Best filter for use in Hawaii?

[Recty]

I'm heading to Hawaii in a couple weeks here and want to know what filter you guys think I would benefit most from using? A UV filter or a CPL?

I've never used filters on any of my lenses but I'd like to advance a little in my photography. Obviously, UV filters dont seem to do much and dont require any skill to use. Most people seem to think it's just a cheap way to protect your front lens element.

CPL takes some "skill" to use, as you actually have to manipulate it to get the image to look the way you want.

For Hawaii there will be plenty of light, so I'm not worried about the 1.5-2 stops of light a CPL makes you lose. I can always just take it off later in the evening or morning if I'm using the camera then.

Anyway, if you were heading to a tropical location, do you think you'd rather bring with you a CPL or a UV filter?

 

[iceemn360]

I used to keep UV filters on all of my glass when i first started out and then quickly decided that i didn't add much if anything to my photos. I would pick the CPL. I'm definitely glad I had it for my 3 month trip to Costa Rica. It will help reduce undesired glare from wet surfaces (ie wet leaves after a rain or harsh glare on the watersurface) and really helps to bring out color both in and out of the water. it will help bring out the deep blue richness in skies and beaches. CPLs are a ton of fun to play with. My recent post with long exposures of water benefited greatly from it. If you think you might want to do a longer exposure of water in bright light it can double as a ND filter i guess (a real ND filter is something els I would consider bringing).

shots like these only worked when I had the CPL on the lens

In any case have an excellent trip and of course post photos!

 

[Recty]

Having no experience with CPL filters, I'm wondering if I can use it for just my average everyday tourist shots of people and my family? Can I just snap a quick picture or will I need to be adjusting the CPL every single time I move around? If it isnt adjusted correctly will it make my normal everyday photos look weird?

 

[BlueCorn]

Unless I'm shooting at night, the CPL never comes off. CPL filters can be used to minimize or accentuate reflections and glare. They won't "harm" your tourist shots but you could actually use it to remove things like reflections off of people's glasses.

 

[Recty]

Unless I'm shooting at night, the CPL never comes off. CPL filters can be used to minimize or accentuate reflections and glare. They won't "harm" your tourist shots but you could actually use it to remove things like reflections off of people's glasses.

That's definitely what I'm wanting to hear. Do you have to adjust your CPL for all your normal shots when you dont care about reflections or glare? Like say I just want to pick up the camera and snap a quick photo of my daughter doing something funny... Will I need to be worried that the CPL isnt set right so the shot is botched? Or will it still take a good shot regardless of how it's set?

I'm having a hard time putting my question into words. Basically, can I leave the CPL on and not adjust it and still get good photos or does it HAVE to be adjusted correctly every time to get a natural looking photo?

 

[BlueCorn]

You can take "quick shots" of your daughter, without the polarizer hurting anything.

That said, I check the polarizer every time I change my composition or camera position.

 

[Recty]

Good. I just dont want to make it a chore to use. I'd like to be able to just blah blah blah click click click when I want to and dont really care about the shot but would like to have a picture to send to some of the relatives back in the lower 48. I dont want a filter on there that I have to adjust all the time, especially if my wife or someone else decides to take a couple pictures.

 

[TomRoach]

B+W Kaesemann Circular Polarizer

 

[Recty]

I did not get the Kaesemann.

It seemed like the only difference between the Kaesemann and the "plain" MRC filter from B+W was that it was more rugged, it was sealed against weather, which seems kind of ridiculous to me on a piece of glass that just goes onto the front of a lens. Even with picking the MRC version, the 58mm filter I bought was still $93, more than some people's 50mm lenses

I've only ever used a CHEAP UV filter. I bought it at a little photography store right before heading to Hawaii, I hated it and only used it for a day then stop using it for my pictures. So here we are two years later, now I'm trying out an expensive filter. I hope I'm a lot more impressed than I was with the garbage I bought last time I watched quite a bit of videos on the CPL and just general use of them, what a cool little filter. The potential there is pretty high.

