossible to clean: weird stains that can't be removed. The filter has not been exposed to anything out of the ordinary. This damn thing cost about eighty dollars and I would NOT buy it again.

Not sure about the strength of the filter as I have not met my lens anywhere and not interested in testing it. But it seems to absorb dust so easily. I said that it has a coating to prevent or at least make it more difficult to pick up dust, but that doesn't work for me at all. The cover is just a magnet for dust.

Digital cameras DO NOT NEED UV filters to take pictures. But the professional quality lenses I use are often at risk of damage. Finally we have a solution that is NOT an optical compromise. This filter is like a protective layer and you can forget about putting lens caps on and off (or tracking where they are). Good product!

These Hoya HD3 UV filters are the best filters I have used in over 4 decades of photography. I usually buy accessories from the same brand as the camera and lens I use, but no more. These filters repel contaminants and rarely need cleaning. A gentle swipe with a lens brush or lens cleaning tissue is all it takes to restore perfect optical performance. Now I convert all my UV and CP filters to Hoya HD3 filters.

Now I have 10 of these lenses for my 77mm and 72mm lenses and am happy. As mentioned, they tend to attract dust particles that cannot be easily removed completely. However, I'm happy to make the sacrifice of not using lens caps and worry about scratching or breaking my expensive lenses. I've hit one with a hammer (before it was attached to the lens lol) and it's not broken or scratched and that's enough for me.

First, it does what any good circular polarizer should do. But there are a few additional benefits: Most CPLs block 2 to 2-1/2 stops of light, but this one, according to Hoya, goes 2/3 stops more (maybe even a full stop based on my camera measurements). This is not trivial, the HD3's B-Coating is advertised as being very durable and resistant to fingerprints and dust, to my surprise this claim was true, it actually takes some effort to leave a fingerprint and dust tends to just be fall off fall

I took some "lab photos" with my Nikon D850 and enlarged the photo's microtext with and without the Hoya HD3 filter. I can't tell the difference. No optical degradation I noticed at 800% zoom on a 45 megapixel image. Just what you need to protect your lenses! Through coatings. I do not know. I have several less expensive filters and they never seem to be static magnets like this one. So while they can strengthen the glass and give great optical results, they tend to attract more dust than any…

Hoya's previous HD series have been great. Especially HD3. I haven't tested the shock resistance (unless someone wants to buy me a sample to try😜), but I have enough experience with a few other HD filters to confirm that they are more resistant to scratches, fingerprints and dust than other. I use. If it were just about optics, Nikon or B+W are just as good. Fingerprint and dust resistance is hard to come by until you've worked with it for a while - the stuff just doesn't stick! Modern digital