C-PL For Wide Angle Zoom

[marty123]

I just purchased a Zuiko 9-18mm lens with a 72mm filter size. I am looking now to buy a C-PL but I have heard that they can cause vignetting in wide angle lenses, is there any way around this?

[Anbesol]

No way around it. Get the thinnest c-pl filter you can find. On full frame lens on crop sensors, this problem is virtually eliminated (the APS sweet spot rule), so that is sort of the workaround, but with 4/3rd specific lens, the problem is there. The reason is that the threading itself blocks light from the outer edges of the field of view (which is almost 180degrees flat), it only effects image borders (as vignetting always does).

The severity of the problem varies, and can also have a very small impact, depending on the lens design and threading. I would expect it would not be noticable at 11mm and up, and barely at 9. Haven't used the lens myself, hopefully someone else has that can chime in.

Hope that helps.

[marty123]

I just checked out Hoya filters and they make Low Profile Filters (LPF) for wide angle lenses, maybe I should give it a go. Damn they're expensive too.

[Anbesol]

Throw a UV filter (or anything) on it first and see how bad the problem is, its not just c-pl its ANY filter because its the threading, not the glass that causes the vignetting.

[Frog]

If he used a cokin adaptor and a filter bigger than needed, wouldn't that eliminate the problem?

[mjs1973]

Like Anbesol said, get the thinest filter you can find. Most quality filters will have a wide angle option for you. I have a B+W CPL that is designed for a wide angle lens. The big difference is that there aren't any threads on the front of the filter so you can't stack another filter on the front of it.

Something to be aware of when using a CPL on a really wide lens is that the affect of the filter can change dramatically across the frame. You can get really noticeable gradations in the sky from one side of the frame to the other for example. Some people don't mind this, others hate it. Just something to be aware of.

[Canuck935]

Something to be aware of when using a CPL on a really wide lens is that the affect of the filter can change dramatically across the frame. You can get really noticeable gradations in the sky from one side of the frame to the other for example. Some people don't mind this, others hate it. Just something to be aware of.

Exactly why I no longer use CPL with ultra wide angle shots. I find the gradations very unnatural looking and annoying. These days I use a ND grad instead.

[drg]

Another option for either a Circular Polarizer or Neutral Density or even a graded density filter with very wide angle lens is to use a Cokin type filter. Get the largest (X-series I believe at the moment) square (almost square) filter in the type of material you want and either manually hold it in front of the lens, use the gaffer's tape trick, or get a 'standoff' holder, not the system holder necessarily but a rod/shaft mounted frame that attaches separately. These are used if the front element of the lens extends beyond the lens tube as is the case with some super WA models.

There are different grades of CP and ND that are made to lessen the banding effects from using a large filter piece. Less expensive (still a lot money sometimes) filters not made correctly will display that gradient effect when light hits them at certain angles.