Cheap Cheap CPL

[milesy]

HI Guys

just wondering if anyone has used any of these super cheap CPL's available from Ebay??

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-77mm-CPL-Circular-Polarising-Filter-CANON-SONY-NIKON-LENS-AU-SELLER-/260866746660?pt=AU_Filters&hash=item3cbcdea924

are they worth risking the massive amounts of cash on or would i be better off getting a 'brand name' type CPL

thanks

Adrian

[ricktas]

Get a brand name one. Whilst these can be ok, they are often flimsy and the ring that holds the 'glass' in comes out, and the glass falls out and breaks. Often the glass itself is not polarised, but a film is placed over clear glass that is.

I reckon you should save up and invest in a decent one..as the saying goes, you get what you pay for.

[dbax]

I must say when my Hoya CPL fell to bits earlier this year after about 5 years I bought an ebay cheapy $10, different brand, different ebay store, and yes it worked, just !
The area of polarisation was very faint and narrow which made it hardly worth using most of the time.
I finished up investing in another Hoya for about $60 on special. Now a happy man. Others might have had more luck or I might have just been unlucky to get a lemon. Wait a day or so and see what others experiences have been.

[squizzytaylor]

As above Ive tried a couple and found that IQ above around 80mm is very poor in fact looks badly oof, inconsistencies in polarising levels (dark and light patches).
I have since bought a Hoya pro1-d and its 1000% better.

GT

[milesy]

Thanks all... I can see there is a 77mm hoya pro 1d on eBay for $30 whereas most are around $100 .... Mmm sus or not

Sent from my HTC Legend using Tapatalk

[arthurking83]

That Pro1D for $30 is 99.99% a fake, and you may as well just get this $16 version instead!!

If you're going to go cheapo, then go as cheapo as you can. If you strike it lucky and get one that is half decent, then you got yourself a good buy.

Just don't expect that it will be as good as the best filters available, but if it does work, then you've won.

If not, then you've learnt a valuable lesson!

[Wayne]

Buy from a reputable Ebay seller (if you must use Ebay) because fakes are not going to be known until you have it in your hands. Alternatively, buy from a reputable dealer that is an authorised re-seller of the brand (Hoya) you want to buy.

What Rick said is so true, cheap is cheap, but for a reason, and in all likelihood you will get what you paid for. Then when it is shit, you will go and eventually spend the $$ to buy a real, quality one and the crap one just added to the cost and frustration.

I thoroughly recommend Schneider B+W Kaesemann CPL, not cheap, (much cheaper from the USA) but the finest available and you will only buy it once.

[arthurking83]

......

I thoroughly recommend Schneider B+W Kaesemann CPL, not cheap, (much cheaper from the USA) but the finest available and you will only buy it once.


I'm on the other side of this coin myself!

I think it's far more important to take into consideration the value for money aspect, because as a layperson, not making money from the hobby of photography, all things are relative to a specific price point.

It's obvious that the OP has taken into consideration the fact that the filter must be cheap-ish.
I'd hazard a guess that from this(and their two posts) price is more important than absolute ultimate image quality, so a 0.1% hit in IQ is worth the risk compared to a doubling of price.

A B+W 77mm pol retails in the vicinity of $300 or so dollars. .. possibly $250 for the cheapo version.

From my experience, sometimes it's not worth spending so much money on one particular item with no real gain in quality of the images it produces.

I refer to the fact that I see no real perceptible difference in quality from my various levels of polarisers. I have a few filters of various price/quality levels, and I've never seen any need to overspend on this type of gear if you get a decent performing filter at an affordable price to begin with.

The one thing with the really cheapo Hoya's tho is that the filter ring assembly can come apart if you need to force it off the lens.
Not all of them, and I do have 3, and one of them consistently falls to pieces if I require a lot of pressure to unscrew it off the lens.

I have seen a test done of a few various polariser filters done somewhere on the net, and B+W certainly do make the best polariser filters(according to this test site), but the difference in quality they allow is (IMO) not worth double the price.
And what made this test particularly interesting is that they had various B+W filters as well as Marumi's and Hoya's and Kenko's, and the best performing pol filter was one of the B+W's, but it was disqualified on the basis that it was actually a Linear polariser and not a CPL as marked on the filter and box!

So even companies with B+W's reputation can still get it wrong sometimes :p

FWIW: any mid to higher level Hoya, Kenko, or Marumi CPL will give you enough quality for a decent price

[milesy]

the problem is i have never used a CPL and i dont know how much use i will have for one......i would like to play around but i dont want to spend in excess of $100 or in the B&W case $300 only to find i dont really use it......

[arthurking83]

Once you understand the advantages of having one, then I'm sure you will use it regularly.

I have to say, on my Sigma 10-20mm, I rarely ever take it off.

If you do mainly event photography of performers, indoors under lights and in dim conditions where you may require a particularly high shutter speed, then it's obviously not appropriate to use a CPL.

But once you get out doors, in almost any lighting conditions, a CPL usually has 'some advantage'.

One thing tho. if you do get one, and you're tempted to get an slim line filter for UWA lenses, try to get one with front filter threads(so that you can quickly and easily place the lens cap back on).

I did this, thinking that getting a Hoya Pro ultra slim(that cost about $200) would give me some kind of advantage for the 10-20mm, but as it doesn't have the front filter threads, I rarely use it.

