Is anyone succesfully using a circular polariser from a stills camera? I have a B+W circular polariser but it generates a lot of internal reflections from what i can tell. Drastically lowering contrast and creating white (reflection) spots.

I've put together quite a nice system using the Lee filter system for medium format/SLR, which has a 77mm screw on adaptor with a filter holder. The 77mm adaptor comes through the filter adaptor so i can add a circular polariser as well any filters (ND grad combinations mostly).

All works pretty neatly save for this B+W Pola. And the problem exists even if you screw it directly on the lens and put the EX hood on top.

Is this an issue with other 77mm threaded polas or unique to this make?

cheers
paul

I've had the same experience with a B+W polarizer. Almost ruined my footage. Luckily the Avid color corrector could save it. Almost no contrast...

I've been sitting here for the past 3 hours rescuing some B+W trashed footage with magic bullet so i can relate to that completely.

I could choose to go on about how magic bullet is so nearly an excellent CC plug in, but choose to whinge about polarisers instead.

So, is it just B+W, or all of them?

cheers
paul

There's other material on CPs in the archives here; one of the biggest problems is you set it up for the correct light on one shot then pan the camera.

Cheers.

I too have a B+H polarizer and have experienced the same problems described. I don't use it at all now which is a shame considering the cost.
Best, Craig Hollenback

Very surprised to hear about the problems you guys are having. B&W (aka Schneider) polas are considered industry standard, here referring to the full-blown film industry. They should present no issues with spots or contrast (if anything they should increase contrast when used properly). If anyone can post before and after pictures that would be very interesting to see what the issues are.

3 B+W problems so far, that's pretty interesting.

I will try and get some samples, trouble is the footage i have already has no before and after, and im out of the country in a few days (need a pola!).

Can anyone recommend a polariser, what are others using sucessfully? I think i'll have a formatt one on monday to try.

As for setting up the shot and panning, this isn't to do with the actual effect of the pola changing depending on sun angle. Instead stick the pola on and marvel at how the image is destroyed by flare and reflected hot spots.

As for B+W, works great on my dSLR, i wonder if these things are made differently (stills vs movie)?

cheers
paul

Hi there
I've been successfully using a 4x4 Schneider Tru pol filter since I bought my Z1... no issue and pictures look great... I use these in a TLS mattebox.

I often double is up with a 0.9 ND Grad and get some great landscape footage... Other filter I trust would be Tiffen...

Cheers
Gareth

Heliopan slim screw on's have worked great for me.

Never had a problem with Schneider 4x4 tru-pol.

Ben Ruffell (http://www.ruff.co.nz)

Make sure you are using your polarizer facing in the right direction to the lens. One side may be a mess and reversed it may work great.

Had some success with the Hoya Moose CP, adds a warm 81A keeping the blue in check. It's better for holiday type stuff when you've got time to set it up.

Hoya | 72mm (Moose) Warm Circular Polarizer Glass | B72CIRPLW (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/195613-REG/Hoya_B72CIRPLW_72mm_Moose_Warm_Circular.html)

Cheers.

I jusr received this B+W this week:
B+W | 77 mm Circular Polarizer Multi-Coated (MC) Slim | 66026598 (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/133003-REG/B_W_66026598_77_mm_Circular_Polarizer.html)

and I've had NO problems with reflections...or anything. The multicoating really is effective on this filter and I can't imagine why you'd ever get any flares with this thing unless you layered it with other filters and pointed it into the Sun or very near the Sun.

Series 9 Schneider Tru Pol in Chroeziel matte box, first filter. Works perfectly, even at full wide. Mind the arrows though.

I jusr received this B+W this week:
B+W | 77 mm Circular Polarizer Multi-Coated (MC) Slim | 66026598 (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/133003-REG/B_W_66026598_77_mm_Circular_Polarizer.html)

and I've had NO problems with reflections...or anything. The multicoating really is effective on this filter and I can't imagine why you'd ever get any flares with this thing unless you layered it with other filters and pointed it into the Sun or very near the Sun.

That's what i'm using. For me, no end of problems on the EX1 although i'd used it for years previously on my dSLR with no issues. The pola is fine itself, just something about this combination.

Im sure the 4x4s are fine (indeed i've managed to get a 4x4 formatt instead although not had a chance to try it yet).

I think it is something specific about this circular type of filter but i don't know why this one. I feel that it must be something to do with light getting in somehow because in the past i'd been using the EX1 hood and that's quite shallow. I've a new bellows style hood now and so more tests are needed. The loss of constrast is like flashing and the spots are bright reflection points.

cheers
paul

Paul, can you post some example footage. I'm not seeing these problems here but I haven't had it long enough or in enough lighting situations to speak intelligently. I've mostly been shooting cloud timelapse with it so fairly locked down and pointing away from the Sun.

I also have a B+W Circular Polarizer, 77mm threaded screw-on. I played around with it today but for some reason it doesn't seem the polarizer has quite the same effect on my video as it does on my still camera. Maybe it would on high contrast water, but it really didn't make my blue skies pop much more than bare lens, and just like with my still camera, at full wide angle it makes the blue sky look uneven. I need to do some more testing under different conditions, preferably in the wilds, but so far it's not a "must have" like it is for my still camera. I also haven't yet done much testing with my GND filters which I use so often with my still camera, but the one time I did the results weren't the same either. I'm finding videography and still photography more different than I thought it would be in terms of exposure/focus/motion. But I'm lovin' 'em both!

