Opinions on CPL

[Andrew]

I have never used these and debating if it’s worth the money, is there a clear difference from your perspective?
This thread is more aimed at Landscape but interested to know if it fits other areas?

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

I have a K&F CPL, but to be honest, I have not used it much. I guess I haven't found myself to be in the situation where I needed it. For example: taking pictures of sunrises at the beach or sunsets at my local pond, I didn't think the CPL enhanced the image. I have not really taken many pictures in deep forests either (because I live in Florida) which is another scenario where a CPL might come in handy to tame down the glare and maintain some of the greens in the scene.
So I guess put me in the camp of "better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it" ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Boojum]

I have one but also rarely use it. When I do the colors get really deep and the haze and scum on objects disappears. I should slap it on as it can be dialed to zero when on the camera. And it sure does make colors better.

Added later: I took out the CPL and played with it a bit just looking through it. In some areas it just didn't do squat but aimed at my computer monitor it could go from clear to black in 90 degrees. So if you ever want to look at your screen and not see it you can do that with a CPL. It has other uses, too. I should take it out tomorrow and see what I can see.

 

[Andrew]

So they need to be turned to reflect light at 90 degrees or something, this is the bit that puts me off buying one although here in the UK at this time of yeah there is a lot of haze and moisture in the air…

Still £40-70 for something that may be used little is something I’m not sure about. Could you grab an example with and without for me please?

 

[Boojum]

I will do that when the sun rises again here on the west coast of Oregon. What you have is two filters and the outer one can rotate so that you can control the amount of polarization. This will take the glare off a blacktop road and render it as black as the tar which binds it. It does the same on any object. It is underused by folks today in favor of a UV filter which is really just a lens protector for most folks. They do serve different purposes. Here is just a vague idea of how light and color can be affected. But wait until tomorrow, my tomorrow, and I will post you some pics from outside.

If I ever were to get to the UK you would have to stand me to an Idris Lemon Squash, if it still exists.

 

[Andrew]

That makes sense, so really it is niche but when setup right for the right type of photograph it pops the colours nicely! Thanks for doing that

 

[Boojum]

That makes sense, so really it is niche but when setup right for the right type of photograph it pops the colours nicely! Thanks for doing that

Just don't forget that damned Lemon Squash. LOL

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

I am going to walk with my camera today and the CPL on my 16mm to see if I can also get some before and afters. I heard there might be a car club meeting at my local outdoor mall.

 

[Boojum]

Hey, this is a very crude and simple set of examples. I am in the midst of a little computer crisis on the Linux side of the house which has had me pre-occupied. However, these two pics illustrate exactly how a CPL works. In one photo there is glare and reflection which degrade the color of the vents and shingles. When the polarizer effect is applied the glare is gone and the colors are deeper. The effect is stronger when the colors are stronger. If I ever get the Linux mess cleaned up I will get out of the house and get you a few better snaps.

OK, before CPL

• ILCE-7M3
• FE 24-240mm F3.5-6.3 OSS
• 184.0 mm
• ƒ/11
• 1/200 sec
• ISO 2500

And what ese but after CPL? ;o)

• ILCE-7M3
• FE 24-240mm F3.5-6.3 OSS
• 184.0 mm
• ƒ/11
• 1/200 sec
• ISO 2000

OK, that's all I can do for now. The effect is evident and you can see what my neighbor's roof looks like.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

This is not the best example, sorry, the angle isn't quite the same, but similar. I was rushed in the parking lot because we were buying breakfast lol
Anyway, here is a "before and after":

• ILCE-6400
• Sigma 16mm F1.4 DC DN | C (Sony E)
• 16.0 mm
• ƒ/8
• 1/320 sec
• ISO 160

• ILCE-6400
• Sigma 16mm F1.4 DC DN | C (Sony E)
• 16.0 mm
• ƒ/8
• 1/200 sec
• ISO 100

Now, maybe I didn't have this thing on "full" setting, but you can see that the difference is subtle in this case.
From top to bottom:
- The sky seems a bit bluer?
- The most noticeable difference is the reflections on the side windows are gone. From what I've read (and watched on youtube), when filming people inside cars a polarizer is often employed for this very reason.
- The car and road seem a tiny bit darker, however the difference in the asphalt is minimal here because it was dry old asphalt without much glare to begin with.

The other thing I noticed is how hard it is to see the difference when turning the CPL; The tiny screen on my a6400 just doesn't have the brightness or dynamic range to compete with Florida sun Maybe this is why I have a hard time using it correctly?

 

[Andrew]

Hey, this is a very crude and simple set of examples. I am in the midst of a little computer crisis on the Linux side of the house which has had me pre-occupied. However, these two pics illustrate exactly how a CPL works. In one photo there is glare and reflection which degrade the color of the vents and shingles. When the polarizer effect is applied the glare is gone and the colors are deeper. The effect is stronger when the colors are stronger. If I ever get the Linux mess cleaned up I will get out of the house and get you a few better snaps.

OK, before CPL

View attachment 13554


And what ese but after CPL? ;o)

View attachment 13555

OK, that's all I can do for now. The effect is evident and you can see what my neighbor's roof looks like.

The roof looks less hazy so can see the difference there!

This is not the best example, sorry, the angle isn't quite the same, but similar. I was rushed in the parking lot because we were buying breakfast lol
Anyway, here is a "before and after":
View attachment 13561
View attachment 13562

Now, maybe I didn't have this thing on "full" setting, but you can see that the difference is subtle in this case.
From top to bottom:
- The sky seems a bit bluer?
- The most noticeable difference is the reflections on the side windows are gone. From what I've read (and watched on youtube), when filming people inside cars a polarizer is often employed for this very reason.
- The car and road seem a tiny bit darker, however the difference in the asphalt is minimal here because it was dry old asphalt without much glare to begin with.

The other thing I noticed is how hard it is to see the difference when turning the CPL; The tiny screen on my a6400 just doesn't have the brightness or dynamic range to compete with Florida sun Maybe this is why I have a hard time using it correctly?

I agree with your views, what I will say though, the second image is nicer but think if they were next to each other in a contest that most people wouldn't be able to pinpoint the difference and would argue lighting conditions may have changed slightly...

Appreciate you both submitting pictures but not sure its still worth the excess cost at the moment for me, think when I got some more lenses (opening new thread shortly) that I may invest in some CPL filter.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

@Andrew one piece of advice for later if you didn't already know: when you do buy filters, buy them to fit the largest thread-size lens you have, then buy some step-down rings (which are cheap) to adapt them to the thread dimensions of your other lenses.

Say your largest lens' thread size is 72mm and you have 62mm and 67mm threaded lenses in your bag; you would only have to own one 72mm filter and then you can use it on any of your 3 lenses with the appropriate adapter ring. I do this with my variable ND filter when I video outside.

 

[Andrew]

Didn’t even know about this so that’s super helpful! Thank you

 

[Jeff A]

@Andrew one piece of advice for later if you didn't already know: when you do buy filters, buy them to fit the largest thread-size lens you have, then buy some step-down rings (which are cheap) to adapt them to the thread dimensions of your other lenses.

Say your largest lens' thread size is 72mm and you have 62mm and 67mm threaded lenses in your bag; you would only have to own one 72mm filter and then you can use it on any of your 3 lenses with the appropriate adapter ring. I do this with my variable ND filter when I video outside.

I wish I knew this before buying filters. Do many people use magnetic filters?

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

I wish I knew this before buying filters. Do many people use magnetic filters?

I wish I knew about THOSE before I bought mine! Freewell makes a magnetic set and its so clever!