polarising filters?

[Happy Dude]

hi all,

 

sorry to be a take take kind of guy with all the advice i'm asking for but offering not much in return.

 

i've been advised to get circular polarising filters for my kenya trip.

 

i'm confused as to which filter to get, a browse through camera shops and fleabay sees them range in price from £1.99 to £50+

 

is it really just a case of you get what you pay for, which price group would suit my purpose without having to go to complete pro standards??

 

thanks

 

les

[MrWiggly]

Hi Les ..

 

If you don't ask .. you don't learn !! That's what we are here for mate !!

 

I would reguard a circular polarising filter as an essential part of a photographer's equipment.

 

In use, it screws onto the front of your lens, so make sure that the filter size you get is the same as your lens size !!

 

Once fitted the filter can be rotated to produce the effect that you wish. Look through your viewfinder and see the effect that it has on the scene you are viewing whilst you are rotating the filter. Bit awkward to use if you have a lens hood attached.

 

Great for colour saturation, and for elliminating glare on a water surface. Like anything that goes in front of your camera, keep it clean ... and safe in its case when not in use.

 

Buy the best you can afford .. Hoyas are good. Stay away from the cheap end of the market .. Jessops etc. Have a scan on EB and see what is on offer.

 

As always .. you get what you pay for !!

 

Hope this helps ..

 

Wiggly.

 

Edited December 2, 2007 by MrWiggly

[Darren T]

i picked up a Hoya 67mm cir-polarizer off of ebay for about 18 quid posted.

 

here is one i just found which is exactly the same as the one i got http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Hoya-Cir-Polarizing-...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

Jessops at the time were selling exactly the same filter for about £35!!

 

 

one thing i would suggest is getting one that is as large or larger than your largest lens. then just use step rings to use it on each lens you have. if you buy it too small and then get a lens that is larger you wont be able to use it properly. and it is definatly the real deal as i have tested it in numerous circumstances.

[Happy Dude]

Hi Les ..

 

If you don't ask .. you don't learn !! That's what we are here for mate !!

 

I would reguard a circular polarising filter as an essential part of a photographer's equipment.

 

In use, it screws onto the front of your lens, so make sure that the filter size you get is the same as your lens size !!

 

Once fitted the filter can be rotated to produce the effect that you wish. Look through your viewfinder and see the effect that it has on the scene you are viewing whilst you are rotating the filter. Bit awkward to use if you have a lens hood attached.

 

Great for colour saturation, and for elliminating glare on a water surface. Like anything that goes in front of your camera, keep it clean ... and safe in its case when not in use.

 

Buy the best you can afford .. Hoyas are good. Stay away from the cheap end of the market .. Jessops etc. Have a scan on EB and see what is on offer.

 

As always .. you get what you pay for !!

 

Hope this helps ..

 

Wiggly.

 

 

hi wiggly...

 

thanks for that...

 

does it have to be the one you rotate??

 

sounds complicated if you are taking pics of sailfish which need to be returned as quickly as possible to the water

 

is there not ones which are like a UV filter and just it on the end on the lens and do their job as it were??

 

thanks

 

les

[MrWiggly]

hi wiggly...

 

thanks for that...

 

does it have to be the one you rotate??

 

sounds complicated if you are taking pics of sailfish which need to be returned as quickly as possible to the water

 

is there not ones which are like a UV filter and just it on the end on the lens and do their job as it were??

 

thanks

 

les

 

 

Not really Les ..

 

A CP filter reacts to the angle of light that is reaching your lens, and that angle changes from shot to shot.

 

The filter has to be rotated to achieve the effect that you want for each shot.

 

I don't know of any "fixed" polarisers ... but I could be wrong !!

 

Wiggly.

Edited December 2, 2007 by MrWiggly

[Darren T]

you can get linear or circular polarizers. the best explanation i can find of the difference is in the link

 

http://www.earthboundlight.com/phototips/l...-polarizer.html

[Hellbelly]

I dont know about linear but a CP is way way easy to use. I dail in the desired effect (usually the strongest) and leave it like that. The only time I adjust it is when I turn the camera for a "portrait" style shot. It takes about 2 seconds.

 

Mick.

[Happy Dude]

i picked up a Hoya 67mm cir-polarizer off of ebay for about 18 quid posted.

 

here is one i just found which is exactly the same as the one i got http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Hoya-Cir-Polarizing-...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

Jessops at the time were selling exactly the same filter for about £35!!

one thing i would suggest is getting one that is as large or larger than your largest lens. then just use step rings to use it on each lens you have. if you buy it too small and then get a lens that is larger you wont be able to use it properly. and it is definatly the real deal as i have tested it in numerous circumstances.

 

 

hi darren,

 

i've ordered one for my standard 18-55 lens, a 58mm one, as you said, jessops £35.00, fleabay £23.00 posted

 

not arrived yet

 

i'm sure i'll get the idea when i get it stuck on my lens

 

les

[MrWiggly]

Glad you're sorted HD ...

 

You wont regret it ..

 

Wiggly.

[Darren T]

easy as pie to use les, and very easy to see when it is working because the difference can be startling. if i point mine at my monitor and rotate it about 45 degrees it goes from being clear to completly blacking out my computer monitor. An easy way to test is to have lots of things with reflections and a few different lights in front of you. you will see by rotating the filter that the glare off your desk will go at one point and then maybe the glare from your mobile phone will go at another. its just about playing with it until you get exactly the view you want.