 

[BlueCorn]

The main difference in the Kasesemann is the brass rings. B+W doesn't make "crappy" filters, you'll be find. I use B+W, Heliopan and Singh-Ray exclusively. If you think $93 is an expensive filter, don't go look at Singh-Ray. :lol:

 

[Recty]

Hah, I looked at a couple different filter brands yesterday, I definitely saw some more expensive ones.

FWIW, the Amazon description of the B+W filter I bought yesterday, the non kaesemann one, says in the product description that it has a brass ring.

I bought this filter for my 50mm because I think that will be my most used lens over in Hawaii, it certainly is here in Alaska. I looked at one for my 77mm lens and that was a little over $150, it seems the price ramps up pretty fast.

 

[IPT]

didn't read all the response but seems like you've got the gurus so no worries . My one comment is about just taking random shots and if you should bother adjusting the PL or not. The one thing you want to avoid at all costs is the over polarized sky. It'll turn an unnatural inky navy blue, or even black in the extreme if you're at the right angle and fully polarized.

PS - I haven't used a UV filter in years . I do have to keep track of my lens caps now though (shrug) .

 

[Recty]

I'm a little bummed that my lens cap wont fit onto the CPL I'm getting. It's a slim CPL so that it doesnt vignette on wide angle lenses BUT I dont really need that, I'll be using it on a 50mm lens. It will be weird not having a lens cap. I see that B+W supplies them with a little pressure fit cap but everyone says they come off really easily.

It will be weird getting used to not using a lens cap, for me anyway. I've always kept mine close at hand and on anytime the camera isnt turned on.

I did see some examples of the over polarized sky. To be honest, this will probably be somewhat like HDR for me. I'll go overboard for a while with the effect, then tone it back down to natural looking

 

[BlueCorn]

I had one of those slim CPL filters for a while and couldn't stand it. I replaced it with a standard filter and never had any vignetting issues.

 

[IPT]

I've always used a middle of the Road Tiffen filter. I've had occasional vignetting issues when using a real wide lens, but generally nothing that a slight crop doesn't take care of (except once in a while when I wanted every square inch of the frame). When I use a wide lens and polarizer the bigger issue is the un-even color saturation that can occur in the sky. The Field of view is just too wide and the filter polarizes at different strengths within it. Need to really be careful because even with the gradiants in PS it's a PITA to try and correct.

 

[Recty]

I had one of those slim CPL filters for a while and couldn't stand it. I replaced it with a standard filter and never had any vignetting issues.

Well that's what is weird, I couldnt find a 58mm B+W CPL that wasnt one of the new slim "pro" models.

I've always used a middle of the Road Tiffen filter. I've had occasional vignetting issues when using a real wide lens, but generally nothing that a slight crop doesn't take care of (except once in a while when I wanted every square inch of the frame). When I use a wide lens and polarizer the bigger issue is the un-even color saturation that can occur in the sky. The Field of view is just too wide and the filter polarizes at different strengths within it. Need to really be careful because even with the gradiants in PS it's a PITA to try and correct.

Well the lens my filter fits is my 50mm, so I wont be doing any wide angle shooting, hopefully I dont have any issues with it.

 

[BlueCorn]

I don't have a lens that uses a 58mm filter, all of mine are 77mm.

 

[Recty]

You and your highfalutin L glass... I will eventually get a 77mm CPL if I really like the CPL use because I'll eventually own the 24-70mm again and I've got the 100-400, so the 77mm would be perfect. For now though, the 58mm does me well.

 

[IPT]

you will like it . It's basically an essential tool for Landscape work. Not so much for portraits or reef tanks and the like. Yeah, at 50mm there should be no issues at all. Like I said, even the few times I went r e a l l y wide a crop was usually enough to save it.

Have a great trip. When do you leave?

 

[Recty]

We leave next Thursday, so I've still got 8 long days left

I'm really looking forward to trying out the filter. I want to try something new, without having to spend $1500 on a new lens! Around $100 for a filter that's actually interactive fits the bill just perfectly. I'll put the other $1400 to fun Hawaiian activities. Oh wait, laying on the beach and snorkeling costs nothing!

I'm sooooo looking forward to going, I like Alaska but about this time of year I want to go get warmed up somewhere, then I'm good again for the rest of the winter.