Circular Polarisers

[Beyblade]

Hi, would appreciate comments on the following :

Is there any major difference ( in quality ) between the different makes of CPs eg Hoya, etc ? If yes, which one(s) is good and how much does it cost roughly ( for say 77mm dia. ) It would be a pity to spoil the optical quality of a good 80-200 f2.8 lens with poor CP ? ( I do realise of course that the CP will probably reduce the light by approx 2 stops, but that's not what I am concerned about ).

Thank you and look forward to the comments from the many "sifu"s out there.

 

[mpenza]

get a B+W MRC circular polariser? Think it costs more than $100 for one. No worries about compromising optical quality with this.

 

[AJ23]

B+W MRC 52mm polariser should be ard +/- $90 , 77mm +/- $180.

 

[Obzervr]

I'm using a Hoya (62mm) & Tamron (72mm) CPs. Not much difference when sent for printing at a neghbourhood minilab. But a slight colour variation can be seen when sent to Soo Kee Colour Lab. the Tamron one gave me a bit turqoise cast (my avatar) (probably also due to the adjustment which is difficult to match exactly) the Hoya returned with a purplish blue tone. Haven't it again. Probably will but not possible for the moment.

Not scientific tests though, so don't take my word for it.

 

[Neo]

I remember reading about a French photo magazine tests on polarizers. The expensive ones like B+W got high marks for colour neutrality and clear transmission of lightwaves. My experience is that the expnsive ones like B=W is that it has better built. The Hoya ones tend to get a little fogged up after some years, while the Cokin one is lousy because the polarizing film between the glass is wavy! Anyway, my B=W one is multi-coated, and looks the clearest when you view through it. But the high price... sigh... it's up to you to say if it's worth it. Many of my best polarizer shots are taken withe Hoya one... don't look down on it...

 

[SNAG]

One thing that i realise is that with those Hoya standard polarizers, I get slight vignetting @ 24mm.

Was wondering if Hoya has slim polarizers for 67mm... and how much? B+W is too ex for me...

 

[Neo]

You should check with Cathay Photo for the Slim polarizers (which are more expensive). Regardless of brand, filters will vignette on wide-angle lenses (28mm or wider) unless they're the thin variety. My B+W vignettes on my 28-70mm lens, because it is the thick kind.

 

[Zerstorer]

My hoya cir-pol fogged up after abt 10 years. Even B+W are supposedly not safe unless it is the kaesemann version.

 

[TME]

My hoya cir-pol fogged up after abt 10 years. Even B+W are supposedly not safe unless it is the kaesemann version.

What exactly do u mean fogged up?

 

[Zerstorer]

As it describes..literally fogged up, blur and cloudy, due to the material in between the polarizing plates degenerating with time/heat/moisture......basically unusable.

 

[Prismatic]

I'm using a Hoya (62mm) & Tamron (72mm) CPs. Not much difference when sent for printing at a neghbourhood minilab. But a slight colour variation can be seen when sent to Soo Kee Colour Lab. the Tamron one gave me a bit turqoise cast (my avatar) (probably also due to the adjustment which is difficult to match exactly) the Hoya returned with a purplish blue tone. Haven't it again. Probably will but not possible for the moment.

Not scientific tests though, so don't take my word for it.

Turqoise? I've always thought my pictures were a bit warmer from using the Tamron 72mm CP... It's very obvious in slides....

 

[Beyblade]

thanks guys. Gee, $180 is expensive !

 

[TME]

As it describes..literally fogged up, blur and cloudy, due to the material in between the polarizing plates degenerating with time/heat/moisture......basically unusable.

Hmm...... so far my Hoya SMHC cir pol seems ok..... BTW, u mean to say that the cir pol is made of a double layer material with a space in between? And that is where it fogs up? Woah! I never knew that!

 

[OzOn3]

How come your CPs are so expensive?? Mine's 25.. =x

there are two different "levels" of CPs?? :dunno:

 

[TME]

How come your CPs are so expensive?? Mine's 25.. =x

there are two different "levels" of CPs?? :dunno:

Yours what brand one? What is the thread size?

 

[OzOn3]

Emora, 52mm

 

[TME]

Emora, 52mm

But they are talking of B+W filters leh...... the most expensiev brand on the market AFAIK......... Hoya's still more expensive than the normal brands but cheaper than the B+W ones...... even Hoya's SHMC cannot fight with the cheapest B+W filters.

 

[OzOn3]

Oh.. Heh heh..

 

[TME]

Oh.. Heh heh..

It's ok......

 

[AJ23]

Different thread size, different price. The bigger it is, the more expensive it is. How to compare a 52mm to a 77mm.

The Hoya Pro-1 series is suppose to be on par with the B+W MRC series.

After B+W MRC, still got B+W Kasseman, Rodenstock, etc. Slightly astronomcal pricing too. :sweat: