Which CPL to buy

I notice more that the glare goes away than the actual cpl effect [Brighter colors] But if you just look at clouds - you will see a difference - @ least I do on XTI .

shoturtle wrote in post #11628009
you can use a lens pen, no you will not see it in the view finder, buy you will see it in Liveview.

Of course you can see the effect of the polarizer in your viewfinder. Polarizers can be used on any number of surfaces, not just on the sky. I use mine at least 95% of the time I'm outdoors, sunny or not because vegetation etc has moisture that creates polarized light which I want to minimize for the sake of ensuring deep, rich colors.

I guess you have better eyes then I do, as I never really can tell how much bluer the sky gets with a cpl on. All I can tell is if the glare of a subject is reduced.

shoturtle wrote in post #11630984
I guess you have better eyes then I do, as I never really can tell how much bluer the sky gets with a cpl on. All I can tell is if the glare of a subject is reduced.

Watch your meter change as you spin the filter.

shoturtle wrote in post #11630984
I guess you have better eyes then I do, as I never really can tell how much bluer the sky gets with a cpl on. All I can tell is if the glare of a subject is reduced.

Perhaps you are not facing the sun at the correct angle to have the effect be maximized! Polarizers work better at some angles to the sun, and work much less at other angles to the sun.

Imagine the sun being up early to mid morning, still not fully up (noon) in its arc thru the sky. Face the sun, call that Angle Zero...at Angle Zero and Angle 180 (back to the sun) the polarizer has minimal effect. At Angle 90 and Angle 270, as you are rotating the CPL its effect will be the maximum. At the in-between angles (between 0 and 90, etc.) the effect will be a gradient between minimum and maximum. The effect may not be so much 'how much bluer' as much as a perceived reduction in the intensity of brightness, which changes as the filter is rotated.

Ah, good to know. (: I was kind of worried I'd have to guesstimate a lot and take test pictures to get the correct exposure. So does the Kaesemann have a spinning part so that it doesn't come off? I read to turn the filter counter clockwise but is it while the camera is facing towards you or away from you? If the CPL doesn't have a moving part, can it turn infinite amount of times CCW? Or would I have to go back and forth between CW and CCW?

Thanks again for the replies. You guys have been very helpful. (:

no I am, I use the simple index finger and thumb trick so I get the proper angle to get the most polarized effect.

Something to be aware of: Some lower priced Canon lenses (none of which I have handled recently so I don't know which lenses apply) have front elements that rotate either when focusing or when setting focal length. These lenses rotate any filter which may be mounted to the lens.

Since a polarizing filter must be rotated to a specific position to get the desired effect, it is desirable to use them on a lens that does NOT have a rotating front element. The reason is that re-focusing or changing focal length (whichever rotates the front of the lens in use) will change the polarizer alignment. Re-adjusting the filter could affect the focus or focal length. It could be a mad battle to get things right.

I know that, but I still can not see the increase blue until I view it on the lcd or the computer.

windpig wrote in post #11631107
Watch your meter change as you spin the filter.

Some mid price ones as well.

18-55, 55-250, 70-300 and a bunch of other ones.

SkipD wrote in post #11632350
Something to be aware of: Some lower priced Canon lenses (none of which I have handled recently so I don't know which lenses apply) have front elements that rotate either when focusing or when setting focal length. These lenses rotate any filter which may be mounted to the lens.

Since a polarizing filter must be rotated to a specific position to get the desired effect, it is desirable to use them on a lens that does NOT have a rotating front element. The reason is that re-focusing or changing focal length (whichever rotates the front of the lens in use) will change the polarizer alignment. Re-adjusting the filter could affect the focus or focal length. It could be a mad battle to get things right.

So would manual focusing be better with said lenses?

The rotating part of filter just rotates - no stops - sometimes you can get different results by turning 180 or 1/2 turn from what you like . This can vary hour to hour .
You will also find less flare when sun is behind a tree , cloud , building .
You can just slap it on and it works , but to get the most out of it - play with it .
A word of advice - since it will / does work as an ND , I just leave the UV on all the time and put the CPL on when I want it . It can turn an f5.6 into a 2.8 real quick and if you want the DOF --
No manal focus not better , you can hold the filter or just focus 1st then rotate the filter .

Tribe wrote in post #11632273
So does the Kaesemann have a spinning part so that it doesn't come off? I read to turn the filter counter clockwise but is it while the camera is facing towards you or away from you? If the CPL doesn't have a moving part, can it turn infinite amount of times CCW? Or would I have to go back and forth between CW and CCW?

Kaesemann filters have a rotating ring (front) attached to a non rotation ring (attached to the lens), just like all polarizing filters.

The reason for CCW (looking from the lens at the camera) spinning is simply that CCW would ordinarily be the direction to loosen it, rather than to force it in tighter in the threads by CW rotation (especially into threads of another filter) and making it very difficult to remove later.

Wilt - thanks , I did not know or forgot that . Yea - I am one who adds the cpl to the UV

r.morales wrote in post #11634146
Wilt - thanks , I did not know or forgot that . Yea - I am one who adds the cpl to the UV

DO NOT stack filters unless there is a real creative reason to do so. There are two reasons. One is that the extra layers of glass can easily cause image degradation. The other is that there could easily be vignetting caused by the stacked filter rings (even if there were no glass in any of the filter rings).

The only time it makes sense to stack filters is when you need two different effects - a colored filter and a polarizing filter, for example. As another example, you might need two neutral density filters to achieve the level of density that you need.

Unless you're happy with lower image quality, please don't be lazy. If you must keep a UV filter on the lens for "protection", pull it off to use any other filter.

Make sure you always use the recommended rigid lens hood on any lens which is out of the camera case.