anotherview Loc: California

Hoya.

AlfredU Loc: Mooresville, NC

You can use on filter and step up rings. It works, but you will soon tire of that. Just start collecting a polarizer for each lens. Buy the most expensive ones you can afford. I like Hoya. Polarizer improve over all color saturation, cut blue haze as well as reduce glare. Putting a good polarizer on a good lens is worth the money.

repleo Loc: Boston

A 72mm grad on a 49mm lens will only get the lightest part of the graduation in front of the lens and will have little if any effect. I have tried it.

SteveLew Loc: Sugar Land, TX

I would worry about vignetting with step down rings from 72mm to 55mm and 49mm. I would get two polarizing filters a 72mm and a 5mm with a step down ring for the 49mm. Going from a 72mm filter stepped down to 55mm and 49mm is too large.

Yesterday, I went through the same issue. My smallest polarizing filter is 67MM and my problem was polarizing for a 58mm and 46mm lenses. I ended up getting a new polarizing filter for my 58mm with a step down ring from 58mm to 46mm.

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

Your’re right, hadn’t thought of it that way. (Should have kept quiet, now we’re both hijacking the thread!)

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

You"ll need a 46mm reversing ring on the lens, and mount the filter backwards. A 46-58mm step-up ring would be more practical.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Depending on the filter's construction, that may not work.
--Bob

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

Right, it will have to have a front thread.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

I recommend B+W "Kaesemann" C-Pols... they are a good value and high quality, multi-coated. The latest "HT, Nano MRC" are excellent, yet are often less expensive than comparable filters in other brands.

Even though some brands are now marketing them for the purpose, I DO NOT recommend leaving a C-Pol on your lens all the time. They aren't "protection" filters. C-Pol "cost" a stop or two of light, which often can force you to use higher ISO and/or slower shutter speed than you'd like. There also are a lot of times when a reflection is a critically important part of an image an the last thing you want to do is reduce it with a C-Pol. For example, a C-Pol would have pretty much spoiled this shot...


The last thing I wanted to do in the above image was reduce the reflections off the water, wet sand and rocks. Also, ANY filter should be removed when shooting a sunset, sunrise or any other very strong light source directly.... because even very high quality, multi-coated filters will tend to add flare, reducing contrast and color saturation, in those particular lighting conditions. A "bare lens" is the best way to go.

Yes, you can get "Step Rings" to use oversize filters on smaller diameter lenses. However, I DON'T recommend it. When using an oversize filter with step rings, you can no longer use the matched lens hood... and those are always good to use, protecting the lens from both oblique light and from physical bumps. In fact, when using a filter the hood becomes even more important... to protect the filter too.

It is much better to get different size C-Pol for your lenses. If you have a bunch of different sizes, you can prioritize and get the filter for the sizes you're most likely to want to use a polarizer. For example, I often use C-Pol on wide angle and standard focal length lenses, occasionally on very short telephotos and only very rarely on longer telephotos or on macro lenses. You probably have a favorite lens or two for scenic shots, where C-Pol are likely to be most useful. They also can be helpful for some portraiture, but are less frequently needed for sports and wildlife photography... might even be a problem when you're working in challenging lighting conditions.

And, so few filters are really needed for digital photograph, so isn't really cost-prohibitive to buy the correct sizes for your lenses. C-Pol are probably the most widely useful... Neutral Density are rather specialized and "Protection/UV" are really only needed in certain situations. It was different back in the days of film, when many more types of filters were needed on a fairly regular basis. But with digital a Custom White Balance serves the same purpose better than color correction and conversion filters ever could... and many other filter effects can be better handled in post-processing. I had many dozens of different types of filters when I was shooting film... now I only carry a few types for digital.... about one dozen total (in four different sizes). I've even completely stopped using my rectangular Graduated ND filters (I can do a far better job in post-processing, than was ever possible with those filters.) So it made a lot more sense to use step rings back in the days of film, than it does today.

However, I DO use several different size step rings for another purpose. I put them between dissimilar size filters to be able to "stack" my filters for storage, with a screw-in metal protective cap covering the largest size on the top and a "filter stacker" metal cap on the smallest diameter filter on the bottom. This does a great job protecting my filters while they're stored in my camera bag, keeping them all together in one place, and helps keep them clean, ready to install and use. And, if I ever really needed to for some reason, I could use one or more of the step rings from my filter storage to mount an oversize filter on a lens.... Though, to be honest, I can't recall ever needing to do so.

rydabyk Loc: Florida Panhandle

Without a doubt and in my humble opinion, Breakthrough Photography is the best and most color neutral Polarizer out there. They are expensive but then again as someone mentioned, it is an extension of your lens. I ordered mine directly from them and I got it in two days from the west coast to Florida. Great customer service along with a 25 year warranty.

