I'll throw in my 2p worth

IR - filter no idea about those but Shiela Tvernuccio seems to be having some success so perhaps she will see this and be able to help.

UV - Don't use one don't see the point.

Close Up - 2 part ones of a similar construction to the Canon ones are the best type to have. They are basically just the same as putting a magnifying glass in front of the lens, everything is bigger, so good for macros if you want an even closer pov. The numbers indicate the strength of magnification.

ND4 or ND8 - Doesn't your camera already have an ND filter built in? If you feel this is insufficient or it does not have it then the choice depends on how much you want to slow the shutter down.

I have a Hoya polarising filter and am happy with it. They have a good reputation for making filters so I am sure you would not have any problems with them.

Suggestion: How about getting a polarising filter instead of the UV and ND4, it will serve the purpose of both. It will reduce haze in scenery shots and it will lose about 2 stops of light too.

Message edited on: 09/12/2005 14:43

And every one said, 'If we only live,
We too will go to sea in a Sieve,---
To the hills of the Chankly Bore!'
Far and few, far and few, Are the lands where the Jumblies live;
Their heads are green, and their hands are blue, And they went to sea in a Sieve.

Edward Lear
http://www.nonsenselit.org/Lear/ns/jumblies.html