Which Circular Polarizer

Andy77

Andy77

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Just brought me sigma 10-20mm ex and a canon 100-400mm is, both are 77mm filter sizes, but im not sure which circular polarizer to buy, i only need the one as a can swap it from lens to lens, im ok for uv filters as i got 2 thrown in for free with the sale so which polarizer shall i buy, budget is max £80, and ive heard that you need a thin rimmed one to use with an ultra wideangle to stop or at least minimize vignetting, so which one is it peeps :shrug:

cheers andy...
 
If you want the best I'd go for Heliopan or B+W. Both use Schott optical glass. The top end Hoya filters are up there as well. And if you need a cpl that is sealed against moisture ingress then look for a Kasemann version, but unless you're into shooting in rain forests you probably won't need that :)
 
I got a jessops 77mm for my NAF 12-24mm and it's fine. Think it cost about £55. I use mine for magazine DPS work so IQ isn't compromised.
 
B&W but at 10mm you may find you get vignetting. If you need to use it at the wider end buy the thinnest you can afford. I have to say I have trouble using CPs on my 10-20 because of the wide angle, and generally don't bother. I tend to get the polarising effect over only part of the image.
 
The B&W or Heliopan ones are very good quality and built like a tank - but they are THICK, so not the best bet for super wide.

Hoya do a super thin Pro 1, more than your £80 I am afraid, but worth saving for. Don't rush, save more and buy a better one - unless you can get a Pro 1 for that money on a special somewhere. I have just paid £149 for a 77mm version....from Fixation and they are pretty competitive. There are several grades of Hoya filter, all marked digital pro....but they are not all the same. I am happy to pay the extra because I know exactly what I am getting - and the differenc eis negligible over the course of 5 years or so.
 
to go off topic are the heliopan polarisers liable to vignette at 17mm on crop ?

unfortunately I gotta buy 2 as if I step my 67mm tamron up to 72mm I will lose the hood
 
david1701 said:
to go off topic are the heliopan polarisers liable to vignette at 17mm on crop?

unfortunately I gotta buy 2 as if I step my 67mm tamron up to 72mm I will lose the hood
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I doubt that any filter will vignette with 17mm on a crop.
 
I think this is the best polariser you can buy - Hoya HD, 77mm, £82 from Amazon. I've just bought one because of its high light transmission - it only increases exposure by 1.1 stops, not 1.8 stops or so - to replace my already excellent Hoya Pro1 (which will be for sale in a few days for £50 ;) ).

How Amazon are managing to sell it for £82 when the RRP is over £200 I'm not sure, but I've ordered one before they change their minds.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hoya-Digital-PL-CIR-Screw-Filter/dp/B001G7PMGS/ref=pd_cp_ce_1

This is what Ken Rockwell thinks about it:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/hoya/hd-filters.htm
 
HoppyUK said:
How Amazon are managing to sell it for £82 when the RRP is over £200 I'm not sure, but I've ordered one before they change their minds.
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Maybe not genuine? They're being sold by an Amazon 3rd party seller - I've been stung with fakes off Amazon 3rd parties before :shake:
 
swag72 said:
Maybe not genuine? They're being sold by an Amazon 3rd party seller - I've been stung with fakes off Amazon 3rd parties before :shake:
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Don't say that :eek: Well, I'll find out in a couple of days and will post the conclusion.

But I've bought stuff from that seller before, AVIDES Media AG, who are a big Amazon supplier. Also, I have never seen any fake photo equipment; plenty of copies about, but they are clearly marked and never any attempt at a con. Have you had any fake photo gear?
 
get yourself a kenko pro1 D CPL, should be around £50 off ebay


Andy77 said:
Just brought me sigma 10-20mm ex and a canon 100-400mm is, both are 77mm filter sizes, but im not sure which circular polarizer to buy, i only need the one as a can swap it from lens to lens, im ok for uv filters as i got 2 thrown in for free with the sale so which polarizer shall i buy, budget is max £80, and ive heard that you need a thin rimmed one to use with an ultra wideangle to stop or at least minimize vignetting, so which one is it peeps :shrug:

cheers andy...
Click to expand...
 
HoppyUK said:
Have you had any fake photo gear?
Click to expand...

I ended up with totally and utterly clearly fake iPhones a couple of years ago. Before I bought I specifically asked if they were genuine and was told that they were. It didn't say either way in the advert, but there was an expectation from me that they would be genuine iphones. They were cheap chinese rip offs. To be fair Amazon were fine about it and looked into it and banned the seller - But, does leave a nasty taste about dealing with any third party sellers.
 
HoppyUK said:
...Well, I'll find out in a couple of days and will post the conclusion...
Click to expand...

My Hoya HD Circular Polariser has arrived, and all is well :)

Out of the box, it is very much lighter than my Hoya Pro1, which is why I bought it. On the camera, it cuts the light by an indicated one stop (actually 1.1 stops) whereas the Pro1 reduces exposure by about 1.7 stops.

Compared to the Pro1 it is also very very slightly yellow, which I suspected from the Hoya transmission graph. You can only tell by looking at it side by side with the Pro1, but when I tested the two, I found that the Pro1 is actually a tiny fraction blue, so I fiddled with the white balance to see what the shift was.

If you shoot with the bare lens with colour balance set to 5200K (standard daylight) then with the HD polariser 5000K looks spot on, and with the Pro1 5300K looks to be about perfect. I could only tell them apart by shooting a plain grey wall and white ceiling. In normal pictorial stuff, the shift is so slight it's undetectable either way.

Unsurprisingly, the polarising effect is identical betweeen the HD and Pro1 filters, they are both richly multicoated, and the slimline mount has threads for a lens hood.

The new HD is now going on my 10-22 lens, where I dare say it will hardly ever come off. There is rarely a picture I shoot with that lens which is not improved with a polariser, and at the cost of just one stop in exposure, I'll go with that thank you.

My Hoya Pro1 CPL will be in the For Sale section shortly :D
 
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