[kjphilippona]

I will be making a trip this summer to the Grand Canyon and will probably be using my DA18-135 lens the most. I have done a little research on the Grand Canyon and noticed that a circular polarizer filter was used on a lot of the pictures taken and i really like the results. Could someone give me a little advice on filter brands to look for. i only use digital clear filters on my lenses and noticed that the price for a circular polarizer filter is up to 3x as expencive. I do not want to skimp on quality since this filter will have such an impact on my photos but also do not want to spend money just for a name. Being the DA18-135 is a wide angle lens, should this also be something i need to look for?

[Marktax]

They can indeed be expensive, but pay up. Best bargain for quality might be Marumi. Buy multi-coated. You do not need untra-thin for that lens. Beware that some untra-thins have no front threads and you cannot re-mount the lens cap. At Grand Canyon, you are going to have that filter on the lens a lot, and will want to be able to use the lens cap.

[semaca]

The expensive filters are the best
I have the same lens and a linear polarizer filter and the front element is rotating. Sometimes you will get uneven blue gradient on the sky and I think it's not so good for a multiple shots panorama.

[alexcox]

Expensive filters are absolutely NOT the best. I have bought filters by B+W and they are rubbish. Two of them have literally come to pieces. You can buy "Agfa" branded polarizers made in China for a few bucks. So far none of these have fallen apart.

[Rondec]

I really like the Marumi brand filter. I own the Super DHG and they are nice, provide good polarization and seem to be well made. Most web sites test them pretty well.

[marcusBMG]

check out this thread

Vivitar S1 70-210 + Polarising filter = weird problem

and note the link in the third post on p2 (lenstip)

[MadMathMind]

Biggest tip (which I forget too often myself): when you have rocks that are directly lit by the sun, use the polarizer. It will remove the glare from the rocks. This will happen a lot to you in the Grand Canyon.

Here's a time where I failed to us the polarizer because I was in a hurry and wanted to get out quickly:


The bright sun, right behind me, basically burns all the detail from the rocks. Put a polarizer on it and it would have come out much better.

[interested_observer]

I'll leave it to everyone else to debate the various brands. I want to touch on two items:

• Wide Angle Lenses & Polarization - The Angle of View can become too wide for use with a polarizer - where the polarization effect is not able to be uniformly applied across the lens. That usually occurs around the mid 20's in focal length.

• Understanding & Using Polarizing Filters
• https://luminous-landscape.com/polarizers/

• Polarizing filter & Stitching - This is just an extension of the above. As you slide from frame to frame (overlapping), you are changing the angle with the sun, so even if you are using a focal length well longer than the mid 20's, your polarization effect is going to vary from frame to frame and your end result will be uneven causing some stripping, where the images are stitched. You will not have a uniform exposure across the frames.

• Photo Stitching Digital Panoramas
• Circular Polarizers & Wide-angle Lenses ? Have Camera Will Travel

Wide angle lenses tend to treat the light a bit differently, and inherently have a better/higher appearance of saturation of colors with their rendering. This might have been the effect you were seeing on various images and just assumed a polarizing filter.
________________________

PS - Since I live in Aridzona - the best time of day for the Grand Canyon is sun rise and sun set, along with the hours around that time. The absolutely worst time is 10am to 3pm, when the sun is high in the sky and the colors will be washed out. To counter this to some degree - you can use a neutral density filter. Also, with a tripod, you can get a LOT after the sun goes down. One more thing. Clouds are your friend, since they will create shadows and streams of light. So, if you have clouds or overcast skies - you are in luck!

• Photography Tips for shooting in Grand Canyon National Park - Parks Folio
• 10 Tips For The Grand Canyon | OutdoorPhotographer.com
• Creatively Photographing Viewpoints in the Grand Canyon

The folks load up in the bus and ride all morning to get to the park at 10am. They take a look at the hole in the ground, and mutter - what is so great about it - can't see a thing. It does not look like the pictures at all. By 11am they are ready to get out and leave the park - and go do something interesting.

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Last edited by interested_observer; 04-18-2015 at 09:07 AM.

[kjphilippona]

Biggest tip (which I forget too often myself): when you have rocks that are directly lit by the sun, use the polarizer. It will remove the glare from the rocks. This will happen a lot to you in the Grand Canyon.

Here's a time where I failed to us the polarizer because I was in a hurry and wanted to get out quickly:


The bright sun, right behind me, basically burns all the detail from the rocks. Put a polarizer on it and it would have come out much better.

Thanks for the 411

[kjphilippona]

Has anyone used Tiffen filters, i like that they are made in the USA!

[Paul the Sunman]

I have a Manfrotto "Advanced" circular polarizing filter I use with the 18-135. The quality is very good, and I can recommend it.

Having said that though, if you're using the polarizing filter just to get deep blue skies, this lens naturally gives you those anyway. I find the CPL can actually overdo the effect. You also probably don't want to use it at the wide end, where you'll get a strong gradient in the sky.

[kjphilippona]

I have a Manfrotto "Advanced" circular polarizing filter I use with the 18-135. The quality is very good, and I can recommend it.

Having said that though, if you're using the polarizing filter just to get deep blue skies, this lens naturally gives you those anyway. I find the CPL can actually overdo the effect. You also probably don't want to use it at the wide end, where you'll get a strong gradient in the sky.

Thanks, that is good information to know!

[Canada_Rockies]

I took a photo with the M28/3.5 some years ago on my KX (film version) and the blue sky was graduated to the point that a friend asked about the polarizer I was using. I was not using one. Polarizers will just make the gradient worse when your field of view is too wide. All that said, blue skies are not the only reason to use a polarizer. Photographing Koi in their pond is one, wet leaves another, to cut the reflections and see the Koi or leaf.

We are about to get a circular vs non fight here, I suspect. They both work just fine. Right up to the time that the angles line up in the AF system and AF no longer works because it cannot see anything. Get the CPL for any camera with AF. That includes my lamented MZ-S. One lost image isn't worth the money you supposedly save by not buying a circular.

[mgvh]

I got the Marumi 62mm Super DHG CPL for my 18-135, and I have been very happy with it. On a Mediterranean cruise in the summer with tons of sunlight all the time, I just left it on the whole time. (Link to Newegg. only $36 is really good.)

[mnj11]

I have the B+W Kaesemann. The quality is very good.