Polarising filter

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Rishy

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Hi

I'm thinking of buying a polarising filter to use during strong midday sun.

I recently bought a Canon EOS 500d and the 17-85mm lens, which I believe takes a 67mm filter,

How effective are they? I'm concerned that using one may reduce image quality, even though blues and greens may look more saturated.

I saw a Hoya 67mm Pro1 Digital Circular Polarising Filter for £41, which I'm looking to buy.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hoya-Digita...6?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1256029888&sr=8-6

I just need some advice from people who've used polarisers and which ones they've found to be the most effective.

Thanks.

Rishy.
 
With any piece of glass you stick on the end of a lens you always run the risk of degrading image quality. The general consensus is, you get what you pay for, generally in terms of quality and effectiveness.
I have a Hoya pro series polariser I use on my 70-200 f2.8 which I think set me back over £100, used correctly its very effective and shows no sign of effecting the image quality. you could go nuts and spend £200-300 on filters but for me that seems a little overkill :D
I think you will notice a distinct difference when using one, try some comparison shots to test and see which you prefer :)
 
I use hoya and B&W on several of my lenses, I use them a lot, can't say as I notice a massive difference between the 2 makes though
 
There was a comparitive test a while back which found they were all much of a muchness.

However the cheaper ones were liable to fall apart.

I would add that some of the more expensive multicoated ones are far more liable to get scratched.

With the newest Hoya HD type you lose less light when using them, about 1 stop instead of about 2 stops. These are available from Amazon at a good price ( I think).
 
I use a Hama c-pl and during the summer it is used often.
I have to say that i have never noticed any real degrading of photos but the effect it has on skys or reflections would out weigh this anyway.
I also use to spend a fortune on so called pro series filters but never found and difference and not worth the extra money.
AMAZON,CO,UK is a good place to look for filters, as many on ebay are cheap fakes from the far east.
 
I take it you'd only use these on sunny days, during the middle part of the day, and then remove it during low sun (early morning/evening).
 
depends really, if I'm shooting water and glassy structures I tend to use it whatever the light
 
Just a few more questions:
1) If I take pictures of a landscape during a bright and sunny day WITH a human in the foreground, how will the filter affect their skin tone?

2) I know it's recommended to use these filters during bright conditions to reduce reflections and increase saturation, but what kind of effect do they have if used in the early morning or late evening?
 
You can't add a polariser in afterwards.....

polarizer.jpg





;)
 
Rishy said:
Just a few more questions:
1) If I take pictures of a landscape during a bright and sunny day WITH a human in the foreground, how will the filter affect their skin tone?

2) I know it's recommended to use these filters during bright conditions to reduce reflections and increase saturation, but what kind of effect do they have if used in the early morning or late evening?
Click to expand...

Polarising filters are great, really make a big difference. Some landscape photographers have them almost permanently attached. Hoya Pro-1 is excellent, about as good as you can get, although I use a Hoya HD as Jerry mentioned above. Mine is almost always on the 10-22mm wide zoom.

Polarisers work whenever there is polarised light about, commonly from a bright blue sky, or reflections are usually polarised. This includes reducing the reflections off shiny skin which usually looks okay, but if you were shooting a glistening oiled up hunk in a body building contest, I guess not.

Shooting sunsets/sunrise, polarisers don't work, but that's because you're shooting straight at the light and they work best at 90 degrees to it. If the sky is clear and blue to the side, you should get some effect there.

Whatever the polariser is doing, you can see it through the viewfinder. The filter mount rotates so you can turn it for optimum effect.

