Polarising filters - differences in quality

[clonmult]

I've been wondering about getting a CPL for quite a while, but after having seen Dans holiday snaps its pretty much convinced me it has to be done. God knows why I've waited so long.

My question - is there a huge difference in quality of the various CPLs out there?

I could just go for a regular Jessops (£44), a Hoya HD or Pro1D (£75 and up) or my personal favourite choice right now - go for the Cokin P series system, which then opens up the possibility of easily adding in other effects/filters (as well as only needing a new adapter ring to swap between lenses).

Any suggestions as to which way to go?

[Dan_1981]

If it helps at all mine was a bog standard jessops one.

[clonmult]

Dan_1981 said:

If it helps at all mine was a bog standard jessops one.

They aren't bad prices either ..... but a cokin kit would go from lens to lens. Right now I'm on a 62mm fitting (28-300 lens), but longer term I'll be getting some wide angle and portrait lenses .... so instead of doubling up on filters the Cokin could possibly save some money.

[Toyless]

If you're thinking of going Cokin P with a view to getting some grads at a later stage,then I would advise against them due to colour cast from the grads.

[Thunderace]

clonmult said:

Dan_1981 said:

If it helps at all mine was a bog standard jessops one.

They aren't bad prices either ..... but a cokin kit would go from lens to lens. Right now I'm on a 62mm fitting (28-300 lens), but longer term I'll be getting some wide angle and portrait lenses .... so instead of doubling up on filters the Cokin could possibly save some money.

Get your self a bagfull of L-Series if you wan't to economise

17-40, 24-70, 70-200 F2.8, 100-400 . . . they all take 77mm, saved me a fortune

[clonmult]

Toyless said:

If you're thinking of going Cokin P with a view to getting some grads at a later stage,then I would advise against them due to colour cast from the grads.

I'd always thought that the Cokin filters were quite good ... will probably just go for lens specific filters then.

[RobDickinson]

clonmult said:

I'd always thought that the Cokin filters were quite good ... will probably just go for lens specific filters then.

There ok for the price but the ND and ND Grads to add a magenta colour cast, especialy if stacked.

Remember ND grads dont realy work if there round and fixed to the lens.

I've found my cokin P CPL to be fine. I may add a variable polarised ND filter sometime tho (aka singray knockoff).

[clonmult]

RobDickinson said:

clonmult said:

I'd always thought that the Cokin filters were quite good ... will probably just go for lens specific filters then.

There ok for the price but the ND and ND Grads to add a magenta colour cast, especialy if stacked.

Remember ND grads dont realy work if there round and fixed to the lens.

I've found my cokin P CPL to be fine. I may add a variable polarised ND filter sometime tho (aka singray knockoff).

ND was something I was intending to get at some point, so thats definitely something to consider.

[tim-b]

RobDickinson said:

There ok for the price but the ND and ND Grads to add a magenta colour cast, especialy if stacked.

That's true, but it's not too tricky to correct in PP, for the price and flexibility it's a small trade-off. I like the cokin P-series filters because they are so cheap, it doesn't matter if they get scratched or dropped when I'm (as usual) continually taking them on and off, and stuffing them in my pockets/bag if I'm rushing for a shot sans-filter*. If you're doing more 'considered' stuff (i.e. have time to stand around planning things!) where image quality is critical, then it would probably be better to look further up the market.


.*Worth mentioning that the cokin filters (non CPL) are quite soft plastic so they do scratch easily, but I've polished out many scratches on mine with good results. The CPL is glass I think so no issues there.

[RobDickinson]

tim-b said:

That's true, but it's not too tricky to correct in PP.

I'd like a guide on how to then!

Even if its the straight ND's even with Wb correction mine always look flat and lacking impact, prehaps I need to boost certain channels?

The ND Grad effect is even harder to do, whatcha do process two image swith diferent WB's and blend!?

[dibbly dobbler]

RobDickinson said:

tim-b said:

That's true, but it's not too tricky to correct in PP.

I'd like a guide on how to then!

Even if its the straight ND's even with Wb correction mine always look flat and lacking impact, prehaps I need to boost certain channels?

The ND Grad effect is even harder to do, whatcha do process two image swith diferent WB's and blend!?

I've got the Cokin gear and while the CPL is good and the NDs are fine when used individually I too have found stacking them gives crap results and I have yet to produce 1 single decent result doing this! Best combo I have found is to stick an ND over the CPL - multiple NDs just dont seem to work well together - I have a go at fixing this in PSE after but the results were pish to be frank

So it depends what you want to do basically - for everything other than stacking multiple NDs/grads together then Cokin kit is fine, the CPL works well

[MartinP]

My experience is pretty much the same as DD above. I certainly wouldn't rule out the Cokin CPL, I've been very pleased with mine. Another option would be to buy a CPL for the biggest diameter lens that you have (or for the biggest lens that you think you might buy in the foreseeable future) and then buy a selection of step up rings so that you can use it on all of your lenses.

[tim-b]

RobDickinson said:

tim-b said:

That's true, but it's not too tricky to correct in PP.

I'd like a guide on how to then!

Even if its the straight ND's even with Wb correction mine always look flat and lacking impact, prehaps I need to boost certain channels?

The ND Grad effect is even harder to do, whatcha do process two image swith diferent WB's and blend!?

Can't really give a guide, as it depends on the image, but usually I use curves and take the red channel down a bit towards the top (highlights), since the purpley cast shows mostly in the sky and clouds (where the filters are darkest I suppose). Then a simple 's' curve (on RGB) if necessary for contrast. If this adjustment affects the rest of the image, then yes I would consider processing the sky and foreground separately, or using curves as an adjustment layer with a layer mask. As I mentioned before, it's not ideal but I can live with it for my style of photography.

[Pablo O O O O]

I would echo what 'Toyless' said about the colour cast on Cokin Grad grey filters. A bit more costly, but a neutral grey, are the Lee Filters,. I realise colour correction can be done in Photoshop etc. but transparancy film is STILL in use and one should aim to get things right in camera. Regarding CPL filters, Buy the best that you can afford. I've noticed that some makes will change the colour cast from warm to cold as the filter is rotated, not a good effect to have to contend with.
Regards Paul.B.

[markmullen]

Hitech grads are cheaper than Lee but don't suffer the colour casts that Cokin seem to.

[Mojocvh]

Arse just shelled out on a set of cokin nd too.