HOYA 72mm Circular Polarizing Filter

For the price, this polarizing filter is a great alternative to a UV filter when you are shooting blue skies, water, or glass/shiny things that have a lot of glare, as I explain below. Generally, I have found the threading on this filter to be very smooth for use with my Nikon 35mm f/1.8 and 55-200VR lenses, both 52mm for filters. Also, I found the price of this filter quite reasonable compared to similar polarizing filters. Outdoors/Blue Skies - Generally, I have been able to capture more vibrant colors, and it really makes my blue skies a deeper shade of blue while cutting down on glare from various sources. I have experimented by taking similar pictures using this filter vs. the Hoya UV filter, and I can confirm that the polarizing filter does make a visible difference, which I personally prefer. Water/Glare - At my in-laws' lake house last weekend, I took a few pictures of people sitting on the dock, and of the kids swimming (with life jackets!) in the lake. Unfortunately, I wasn't there during sunrise/sunset to get any "real" photog shots. But, the pictures of the kids in the water in the middle of the afternoon turned out great. My conclusion is that this filter allowed me to get some great shots without any distracting light/overexposed areas due to the glare coming off the water. The filter cuts that glare out. Glass/Reflections - a couple weeks ago, I went to the zoo and took a few pictures through glass. In some cases, due to the angle and the lighting, I wasn't able to get a shot. But in other cases, where my sister's point and shoot could not focus past the glass without getting a reflection of the crowd and whatever else was on our side of the glass, with the polarizing lens my camera was able to "see through" the glass and focus solely on the animal, and it was nearly impossible to tell that I had taken the shot through glass (as if I could get that close to a gorilla without something between us.) Lastly, I should note that I have not noticed as huge drop off in light when using this filter. Some reviews of filters talk about a large drop off in light, which can be due to various coatings applied and the fact that it is a polaring filter. Keep in mind - a polarizing filter, because it does filter out "non-polarized" light, will make your pictures slightly darker, requiring you (or your camera, if you use Auto) to adjust your f stop, shutter speed, ISO, or exposure compensation accordingly. I have hardly noticed this, but want to mention in case you wanted to use this in applications where light is scarce. In sum, this filter does everything that I expected a polarizing filter to do, based on my limited knowledge of photography and filters. I haven't compared it to other polarizing filters, but if you are wondernig whether this filter will make any difference, I hope I have explained how it makes some difference.

Negative voices are always louder than the positive ones. I am guilty of being very happy with this CPL for several years, yet never wrote a review until now. I felt the reviews here only represent customers who have had issues with the filter. I would suggest checking out B&H reviews on this filter to see a bit of the other side. Pros: - No color cast - No vignetting at 10mm - Manageable flare shooting into the sun - Cheap and effective Cons: - The spinning polarizer element can be looser - The threaded lens element can benefit from knurling In 2013, I will have owned this CPL for 7 years. I use this filter a LOT. I do a lot of automotive photography where managing reflections is important. This CPL is almost always mounted on either my Sigma 50mm 1.4 or 70-200L f2 IS lens. I was also previously using this on my Sigma and Canon 10-20/22 lenses. I have not experienced any of the problems that the other reviewers have had with this filter. The following are the highlights for this CPL: 1. Don't believe in the hype of the overpriced super-thin and space aged CPLs. This Hoya does not cause vignetting at 10mm. The B+W equivalent CPL for wide angle lenses costs several times more. I don't doubt that the B+W is "better", but it is not "several times the cost better". Manufacturers and photography forums will make you believe you NEED the most expensive. Unless you're NASA with one shot to do deep space photography, this Hoya will do just fine. 2. Super cheaper filters (no name, ebay and plexiglas), Neutral Density (ND) filters and polarizers can color cast your photos. I've made the mistake of using those cheaper filters in the past and had to spend hours in photoshop making corrections. This CPL does not do this. 3. This CPL will cause some lens flare and it is acceptable to me. I still shoot into the sun without too much flare and without losing much contrast. All filters - yes, even an expensive UV filter - will cause lens flare. 4. Adjust the CPL by turning clockwise. The adjustment can feel a bit tight depending on how you apply pressure to the ring, but I found myself unscrewing the filter while adjusting the CPL. The change in habit to turn clockwise (tightening instead of loosening the filter) was an easy solution. 5. Only the rim of the adjustable element is knurled. It would be nice if the knurling continued onto the face of the filter too. Knurling on the face would make it easier to adjust the CPL when using a deep lens hood. It would have also been nice if they knurled the threaded side that attaches to the lens. The filter can be hard to remove from the lens when my hands are cold and dry. I did not experience any problems with quality or consturction of this filter. I've been very happy with this CPL for several years now. I've travelled with this filter several times. I also often put this filter in my pocket without protection and it has held up very well without any micro scratches or cosmetic wear. I would definitely recommend this CPL to others.

The GOOD: The pictures I took with this filter came out wonderful. Amazing results on clouds, sky, water. It is true, the fish under water that you barely see will come out perfectly clear on your pictures. Price is very good. If you have never tried a polarizing filter, like me, an small investment will show how good this filter is. The filter is very slim and it doesn't affect the picture border with wide angle lens. I was using an 18-200mm lens. The BAD: The only disadvantage I found is that sometimes is very difficult to take the filter out. Because the filter is very slim, and the inner ring is not grooved, your fingers just slide over. I tried not to tight the filter, but a couple of times it dropped on my hand while rotating the outer ring. I was tempted to apply a couple of drops of epoxy on the border of the inner ring but at the end I bought a more expensive model, same brand, but with grooved inner ring. I wish someone has told me about the importance of the groove on the inner ring.

Though built in Phillipines and not Japan, quite sturdy in build. Metallic build, not plastic. Yet to test how the pics appear after putting on the filter.

Exactly what I ordered and what I was expecting. Great brand new quality and came quick.

Ware war sehr schnell da, - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .

works as advertised, all I want

gives rich color shots. well worth the money