Edit: Polarisers can have a dramatic effect, sometimes hardly any (on dull overcast days) but rarely no effect at all, and even more rarely still do they have a bad effect. That's why I got the more expensive Hoya HD polariser, since it only loses 1.1 stops of exposure, you can just leave it on all the time :)

The only bad effect I can think of is a patchy darkening on blue skies with a super-wide lens. I usually don't mind it at all, but if you do, rotate it a bit to reduce the effect, or take it off. And watch out for those body builders.)
 
i got a cheep one (massa) of ebay £6 frome hk ill see how much i use it then buy a better one ive not noticed any difference in quilaty iv just ordered a nd one aswell and ill do the same with that if i buy a better one ill nock the glass out of the cheepy an glue some welding glass to it . im new to all this so as i get better ill buy better
 
jinja chin said:
i got a cheep one (massa) of ebay £6 frome hk ill see how much i use it then buy a better one ive not noticed any difference in quilaty iv just ordered a nd one aswell and ill do the same with that if i buy a better one ill nock the glass out of the cheepy an glue some welding glass to it . im new to all this so as i get better ill buy better
Click to expand...

Try shooting something with bright lights in the frame - street lights, neon lights, or against a bright sky with the sun just out of shot. Do it with and without the filter - then you'll see a difference ;)
 
HoppyUK said:
Polarising filters are great, really make a big difference. Some landscape photographers have them almost permanently attached. Hoya Pro-1 is excellent, about as good as you can get, although I use a Hoya HD as Jerry mentioned above. Mine is almost always on the 10-22mm wide zoom.

Polarisers work whenever there is polarised light about, commonly from a bright blue sky, or reflections are usually polarised. This includes reducing the reflections off shiny skin which usually looks okay, but if you were shooting a glistening oiled up hunk in a body building contest, I guess not.

Shooting sunsets/sunrise, polarisers don't work, but that's because you're shooting straight at the light and they work best at 90 degrees to it. If the sky is clear and blue to the side, you should get some effect there.

Whatever the polariser is doing, you can see it through the viewfinder. The filter mount rotates so you can turn it for optimum effect.

Edit: Polarisers can have a dramatic effect, sometimes hardly any (on dull overcast days) but rarely no effect at all, and even more rarely still do they have a bad effect. That's why I got the more expensive Hoya HD polariser, since it only loses 1.1 stops of exposure, you can just leave it on all the time :)

The only bad effect I can think of is a patchy darkening on blue skies with a super-wide lens. I usually don't mind it at all, but if you do, rotate it a bit to reduce the effect, or take it off. And watch out for those body builders.)
Click to expand...
Thanks - that helped.
So, if a human formed part of a blue sky/green lake scene, I take it any reflection would be muted, but their skin tone would not take on a reddish hue?

I'm also wondering how it affects white balance - do you normally leave it on 'daylight' or use 'custom'?
 
Hi,

I have the same lens with my 40D, and I bought some Cokin P System and some filters to play with. I got a few ND grads, and a circular polariser. I've used the grads a few times but the polariser gets a lot of use. I went for the Cokin because you can use it on more than one lens by buying additional adapter rings. I think the polariser cost about £60 and certainly feels substantial.

I can't really comment on the quality compared to other brands, because I haven't used them, but I personally think it's great. I haven't noticed any degradation in image quality. Quite the opposite, i've generally been pleased with the effect it gives. It will cost you a stop or 2 of light, but it's not really an issue in the sunshine.

For me, a polariser is really useful. I took it on my honeymoon (Baltic cruise) and used it most of the time. The weather was nice, so I got great blue skies with nice white clouds, and it really helped to bring out the colours of buildings & boats. I got a great shot of the horizon with just a deep blue sea and sky, and a couple of fluffy clouds which I couldn't have got without it.

It's not always useful, but if I'm out and about and the sun is shining I always have it to hand.

So I would recommend getting one and trying it out. Why not go for a mid range one, and see if you like it - then if you upgrade your lens to something professional in the future, maybe look to get a 'pro' filter?
 
I have Visico CPL which I bought because I was on a budget but need a polarizer after returning my fathers Hoya Pro1 to him. Whilst it may lose me another half a step compared to the Hoya Pro I certainly can't say I have noticed any loss in IQ.
 
I plumped for the Hoya 67mm HD Digital PL-CIR - paid £63 delivered. Here's hoping for a sunny weekend!

Still unsure what effect it would have on a human face on a bright sunny day?
I sometimes like to take pictures of people in front of a sunny blue sky/sea.
 
