I'd like to get a circular polarizer for weather photography. Which one would you recommend? Not necessary the best, but something that's OK and provides lots of bang-for-buck? I assume that if I'd need to buy 2-3 different sizes for different lenses, they'd have to be bought individually and do not come as a set or pack, right?

Thanks.

[rormeister]

Not sure about best bang for the buck, but I am quite happy with my Cokin P-Series Circular Polarizer. I use it with the single slot holder (permits the Polarizer plus one ND Grad filter) to minimize vignetting. Then it's simply a matter of an inexpensive adapter to thread onto your lenses (about $15 apiece).

Thanks for the tip! I hadn't figured I could use the same filter on different lenses with an adapter. Does Hoya sell any such adapter sets? I assume I'd need to get a 77mm polarizer due to the plan to get a DA* 16-50mm for my main "weather lens".

[OrenMc]

Marumi is a brand that I like. They aren't the best but they are still a very high grade glass and some come with a weather resistant coating. Not overly expensive either.
They come in a standard coating or DHG ( digital high grade ).

[WheresWaldo]

Another vote for Marumi, but stick with the DHG Super, they are vastly superior to the standard Marumi filters. Lenstip (do a Google search) had a recent article testing many filters including Hoya, B&W, Tiffen, Marumi and others and the DHG Super tied for first. You will find them on eBay at a substantial savings over Hoya ProD1 or B&W. They are much better than any of the Cokin filters.

[brecklundin]

I'd like to get a circular polarizer for weather photography. Which one would you recommend? Not necessary the best, but something that's OK and provides lots of bang-for-buck? I assume that if I'd need to buy 2-3 different sizes for different lenses, they'd have to be bought individually and do not come as a set or pack, right?

Thanks.

I get all my fileters here:

MaxSaver.Net | Camera Lens Filters & DSLR Accessory Expert | B+W, Hoya, Nissin, Kenko, Canon, Nikon, Sony, Leica, Sigma, Velbon, Giottos, Gitzo, LensPen

Excellent prices and never had a problem in dealing with them. Granted they are in China so shipping can be slowish but have received items in under a week when the winds are right.

I am partial to the B+W Kaesemann Slim filter line...but have also had fine luck with Kenko CPL's as well...

Thanks for the help everybody. I'll see what I can find locally.

[Kerrowdown]

Buy the best you can afford, we all spend fortunes on good glass, don't cheapen them with inferior filters.

So, now that this thread is up again, how about a B&W circular-pol MRC that I could buy at a fairly good price? I searched the web and came by the descriptions Slim and Kaeseman, but this may be neither. However, being multi-coated and all this should probably be OK, right?

[Avenger]

Might want to look into the Cokin system: COKIN Creative System - The Holder System - Standard & Pro Holder
You buy rings for lenses a holder and a filter, which allows 1 filter to fit multiple lenses. I was trying to find another thread about polarizers, and the main point was just because a polarizer is round does not make it a circular polarizer. Be aware!

[brecklundin]

So, now that this thread is up again, how about a B&W circular-pol MRC that I could buy at a fairly good price? I searched the web and came by the descriptions Slim and Kaeseman, but this may be neither. However, being multi-coated and all this should probably be OK, right?

Even though I buy them and for what shoot, B+W Kaesemann filters are really over kill and the only filters I buy are CPL's and ND's anyway so it's not like I have more than a 5 or 6 filters total. What I do, generally is buy a filter for the largest lens I have, or will eventually have, then try out step-down rings with the filter on smaller lenses, check for any vignetting and if it's cool then I can use the same filter on more than one lens. That makes the price easier to live with. That is another reason I like the 'slim' versions, they help reduce the chance of vignetting.

As for the MRC vs. other options, they should be fine. In fact if you look at the Kenko filters I believe they are actually Hoya filters and might even use the same coatings once you figure out the models that compare.

But the best advice in the thread so far is to buy the best filter you can and go from there.

I actually had some filters for my Bigmos (Sigma 150-500mm) that were some brand-x filters and the CPL, the thing was darn good...the whole set of 4 (maybe 5 but I think it was 4) cost me around $30 on sale. I forget the brand but I was really surprised. I often wonder if some of the brand-x makers simply buy culls or over production runs from the actual glass maker at a big discount then badge them under their name. And sometimes they get really great "culls" so we buyers luck out...it is often that way for things like video cards. Often the company mkaing the cards for say, ATI, will either have lots of parts left over and make more under another label, or they just know they are gonna make more and sell them off the other back of the building loading dock...winkwink...hey, it's how business gets done and has forever.

I would also add another source I know folks who swear by and the is http://2filter.com...even when there is a prob with a filter, they always took care of my buds...me I buy the CHEAPEST price so that usually means buying from http://www.MaxSaver.net from China. They don't sell knock-offs either...at least so far anyway.