Dave Pickett
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On ebay they range wildly, for a 67mm from £3 to £60+ for a hoya. Are the cheapies any good, or are te Hoyas worth the extra?
which circular polariser?
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markta
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With most things, you get what you pay for! 
I wish I could get the quality of Lee Filters for £3, but it just ain't gonna happen
The glass quality will be vastly different, as are the coatings and also the polarising strength/quality..
I don't know the exact differences but if they were that good, we'd all buy them for £3
Dave, I'd also advise against buying filters from Ebay except from highly reputable sellers, who have 5,000+ feedback with a minimum of 98% positive feedback; their are quite a few fake Hoyas on there apparently..
I wish I could get the quality of Lee Filters for £3, but it just ain't gonna happen
The glass quality will be vastly different, as are the coatings and also the polarising strength/quality..
I don't know the exact differences but if they were that good, we'd all buy them for £3
Dave, I'd also advise against buying filters from Ebay except from highly reputable sellers, who have 5,000+ feedback with a minimum of 98% positive feedback; their are quite a few fake Hoyas on there apparently..
trencheel303
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I bought a hama circular polarizer for my Sigma 10-20, it cost about 25 quid. No way am I paying out the you-know-what for a Hoya when the hama seems to do a reasonably good job. Sometimes when it's late in the day it can produce 'bandy' skies but other than that it's a champion, it gives my images that extra 'zing' you get from a polarizer and helps when doing shots with water in. You do get what you pay for to a certain extent but there are times I think when the pricing is a bit excessive.
dbr1066
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I'm afraid I have to agree with markta on this one - you DO get what you pay for. The question that only you can answer is how much you are willing to pay to get top quality results? There's no right or wrong answer to that, it just depends what results you want and how much you are willing/able to pay for that.
I definitely notice the difference with my B+W and Hoya. Also, I think I'm right in saying that Hoya make two levels of 'pro' CP, one with extra multi-coating (and extra cost). Probably the best cp I own is a B+W, but honestly, the difference between that one and the top Hoya's isn't that great.
I definitely notice the difference with my B+W and Hoya. Also, I think I'm right in saying that Hoya make two levels of 'pro' CP, one with extra multi-coating (and extra cost). Probably the best cp I own is a B+W, but honestly, the difference between that one and the top Hoya's isn't that great.
jerry12953
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Just to throw a spanner in the works of the "You get what you pay for" argument, ever since I started using polarisers (25 yrs ago), I've used bog standard Hoya ones. I've never noticed any problems with image quality, but what I have noticed is that the coating is just about bomb proof.
Whenever, for whatever reason, I've started using one of the more expensive multi-coated ones, i've had problems with the coating being easily scratched. If you're happy to use a polariser with kid gloves on, then a multi-coated one will be fine, but
if you tend to put in your pocket for a few minutes you run the risk of damnaging it - even if there's just sweetie papers in there!
Whenever, for whatever reason, I've started using one of the more expensive multi-coated ones, i've had problems with the coating being easily scratched. If you're happy to use a polariser with kid gloves on, then a multi-coated one will be fine, but
if you tend to put in your pocket for a few minutes you run the risk of damnaging it - even if there's just sweetie papers in there!
Bendihossan
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I've got the cheapest one Hoya do for around £30 and there's no noticeable drop in sharpness! Check out CameraKing on Amazon as they've recently had a few Hoya Pro-1 UV filters going for £30 (£50 cheaper than a lot of places) so they might do CPLs too
Davec223
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I brought a B & W 105mm cpl last year as you say a few bob more than 3 quid, off the top of my head you could get it was about 227 bob more or 75 of the cheap ebay filters, and in my opinion it is worth every penny.
Troglodyte
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I bought a 77mm Hoya HD CPL from Hong Kong for about £70 a while back. It's cheaper to buy one decent filter and a bunch of step up rings than it is a load of different filters.
OP
Dave Pickett
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gwgw thanks but that pic doesnt really help with the conundrum of whether the cheap filters give good results as there is a very narrow field of focus (good pic ***!)
mmm lots of "you get what you pay for" responses from those who have bought an expensive filter but apparently not tried a cheap one!
maybe I'll just get a cheapy and post the results.......
not sure why it *** t h o ?
mmm lots of "you get what you pay for" responses from those who have bought an expensive filter but apparently not tried a cheap one!
maybe I'll just get a cheapy and post the results.......
not sure why it *** t h o ?
markta
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Dave, I think it depends on what glass you're using too..for eg. I wouldn't recommend buying a pro spec L lens and sticking a £3 CP filter on it, as IQ would be compromised..
FWIW, I have used an entry level Hoya spec (single coated) and an HMC Digital Pro (also Hoya) filter (multi coated) that was £70 more expensive and I have to say the latter produced better polarisation.
As for whether single or multi coated, OK the multi might scratch, but I'd never put my CP anywhere other than straight back in its box after use, so mine wouldn't scratch at all, but hey, you pays your money..
At the end of the day, much depends on how important it is to you getting ultimate image quality...if it isn't the be all and end all then something bottom to mid range would suit you fine
FWIW, I have used an entry level Hoya spec (single coated) and an HMC Digital Pro (also Hoya) filter (multi coated) that was £70 more expensive and I have to say the latter produced better polarisation.
As for whether single or multi coated, OK the multi might scratch, but I'd never put my CP anywhere other than straight back in its box after use, so mine wouldn't scratch at all, but hey, you pays your money..
At the end of the day, much depends on how important it is to you getting ultimate image quality...if it isn't the be all and end all then something bottom to mid range would suit you fine
mattydinx
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I bought a Kenko Circular PL from eBay just before christmas, unfortunately - my comments mimic those previously stated.
The actual effect of the polarizer is far weaker than that of my old Hoya on my old lens. Also the build quality isn't up to scratch in comparison - feels slightly flimsy.
I guess I can't ask for too much as the thing only cost £15, but i'd recommend paying a little more for the better brand.
The actual effect of the polarizer is far weaker than that of my old Hoya on my old lens. Also the build quality isn't up to scratch in comparison - feels slightly flimsy.
I guess I can't ask for too much as the thing only cost £15, but i'd recommend paying a little more for the better brand.
Contrary to what some others said, I see no problem with eBay sellers. Bought polarisers from HK sellers quite a few times - always without a problem. Kenko and Marumi are excellent CPLs, with Kenko quality on par with Hoya (it's the same brand even filter nominations are the same). Marumi though is a fantastic quality (if you get their topmost one) - it is on par with the best out there but with a lot less of the price. Lenstip puts it on the top place with all their tests. I had quite a few Kenkos, Marumi and Hoyas (also had tried and used B+W) - Marumi seems to be my choice of CPL if I'd use one.
You should also not discount using a linear polarizer - true it may inhibit camera AF (not metering). However, it seems that for quite a few recent cameras it only slows it down and not makes it unusable. The LP has generally stronger polarizing effect, less flare (due to simpler polarization layer construction) and less light loss. Unfortunately it is not easy to find one these days. Formatt makes a few (can't comment on their quality), Singh-Ray does a fantastic LB-Neutral polarizer (the best I have tried) but it costs premium. I personally nowadays use B+W Kasemann linear - cheaper than Singh-Ray and nearly the next thing to it really. So far never had any problems with AF or metering on my Nikon D200.