Which circular polarizer?

[sothoth]

Anyone have any suggestions on which circular polarizer to buy for my Canon 350D? I have a lens with a 62mm and a 77mm thread I'd like to use. Tiffen has one that seems OK but has mixed reviews on Amazon. I have Tiffen UV filters on all my lenses and I've been OK with them, but obviously UV filters are pretty undemanding. I'm looking to get circular polarizers for under $80 and don't understand why there is such a price range for these. Do you really get what you pay for?

 

[nakedyak]

i have a Tiffen CP...I dont know how much it cost, probably less than $100. maybe 75? Seems pretty good, you can see some pictures taken with it here:

http://www.pbase.com/nakedyak/scenes_from_washington_d_c

I think a lot of filters you end up paying for the name somewhat

 

[sothoth]

you can see some pictures taken with it here:

Thanks for the photos, they look very nice to me. Out of curiosity, what camera and lens are you using in these? Looks like some (not all) are with a fairly wide angle and others aren't.

Thanks!

 

[henryp]

There's a price range because within the genre of circ pol filters there are options, including (in no particular order):
Kaesemann filters. Pol filters are a sandwich -- a slice of pol between two slices of glass. Kaesemann filters are sealed around the edge to prevent dust and moisture from entering. You don't need one of these expensive options unless you routinely expose your equip to rigerous conditions.
Slim or extrra-wide or w/a. These filters are designed for use with wider angle lenses and allow you to use the pol filter without vignetting. Pol filters are thicker than others and you want to avoid having the thicker filter clip the corners of your image. Some lack front threads or require special lens caps or won't let you use the filter with the manufacturer's lens hood.
Multi-coated (and super MC and pro-MC and all the other names). Filters should transmit light. Some transmit more than others. Filters also contain air-to-glass surfaces. Each surface is a breeding ground for image-killing flare. Mutli-coating is supposed to do two things -- increase transmission and reduce the liklihood of flare.

 

[nakedyak]

Thanks for the photos, they look very nice to me. Out of curiosity, what camera and lens are you using in these? Looks like some (not all) are with a fairly wide angle and others aren't.

Thanks!

I was using my canon 20d, with a few different lenses. Some are wide angle, some telephoto

 

[sothoth]

There's a price range because within the genre of circ pol filters there are options

I just read that you shouldn't stack a UV and a circular polarizer... does that mean the "hybrid" one with UV and circ. polarizer in one filter is a bad idea?

Like this one: [ame]http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000AI1IE/ref=wl_it_dp/105-1618199-5295608?ie=UTF8&coliid=I2ESK3RPDXTBYJ&colid=DXEFJ0C4E4Q7[/ame]


Thanks!

 

[shingfan]

i think the idea of not stacking is to minimize distoration in case the filters are not aligned 100% in parallel with the lense......since they are just screw on and never calibrated as one piece...but hybrid....which is just one filter....should be better compares to two

 

[henryp]

i think the idea of not stacking is to minimize distoration in case the filters are not aligned 100% in parallel with the lense......since they are just screw on and never calibrated as one piece...but hybrid....which is just one filter....should be better compares to two

Sounds good but there're two reasons not to stack. First is sooner or later you'll cause vignetting -- the filters will stick out far enough to clip the corners of your image. Second, and far more critical is that each filter adds two air-to-glass surfaces to the optical path and each surface is a potential cause for image-destroyiong flare.

I just read that you shouldn't stack a UV and a circular polarizer... does that mean the "hybrid" one with UV and circ. polarizer in one filter is a bad idea?

No. That's one filter doing two jobs, not two filters.