dkozin's Full Review: Sunpak 58mm Circular Polarized Filter
I have been using Sunpak circular polarized filters for many years on my film and digital cameras. It all started when I wanted to get a circular polarizer filter for my Nikon N55 camera's Nikon Nikkor 28-80 AF-G lens, which has a 58-mm filter thread diameter. I didn't want to spend too much money on it, so the expensive filters, like of Tiffen were out of the question.
I found that Sunpak produces inexpensive filters and decided to give their circular polarizer a try. In Sunpak PicturePlus package, for less than $30 (shipping included), I have not only received a 58mm circular polarizer but an UV filter as well. This is a very low price for a circular polarizer, even disregarding the extra UV filter. Let's talk about the polarizing filter.
Why Do You Need It?
The easiest way to improve the color and clarity in your photos, in my opinion, is the use of a polarizing filter. The polarizing filters help you get rid of unwanted reflections in your pictures.
The reflected light often becomes polarized (light is essentially an electromagnetic wave) and the polarizer filter helps you get rid of it. Using a polarizer, you can make the sky look deeper blue, accentuate the clouds, make the water surface more transparent.
Packaging
The filter comes in a transparent plastic box with a lid. My filter is made in Japan.
Usage
The filter has 58mm thread on the forward edge, which lets you attach one filter to another. I actually attach the UV filter to the camera's lens and the polarizer to the UV filter. Regardless, you can use one filter only if you so desire.
The polarizing filter has an outer ring/barrel that needs to be rotated to obtain the maximum effect. First, you have to focus, then, while looking through the viewfinder, rotate the ring until the scene looks better. Obviously, you have to use an SLR camera (or a digital camera with electronic viewfinder) to see the changes. I have used this particular filter on a few cameras, including the film Nikon N55 and digital Nikon D50, Fuji S6000fd and, currently, Canon Digital Rebel XT.
Example of use: I focus on infinity, point the camera on the cloud and rotate the ring until the contrast between the cloud and the sky is the greatest.
Most inexpensive lenses, e.g. this lens, have an outer barrel that rotates when you focus (in fact, I rotate it myself for manual focusing, which I do most of the time). Unfortunately, this makes the filters rotate together with the lens. Since the polarizer has an outer barrel that you have to rotate to adjust the polarizing effect, this necessitates holding the outer barrel of the camera's lens with one finger while rotating the polarizer ring with two others.
The aforementioned annoyance is the fault of the lens (which is, to say the least, inexpensive). It is easy to attach or detach the filters to the camera's lens itself.
I have also used the 55mm version of the same filters with digital cameras that have 55mm thread, all with great results.
Durability
I have dropped the filter while taking photos in London. It fell from the height of about 4 feet on the hard asphalt and surprisingly didn't break. The outer metal enge was bent, which I corrected using pliers. It still works fine as there was no damage to the glass. Do not try this at home.
Performance
The filter performs very well, at least for the price. I have taken the same shot with and without filters and the difference is dramatic. The shot was taken from the hotel room in Astoria, OR and captured the Columbia River and the opposite shore. Without the filter, the sky is hazy and less blue; the opposite shore is hazy and has gray color. With the filter, the sky is deep blue with contrasting clouds; the opposite shore is green and clearly visible.
Exposure
One thing to keep in mind is that the polarizer does affect the exposure. I noticed that as the polarizer ring is rotated, as the scene darkens the required exposure time increases. The change in exposure reached about 2 stops, which means you might want to use either the film with higher ISO (or higher ISO setting on the digital camera), the longer exposure time (hint: tripod may be required) or wider aperture (if available and if depth of field allows).
I used the polarizer with excellent, but slow Fuji Superia Reala ISO 100 and got good results shooting handheld in bright sunlight. Since I didn't bring my tripod at the time, in dimmer conditions, the polarizer could not be used with this film, but in those conditions there was virtually no need to.
I also used it with digital cameras and was able to use it handheld outdoors most of the time in the ISO 100-200 range.
Recommendation
The Sunpak circular polarizing filter is a great value and a must for somebody who doesn't want to spend the big bucks and still wants to improve the picture. The deep blue sky and better, less hazy landscapes are such an improvement over a no-filter shooting, not getting a polarizing filter is simply a crime.
Creates dramatic sky/cloud contrast. Saturates colors without changing color balance. Mount rotates to control amount of effect. Increases contrast eq...More at Amazon
Creates dramatic sky/cloud contrast. Saturates colors without changing color balance. Mount rotates to control amount of effect. Increases contrast eq...More at Amazon Marketplace
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