Buying cpl filter for lens

What does low profile filter mean? I know it means it probably doesn't sit high, but why would I buy one over the other (low profile vs not)

Frodge wrote in post #17765487
What does low profile filter mean? I know it means it probably doesn't sit high, but why would I buy one over the other (low profile vs not)

Heya,

It has to do with how far it extends outwards (thickness of frame of filter, thickness of filter itself, think pancake vs non-pancake, but at a much smaller scale, which is important when shooting wider angle lenses, to avoid vignetting. If not shooting wide angle, the low profile doesn't matter and will not vignette.

On APS-C, if you're shooting 16mm or longer, a low profile will probably not do very much if you want to save a few bucks. And if you're shooting wider than 16mm on any format, I would probably suggest not using a CPL anyways (it will have weird effects at ultrawide levels and uneven skies from it; but if not shooting the sky disregard this, can be great for glass and things with reflections).

I use a Marumi Super DHG CPL. 77mm. Inexpensive and I down step it to anything smaller than 77mm (and for those smaller lenses, I use a collapsible rubber lens hood that screws into the filter itself so that I have options for wide, telephoto, etc, even on tiny lenses when using this big filter). Great filter. Bests the B&W's. About $113 on Amazon right now new. CPL's also function as about a 1 stop ND filter, so I often use it on top of other ND filters to get that 1 more stop sometimes and the CPL effect to boot. Very good quality piece of glass. I've used this filter even on my 10-22 & 11-16 ultrawides on APS-C. It only vignettes at the widest angles of ultrawide really, at least, enough to actually notice without being a sleuth about it.

... I ended up buying a smaller CPL too, specifically for my EOS-M + 22F2 since I am always at the West coast of Florida near water and sun. So I ultimately bought two of this filter. I bought the normal Marumi DHG CPL for my EOS-M, not the super version. And it's virtually the same. Was $30! Love it:

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Thank you for the response. It would be for the tokina 12-24mm. I was under the assumption it would help with color saturation and big sky type scenarios.

Frodge, be careful with using cpl's on wide angle lenses, they can create a band through your picture.

Frodge wrote in post #17765550
Thank you for the response. It would be for the tokina 12-24mm. I was under the assumption it would help with color saturation and big sky type scenarios.

Heya,

It does increase the sky saturation. See the above pano, that's from the filter, not just boosting saturation in post. Also note though, see how some areas are very dark and saturated, and others are not, that's kind of the effect you'll see but much more pronounced on an ultrawide with a CPL. It shouldn't be too obvious on your 12-24mm on APS-C at 15mm and longer, more just around that 12~14mm area. Also in single shots, it shouldn't be too bad at all even at ultrawide angles. Panos, it will show obvious issues (see below example).

But it does more than just that. Taking the shine off foliage and other things, even portraits, is fantastic.

Here's an example of what happens at 11mm ultrawide in a pano with a CPL (worst case scenario for a CPL). Even though it's a pano, you can see the obvious differences as some areas are saturated or darker than others. Again this is worst-case-scenario though where it was stressed at 11mm and pano, where most people would never use a CPL. I did it just to see how bad it could get.

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So the big question is whether I get it or not now?

Sure.. CPL's make a BIG difference. and on your 12-24 you only have to worry about the extreme end on the wide side . I do the same as Malveaux, I bought a large one and use step down rings to fit to other lenses.
As I said on my 10-18 it does, at times, band a bit on the wide end and the step down ring gives a little vignetting, nothing that cannot be solved in post...

Marumi's are great bang for the buck CPL's. Here's the cheaper non-super DHG version at 11m on a XSi (450D). As others have mentioned, you just need to be aware of banding in the sky as you can see below.

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Thanks guys!

Frodge wrote in post #17765597
So the big question is whether I get it or not now?

Go ahead and get one. I think every landscape photographer should have a CPL filter in his/her toolkit. It is one of the few filters whose effects cannot be replicated in post processing. If you plan on mounting this on your Tokina 12-24mm lens, then you definitely should get a low profile version.

In my case, I have a 77mm B+W low profile CPL that I use for my more serious landscape shooting -- both my 16-35 f/4 IS and 24-105L use a 77mm filter. I also own a 67mm Hoya for use on my 70-200 f/4 IS, as a step down ring on the 77mm would prevent me from using the lens hood. The Marumi filters which MalVeaux mentioned are a great value, too -- like him, I have one for my EOS M + 22mm.

These were both shot with the Tokina 12-24 and a Tiffen CPL.
The first shot doesn't show a pronounced banding effect, but the shot of El Castillo, the banding is a bit more evident, but nothing that bothers me that much.

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Frodge wrote in post #17765597
So the big question is whether I get it or not now?

I would! A CPL is a very important filter in the world of post-processing. The ability to nuke reflections is something you cannot fix in post (think water, white reflections on surfaces that are blown out and cannot be recovered). Saturation in the sky can be done with a brush in post (but not everyone wants to do that as it's more work). But again you can't fix blown out reflections that a CPL can make go away. It's a superb filter due to it's ability to do something that digital recovery cannot do without extreme dynamic range (and even then, can't do it as well).

Very best,

I have a a low profile and never use it. You can't put a lens cap on it. I recently bought this one at B&H. No issues at 24mm.

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …&InitialSearch=​yes&sts=pi

Interesting... I have a low profile Marumi CPL and I can put my lens cap on... I have no issues at 15mm with banding or vignetting.

My B+W does not have enough to grip on.