I Feel I am Missing Out (Part Deux)

Plain Nev

Plain Nev

Vincent Furnier
Messages
2,007
Name
Neville
Edit My Images
Yes
And another thing. I've become fascinated by the use of polarising filters, and was quite taken by the way Thomas Heaton used them in one of his recent videos. The trouble is I wouldn't even know where to start. They range from okay to WTF! I sometimes think that ought to be an official grading. I need help from the filter guru's I think.
 
LeeRatters said:
There are polarising filters on my lenses 99% of the time.

I don't understand what you mean by okay to WTF to official grading though....
Click to expand...

Price. There's quite a broad range, isn't there?
 
I tend to take a polariser when heading to woods. Doing pretty much what Thomas Heaton advocates and using it to cut down on the shine from wet/waxy leaves and gives a more intense colour.
I don't use it for much else.
I have a Kenko 77mm polariser, Kenko are part of the same group as Tokina lenses and are reasonably priced.
 
DG Phototraining said:
I had a HOYA one once, kept it for years, never used it and can't see me ever doing so again so I gave it away

Personally, I wouldn't bother.

Dave
Click to expand...

Well, I suppose that's a distinct possibility. It's like everything. You have to weigh it up and see if your style of photography justifies it.

ABTog said:
I tend to take a polariser when heading to woods. Doing pretty much what Thomas Heaton advocates and using it to cut down on the shine from wet/waxy leaves and gives a more intense colour.
I don't use it for much else.
I have a Kenko 77mm polariser, Kenko are part of the same group as Tokina lenses and are reasonably priced.
Click to expand...

Ah, you saw that as well. I found that quite fascinating. And it did make a remarkable difference.
 
Funny filter to have, it's great if you have a universal lens filter ring diameter (e.g. 77mm like on my Nikkors) but if you have different it's a pain in the derriere....you pay for different sized CPL filters which can get expensive or go for Lee or Hitech 100mm compatible CPL filters which are truly expensive.... oh for the day when linear polarisers on MF would do.....
 
ABTog said:
I tend to take a polariser when heading to woods. Doing pretty much what Thomas Heaton advocates and using it to cut down on the shine from wet/waxy leaves and gives a more intense colour.
I don't use it for much else.
I have a Kenko 77mm polariser, Kenko are part of the same group as Tokina lenses and are reasonably priced.
Click to expand...

Doom Patrol said:
Well, I suppose that's a distinct possibility. It's like everything. You have to weigh it up and see if your style of photography justifies it.

Ah, you saw that as well. I found that quite fascinating. And it did make a remarkable difference.
Click to expand...

To add.......

They are invaluable in the woodland. Makes such a difference to the glare & therefore colours. Also a must have for waterfalls, the sea etc plus skies if the focal length isn't too wide. Shooting car shows/meets or urban areas with glass, reflective surfaces & pavements....? Yeah, they come in handy there too. Just buy a good one.
 
I think a multi coated is worth paying extra for though that doesn't necessarily mean it needs to cost a fortune. I mainly use Hoya and Haida though I do have a nice Heliopan one as well.

They're great at what they're great at but there are downsides that should be considered too. Firstly they'll cut out between 1 and 2 stops of light which might be an important consideration in terms of shutter speed or noise. Also, their effect colour saturation (particularly the sky) is at it's most dramatic 90 degrees to the direction of the sun. So the wider the lens, the more likely you're to see strange gradients across the sky if that is what you're shooting.
 
gad-westy said:
I think a multi coated is worth paying extra for though that doesn't necessarily mean it needs to cost a fortune. I mainly use Hoya and Haida though I do have a nice Heliopan one as well.

They're great at what they're great at but there are downsides that should be considered too. Firstly they'll cut out between 1 and 2 stops of light which might be an important consideration in terms of shutter speed or noise. Also, their effect colour saturation (particularly the sky) is at it's most dramatic 90 degrees to the direction of the sun. So the wider the lens, the more likely you're to see strange gradients across the sky if that is what you're shooting.
Click to expand...

