Hoya Macro Filters | Review | Film Photography

We’re sharing a rare “gear review” today of what we like to use for close up detail shots- Hoya macro filters!

We can’t stress enough how much we worry about catching “G.A.S.” – gear acquirement syndrome, the bane of the photographer’s bank account. That said, we thought we’d share some helpful tools with you that we can’t imagine working without now. Better still, especially in terms of photography gear, these will not break the bank!

When we’re working, it’s important for us to keep things as simple as possible when it comes to gear. It helps us concentrate more on creating beautiful images and less on the equipment we’re using to create them. The Contax 645 is our go-to camera for most of our work, but like most people who shoot with a Contax, we almost never take off our 80mm f2 Zeiss lens.
This becomes a problem when wanting to photograph details of the wedding day up close. Not because detail pictures on film don’t work, but because the focusing distance on the lens is too short.

Enter the solution:

The Hoya 72mm 3x macro filter kit

These filters have helped us work quickly and efficiently while still keeping things “simple.” More importantly, while still enabling us to get up close to get the shots we need. We can’t recommend them enough!

Pssst… if you’re looking for an affordable alternative to a proper macro lens for your DSLR, such as Canon’s (excellent) 100mm L series lens, these are a great addition to your bag that won’t cost close to $1000. If your lens has a 72mm filter thread (such as the Canon 50mm 1.2 L, the 35mm 1.4 L, or the 135mm f2 L), these will work with it! Just remember, you don’t have to shoot wide open with these.

Go easy on yourself – we usually shoot rings at f4-f5.6. Stopping down your aperture will help make sure your image will stay sharp.

I took them out this morning to take some photos for this blog post on our 5D Mark III & 50mm 1.2 lens (with 72mm filter thread).

Here is the mistake most people make when using them, and what usually happens when trying to shoot wide open, using the +4 filter here:

Here is the result when stopped down to 5.6:

Again, this time at f2:

Again at f5.6:

The kit comes with a +1, +2, and +4 filter.
Here is a comparison, +4 left, +1 right:

And a comparison from a real wedding, +1 left, +4 right:

Here is a crop comparison:
100%

1:3 crop

And finally, two digital shots, both straight out of the camera, the 50mm 1.2 L with a +2 filter ($$) to the left, and a shot from the 100mm f2.8 L macro lens from Canon ($$$) on the right.

We hope this has helped you! Let us know how you like them if you decide to purchase them. Here’s the link again:

Hoya Macro Filters on Amazon

… and a few more photos using the macro filters. Enjoy!

xoxo Michael and Carina

Virginia wedding photographers | Destination wedding photographers | Fine art wedding photographers | film wedding photographers | Michael and Carina Photography