I've tested it against the normal CPL Hoya that I also have, and apart form being slightly easier to clean the glass if it gets hazy much on it, I've never seen any improvement in IQ.
There is a big difference in the quality of the glass itself, the Pro1 does seem to reduce reflections of light sources compared to the standard version, but I've only seen this with the naked eye, not in actual images captured with them.
The reason I've never seen any difference in reflected light sources, is because I rarely use it to shoot into light sources.

I reckon for a 77mm filter, expect to pay around $100 or so.
The problem with it being 77mm is the size of the glass. polarised glass is expensive to manufacture properly, so as with good lenses, the price increases exponentially the bigger you go.

I would recommend a Marumi DHG Super(has to be the Super version, not any other!!!) which costs about $80(ish) in 77mm size from DWI.

According to this test I read, this particular CPL came in at second place, in terms of overall performance in a field of abotu 20 other filters, only beaten by one of the B+W's, but where it also beat two other B+W's.
Where this filter lost points was in the flare test, where it flared up worse than the B+W's if there was a bright light source in the composition.

I have this filter bookmarked for myself to purchase one(or two or three) in the future as well.

[Wayne]

One thing to remember is that if you buy a high quality unit, and don't find that you are using it you can often re-sell quite easily for most of the initial investment, and in some cases more (I sold some Lee gear for more than I paid due to the extreme worldwide shortage).

Looks genuine from here, but no greater risk than an Ebay Hoya, and the other gear the guy is selling would indicate he knows what he is selling; http://www.ebay.com/itm/B-W-77mm-MRC-Kaesman-KSM-Slim-CPL-Circular-Polarizing-Filter-/120813518957?pt=Camera_Filters&hash=item1c210c006d#ht_1317wt_1398

$US175 landed here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/B-W-77mm-Circular-Polarizing-MRC-Slim-Filter-26598-/220887104289?pt=Camera_Filters&hash=item336de5bb21 Check the B+W site to confirm they are authorised reseller.

Lots of options and really...

[milesy]

ok thanks Wayne ill have a look at the links

and the other problem is the size......i have 12-24 which taks a 77mm filter and a 50-135 which takes a 67mm fiter and even an 18-125 which takes a 62mm filter......i guess i was initially just thinking of one for the WA 12-24.

[Wayne]

You simply get a $5 step down ring. Best advice is get a 77mm filter (or the size to fit the largest lens you have or expect to have) and a step down ring for all the smaller sizes, that way 1 filter fits many lenses. In your case, get the 77mm filter and 1 each of the 67 & 62mm step down rings for about $10.

[milesy]

fantastic i didnt even know you could get those.....ebay here i come

[Wayne]

fantastic i didnt even know you could get those.....ebay here i come
Now that I just saved you $300 by only having to buy 1 cpl, do consider making it an exemplary one :) You will not regret it.

[milesy]

thanks Wayne......what do you think of the Pro1d?? and these guys as sellers - anyone used them??

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/220886332035?hlp=false

[arthurking83]

I've never used these sellers, but I do have the Pro1D, and I have to say, that for the money, I'm not overly impressed.

I'm not unimpressed, but as I've already said, I already have a 77mm polariser, and it's a cheap Hoya from more moons ago, than you may have been born for!
There is no quality difference between it and the old cheaper Hoya(which BTW is a Linear polariser).

There are differences of course, but mainly in the image rendering. The Pro1D gives the images a slight red tint, the older linear pol gives images a slight greener tint in the same conditions.
WB adjustment in processing the raw files balances it out with no problems, but as far as I see, there is not enough IQ difference to warrant the purchase of the Pro1D.

Also, I once used step down rings to use my 77mm filters on my 67mm filter thread lenses, and abandoned it almost as immediately too. While it sounds great being able to use one filter on all lenses, the reality is that it's a PITA to pack away quickly just to move on up the track, where you don't have a lens cap to place over the filter to protect it from bumps and knocks.
Nor can you use the lens hood over the filter, when required.

This was about 5 or 6 years back, and I haven't seen it since about then either. (I think the ex, may have mistakenly taken it) and good riddance to it!

Oh! and be careful when using polarisers in 'appropriate conditions'. In general you may be oriented approximately 90°ish or less to the sun, and if the sun is forward of the lens'es front element, there is a chance for it to lose contrast, produce a flare spot or any other similar aberration. This is where higher quality filters help. And FWIW, the Pro1D can still flare up in the 'wrong conditions'.

[Wayne]

That Pro1D is a decent filter if it is the real McCoy. I have never used the merchant you have linked to.

[rookie]

thanks Wayne......what do you think of the Pro1d?? and these guys as sellers - anyone used them??

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/220886332035?hlp=false

I went to this store in sydney the other day and got a Benro tripod. Very happy with price and service and the shop was very busy.I think that means something.

[cinvala]

The other other option is a filter system such as cokin.

[Bennymiata]

I went to this store in sydney the other day and got a Benro tripod. Very happy with price and service and the shop was very busy.I think that means something.

When I went there, there wasn't anyone else there apart from the older Chinese guy who runs the store.
He seems to know his stuff though, and has some good gear there.
I got a cheap, but quite good, macro focussing rail from him, and he has the full range of Benro tripods and some reasonable lighting equipment too.