Good point.
 
I saw a comparison somewhere once of polarisers and the conclusion was that there wasn't much of a difference between cheap and expensive.

I usually have one with me but like a lot of tools it is only useful in some specific circumstances, they can help with skies if you are shooting in some directions relative to the sun but I mainly use one for controlling glare off water and other shiny surfaces. It's also worth noting that a polariser makes the image a few stops darker so a tripod might become necessary.

welshwizard645 said:
you pay for different sized CPL filters which can get expensive or go for Lee or Hitech 100mm compatible CPL filters which are truly expensive
Click to expand...
Or buy a filter for your largest lens and some £5 step up rings for others?
 
There's no real mystique in using polarising filters. I use mine most of the time for landscapes, probably over-use it in fact. But over many years i've built my shooting style around it. Always shoot at right angles to the sun when out in the open. Plan your shoots and angles around it. Also very good in woodland and for waterfalls. I saw the Thomas Heaton vlog as well and he gets it!

The last situation I didn't use a polariser and regretted it was photographing an otter on a bright sunny day. It would have reduced the reflections off its wet fur. I'd have lost 1 - 2 stops of light though (depending on the make and model), so there are downsides.

As for uneven polarisation of the sky, it's really easy to put that right in PP.

FWIW, my main polariser is a Marumi Super HG.

Dave (DG phototraining), for someone who leads landscape photography courses, I find your advice very odd.......
 
sirch said:
Or buy a filter for your largest lens and some £5 step up rings for others?
Click to expand...

Exactly, no need to buy multiple filters for each lenses filter size - by the time you've done that for CPL's and ND's you might as well buy into a filter system if you're going to do that!
 
Only snag with step up rings is that you can't then also use a regular lens hood. Which admittedly isn't always a problem but something to consider at least.

I actually have a CPL to fit every lens (that only equates to 3 of them as there is a plenty of cross over with filter thread size) but I also have step up rings and if using ND filters as well, I'll just make a stack of 77mm filters on a step up ring as I definitely don't want to fork out for 3x sets of ND's as well! And as Si says above, at some point you start to question the logic of not just using a square system although personally I prefer the flexibility of being able to just take any lens out with its own CPL if needed and not have the clumsiness of a filter system as well. Depends very much on what you shoot, the pace you shoot at and the environment that you're doing it in.
 
gad-westy said:
Only snag with step up rings is that you can't then also use a regular lens hood. Which admittedly isn't always a problem but something to consider at least.
Click to expand...

Fair point, certainly worth considering...

gad-westy said:
I actually have a CPL to fit every lens (that only equates to 3 of them as there is a plenty of cross over with filter thread size) but I also have step up rings and if using ND filters as well, I'll just make a stack of 77mm filters on a step up ring as I definitely don't want to fork out for 3x sets of ND's as well! And as Si says above, at some point you start to question the logic of not just using a square system although personally I prefer the flexibility of being able to just take any lens out with its own CPL if needed and not have the clumsiness of a filter system as well. Depends very much on what you shoot, the pace you shoot at and the environment that you're doing it in.
Click to expand...

I've got various Nikon lenses and annoyingly they all seem to have different filter thread sizes making separate filters for each lens rather impractical. Currently using a Lee holder/CPL with Firecrest ND's. Does the job for me and doesn't take up too much space in the bag. That said, I do keep looking at the Kase magnetic filters.....
 
I too have recently started experimenting with filters in general, including a polarising filter. The problem I found was it was great for the sky but put the lower half of the photo into darkness. Had a lot better success with a ND filter and a graduated grey.I shall continue with further experimentation and hopefully get better at using my filters especially the polarising filter. Sounds like a good long term project to me. I must admit that I use the cokin system which means I only need to buy extra rings for the various thread sizes. Yes it is a bit of a faf using this sort of system but it is cheaper than buying 2 or 3 of the same filter to fit all your differing lens thread sizes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top