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circular polarizers

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Fredz said:
Where might one find a good, multicoated cpl for the Bigma (86mm)?
All I have located is the uncoated Hoya and various off brands.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
I believe a big company is still having no luck trying to raise enough capital to be able to invest in manufacturing facilities for 86mm Circular Polarisers.

But now for something more serious, folks.
  • The Bigma is a full-frame lens and it turns out that the full diameter of the lens isn't used for an APS-C size image. I've found you get minimal vignetting and light loss if you use 77mm filters with a step-down ring. A compromise, but an affordable one.
--
Mike . Sydney, Australia
http://www.pbase.com/mikeaus/galleries
http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b356/MikeAus/?
 
You can get your 86mm polarizing filter here: http://sigma4less.com/polarizer.html but they are not cheap!
--
Jim King - Retired Colormonger - Suburban Detroit, Michigan, USA; GMT -4h (EDT)
Pentax user for over 45 years. Photo gear and collection listed in my profile.



* * * * *
A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject.
  • Sir Winston Churchill
* * * * *
The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.
  • Albert Einstein
 
Pls0421 said:
Hi:

heading out to yellowstone this summer, and i want to buy a circular
polarizer for my 16-45. Was just curious if one brand is really
significantly better?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
I use the Hoya Pro1 Digital filters on my DA* 16-50 and my Sigma 10-20 without any sign of vignetting or flare as they have very high quality coating. This range of Hoya filters are the top of their range now and considerably better than their earlier Pro filters.

For protection purposes I use the Pro1 Digital clear filters by Hoya or Kenko (they are both identical except for the branding).

http://hvstar.net/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=100 is a good source for these with very good pricing for those not in the USA.

A good local source for the USA (cheaper postage) is

http://www.photofilter.com/ and you will find they also carry the PRO1 Digital series.

See, http://photofilter.com/hoya_pro_1__digital_filters.htm#Hoya_Pro_1_Digital_Circular_Polarizer - they have a weird site in that you only find the real price by putting the item in the shopping cart by clicking on the much higher price displayed on the web page ^^

Their prices are a bit higher than getting it from HVStar but much better than most US camera shops including B&H etc.

--
Rod
-
My Galleries - http://rconn.zenfolio.com/



Avalon Airshow 2007 -> http://rconn.zenfolio.com/p36504895/
 
Thanks Jim.

Yikes! I find it hard to grasp that a multicoated cpl costs more than 1/10th of a Bigma or that the multicoated Sigma cpl is worth 6 times the uncoated brand X (or double the uncoated Hoya). Any thoughts? In the immediate future I'll be going for dolphin and sea bird shots. Thanks in advance.
 
Fredz said:
Yikes! I find it hard to grasp that a multicoated cpl costs more
than 1/10th of a Bigma or that the multicoated Sigma cpl is worth 6
times the uncoated brand X (or double the uncoated Hoya). Any
thoughts? In the immediate future I'll be going for dolphin and sea
bird shots. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
I agree - crazy pricing relativity - that's why I'm glad when I bought my Bigma, they were offering a free Sigma 86mm UV Filter - if I ever need some quick cash I'll hock the UV Filter !

--
Mike . Sydney, Australia
http://www.pbase.com/mikeaus/galleries
http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b356/MikeAus/?
 
Fredz said:
Thanks Jim.

Yikes! I find it hard to grasp that a multicoated cpl costs more
than 1/10th of a Bigma or that the multicoated Sigma cpl is worth 6
times the uncoated brand X (or double the uncoated Hoya). Any
thoughts? In the immediate future I'll be going for dolphin and sea
bird shots. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
You can certainly get by with uncoated. While multicoated is better, an uncoated filter won't ruin your images (well, except those that flare...but then you just need to be a little more careful with where you point your lens). It's just one of those things that you need to analyze on a price/performance basis, and decide if that extra performance is worth the extra price to you.
 
Yeah, that's what I figured. I'll probably just bite the bullet and get the multicoated (over a life time, the extra bucks average out to minutia). Still hard to accept the pricing scheme…
 
I recently picked up a 77mm which I use on my DA12-24 and Tamron 28-75 (with stepping ring). So far it seems great. It has a low-profile frame. The Kenko Equivalent of the Hoya Pro1 Digital Wideband (sold as Kenko in Japan) is identical to the hoya, but quite a bit cheaper on ebay.

