[hyperspaceexplorer]

I am still using the lens that came with the K-70 bundle.

• DA 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 ED AL DC WR Lens

And which book was it for beginners photography? I think I read it on one of the responses on my past posts but could not find the response anymore.

Thank you again.

[wm_brant]

Lensrentals rents *a lot* of camera equipment to photographers. When that equipment comes back after the rental is done, they test it to make sure it wasn't damaged.

So... They do *one heck* of a lot of testing. They have a lot of testing equipment and a very experienced testing staff.

And... They have a blog about photo equipment. And since they they're not trying to sell you equipment, they're a little more objective than many people who claim to test equipment on the web.

And... they did a couple of articles on polarizers - one test of expensive polarizers, another test of inexpensive polarizers. The articles are worth a read. Their blog is worth a read.

Here's the link: Lens Rentals | Blog

[HoundFrog]

In my experience, cheap polarizers can distort the wavefront a bit, which gives a terrible results with a longer focal lengths. Like, nothing is in focus, ever. 18-135 may be ok though.. but I decided that polarizer is one thing on which I will neverer go cheap.

[sbc]

Of course it does. Cheapo PL filters can be hazy or too dark, degrading the image quality. PL filter is made by sandwiching a PL film between 2 pieces of glass. A lot of things can go wrong. I have seen really bad filters before.

[Wheatfield]

Your lens is only as good as the filter you put on it, so ideally you would want a better filter than your lens to get the most from it. I can't suggest brands for your mid grade lens, but I do suggest that with polarizing filters, get something better than the least expensive one you can find.

[HoundFrog]

PL filter is made by sandwiching a PL film between 2 pieces of glass. A lot of things can go wrong.

Circular PLs (the linear PLs are pretty much extinct now) are even more complex, one piece of glass is really a quarter-wave plate.

[Oldbayrunner]

Yes it does not only for distortion but for color cast. It isn't necessary to only use glass filters there are very high quality resin and gel filters that are optically purer than glass... Be ready to fork out some $$$$ for good ones in any case.

[ChristianRock]

You can really tell cheap polarizers from good and/or expensive ones. Isay and/or because some Hoya polarizers aren't expensive but are still pretty good.
B+H is my go-to, and I'm a cheapster for most things....

[Rondec]

Definitely avoid cheap filters -- they will give a color cast to images (usually fixable) and can increase flare a lot.

Recommended books for learning photography: Understanding Exposure (Bryan Peterson) and The Photographer's Eye (Michael Freeman) are two nice books to understand how to get well exposed and well framed images.

[photogem]

Everything important was said already, just to add, that I agree with Christian and the B+H filters, which use the Kaesemann principle (the only other manufacturer using this "sealing method I know of is Heliopan). Great polarizers are made as well by Zeiss!
All Sony VF polarizers are identical to the Zeiss T* and can sometimes be found much cheaper because
people don't know, in your case the Sony VF62PAM2 (made sure it is the polarizer, the PAM is the UV and is made in Japan!)


If you are interested in technique and the difference why linear polarizers can work but won't work always, this was a great thread long time ago:
K20D and Linear Polarizer: Comparison Photos - PentaxForums.com

[bdery]

Yes it does.

Cheap filters will visibly decrease the sharpness. Cheap and even expensive filters can create color casts.

For instance, I've tested filters from Irix (a serious lens manufacturer), as well as Freewell and PolarPro (two brands describing themselves, and pricing themselves, as higher-end) and both create yellow casts. Medium-tier (perceived) brands such as K&F Concept on the other hand create no casts, and no effect on sharpness. They are my favourite.

Speeding Things Up: K&F Concept's Nano-Series Magnetic Filters - Light And Matter

[Wheatfield]

To add to this thread, I do long exposures when the image demands it, and find myself using neutral density filters and polarizing filters in a stack. This demands very high quality filters as the possibility of image degradation increases tremendously the more glass is put onto the front of the lens.
I settled on Breakthrough filters, which are ridiculously expensive, but like the K&F filters show no colour casts and don't degrade sharpness at all as long as I keep the stack size reasonable.
I have stacked two ND filters behind a polarizing filter and produced images as sharp as the lens with no filter. This is on the K1 which is a pretty forgiving camera in this regard. I have yet to try this on the Fuji X-T5 which has a far more demanding sensor.

Good filters are a good investment in one's photography. They are system and lens agnostic, and while it may seem like overkill to put a +$200.00 filter on a $200.00 zoom lens, if, in the future there is the likelihood of purchasing higher quality lenses, the filters can be ported over rather than being disappointed that your $2000.00 lens shows poor performance with a filter in place, and even with the lower end lens, one can be sure that they are getting the best they can out of their glass.