To Landscape shooters: How often do you use your CPL shooting ultrawide?

To me the CPL is pretty much the only filter you can't get find a workaround to avoid using an actual physical filter. But I've heard they can be awkward to use on ultrawides. Do our landscape shooters regularly use them?

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I do use a polariser quite often, but I very rarely use an ultrawide lens for landscapes. My 12-24 gets used for architecture mainly, both external and internal.

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Kris Lockyear
It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera… they are made with the eye, heart and head. Henri Cartier-Bresson
Lots of film bodies, a couple of digital ones, too many lenses (mainly older glass) and a Horseman LE 5x4.
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CPLs don't work well with utrawides as only part of the subject will be polarized. Only a picture taken in a direction at 90 degrees from the sun can take advantage of polarization and an ultrawide covers well outside this limitation. Should one try just part of the sky will be polarized and some not. Whether that works or not would depend on the subject matter.
The dynamic range of modern DSLRs often means great skies can be achieved in post processing without the need for filters at all.
Where polarizers come into their own is to reduce reflections on surfaces such as water.

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John K

Yes, I was thinking of the effect on things like wet rocks and vegetation, rather than skies.

I've bought a Samyang 14mm and I'm trying to assess whether filter use is going to be an issue. Although I literally haven't used a single filter of any type in about 8 years, maybe in future I might want to...

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[link=https://500px.com/will_brealey/[/link]

I also have a Samyang 14mm and from memory, there's a filter adaptor available or if your lucky, comes as part of the package and it uses fairly big gel filters, which are expensive !!

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Chris

www.chrismillsphotography.co.uk

" A Hangover is something that occupies the Head you neglected to use the night before".

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K1 - Sigma 85mm F1.4, Pentax DFA 150 -450 F4.5 / 5.6, Pentax DFA* 24 - 70 F2.8

Samyang 14mm F2.8, Pentax DFA* 70-200 F2.8

K3iii + K3ii + K5iis converted to IR, Sigma 17 - 70 F2.8, Pentax 55 - 300 F4.5 / F5.6 PLM

That's my quandary; the cost of going down that route would make the Irix 15mm a better bet. (It does have a 95mm thread). I do like the images from the Samyang so far though. I think I need to get out there and use my old 52mm CPL on another lens and decide if it's worth it.

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[link=https://500px.com/will_brealey/[/link]

Yep, when I've used my 14mm, I've not bothered with any filters, if you've not got the filter adaptor, I may be open to parting with mine !!

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Chris

www.chrismillsphotography.co.uk

" A Hangover is something that occupies the Head you neglected to use the night before".

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K1 - Sigma 85mm F1.4, Pentax DFA 150 -450 F4.5 / 5.6, Pentax DFA* 24 - 70 F2.8

Samyang 14mm F2.8, Pentax DFA* 70-200 F2.8

K3iii + K3ii + K5iis converted to IR, Sigma 17 - 70 F2.8, Pentax 55 - 300 F4.5 / F5.6 PLM

I use a polariser a lot, just recently at 24mm removing reflections and glare from buildings - I was surprised how much difference it made to timber cladding. Also have the Lee Filters SW150 set for the 15-30mm, cannot recall a problem with the polariser but the ND filters darken the image more at the edges as the light passes through more glass there due to the extreme angle. Apparently the new extra-expensive ones don’t cause this as they have a surface coating instead. Funny none of the LF ambassadors like Joe Cornish mentioned the problem before! I would say though that extending the exposure time with the ND filters is also something you cannot match post-processing so if you like the effect they are worth considering.

I too use a polariser a lot, but never use an ultrawide for landscapes. 17mm (on a K5ii) is the widest I go, and that not very often.

I got my old polariser out (an old Jessops linear polariser) and tried it on my 35mm lens while I was walking the dog... yes it's definitely beneficial for vegetation and shooting around water in particular. I agree that 14mm isn't an 'everyday' focal length; that's why I'm having trouble justifying upgrading to the Irix for the coming together of the circumstances of needing an ultrawide focal length, and needing a polariser. I'm definitely getting one for my 24-70mm though!

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[link=https://500px.com/will_brealey/[/link]

I've got a couple of CPLs that I use a lot for landscapes, but generally not below about 20mm (on an APS-C). I have used them wider than that, but you have to be careful.

Phil

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K-5iiS; K-r; ME Super; ME; DA* 16-50 f2.8; DA 18-135 WR; DA 55-300 WR; HD DA 15mm F4 ED AL Limited; FA 50mm f1.4; A50mm f1.7; DAL 18-55mm; M40mm f2.8; + assorted non-Pentax lenses

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