Rishy said:
I take it you'd only use these on sunny days, during the middle part of the day, and then remove it during low sun (early morning/evening).
Click to expand...

I've found from long experience that polarisers give the most pleasing result about 2-3 hours after sunrise, and 2-3 hours before sunset. I think it must be something to do with the angle of the sun above the horizon.Thats not to say I wouldn't use them at other times of day though.

Having said that in winter the sun is barely above the horizon at mid-day anyway - there's something to look forward to :'( - so it will be fine then. I personally don't like the effect that a polariser gives when the sun is very low in the sky (dawn/dusk).

And they can be very useful when the sun is in as well. For example by removing reflections from wet rocks in stream beds and from wet vegetation anywhere.

A polariser = landscape photographers best friend!
 
Rishy said:
I plumped for the Hoya 67mm HD Digital PL-CIR - paid £63 delivered. Here's hoping for a sunny weekend!

Still unsure what effect it would have on a human face on a bright sunny day?
I sometimes like to take pictures of people in front of a sunny blue sky/sea.
Click to expand...

I had mine attached on most of my honeymoon pics, and didn't notice any effect on skin tone etc. It should be fine. I don't think a polariser should add a colour cast, but even if it did if you shoot in RAW you could correct it later.
 
MatW said:
I had mine attached on most of my honeymoon pics, and didn't notice any effect on skin tone etc. It should be fine. I don't think a polariser should add a colour cast, but even if it did if you shoot in RAW you could correct it later.
Click to expand...


I've not used one befiore. But I suppose there's no need to take it off because you can turn the filter into a position where it is neutral (off), for times when you don't require the polarising effect?
 
Graham00 said:
The price sounds a bit steep, i only paid 12 quid for a Hoya 67mm from Amazon.
Click to expand...


It's one of these extra tough, non-smear, dirt repellent filters (HD = high durability or something similar). You also only lose just over a stop of light as opposed to 2 stops on other filters. Mind you, this should not really matter on a bright day. Perhaps I paid too much, but I didn't want to compromise on image quality.
 
A good polarising filter has no significant colour cast. Nothing noticeable. It just cuts out polarised light pretty evenly across the spectrum, when it is rotated to the optimum angle.

The angle is very important, both of rotation and, particularly with reflections, to the angle of the subject surface. Optimum angle is about 35 degrees to the subject surface plane, move away from that and the effect gets rapidly less reducing to zero.

It's this angle effect that causes the patchyness in blue skies taken with a very wide lens - because of the wide field of view, the angle relative to the filter changes across the sky, so the effect also changes. Similarly, if you photograph a tree with shiny leaves, some will randomly fall at just the right angle for the filter, others will not.

There is no effect on the colour of skin tones - it just reduces the shinyness a bit, usually off the sides of the face and nose where the angles coincide most commonly, less so off shiny foreheads when the head and the filter are almost square to eachother. There is always at least some effect, usually not bad at all, maybe beneficial. It depends - reflections and shadows give shape.

The main difference between cheap and good quality polarising filters (and any other filter come to that) is the antireflection coating. The cheapest uncoated filters flare up very easily whenever there is a bright light source in or around the picture, eg the sun. The best filters are multicoated and only cause problems in extreme conditions.
 
Rishy said:
But I suppose there's no need to take it off because you can turn the filter into a position where it is neutral (off), for times when you don't require the polarising effect?
Click to expand...

It is still reducing the light throughput by around two stops whatever the position so take it off when you don't want to use it.


Steve.
 
Rishy said:
It's one of these extra tough, non-smear, dirt repellent filters (HD = high durability or something similar). You also only lose just over a stop of light as opposed to 2 stops on other filters. Mind you, this should not really matter on a bright day. Perhaps I paid too much, but I didn't want to compromise on image quality.
Click to expand...

Good buy :thumbs:

It will last a lifetime, top quality, slim mount won't vignette, won't flare, won't separate and fall to bits, tough, easy to clean. My 77mm cost nearly £80, and better than any fancy German jobbie for twice the price.

Our Ken likes them too http://www.kenrockwell.com/hoya/hd-filters.htm
 
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