--
Craig
http://www.flickr.com/people/craigjewell/
 
johnnyhuman said:
Fredz said:
Thanks Jim.

Yikes! I find it hard to grasp that a multicoated cpl costs more
than 1/10th of a Bigma or that the multicoated Sigma cpl is worth 6
times the uncoated brand X (or double the uncoated Hoya). Any
thoughts? In the immediate future I'll be going for dolphin and sea
bird shots. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
You can certainly get by with uncoated. While multicoated is better,
an uncoated filter won't ruin your images (well, except those that
flare...but then you just need to be a little more careful with where
you point your lens). It's just one of those things that you need to
analyze on a price/performance basis, and decide if that extra
performance is worth the extra price to you.
Click to expand...
I disagree. If you buy an inferior filter you will eventually be disappointed and buy a better filter in the future.

Purchase advice for tripods and filters is similar. Buy what you need one time and first. In the end it's less expensive this way.

PS: Don't use a filter if don't need to. For instance harsh wind. Even the best filters will degrade your image to some extent.
 
Sorry, the don't use a filter unless you have to was my UV protection filter rant. It doesn't apply to polarizers. Use the lens hood and cap when not in harsh conditions. The rest of my rant does apply to polarizers but even more so.
 
adrian4765 said:
If you're buying online you might encounter Kenko filters, they're
the same as Hoya.
Click to expand...
Kenko/Hoya filters can be great, at least the multicoated ones, but I've never found them in 86mm size for the Bigma. Sigma is the only source for these that I know of.
--
Jim King - Retired Colormonger - Suburban Detroit, Michigan, USA; GMT -4h (EDT)
Pentax user for over 45 years. Photo gear and collection listed in my profile.



* * * * *
A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject.
  • Sir Winston Churchill
* * * * *
The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.
  • Albert Einstein
 
MikeAusA200 said:
All the tests I've seen reported here show that it makes no
difference whether you use the expensive Circular or cheaper Linear
polarizers on Pentax Digital SLRs.
Click to expand...
That's very useful information!

I thought I'd need a new circular for my DA70, now I'll have to find out where I put my old linear 49mm polarizer and see if it's good enough!
--
Espen
 
Craig, did you buy the Kenko one?
What does wideband stand for?

How slim is it? (in mm). The pictures I saw of the Kenko Pro 1D show it as being thicker than the Hoya Pro 1D. The Hoya should be 3 mm.
Thanks!
Craig Jewell said:
I recently picked up a 77mm which I use on my DA12-24 and Tamron
28-75 (with stepping ring). So far it seems great. It has a
low-profile frame. The Kenko Equivalent of the Hoya Pro1 Digital
Wideband (sold as Kenko in Japan) is identical to the hoya, but quite
a bit cheaper on ebay.

--
Craig
http://www.flickr.com/people/craigjewell/
Click to expand...
 
I am not 100% sure I understand what wideband mean in this context. According to the Kenko brochures ( http://www.kenko-tokina.co.jp/e/P.12_13.PDF ) Japlish explanation: "WIDE BAND makes Digital SLR camera's viewfinder image color difference has been corrected"

As far as I can tell, the Kenko (which I have) is identical to the Hoya. The features list is identical, namely:
Digital Multi Coating, Black Almite
frame, Black Rimmed Glass, Low Profile Frame, Knurled
Frame Edge, UV protected Cases

For my filter, the par that rotates is about 3mm thick, and the knurled section on the threaded part ads another 2mm. SO it sticks out about 5mm in total, which is the same as the hoya. I'd say the Kenko is about 1.5-2 mm thinner than my stardard thickness Hoya Polarisers.

The Kenko looks physicall identical to the pictures that I have seen of a Hoya Pro1 D Cir-Pl. Even the fonts used in the writing is the same. Just the Kenko has Kenko instead of Hoya written on it.

--
Craig
http://www.flickr.com/people/craigjewell/
 
Sorry, didn't catch your question. A polarizer increases contrast, giving those spectacular skies, especially with clouds. They are also great for taking the reflective surface off of bodies of water.In certain places, like in the desert, or at high elevations they are not needed and often give a pretty artificial look. They really only work well when shooting at right angles to your light source.
Brent
--

I take pictures.....from walls, galleries, offices, waiting rooms, dentist offices...and rarely return them! :)
HENRYIMAGES
My gallery: http://www.pbase.com/henryimages
 
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