which polarizer?

[mxracer32]

ive been using my 20d for a little over a year. I am getting married in the carribean (turks and caicos) and have been reading up on beach tips here on the forum. i read that it is suggested to you a polarizer over your lense to help obtain better photographs. I have no clue whats good and what isnt, i was going to look on ebay, i see that Hoya advertises a lot in my popular photography magazine i bought the other day at books a million....i did a quick search on the site and couldnt find much. any suggestions? keep in mind i am not a pro, just enjoy this as a hobby. it will be going on my 24-70 f2.8

thanks!

 

[AlexColeman]

Hoya= Meh.
B+W, Heliopan= Best.

 

[mxracer32]

wow...can someone explain the difference to me between the 15 dollar glass polarizer on ebay, and the 150+ from b&h? like i said, its a hobby, and i have a tough time spending large chunks. is the 15 dollar one better then nothing? should i just keep shooting the way i am now?

 

[rufus5150]

An anecdote:

After leaving my good filter at home yesterday and having to use a loaner $15 polarizer, I've been dealing with a magenta fringe on images that I normally never see out of my main lens while in post. The images taken without the polarizer don't have the fringe.

 

[table1349]

wow...can someone explain the difference to me between the 15 dollar glass polarizer on ebay, and the 150+ from b&h? like i said, its a hobby, and i have a tough time spending large chunks. is the 15 dollar one better then nothing? should i just keep shooting the way i am now?

Cheap filter = Cheap glass or acrylic that is not necessarily true and distortion free, cheap mounts, usually of aluminum, cheap coatings

Expensive filter = High quality glass, often Schott glass (about the best there is) quality mounts, usually of brass, ( I have never had a brass mount get stuck on a lens), high quality multi-coated.

This was my particular choice.
Heliopan | 77mm Kaeseman Circular Polarizer Glass | 707743 | B&H

I only own the one but it fits every lens I own with the exception of my 300mm & 400mm f2.8's. Step up rings for the lenses that need it. It is also the only screw on filter I own for regular use. All my ND's are lee or Singh-ray 100mm square/rectangular filters that again will fit every lens.

As to whether the filter is worth the money or not, that is up to you.

 

[Joves]

Cheap filter = Cheap glass or acrylic that is not necessarily true and distortion free, cheap mounts, usually of aluminum, cheap coatings

Expensive filter = High quality glass, often Schott glass (about the best there is) quality mounts, usually of brass, ( I have never had a brass mount get stuck on a lens), high quality multi-coated.

This was my particular choice.
Heliopan | 77mm Kaeseman Circular Polarizer Glass | 707743 | B&H

I only own the one but it fits every lens I own with the exception of my 300mm & 400mm f2.8's. Step up rings for the lenses that need it. It is also the only screw on filter I own for regular use. All my ND's are lee or Singh-ray 100mm square/rectangular filters that again will fit every lens.

As to whether the filter is worth the money or not, that is up to you.

I love Shott glass it makes great objectives. I use the Nikon Polarizers and, have the Hoyas and, B+Ws as well for some lenses. I use the Nikon Clears as protection. The Nikon are not all that expensive but are multicoated. And you always want multi coats to kill refections between the glass elements.

 

[mxracer32]

i bought my polarzier off ebay for $2 and then when i recieved it was just the container.... what i missed was that the person was just selling the box and net the filter.... i thought it was weird that no one else bid

haha, yea that sucks!

im just trying to figure out if i'll do more harm then good if i buy a cheap one from ebay. you get what you pay for...but if you buy a cheap camera...at least you have one, right? better then nothing? thats kinda what im getting at. i have a 20d with my sigma 24-70 2.8 that i use most, then a sigma 70-300 f4 which i only use at motocross tracks, and then i have a peleng 8mm fisheye in the mail right now. none of them will use the same filter but i use the 24-70 the most and will probably be the one i use in provedenciales, turks and caicos. that was the reason behind the filter. so with that being said, is the $20 glass(NOT plastic) polarizer from ebay worth getting, or will it do my pictures more harm then good? i guess i should buy it and experiment to find out for myself if no one can swing my vote to "no". rufus5150 brought up a good point about the magenta fringe, thats the information im looking for but i am curious to know if anyone else has had a problem like that, or any other problems associtated with the cheap ones. thanks for all the input ladies and gents!

 

[Garbz]

Hoya= Meh.
B+W, Heliopan= Best.

Errr Cheap Hoya = Meh (mine actually bleeds red around brightly coloured objects)
Expensive Hoya = Far better value for money than B+W or Heliopan.

Hoya make cheap products. Doesn't mean it's a crap company. The Hoya Pro1 D CPL or the Hoya SHMC CPL are exceptionally great products. The standard Hoya CPL filter makes me want to hit it with a hammer.

 

[Joves]

Errr Cheap Hoya = Meh (mine actually bleeds red around brightly coloured objects)
Expensive Hoya = Far better value for money than B+W or Heliopan.

Hoya make cheap products. Doesn't mean it's a crap company. The Hoya Pro1 D CPL or the Hoya SHMC CPL are exceptionally great products. The standard Hoya CPL filter makes me want to hit it with a hammer.

I agree. Cheap anything is bad.

 

[smyth]

I have a related question.... for instance, would I be better off buying a multicoated hoya c-pol or a b+w regular c-pol ? And why is the slim glass version of it cheaper?

 

[Garbz]

Slim glass is a plus for cameras since large profile filters may cause vignetting. So really marketing dictates that the slim filter should be more expensive, no other practical reason.

And to your earlier question I didn't think you could get B+W filters without the MRC option (their coating). But if you can regardless of how ****y a brand name may seem, coated glass is always better than uncoated glass. If you don't believe me sit in your car and drive into the sunset. Notice how nothing looks black anymore when the sun shines directly onto the window?