CPL

BruceMo

BruceMo

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Bruce
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Just been having a look round for a 77mm cpl
I've seen a few folk lately mention the 7dayshop with good comments, but would this be anywhere near decent at £8 ? http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=777_1&products_id=102320

Amazon have the hoya version for around £25
The reason I ask is, 7ds say that many of their products are made by same manufacturer and are just unbranded
In short, worth a shot, or better just getting hoya with its proven quality?
Or any other options/recomendations?
Cheers
 
You probably want something at least multi-coated, and with decent build quality and slim rim for proper use. The cheap ones offer neither. I'd look at B+W, hoyas are very good but can scratch a bit too easily.
 
If you are looking for a wide angle lens I am really happy with my Heliopan slim CPL superb quality and brass construction.

I tried the B&W kaeserman slim but sent it back to Amazon as it was really fiddly to use and the plastic cover meant the box wouldn't close properly.(Also made from aluminium so was paranoid about getting it stuck!)

Heather
 
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Cheers for that, it's for my 17-55, fed up of blown skies, and I just fancied a play with something different
Not sure the cost of B+W, but I;ll go n have a nosey
There is a more expensive hoya (around 80 quid i think), which if this was good value, i'd get, is it any better scratchwise?
Basically, looking for best value, but definitely not cheap at all cost
Thanks for your input
 
A polariser wont help with blown skies.

And no the 7 day shop one isnt great. I had one, and it soon got binned.
 
Hmmm
The site has shots with/without cpl, and it shows a big difference in the sky
Seen a few on flickr taken with cpl and sky looks great
Whats the secret then, without a grad filter?
Cheers, at least I'm convinced cheap is bad
 
The secret is a grad filter!

A CPL will only make a blue sky bluer, it wont make a blown out sky less blown out. Well, it will to a degree, but it will take the foregound with it too.
The sky will need to be correctly exposed for the CPL to do its thing, but of course then your foreground will likely be underexposed.
 
What Tom said.

Don't think of your skies being too bright, it is the difference between the sky and the foreground which is the issue, you have three options;

1. Expose for the sky, your foreground will end up with blocked shadows, a silhouette.
2. Bracket your shots and combine them in some way, either with layer masks or with HDR or exposure blending
3. Use an ND grad.

I personally go for 3 and use grads as I prefer to get as much done as possible in camera, I prefer to be out on location rather than spending time on the Mac trying to make it look better, others work differently and prefer to sort it all out at home.
 
Cheers Tom
How about a recomendation for a reasonable grad filter then. I kinda avoided them because not sure how many stops to get. I realise there wont be a definitive answer to that, but whats the most common use one and I'll see if lightroom can sort the rest.
 
markmullen said:
What Tom said.

Don't think of your skies being too bright, it is the difference between the sky and the foreground which is the issue, you have three options;

1. Expose for the sky, your foreground will end up with blocked shadows, a silhouette.
2. Bracket your shots and combine them in some way, either with layer masks or with HDR or exposure blending
3. Use an ND grad.

I personally go for 3 and use grads as I prefer to get as much done as possible in camera, I prefer to be out on location rather than spending time on the Mac trying to make it look better, others work differently and prefer to sort it all out at home.
Click to expand...

Cheers Mark
1 is what i tend to do now, with a bit fill flash, but looking to develop overall
2 my d3100 sadly can't bracket, and that'd be ok for landscapes, but only if nothing moves
3 Think you might have something there :thumbs:
 
Of course your D3100 can bracket, you just have to do it manualy. Set up on a tripod, dial in your aperture and shutter speed in manual mode, focus and switch to manual focus. Then simply adjust the shutter speed up and down for a few shots.

As for ND grads, Lee are the best, but expensive, Hitech are a close second and cokin coming up the rear.
Of course you also need a holder and adapter ring. I dont think you'll get much change out of £100 for a hitech setup with just one filter.

I only now have a 0,6 and 0.9 hard grad. I sold all my softs and never used the 0.3's. If you have to have just one, I'd say get the 0.9 hard or soft, your choice.
 
TCR4x4 said:
Of course your D3100 can bracket, you just have to do it manualy. Set up on a tripod, dial in your aperture and shutter speed in manual mode, focus and switch to manual focus. Then simply adjust the shutter speed up and down for a few shots.

As for ND grads, Lee are the best, but expensive, Hitech are a close second and cokin coming up the rear.
Of course you also need a holder and adapter ring. I dont think you'll get much change out of £100 for a hitech setup with just one filter.

I only now have a 0,6 and 0.9 hard grad. I sold all my softs and never used the 0.3's. If you have to have just one, I'd say get the 0.9 hard or soft, your choice.
Click to expand...

More good info, cheers
Just been looking round at grad filters and price guess looks about right, now need to look into how to physically use them as apparently you need adaptors for attaching to lens???
Or I could just take up night photography :lol:
I'll keep an eye out on the classifieds, now I know what to look for too
Thanks for the help
 
You need an adapter with a thread the same size as your lens thread. You then need a holder which attaches to the adapter into which the filters slide.
I'd go for a 100mm holder over an 85mm. It'll last you forever then.
 
Excuse my ignorance, so that would be a 77mm adaptor and a 100mm holder, with 100mm filters?
 
BruceMo said:
Excuse my ignorance, so that would be a 77mm adaptor and a 100mm holder, with 100mm filters?
Click to expand...

Yep, as long as your lens filter thread is 77mm. If you have a wide angle lens, you might want to get the wide angle adapter instead of the standard one.
 
Its for my 17-55, general use, walkabout, landscape, portrait and everything lens
It just doesn't come off the camera, so I thought I'd help it out with a cpl, but now realise a grad will work the magic thanks to all the help
Thousand thanks

Now my next ponder is, do I stick a 70-200 f2.8 on my d3100, or do I upgrade to a d700 then wait for my new shiny lens until credit card heals
But that's another days worry
 
BruceMo said:
Now my next ponder is, do I stick a 70-200 f2.8 on my d3100, or do I upgrade to a d700 then wait for my new shiny lens until credit card heals
But that's another days worry
Click to expand...

Get the lens now and worry about the body upgrade later.:D

Heather
 
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