John_F Loc: Minneapolis, MN

Many have endorsed your idea. Avoid the shiny aluminum rings as they tend to 'seize' when thigtened to much. Get the black anodized rings and later take care not to scrape the anodizing from the threads. There may be some high strength non-metal rings, but am not sure. Seizing is a metallurgical property of soft, ductile metals in which when surfaces tend to bond together. Metallurgy always wins.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

The main reason I use and recommend B+W "Kaesemann" C-Pols is that you can easily spend more... in some cases a WHOLE LOT more... on filters that are actually no better than the top-of-the-line B+W XS-Pro and F-Pro. Personally I use the B+W F-Pro because it's standard size frame can be a little easier to install and remove from lenses, and because even B+W standard frames are pretty "slim". I've never had any vignetting issues using them on 16 and 17mm full frame lenses or ultrawide 10mm APS-C lenses... or even on a wide tilt-shift lens.

For example, compare my $70 72mm B+W F-Pro Kaesemann HT MRC-Nano - which uses Schott glass mounted in a brass frame, has 16-layer multi-coatings, is edge sealed for weather resistance, and uses finer foils with a high transmissive, neutral tint - against the following choices at B&H Photo in NYC:

Singh-Ray 72mm LB Neutral Circular Polarizer Thin Mount... $248
Heliopan 72mm Circular Polarizer SH-PMC Slim... $239
Rodenstock 72mm Circular Polarizer HR Digital super MC Slim... $193
Heliopan 72mm High-Transmission Circular Polarizing Multi-Coated (8 layer)... $182
Hoya HD3 Circular Polarizer (slim aluminum frame)... $175
Rodenstock 72mm HR Digital Circular Polarizer... $173
Zeiss 72mm Carl Zeiss T* Circular Polarizer... $158
Vu Filters 72mm Sion Slim Circular Polarizer... $140
Tiffen 72mm Digital HT (High Transmission) Circular Polarizing Multi-Coated... $140
Hoya 72mm EVO Antistatic Circular Polarizer... $135
Rodenstock 72mm Circular Polarizer Digital Pro MC Slim... $118
Vu Filters 72mm Ariel Circular Polarizing... $111
Hoya 72mm HD2 Circular Polarizer (alu frame, 8-layer coatings)... $97
Breakthrough Photography 72mm X2 Circular Polarizer... $89
B+W 72mm XS-Pro Kaesemann High Transmission Circular Polarizer MRC-Nano... $84
Haida 72mm Nanopro MC/ Circular Polarizer... $79
B+W 72mm F-Pro Kaesemann High Transmission C-Pol MRC... $70

In fact, at B&H Photo the ONLY multi-coated C-Pol that are less expensive than the $70 B+W F-Pro are lower specification or quality:

Hoya 72mm Circular Polarizing HD (High Density) Digital Glass (8-layer MC, alu frame, not sealed)... $68
B+W 72mm Circular Polarizer MRC Filter (8-layer coatings, harder to clean, not sealed for weather resistance, foils aren't quite as fine).... $65
MeFOTO 72mm Wild Blue Yonder Circular Polarizer Filter... $63 (available in various funky colors!)

And two that appear to be clearance priced...

Formatt Hitech 72mm Firecrest SuperSlim Circular Polarizer... $58 (on sale, normally $116)
Hoya 72mm Circular Polarizing Pro 1Digital Multi-Coated Glass... $52 (on sale, normally $100)

When you go shopping, you also might find some "combo" filters.... polarizer with a warming effect is one popular type. Don't waste your money. If you use your camera's Auto White Balance or if you set a Custom WB while the filter is on the lens, those will completely cancel out the filter's warming effect! Besides, with digital it's super easy to set a warming effect without using a filter. The C-Pol/Warming combos are really a throwback to film... not necessary for digital.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Another big reason I like B+W is that they have knowledgeable and honest technicians working there. They actually talked me out of purchasing one of their product, due to it "iffy" functionality.

The other reason, is superior materials. Brass instead of aluminum for the filter rings. Can't go wrong with that.
--Bob

repleo Loc: Boston

Nearly all of my filters are B+W due mainly to their high recommendations on UHH. I have a B+W 72mm XS-Pro HTC Kaesemann Circular Polarizer with Multi-Resistant Nano Coating and I use it a lot, but I am not very impressed with its 'strength'. It is a well made filter, but it doesn't seem to have much effect on blue skies or enhancing colors etc. Maybe that is a good thing.
I recently bought a Breakthrough Photography ND filter and am very impressed with its build quality and freedom from color cast. If I was getting another CP filter I would certainly give the Breakthrough a try.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Get the step up rings anyway. While saving for a complete set of polarizers you can still use the 72 mm with all your lenses. The rings are inexpensive and have uses with other specialized filters you might only want one of.