Circ Polariser or ND screw in for 82mm thread

[reelexposures]

Hi All,

I'm off to Iceland in March for a photography trip with some friends and we're going to be shooting a lot of seascapes, landscapes, waterfalls, and of course the Northern Lights (touch wood).

I'm going to be using my Canon 16-35mm lens for a lot of it I would imagine and so I'm wondering about screw in filters to get some cloud movement in the landscapes and capture flow of the waterfalls.

Given the choice I would get a Circ Pol filter as this would be useful in other photography but I don't know if this is going to give me the opportunity to get a slow enough shutter speed in daytime shooting? Am I better off getting a strong plain ND filter?

They get very expensive for an 82mm thread and I'm not going to use it that much after the trip so I'm reluctant to get both

I also have a Cokin system but only have adapter rings for 77mm (24-70mm) and I think I'd get too much vignette at 16mm using these? Although I do have a set of expensive ND and Grad ND filters for this.

HELP!!!:bang:

 

[straycat]

i think you just have to buy one amazon have some at good [comparitivley] prices


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hoya-82mm-C...1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1357825401&sr=1-1

i feel a bit guilty linking to them nowadays as they probaly helped put a lot out of buisness

 

[reelexposures]

Thanks, but would the Circ Pol give a good enough reduction in light to allow slower shutter speeds of the waterfalls, sea flow etc...?

I would need the Pro1 I would image at 16mm on full frame to minimise the vignette?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hoya-Digita...Filter/dp/B000KZ760M/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

 

[Keebsuk]

Circular polarisers are not for long exposure photography mate. They are used to reduce glare/reflections on water or to enhance blue skies etc (think polarising sunglasses).

For the milky water effect you will need N ND filter, ideally a 10 stop. If you do a search for either 10 Stop or Long Exposure you will find some excellent guides.

Andy

 

[LongLensPhotography]

I think Heliopan makes 10 stop, and it looks like Hoya has their excellent ND400x HMC in that size

CPL should be more or less OK once you fix the distortion in post. But with such a wide lens it can do a lot more harm than good in most day to day situations. I only found them useful for waterfalls or after sunset; and obviously after 35mm in bright daylight

 

[rjbell]

A polariser will give you about 1 stop less light i think, but for long exposures you need nd filters.

 

[Nod]

To get some milkiness into streams and waterfalls, 1/4s is just about long enough.

The stop or so a pol takes can be enough to make the difference as long as there's not too much light about in the first place!

IMO, a 16-35 is too short for a polariser to give a decent blue sky effect - since pols work best when aimed at 90° to the sun, the effect over a wide angle sky is very uneven. Where are you based Kevin? If anywhere near Exeter, I can lend you an 82mm circ pol to have a play or even to take on hols with you (on a you bend it, you mend it basis).

ETA There are a few more examples of water at longish exposures here... http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=7202

 

[reelexposures]

Thanks for all the useful replies, I know the circular polariser isn't designed for ND filtering but I was kind of hoping the reduction in light that it gives would be useful in allowing longer shutter speeds in the brighter light.

It seems it may not be enough though

I'm not so worried about the 'blue sky' effect from the polariser but it would be handy for reducing reflections in car photos as well. But it sounds like I'm pushing my luck on a 16mm though.

I'll look into those ND suggestions. And a big thank you for the offer of borrowing the polariser, that's really kind of you!!

 

[Nod]

I would offer to take a few car pix with a UWA at 16mm with a polariser fitted but my UWA is the Sigma 12-24 which doesn't take screw in filters except when fitted to a Dx body. I shoot on FF but my body can be set to Dx and at that crop and at 16mm, I reckon the screw in bit of the bucket cap might work... If I get a chance (and remember!), I'll give it a whirl and post the results. Luckily, the bucket hood's removeable centre cap has an 82mm filter thread.

 

[Nod]

A little vignetting in the corners as expected (the pol's not an ultra low profile one for wide angles) but it should show the effect OK.

 

[reelexposures]

That's great of you! Thanks

I'm really struggling to find a ND400 with an 82mm thread? Anyone have a link?

 

[Nod]

OK, shots done and resized and thread found!

This shows the unevenness of the polarising effect on wide angles (16mm in Dx mode). Deliberately over compressed to highlight banding.

Again, uneven sky and over compressed.

Although entitled UnPol, IIRC, I just rotated the pol to give as little effect on the screen as possible - the flanks are still polarised!

In this one, the screen is more polarised than the flanks.

Head on, the reflections are closer to the same pole from screen and bonnet. Unpolarised...

...and polarised.

Once I've washed my captive cat and the weather's better, I'll do some proper shots rather than ones to illustrate a point!