Polarizing Filters

[george_gan1]

<p>What brand will give me the most bang for my buck..Price really isn't an issue?</p>

[ahockley]

<p>Generally folks seem to find that either Hoya or B+W produce the highest quality filters.</p>

[trevor_martin]

<p>Well I've always been happy with hoya filters, including the hoya pro-1 series. They seem to me to be a great value, high quality at a good price, especially if you order direct from Hong Kong.</p>

[leicaglow]

<p>Hard to say, George, but I find Hoya SMC, B&W, Heliopan, Leica, and Schneider are pretty good brands. Nikon and Canon too if you can find them. Those are ones I find very good. Not so good: lower quality Hoya and Tiffen. My criteria has more to do with the mounting of the glass (to hold it parallel than) with the glass itself. But I've also found cheaper brands can create a mess when it comes to color shifting. You want to make sure the brand you choose is completely neutral in color.</p>

[david_henderson]

<p>I've used Hoya Pro 1, B+W, and Heliopan quite extensively. Of these the B+W stand out in quality terms, particularly the MRC versions that are easier to clean. Hoya Pro 1 are good optically but are hard to keep clean and get clean. Heliopan are very good optically but I've had persistent QC problems on the metalwork of every Heliopan filter or ring I've owned and they are not an easy company to talk to. I have nothing bad to say about B+W MRC polarisers at all. You won't notice the difference between these brands on your pictures- its more a question of ease of use and longevity</p>

<p>With Hoya in particular you have to recognise that they make filter ranges at several proce/quality points so that Hoya on its own does not mean great (or bad) filters. You do not get the attiributes of a Pro 1 from every Hoya filter you buy and I haven't found then (or their retailers) to be good at explaining the differences between their ranges.</p>

[mark_poseley]

<p>I wish I could afford one of these Singh - Ray's (<a href="http://www.singh-ray.com/varinduo.html">http://www.singh-ray.com/varinduo.html</a>) to play around with... ;)</p>

<p>Otherwise I am quite happy with my two year old 77 mm B&W Cpol. It cost around 120 bucks.</p>

<p>But with that said I have a 52 mm Cpol from Hoya that I have used since around 1987 and it still seems in fine shape although there is some lateral movement developing between the fixed and rotating surfaces but it doesn't seem to show up in images that I can tell. Mine says made in Japan; does Hoya still build filters there or have they outsourced to lower cost production sites?</p>

[alex_lofquist]

<p>It used to be that most polarizers were subject to fading, irrespective of manufacturer. Almost all my Kodak and Leica filters have bit the dust, unfortunately. The best multi-coated CP that I now have is branded Kenko. (Not cheap!)</p>

[dbcooper]

<p>I use Hoya Pro 1 and two Singh-Rays. The Hoya is a Pro1 CP. As David noted, I do have trouble keeping mine clean and have to stay after it, but it delivers the goods, and has a nice thin mounting ring <em>with</em> front threads. It doesn't vignette on a 12-24mm DX Nikkor, and I can use a lens cap. It's the best bang for the buck I have personally used.</p>

<p>The S-Rs are an LB Color Combo CP (red enhancing + warming) with no front threads. I can't use a lens cap with it (no slip-on cap is supplied), but it performs very, very well. The other S-R is a blue/gold CP, which has a thickish ring, and I get vignetting issues sometimes with wide lenses.</p>

<p>S-R makes nice stuff, but it's pricey. I think they need to work on their mounting rings' thickness and filter markings - printed tape on my B/G, and rolled ink that rubbed right off on the threadless one, so I had to put my own index mark on it. IMO, cheesy for the price on the marking, and wider lenses are getting more popular. YMMV.</p>

<p>David, I'll definitely have a look at the B+W MRC CP, as I recently dropped and cracked my Hoya near an edge, and it won't live on much longer. Thanks.</p>

<p>Mark, you could try stacking two polarizers. You might build a filter like the S-R Vari ND that way, probably in a much thinner mount, say, like two Hoya Pro1's. You'd have to put your own filter factor marks, but you could read that back through your camera's meter with a bright light source. With a really dark ND (B+W 10x in broad daylight or CP+ND3x in lesser light for me), my DSLRs won't meter or autofocus properly anyway, so it's focusing and metering before the filter is mounted, factor the filter, and some exposure bracketing from there. A CP is unnecessary in that situation...using LPs might save some cash.</p>

<p>I heard Hoya is known as Kenko outside the USA, but don't know if that's accurate.</p>

[somak_ray]

<p>25 polarizers compared:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.lenstip.com/115.1-article-Polarizing_filters_test.html" target="_blank">http://www.lenstip.com/115.1-article-Polarizing_filters_test.html</a></p>

[mark_poseley]

<p>In case you are wondering on cost with Somak's report, one PLN equals about 32 cents US...</p>

[david_pogoff1]

<p>A related question: is it a bad idea to "share" a large diameter polarizer among lenses with step-down rings? I have a 77 mm CP (B+W) to use with a Canon 24-105L f/4.0 (77 mm), a Canon 70-200L f/4.0 (67 mm, 67-77 step-down ring), and a Canon 100 f/2.8 macro (58 mm, 58-77 step-down ring).</p>

<p>Even if this <em>is</em> acceptable, I wonder whether it's worth the extra cost to have the convenience of a CP for each lens. Any thoughts on this?</p>

[scf150]

<p>I've found the Moose/Hoya warming polarizer works best for me. I started with a 77mm & step-down rings. I have now bought a 58mm & a 52mm for my other lens for me it is easier than using step-down rings.</p>

[jim_momary]

<p>David -<br>

It saves a fair amount of money but it enflames my ire.<br>

I tried the step up / step down ringy dingy thingy. It takes a bit of fumbling to remove some rings, as they get stuck either on the polarizer or the lens. I gave up and got the 3 sizes of polarizers I needed for my lens round up. I didn't go for super expensive ones, so it wasn't that painful.<br>

Perhaps the sanest technique would be to step up each lens to let's say 77mm and get a bunch of 77mm caps. This then leaves the step up rings permanently on the lens. Then you would only have to deal with one size, 77mm filters. (or the max size for your particular brand of camera)<br>

Being a klutzy guy at times, I got tried quickly of the ring swap thing and the errant fingerprints All-Thumbs-Jim would make. Add to this, fumbling around when a quick shot was needed after a lens swap ... yikes.<br>

Jim</p>

[david_pogoff1]

<p>Thanks Jim.</p>

<p>My apologies to those who noticed that the question of step-up rings with polarizers had been discussed already at some length.</p>

<p>Currently, I have a 77mm, a 67mm, and two 58mm lenses. Since I, too, am klutzy, I decided on a compromise. Since I'll be using the Canon 24-105L f/4.0 IS (77) and 70-200L f/4.0 IS (67) more frequently than the others (macros), I bought 67mm and 77mm polarizers. Then, I purchased 58-67 and 58-77 step up rings. I can't imagine that this will be too inconvenient.</p>