Filters
- Thread starter stu59
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Hi Stuart and welcome. Slim polarising filters have the same ppolarising quality as standard ones. The differance is slim ones are desined for use with a wide angle lens. Yes you can buy circular n/d filters. But thay are less versatile than square ones.
Wail
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Slim circular polariser will not have front threads to mount another filter, or filter system, on; functionally, as has been said, they produces the same results.
Circular Grad. ND, avoid these since you will not be able to control where the graduation starts and end! Very impractical.
Circular Grad. ND, avoid these since you will not be able to control where the graduation starts and end! Very impractical.
shaylou
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To add to what has already been said. You will find that a slim filter will not hold your lens cap on very well. This might not seem like a big deal until you pull your lens out of the bag to discover that the lens cover fell off and there is a big scratch on your new filter. If you don't need slim don't buy it.
Teflon-Mike
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Err... would a 'circular ND Grad' not be a 'Center-Spot' filter?
As said, 'slim' filters are made thinner so that there is less rim protrusion beyond the front element, that can at wide angles cause vignetting... the rim actually blocking the scene you are snapping at the edges of the frame.
Not ALL are 'slimmed' by removing the female thread to accept another filter; though is common, as IF you were worried about wide angle vignetting, you probably wouldn't want to double up too many filters.
But, Polarising filters are 'two-part' and split, a ring attaching them to the lens, then another that allows you to rotate the polarising element to get greatest polarising effect relative to the lens; hence they tend to be 'double thickness' to start with.
Many 'Slim' polarisers then, you are paying for a slimed rotation mount to keep the two-part filter the same width as a standard plain filter.
Here, 'system' filters can 'win' as in a system filter holder, the polarising element can be one-piece, and rotated in the filter holder or the holder rotated on the mounting ring; but filter holders, tend to be far from 'slim' to begin with!
Some suggest buying filters one or two sizes over the largest filter size for the largest lens you have, then buying step-down adpators to whatever each of your lenses takes.... means that you only need one of every filter, rather than one of each filter for each lens; and larger than the largest element, the filter rim, ought to be well out of the way of risking vignetting... provided you only use ONE step-down ring fron whatever size...
As said, 'slim' filters are made thinner so that there is less rim protrusion beyond the front element, that can at wide angles cause vignetting... the rim actually blocking the scene you are snapping at the edges of the frame.
Not ALL are 'slimmed' by removing the female thread to accept another filter; though is common, as IF you were worried about wide angle vignetting, you probably wouldn't want to double up too many filters.
But, Polarising filters are 'two-part' and split, a ring attaching them to the lens, then another that allows you to rotate the polarising element to get greatest polarising effect relative to the lens; hence they tend to be 'double thickness' to start with.
Many 'Slim' polarisers then, you are paying for a slimed rotation mount to keep the two-part filter the same width as a standard plain filter.
Here, 'system' filters can 'win' as in a system filter holder, the polarising element can be one-piece, and rotated in the filter holder or the holder rotated on the mounting ring; but filter holders, tend to be far from 'slim' to begin with!
Some suggest buying filters one or two sizes over the largest filter size for the largest lens you have, then buying step-down adpators to whatever each of your lenses takes.... means that you only need one of every filter, rather than one of each filter for each lens; and larger than the largest element, the filter rim, ought to be well out of the way of risking vignetting... provided you only use ONE step-down ring fron whatever size...
mortimerhill
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A circular ND grad is a circular ND grad; the circular description refers to the filter shape not the grad shape
Big filter on a small lens need a step up ring, not a step down ring.
Step down rings are to use a filter that is a smaller diameter than the lens's filter ring. That's where the rule of using a step down ring of only one size comes from.
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ChrisHeathcote
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Alternatively you could look at the square/rectangular systems by Cokin,Hitech or Lee. The all you need are adaptor rings for each lens size. It also means you have full control when using grad filters as you can adjust where the gradient is