Here're a few frames, it's just from an old shoot as i haven't time to record an A and B but the top two have the pola on and the bottom has it off once i realised what was happening.

Pretty much the same time of day, same conditions and i had the EX1 hood on with the pola on the lens (partly for ND as someone had left the ND grads behind and partly for some shots later on which really would need a pola with water/glass).

This clearly shows the obliteration of contrast from any shooting angle, if the sun was in frame or nearby then you'd see lots of white bright spots like a lens flare.

I didn't realise how bad the contrast loss and messed up exposure was until reviewing footage later, the LCD wasn't so bad.

cheers
paul

The only reason I can think of for a polarizing filter to demonstrate low contrast and "white spots" would be that it was either quite dirty or damaged. I'll pass this thread on to the folks at Schneider for review.

That's the same thing I was thinking, but I didn't want to accuse somebody of having something SO simple as being the cause of their problems. Looking at the shots, I can see that some of them were shot toward the sun which will exacerbate ANY crud on the filter. You could use a dirty ND filter and get the same exact result. If the filter WAS clean, I'm stumped.

That's the same thing I was thinking, but I didn't want to accuse somebody of having something SO simple as being the cause of their problems. Looking at the shots, I can see that some of them were shot toward the sun which will exacerbate ANY crud on the filter. You could use a dirty ND filter and get the same exact result. If the filter WAS clean, I'm stumped.

Maybe it's a Pro-Mist polarizer... new model ?
:)

I was about to order a screw on pola for the EX-1 when I saw this thread. Does this seem to be an unusual case or do people have a recommendation for a better screw on pola for the EX-1?

Thanks,
Benjamin

I shot some more tests with the one I cited above and I'm very happy with it. No changes in contrast that I noticed. I'll try to post some clips later, but I'm happy with mine....apart from the $170+ price. :-0

Is anyone succesfully using a circular polariser from a stills camera? I have a B+W circular polariser but it generates a lot of internal reflections from what i can tell. Drastically lowering contrast and creating white (reflection) spots.

I've put together quite a nice system using the Lee filter system for medium format/SLR, which has a 77mm screw on adaptor with a filter holder. The 77mm adaptor comes through the filter adaptor so i can add a circular polariser as well any filters (ND grad combinations mostly).

All works pretty neatly save for this B+W Pola. And the problem exists even if you screw it directly on the lens and put the EX hood on top.

Is this an issue with other 77mm threaded polas or unique to this make?

cheers
paul

Paul,

The problems you are having are either from a dirty filter (seems unlikely from what you are saying) or a delaminating filter. If the polarization foil in a filter seperates from the glass, you can experience this problem. Also be aware that some B+W filters shipped from our factory for a short time had a slight film on them as a by product of the coating process. This problem was solved some months ago but some dealers still have these filters on their shelves. Be sure that you clean the filter very well with a cleaning solution and the problem is solved.

As far as other causes, ensure that you only have the B+W polarizer on the camera and nothing else. A lens hood works well but to minimize flare issues as well.

Our Schneider True-Pol (a completely different material) is the industry standard in Hollywood. We have an extensive list of major motion pictures, TV series, and other productions that only use our True-Pol filter. It is our number one selling filter. I have never heard of a problem with these.

Either way, if you are truly unsatisfied with the results of your filter, please return it to the dealer as we offer a 10 year warranty on our filters to USA authorized resellers. Please check our website to see if you bought this from an authorized USA dealer.

Ryan Avery
Schneider Optics

Incredible! I've had a B+W circular polarizer since February, used it a couple of times, hated the washed-out faded results, and have had it parked in my bag ever since. I checked the thing and it didn't appear to be dirty and I was having such good results with the EX-1 I basically forgot about it. Then I read this thread and Avery's recent post and decided to give the damn thing a cleaning. Wow. Suddenly I have a kick-ass polarizer just in time for leaf season! When I looked at the bed the filter sits in I noticed black dirty-looking rings that aren't there in my UV box.

I've used Century Optics for years and this is the first problem I've encountered.

I have a B&W cp as well- just used it for the first time a few days ago. Have a look at the uneven chroma in the sky in this shot. I understand that the sky is overexposed on the right, but is this the way the filter should react in that situation?

Andy, without getting too snarky with a reply, I don't think you are using the Pola in the manner it was designed to work best. This scene is SO far outside of the Pola's effective lighting scenario that I doubt you'd see any polarization effect anyway. What were you hoping to see by using the filter in this shot? The effect of a polarizing filter is seen best when the Sun is at a 90 degree angle to the angle you are shooting. So, if you were shooting at, say, 1 o'clock in the afternoon, the filter would show its' deepest effect on your shot when you camera would be pointed almost due North or NNE. Or, put another way, if the Sun was at your back, point the filter/camera in a line running parallel to your shadow. It's useless on a cloudy day apart from removing reflections from glass windows or very calm water. Or, if you just need even more ND than is available in the camera, you can use it for that, too.

when you're shooting a verite documentary, you don't take filters on and off for individual shots- you either use it for a scene or you don't.

The only problem with that approach is that a Polarizing filter needs to be reset every time you change your direction relative to the Sun. It's not exactly a "set it and forget it" kind of filter. As soon as you turn away from the direction you started with (and set your filter for maximum effect) the filter would need to be reset. It's really an effect filter and not a dial-able ND filter.

that's certainly true, and it's therefore not ideal for verite. at the same time, i've successfully used different polarizers on different cameras in many scenes over the years, and i've never noticed this type of uneven color shift. i suppose it's possible that i've just never noticed it, but i doubt it.