Filter threading for Sinar polarizer frame

[rdenney]

I bought a Sinar polarizer holder recently, and the polarizer that came in it is damaged a little more than I thought. For many of my lenses, the damage isn't important--that giant filter is far larger than the fronts of most of my lenses, with a 90/5.6 SA being the only possible exception. That holder is really slick, allowing the polarizer to be adjusted (and metered through) in free air and then swung into place at the correct orientation. Also, it saves the need for fitting a polarizer to each lens in my oddball collection. Until now, I've been holding a polarizer in front of the lens, but that gets old after a while.

Here are the questions:

1. My reading suggests that the filter threads are 105x1 on the Sinar holder, and nominally that seems to be the case (that's the distance from thread tip to thread tip). Has anyone fitted a conventional 105mm filter to the Sinar holder as confirmation?

2. B+W sells a range of polarizers in that dimension, but none of them in that size are coated. Near as I can tell, neither is the Sinar filter. Anybody care to comment on that, particularly those who have used these filters? I'm assuming, of course, that shading would be even more important, but I'm good about that. I wonder about added veiling flare.

3. I already own a Bronica-branded 95mm linear polarizer, which I have used without complaint in medium format. It is also not coated, but I know it works. SK Grimes, however, wants a fairly large percentage of the street price of the uncoated, non-Kaesemann B+W linear polarizer to build the required custom step-down ring. Is the Kaesemann filter worth the extra hundred bucks? It is still not coated in that size.

4. Is coating so important that I should spend the extra zillion bucks and buy a Heliopan (assuming they are coated in that size--I don't find nearly as clear and detailed information on the web about their filters as Schneider provides for B+W)?

5. How short a lens (or, more accurately, how shallow an angle) can I use with a conventional polarizer, and not one of the super-thin wide-angle designs?

6. Anyone think of the obvious easy option that I'm missing?

I suspect I can use this one temporarily if I'm careful, so this is a bit more of a long-term question.

Rick "appreciative" Denney

[Bob Salomon]

Heliopan has SH-PMC slim and standard circ pols in 105mm. They are open stock items so any dealer can supply them.

Exactly what info are you looking for on the filters?

[rdenney]

Heliopan has SH-PMC slim and standard circ pols in 105mm. They are open stock items so any dealer can supply them.

Exactly what info are you looking for on the filters?

Thanks. B&H only listed the slim with that coating, but it's a little over the top, price-wise.

B+W provides a downloadable spreadsheet that includes the size range of all their filters, and the coatings that are available at every size and configuration (slim, wide-angle, etc.). I looked on the HP website and it said to send an email. The only English on the Heliopan website that I found was a downloadable general sales brochure. That's all Google found anyway.

On dealer sites, such as B&H, the listings show the filters with the SH-PMC coatings, but it didn't say anything about the coatings of most of the filters in that size, which also appear to be uncoated. I takes a lot of navigating around in a dealer website, and only B&H appears to list them all, to find out what's in the line. And they don't say what the filters don't have, they just (sometimes) say what they do have.

Rick "not usually wanting to depend on dealers for authoritative manufacturer data, especially online" Denney

[Bob Salomon]

Thanks. B&H only listed the slim with that coating, but it's a little over the top, price-wise.

B+W provides a downloadable spreadsheet that includes the size range of all their filters, and the coatings that are available at every size and configuration (slim, wide-angle, etc.). I looked on the HP website and it said to send an email. The only English on the Heliopan website that I found was a downloadable general sales brochure. That's all Google found anyway.

On dealer sites, such as B&H, the listings show the filters with the SH-PMC coatings, but it didn't say anything about the coatings of most of the filters in that size, which also appear to be uncoated. I takes a lot of navigating around in a dealer website, and only B&H appears to list them all, to find out what's in the line. And they don't say what the filters don't have, they just (sometimes) say what they do have.

Rick "not usually wanting to depend on dealers for authoritative manufacturer data, especially online" Denney

You didn't go to the full Heliopan website. That is www.heliopan.de and there you can download the full brochure on all filters (except the just released High Transmission SH-PMC slim and standard Cir Pols and the new 1 to 6.6 stop continuously variable ND filters). Unfortuanately the full brochure on line is only available in German but we can mail you the brochure in English.

The transmission and coating curves and the descrition of the SH-PMC coating vs regular coatings vs no coatings is in that brochure you did find and that is in English.

I doubt that you actually need to know what a warming or cooling or a contrast filter does if you are on this site so you can probably work with the German language brochure that is downloadable since the graphs are easily read in any language. You just need to know that KR are warming filters, including skylights and KB are cooling filters (think KR = red and KB = blue) and the names of the colors in German.

[rdenney]

I doubt that you actually need to know what a warming or cooling or a contrast filter does if you are on this site so you can probably work with the German language brochure that is downloadable since the graphs are easily read in any language. You just need to know that KR are warming filters, including skylights and KB are cooling filters (think KR = red and KB = blue) and the names of the colors in German.

Thanks, I'll look for it.

Rick "thinking you guys might consider making the English brochures available on the HP site when they are ready" Denney

[Bob Salomon]

Thanks, I'll look for it.

Rick "thinking you guys might consider making the English brochures available on the HP site when they are ready" Denney

Rick, we don't make the brochures, the factory does. Best is for individuals to tell that to the factory rather then the English language distributors. Let the factory see how many people want the translation done. We are just one voice by ourselves.

[Struan Gray]

Rick, my solution was to get a 105 mm adapter ring for the Lee filter system. It screws right into the polariser holder, and allows you to use any of the widely-available 100 mm filters, as well as their self-supporting lenshoods. It makes for a very quick to assemble field-compatible compendium/filter combination.

Lee make a 100 mm square linear polariser which is high quality and relatively cheap.

[rdenney]

Rick, my solution was to get a 105 mm adapter ring for the Lee filter system. It screws right into the polariser holder, and allows you to use any of the widely-available 100 mm filters, as well as their self-supporting lenshoods. It makes for a very quick to assemble field-compatible compendium/filter combination.

Lee make a 100 mm square linear polariser which is high quality and relatively cheap.

That is an interesting option. Seems like it will cost more, though, than just getting a B+W polarizer, because it would require the adapter, the holder, and the filter. It would allow the use of their other square filters, though, which is a bit of an advantage. I'll have to ponder it.

The Lee polarizer is also not coated (at least they don't brag that it is), so I'm assuming that with proper shading, the coating isn't as big a deal as some making it out to be. I've never used coated filters before, but I don't use filters that often in the first place.

Rick "who already has polarizers in other common sizes" Denney

[Phil Hudson]

Yes, the Sinar frame accepts 105x1.0mm screw in filters. I use this method.

[rdenney]

Yes, the Sinar frame accepts 105x1.0mm screw in filters. I use this method.

Great, thanks. I needed clear confirmation. Struan's approach to using the M105x1 adapter for the Lee system provided it from a different direction.

Anybody have an opinion on the B+W 105mm uncoated polarizer? It would appear that the Lee filters are also uncoated (at least they don't brag about coatings). I know that coating is better, but that's not what I'm asking. Can anyone point their finger to specific faults they've seen in their photographs using the uncoated Sinar, Lee, or B+W filters?

Rick "who can live with a touch of veiling flare" Denney