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need advice about circular polarizers
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<blockquote data-quote="yauman" data-source="post: 345718" data-attributes="member: 15418"><p>Buy the largest diameter and buy lots of step-up rings is my recommendation.</p><p></p><p>As for what brands - well, when it comes to polarizers, they either work or don't work as the polarization of light depends on the light waves being "twisted" by the polymer film when passing thru the filter. So, there's no such thing as "working better" - it either works (the light wave got twisted) or not (it didn't).</p><p></p><p>Now having said that, there are a couple of considerations when it comes to Circular Polarization Lens (CPL) filters. </p><p> </p><p>1. You'll find that the CPL effect is a lot less dramatic than the old Linear Polarizers (LP) so if you are use to the LP days of film photography, you may be disappointed -whether you spend $200 on a Heliopan or $70 for a Hoya/Tiffen/BW or $40 for Vivitar/ProMaster or $15 on a Bower (aka Kmart special) I forgot who makes it for Nikon but I think i's the Hoya/Tiffen grade. But modern digital cameras cannot use LP because it screws up the autofocusing sensor, matrix metering and some anti-aliasing filters - so almost all polarizers sold today are CPLs. But I've played with some old LP on new digital cameras and some seems to work fine (like on the Nikon Coolpix!)</p><p></p><p>2. The reason to buy a good brand for CPL is that unlike old LP which is just one sheet of polymer. CPL requires two pieces of polymer sandwiched between two pieces of glass. In the case of one piece LP, it can just be laid on top of a piece of thin glass and that's done - simple. But for CPL, there are two pieces and optically glued between two pieces of glass - see the complication - thus more expensive and thus more problems possible with inferior quality product.</p><p></p><p>So, the Heliopan's have thinner and more "optically perfect" glass and more durable glue and the cheaper brands may after a while get "moldy" or hazy inside the sandwich. </p><p></p><p>One more thing - how to tell if you have a CPL or LP (if the rim of the filter don't say.)</p><p>Hold up the filter with the male thread (the part the screws into the lens) towards you and look at a LCD TV or your iPhone thru it. Now rotate - the screen should darken to black. Now, fiip the filter around (male thread away from you) and rotate - you won't see any change - you have a CPL. If you have a LP, the screen will darken when you rotate and doesn't matter which way you hold up the filter. </p><p></p><p>Hope that helps.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="yauman, post: 345718, member: 15418"] Buy the largest diameter and buy lots of step-up rings is my recommendation. As for what brands - well, when it comes to polarizers, they either work or don't work as the polarization of light depends on the light waves being "twisted" by the polymer film when passing thru the filter. So, there's no such thing as "working better" - it either works (the light wave got twisted) or not (it didn't). Now having said that, there are a couple of considerations when it comes to Circular Polarization Lens (CPL) filters. 1. You'll find that the CPL effect is a lot less dramatic than the old Linear Polarizers (LP) so if you are use to the LP days of film photography, you may be disappointed -whether you spend $200 on a Heliopan or $70 for a Hoya/Tiffen/BW or $40 for Vivitar/ProMaster or $15 on a Bower (aka Kmart special) I forgot who makes it for Nikon but I think i's the Hoya/Tiffen grade. But modern digital cameras cannot use LP because it screws up the autofocusing sensor, matrix metering and some anti-aliasing filters - so almost all polarizers sold today are CPLs. But I've played with some old LP on new digital cameras and some seems to work fine (like on the Nikon Coolpix!) 2. The reason to buy a good brand for CPL is that unlike old LP which is just one sheet of polymer. CPL requires two pieces of polymer sandwiched between two pieces of glass. In the case of one piece LP, it can just be laid on top of a piece of thin glass and that's done - simple. But for CPL, there are two pieces and optically glued between two pieces of glass - see the complication - thus more expensive and thus more problems possible with inferior quality product. So, the Heliopan's have thinner and more "optically perfect" glass and more durable glue and the cheaper brands may after a while get "moldy" or hazy inside the sandwich. One more thing - how to tell if you have a CPL or LP (if the rim of the filter don't say.) Hold up the filter with the male thread (the part the screws into the lens) towards you and look at a LCD TV or your iPhone thru it. Now rotate - the screen should darken to black. Now, fiip the filter around (male thread away from you) and rotate - you won't see any change - you have a CPL. If you have a LP, the screen will darken when you rotate and doesn't matter which way you hold up the filter. Hope that helps. [/QUOTE]
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