Polarizer...must have gear.

Ben_B

Ben_B

Veteran
Just finally got around to picking up a polarizer and I have to say: wow! Why wasn't this on the (well, non-existent but I don't hear much talk about them other than stacking for variable ND filter) list of must-have gear for everyone shooting DSLR video? I am loving the stuff I can do with...darken the sky (especially good on cloudy days), darken a bright computer screen in a low-light shot, remove a reflection so I can shoot through a window...all really wonderful stuff. Must have piece of kit, and cheap too!
 
Which one did you go for Ben? I heard that you can go linear and not circular for the GH1, which saves a lot of cash, but there's still a lot of difference between brands.
 
I went circular to keep compatibility with friends cameras but yeah linear should work fine on Gh1. I ended up getting a really cheap Zeikos one from Amazon, so far I am happy with how things look...don't really see what the worst that could happen is...I figure Tiffen, Hoya, Zeikos...they're all being made at the same factory in china :) So yeah, it was like $10.
 
You can also see fish in the water that you can't see with the naked eye! They really are an essential for cutting out glare and work really well on knocking off that harsh edge you can get from foliage in the sun.
 
Ben_B said:
I went circular to keep compatibility with friends cameras but yeah linear should work fine on Gh1. I ended up getting a really cheap Zeikos one from Amazon, so far I am happy with how things look...don't really see what the worst that could happen is...I figure Tiffen, Hoya, Zeikos...they're all being made at the same factory in china :) So yeah, it was like $10.
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Well, the worst thing that usually happens with cheap optics is loss of image quality. With that said, as long as other artifacts are not introduced the slight diffusion might help to reduce that "sharp look" that some people seem to dislike in native mFT lenses. Personally, I went for the best polarizer i could afford, a 67 mm B+W circular and use it with a 62-to-67 mm step up ring on the kit lens. Because 100-300 zoom will have a 67 mm thread I only need one expensive filter to cover two lenses. I needed the best quality, because I mostly shoot stills.

But, yes, a polarizer is considered a must-have for an outdoors shooting kit, as it is one of the few whose effects cannot be reproduced in post-production. Also doubles a 1-2 stop ND filter.
 
Yeah for stills I could see buying something better but for video who cares.

I got mine in 62mm thread because that's what I already have lots of rings lying around for, even for my larger lenses, which vignette pretty bad with the filters and step rings on full frame but not at all on the GH1 cause of crop. I like 62mm despite risk of poor quality around the edges because it lets me still mount lens hood on the kit lens and larger.
 
I've always heard you generally don't want to use a linear polarizer with an autofocus SLR due to the way linear polarizers use beam splitters. And that autofocus on most SLRs will not work properly using the linear type.

I made the mistake of getting a B+W 72mm circular polarizer before I got bitten by the lens bug and ended up buying lenses I originally thought I'd never own. Now I have some lenses that use 77mm so was kind of out of luck. Should have listened to all the advice to get the largest filter and that way it would be usable with any future lenses you might buy. That said, I have since corrected that situation, but it ended up costing me a lot more money than if I'd gone with 77mm to begin with and used step-up rings.

As for filter quality not making a difference with video - that really depends on what filter you're talking about and also focal length. Once again, my initial purchases ended up costing me more money in the end. For example, I bought the LCW Fader-ND (more than one actually) and later discovered it did make a real difference when compared to the higher quality Singh-Ray. You can see some of my tests as well as read about how I went from thinking it really didn't matter to springing for a quality filter. http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthrea....-can-you-guess-which-is-which&p=#post2100956
 
PerroneFord said:
They are totally different.
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Not exactly. Most variable NDs are made with two circular polarizers. And you do indeed get some of the same benefits as a circular polarizer; as in cutting down glare. Of course, you also get increasing reduction of light as you increase the ND strength which you don't get using a stand-alone polarizer.
 
tflak said:
Not exactly. Most variable NDs are made with two circular polarizers. And you do indeed get some of the same benefits as a circular polarizer; as in cutting down glare. Of course, you also get increasing reduction of light as you increase the ND strength which you don't get using a stand-alone polarizer.
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So does that mean when the variable ND is set at it's "lowest" setting, it functions as a "sort of" polarizer? And can you be a little more specific concerning "some" of the same benefits?

Thanks.
 
+1 on the polarizer... and for what it's worth, I've stopped using my fader because it was a royal p.i.t.a when it came to vignetting. I now use a combination of ND16 and/or ND4 when needed with a polarizer without loss of image quality or vignetting. These two NDs do the job for pretty much anything I need for shallow depth of field.
 
tflak said:
Not exactly. Most variable NDs are made with two circular polarizers. And you do indeed get some of the same benefits as a circular polarizer; as in cutting down glare. Of course, you also get increasing reduction of light as you increase the ND strength which you don't get using a stand-alone polarizer.
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You know what? This is terrific information. Thank you for that.
 
I got 72mm Fader ND filter. 77mm would have been a tad bigger... I should've gotten it instead. Darn.

I'd own 52mm and 77mm filters.
 
Ben_B said:
Just finally got around to picking up a polarizer and I have to say: wow! Why wasn't this on the (well, non-existent but I don't hear much talk about them other than stacking for variable ND filter) list of must-have gear for everyone shooting DSLR video? I am loving the stuff I can do with...darken the sky (especially good on cloudy days), darken a bright computer screen in a low-light shot, remove a reflection so I can shoot through a window...all really wonderful stuff. Must have piece of kit, and cheap too!
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where have you been man. :D
Ive been to weird situations where it made my shot expose properly. specially those shots with strong daylight reflecting off an object.
 
btw Fader ND filter is nice but it would be good idea to use hood or matte box. Otherwise not so natural looking flares. Very ugly.

I have no idea how AF100 can apply built-in filters. Does it slide filters between lens and sensor? 20mm distance should be enough space for multiple filters. That would avoid creating the ugly flares.
 
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Just shot some photos locked down with aperture priority of the same thing with and without my $10 polarizer...the only thing I notice is a very very slight decrease in sharpness on areas around the edges of the lens outside of critical focus....it's barely noticeable, in fact not noticeable until you zoom in to or beyond native resolution (12 megapixels) and won't show up at all in video.

Yes I am well aware that filters can decrease image quality, which is why I almost never use protective filters on the front of my lenses, only ND, polarizer, etc, that serves a purpose...I figure why put a $2 piece of glass in front of $2,000 lens...at least optically?
 
stonebat said:
btw Fader ND filter is nice but it would be good idea to use hood or matte box. Otherwise not so natural looking flares. Very ugly.

I have no idea how AF100 can apply built-in filters. Does it slide filters between lens and sensor? 20mm distance should be enough space for multiple filters. That would avoid creating the ugly flares.
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It's between the sensor and the lens mount yeah.
 
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