If you're using a circular polarizer, is it worth using a lens hood? The hood makes it harder to rotate the filter, and the filter is very capable of reducing haze by itself.
I already have a 77mm B+W CPL, and am wondering whether to get another 67mm CPL for my 67mm lens, or just get the much cheaper 67mm-to-77mm stepup ring and use my 77mm CPL with it.
With the stepup ring, I can't use the lens hood of course.
Yes, if necessary and possible. The question is whether it is more effort to rotate the polarizer with a hood on, or black the light with a flag if the hood is off. Usually I don't bother with hoods on the lenses wider than 20 mm anyway as they are very shallow.
Yeah, it is a problem rotating the filter underneath the hood, but the hood helps so much in maintaining contrast - and possible light entering from side angles - that I find it to be definitely worth the trouble. At least it's a little easier to deal with using shallower hoods, like with the 24-105, or the 17-40; I'm just careful to keep my fingers off the surface of the polarizer...
Yeah, I use a hood with a CP all the time. I just reach my hands in, spread out so that my fingers are touching the inside of the hood and slide my fingers down until I touch the rim of the CP, then rotate the CP. Works like a charm and very rarely do I accidentally touch my fingers to the CP and need to clean it.
It's easy to use a CPL and hood with a wide angle lens, but not so simple with a 70-200/2.8L or 100-400L. I will sometimes use both a CPL and hood with a telephoto, especially when shooting close to the sun and over water, when the hood will block direct light that would otherwise hit the front element/filter. It takes longer to get the shot, but it can be worth the effort.
I have CPL filters in the correct diameters for most of my lenses. OTOH, a step ring is a great solution if you want to spend your money on something else. If it's a problem for you, then you can get a dedicated filter.
5 years to muster up a post Congrats!!
Regarding your comment... The hood makes it harder to rotate the filter, and the filter is very capable of reducing haze by itself.
...not even close If we're "smarter than the parts" one can use a hood/CirPol in union and enjoy the benefits of each.
One does not replace the other. Get a 77mm metal hood from Adorama/B&H (they come in many FL's) and thread it into
your CirPol. For the 67mm lens use a step-up ring to 77mm. I use the same hood/CirPol for my 70-200 & 70-300 zooms.
Turn the hood counterclockwise while looking thru the VF. Work smarter, not harder...your pics will be better for it.
I don't, you need to rotate CPL based on sun position and hood is not convenient for this meter. Besides on 16-35LII hood is almost useless anyway and with adapter same CPL will prevent hood on my 24LII.
The most facile use of 77 mm circ polarizer together with lens hood works with the 17-40/4 lens. The hood is quite large in diameter and makes it easy to turn the polarizer inside.
Most other lenses are more complicate in this respect - To use both together (filter and hood), I need to move the 24-70/2.8 lens first into the wide angle zoom position to be able to reach inside and rotate the filter. In case of my 70-200/4 IS I use a 67-77 mm step up ring to mount the polarizer. Too hasslesome to attach first the narrow lens hood and then the ring plus filter! In this case I don't use the hood at all and use my hand as sun/flare protection instead. This has worked well for me so far.
To give a bit more background, I've been using my B+W 77mm CPL on the Canon 24-105mm and more recently, the 17-40mm. I'm about to buy the 70-200mm f/4 L IS (67mm) before an Alaska trip. :-)
From the replies above:
1. For some, it's worth using a hood with CPL (particularly close to the sun and over water)
2. For others, using a hood with CPL is too much of a pain, and less worth it with the shallow hoods on wide lenses
3. The step up ring can be used with a mounted 77mm metal hood (which makes it easier to adjust)
I've decided I may need the hood + CPL since I'm hoping to shoot glaciers over water. I need to travel light, so I'll spring for a dedicated 67mm CPL, since the step up ring + mounted hood will take up more space. I'll just have to see if I have the patience to remove the hood on the 70-200mm each time I need to adjust the CPL (on a moving tour boat)!
P.S. trenchmonkey, RE 5 years to post... I've returned to my favorite hobby less than a year ago, after a long hiatus for various reasons. :-)
P.S. trenchmonkey, RE 5 years to post... I've returned to my favorite hobby less than a year ago, after a long hiatus for various reasons. :-)
Welcome back, that's always good to hear!
Some polarizers come with a wee handle, a small protrusion you can hook your fingertip on while turning. Probably not good for ultra wide lenses but worked fine on most of my lenses. Made using with a clip-on hood much easier. However the 70-200 hood is too deep unless you have really long skinny digits. As others have suggested, buy the tele size of the Hoya rubber hood and screw it into the polarizer. I've done that for years and turning the hood is fast and easy.
You can also consider modifying a bayonet mount hood to add a cut out on the bottom that you can put a finger in through the hole to rotate the polarizer. This would be similar to the Pentax hood described above. For a deep hood like a normal hood for a 70-200 it should make it easy to adjust the polarizer, but the main part of the hood would still provide a lot of protection from flare and loss of contrast. For the few situations where you have strong light from below, you could always cover the hole with your hand as you support the lens for the shot, or use gaffer tape to cover the hole when no polarizer is in use.
Suresh T wrote:
I'll just have to see if I have the patience to remove the hood on the 70-200mm each time I need to adjust the CPL (on a moving tour boat)!
You don't have to remove the hood to rotate the filter on the 70-200f4.
Just reach inside the hood with your index finger (keeping the rest of your hand out of the way), running along the side until you touch the flter edge. Then rotate with your finger tip. It's relatively easy to do this without touching the filter glass.
For some, it's worth using a hood with CPL (particularly close to the sun and over water)
Polarization reaches a maximum with the lens pointed at right angles to the sun. When the lens is pointed near or at the sun, the polarizer has no effect.
I always use the hood, with or without the polarizer.
surf monkey wrote:
You don't have to remove the hood to rotate the filter on the 70-200f4.
Just reach inside the hood with your index finger (keeping the rest of your hand out of the way), running along the side until you touch the flter edge. Then rotate with your finger tip. It's relatively easy to do this without touching the filter glass.
As long as you don't use a slim circ polarizer filter which is really hard to rotate with one finger reaching inside the hood. Likely you will leave a fingerprint on the glass.
Congrats!!
If we're "smarter than the parts" one can use a hood/CirPol in union and enjoy the benefits of each.
