Filter advice - one size or multiple sizes

Longimanus

Longimanus

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Lee
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I am looking at buying a polariser but am not sure whether to buy my largest filter size and get step up rings or buy to the size of he lens.

I understand I will save money by buying one size, but what other pros and cons are there?
 
get whatever your biggest lens takes and use rings to step down.
If you get a smaller filter and use step up rings you could experience vignetting
 
Thanks Mark, I understand that, is there any cons to doing this though?
 
I'm wondering, and I may be millions of miles off the mark here, but is there not an increased chance of some sort of distortion from the lens being further from the filter than normal?
 
There is a slight chance of the front element to filter distance causing problems but only really at wide angles and small apertures. There's more of a chance of added flare due to unlikelihood of having a suitable hood fitted, although a collapsible rubber hood could be used and adjusted to suit the focal length to avoid vignetting.

Personally, I would try the big filter and adaptor rings solution but keep saving for a set of pols to suit each lens ø. Or go for a Cokin/HiTech/Lee system.
 
Craft said:
get whatever your biggest lens takes and use rings to step down.
If you get a smaller filter and use step up rings you could experience vignetting
Click to expand...

You have this the wrong way round. Large filter small lens you use step up rings; small filter large lens is when you use step down rings
 
Thanks for all the comments, I did wonder about the hood problems.

Eventually I would like to get into the big filters and adapter rings, but at present its not something I can afford as the polarizers are very expensive.

The reason I asked the question is that I have a tok 11-16mm and am thinking of getting a tam 17-50, I just dont know whether to purchase a 72mm filter or a 77mm one. I know that the tok will be limited with a polarizer due to it being an UWA lens.

decisions decisions
 
Pols on UWAs bring a whole different set of problems, not least of which is banding in the sky caused by the varying amount of polarised light at angles differing from 90° to the Sun. The shot below was taken at 16mm on a 12-24 to ilustrate the effect then deliberately over compressed to exagerate the bending.

SkyBandPol1.jpg
 
Ned, thanks for this

I think you are saying that I should forget the tok 11-16 for a polariser and get one to fit for the tam 17-50?

Do you think it will be ok on this lens?
 
I would go to a decent camera shop (if possible) and have a quick play with a pol on the Tamron (or have a play with a friend's?). Personally, I don't use a pol on anything shorter than 50mm or so so I probably wouldn't bother getting one for either lens. (The shot above was shot using the filter screw in the bucket cap of the 12-24 and was shot in Dx mode on a D700 to show the vignetting caused by a filter so mounted at 16mm on this specific lens. While the vignetting is specific to this lens and FL, the uneven effect in blue skies is universal at WAs.)
 
Nod, many thanks for all your help on this, much appreciated
 
Personally if it was me I would give the round filters a body swerve, if you can afford it start with something like Cokin square filter system. I no now you say polarizer but believe me this will expand and once you buy the Square system holder you can get any of the system rings to fit any lens, Cokin I believe do a drop in Pol filter for there system, the other big plus for the square system IMO is the fact you don't have to keep removing the round filter from the lens every time you want try a different filter you slide one out and one in, very quick and very easy to do.
Russ
 
I hear what you are saying Russ, the long term aim is to do this, but it looks as if I may give the filters a miss.

I wanted one to take with me to the Maldives next week, but am having second thoughts now about it.

Cheers for the info
 
Hi, Well if you don't have one you will maybe be sorry. As you can see I now live in Greece and the skies here are a different colour of blue (sounds strange) but they are. I am a great believer in you only get what you pay for but even if you only take a cheap version do take one, would be better that nothing.
On a side note, what part of Sussex are you in?
Cheers
Russ
 
Do you mean a cheap polarizer or a cheap filter system?

I am in West Sussex, why do you ask?
 
Cheap polarizer.
I am originally from Brighton.
Cheers
Russ
 
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