CPL Options

[groovyone]

Wow, there are a lot of Circular Polarizer options out there, and it is hard to seperate actual benefits from hype.

Here is what I am looking at for my 16-80Z:
Tiffen HT
- This says High Transmission, but it is listed as the same 2.3-2.8 change. The Ti frame may be nice, but it is hard to tell without using one. I think it is the most money of the ones I am eyeing.

B+W Kaesman Slim
- I always hear how good B+W filters are, plus this one is slim at 3mm and Kaeseman sealed.

Formatt
- I don't know much about Formatt, but the stop loss is the same and the price is a little lower.

Heliopan Slim
- Another brand I hear great things about. Their slim is 5.4mm. They have a Kaeseman sealed model, but it is twice as expensive.

Sony
- I have been very happy with my Sony Clear and ND filters, but have not tried one of their CPLs. Same light loss as the others.

So, quite a few out there, with about a $50 price difference between cheapest and most expensive. I did not list the Hoya Pro 1 digital because I have one in 77mm and it seems to do well, but I'd like to try another brand.

[groovyone]

No one had a CPL opinion?

I pulled the trigger on:

Hoya HD CPL @ Adorama
AND
Tiffen HT Graduated ND @ Adorama

I'll let you all know what I think when I get my hands on them. Hoya is claiming better light transmission (like the Singh-Rays) on the HD CPL and I have a Hoya 77mm Pro1 CPL, so I'll test them back to back and check shutter speeds to see if it is true.

[groovyone]

Well, the Hoya HD is backordered, but I did just snag one of these in 77mm wide angle off eBay last night: Singh-Ray LB CPL

[ol geezer]

Heliopan is a good choice. Quality made. A little pricey. I use Heliopan filters on all my lens.

[vclipse3g]

I only have a Sunpak 67mm CPL for my Tamron 17-50 and its very poor (as expected). Still not sure if I want to upgrade the filter or leave it as is (which is not going to be used that much).