Hoya HD Circular Polarising filter review

[DPNow]

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Can a polarising filter that costs as much as a DSLR kit lens really justify its price? The Hoya HD Circular Polariser is one such filter. We examine its attributes and make some interesting discoveries when compared to other polarisers.

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[Shenstone]

Re: Hoya HD Circular Polarising filter review

Comment and question from a friend of Mine I shared this article with ...

Interesting and a good demo! I only had time to skim read it and might have missed something, but the comment about the amount of light being blocked is interesting as well. Only, with my older polarisers I remember that they looked quite dark - that is, they produced a darker blue in skies than the Hoya that I came to settle on (for quality). I wonder therefore whether the darker ones that block more light produce a darker effect, which might be what you want. I know at times I've wanted a darker effect from the Hoya that I use (all my filters, including my polariser, are 72mm pro series, which is the thin sort not this super hard glass).

So... ?

Regards
Andy

[Ian]

Re: Hoya HD Circular Polarising filter review

Interesting and a good demo! I only had time to skim read it and might have missed something, but the comment about the amount of light being blocked is interesting as well. Only, with my older polarisers I remember that they looked quite dark - that is, they produced a darker blue in skies than the Hoya that I came to settle on (for quality). I wonder therefore whether the darker ones that block more light produce a darker effect, which might be what you want. I know at times I've wanted a darker effect from the Hoya that I use (all my filters, including my polariser, are 72mm pro series, which is the thin sort not this super hard glass).

I'll be honest, I haven't made any back to back comparisons as blue skies have been a bit6 of a rarity in recent weeks!

But if we are blessed with a break in the clouds I will endeavour to do such a comparison. I think I'd be surprised if there was a major difference based on polarisation effect alone, although the cooler temperature of the non-Hoya filters I have may make a difference.

Ian

[Ian]

Re: Hoya HD Circular Polarising filter review

In a rather rushed manner I snapped some blue sky just now, with and without some of the filters tested in the article:



You might have seen an earlier post that I deleted in this thread because on closer inspection one shot was out of focus

Shots are un-adjusted JPEGs, only resized, from the camera.

Anyway, these look OK. The Hoya shutter speed was twice as fast as the Hakuba one because it transmits twice as much light. The Hoya also produces and less cold result.

I rotated the filters to achieve the most effective darkening of the sky in the viewfinder. The Hoya darkening seems off-set to the left more than the Hakuba - but this was not an exact test,

Any comments?

Ian

[Stephen]

Re: Hoya HD Circular Polarising filter review

In a rather rushed manner I snapped some blue sky just now, with and without some of the filters tested in the article:



You might have seen an earlier post that I deleted in this thread because on closer inspection one shot was out of focus

Shots are un-adjusted JPEGs, only resized, from the camera.

Anyway, these look OK. The Hoya shutter speed was twice as fast as the Hakuba one because it transmits twice as much light. The Hoya also produces and less cold result.

I rotated the filters to achieve the most effective darkening of the sky in the viewfinder. The Hoya darkening seems off-set to the left more than the Hakuba - but this was not an exact test,

Any comments?

Ian

This is one reason I no longer use these filters to darken the sky. The effect seems to be a side effect of using them. I prefer to use them solely for reducing reflections. In these examples they don't appear to have done much of that, especially if you look at the car in the foreground.

[Ian]

Re: Hoya HD Circular Polarising filter review

This is one reason I no longer use these filters to darken the sky. The effect seems to be a side effect of using them. I prefer to use them solely for reducing reflections. In these examples they don't appear to have done much of that, especially if you look at the car in the foreground.

You're right, especially with wide angle lenses and large expanses of blue sky, there can be an imbalance in the density of the sky off to one side.

Of course I rotated the filters in order to darken the sky and not specifically to reduce any reflections, but it's interesting that both filtered shots show more reflections in the car window than the unfiltered shot

Ian

[Stephen]

Re: Hoya HD Circular Polarising filter review

You're right, especially with wide angle lenses and large expanses of blue sky, there can be an imbalance in the density of the sky off to one side.

Of course I rotated the filters in order to darken the sky and not specifically to reduce any reflections, but it's interesting that both filtered shots show more reflections in the car window than the unfiltered shot

Ian

I have to be honest and say that I always thought that to reduce reflection meant turning the polarising filter to its max and that darkening the sky came hand in hand with that. So I'm not sure why its not had much effect on the car. Must be something to do with the angle of the lens to the sun

[Ian]

Re: Hoya HD Circular Polarising filter review

I have to be honest and say that I always thought that to reduce reflection meant turning the polarising filter to its max and that darkening the sky came hand in hand with that. So I'm not sure why its not had much effect on the car. Must be something to do with the angle of the lens to the sun

I'm sure it's to do with the positions and orientations of the surfaces in relation to the sun's position relative to the camera.

Ian

[Patrick]

Re: Hoya HD Circular Polarising filter review

I'm sure it's to do with the positions and orientations of the surfaces in relation to the sun's position relative to the camera.

Ian

I think Ian that your brief test shows that unless money is no object and the extra one stop speed is essential then the new filter is not worth the extra cost.
Lets face it if one filter is cooler than another it doesn't matter these days, it can be corrected either with custom colour temp in camera or after during prepossessing. The most important factor is optical quality.

Patrick

[Ian]

Re: Hoya HD Circular Polarising filter review

I think Ian that your brief test shows that unless money is no object and the extra one stop speed is essential then the new filter is not worth the extra cost.
Lets face it if one filter is cooler than another it doesn't matter these days, it can be corrected either with custom colour temp in camera or after during prepossessing. The most important factor is optical quality.

Patrick

I do like the fact that the Hoya HD saves a stop of light. It may well survive accidental damage that a cheaper one wouldn't. But yes, the extra expense over a Hoya Pro-1, for example, is hard to justify.

I know when I have used a polariser as a make-shift ND filter, it has been difficult sometimes to get rid of the resulting colour cast, so I now avoid doing this if I can. The Hoya HD would be less of an issue in this case.

Ian