ND/PL Polar Pro Filters?

[westwind77]

I have always run a ND/PL filter on my MPP as 99% of my flying is over or near the water. I like them to cut down on the glare and to be able to see 'into' the water when filming whales, dolphins, sharks, etc.

Polar Pro makes them for the Air 2s that I just received - are they still a good choice these days?

Thanks!

 

[vindibona1]

PolarPro makes good lens filters. I have some PolarPro gradient filters for my Mavic 2 pro. However the PolarPro filters are quite pricey as lens filters go. In addition to the Polar Pro gradients I have Skyreat ND/PL filters for the M2P also. While the CASING on the Polarpro filters is SLIGHTLY more refined than the Skyreat, the Skyreat filters are significanly cheaper and are spot-on as far as light reduction goes, personally measured with a calibrated light meter equipped with flat diffuser, all within 1/10th f stop. See photo below

 

[westwind77]

For my use the quality of the polarization in the is my main concern - I need the glare to be cut as much as possible to see down as clearly as possible.

I am not sure if that aspect has ever really been tested between filters.

 

[vindibona1]

For my use the quality of the polarization in the is my main concern - I need the glare to be cut as much as possible to see down as clearly as possible.

I am not sure if that aspect has ever really been tested between filters.

Though I haven't texted effectiveness of polarization, I would suspect the two main issues that should be looked at are clarity of detail through the double filters and any color shifts that might occur. I have had cheap PL filters on my film cameras (Hasselblad) and really expensive ones and I have never noticed a difference, though color shift would be more difficult because of the baked in color temp and profile of the film. Polarization is only as good as your settings in relation to the light and glare. What are you shooting?

 

[westwind77]

Powerboats / Sailboats for a fair bit, but the polarization is not too huge there, but nice to have - I really like it for shotting marine wildlife - whales, dolphins, and the great whites we have along our shores.

 

[westwind77]

Here are a couple examples (screen captures) where cutting the glare/reflection are key....

 

[Meta4]

Here are a couple examples (screen captures) where cutting the glare/reflection are key....

Polarising filters are too difficult to use on a drone as you cannot change the orientation of the filter when you point the drone in a different direction.

For the kind of thing you are doing, I find that positioning the drone to avoid shooting into glare is more effective.

Glare is a problem:

Repositioning the drone removes the glare

Photos taken 40 seconds apart.

 

[Cosmo0g]

I have always run a ND/PL filter on my MPP as 99% of my flying is over or near the water. I like them to cut down on the glare and to be able to see 'into' the water when filming whales, dolphins, sharks, etc.

Polar Pro makes them for the Air 2s that I just received - are they still a good choice these days?

Thanks!

I think the Polar Pro filters are great. I tried another popular brand on my Mini 2, and feel the quality of Polar Pro is much better. I'm selling my Air 2S that I've had for about 2 months, so if you want a good deal on the Director's Set let me know. Directors Set | Air 2S