Polar Pro Gradient Filters (for M2P) came today- Physical first impressions

[vindibona1]

One of the members had mentioned in another thread that he had used Polarpro gradient filters to help reduce the exposure differences between ground and sky. I thought it a good idea to have them as there are several clips so far that I would have found them useful. As I went to order them, ALMOST nobody has them. I couldn't even find them on Polarpro's website. B&H Photo lists them as "no longer available" (!). I was able to locate a set via Amazon.... shipped from Japan! I have a set of Skyreat regular and polarizer ND filter for comparison, so I now have a general idea of difference.

Warning: I'm going to be nit-picky about the PolarPro filters as they cost up to twice the price of their competitors and so I'm partially evaluating for "value" as the overall quality is quite good...when you get past the small stuff.

I had written a litany of comments but decided do provide the Cliff's Notes version...

In short, these appear to be very good filters, well made and will do the job. It appears that the Polarpro gradients were the only game in town and not readily available. There must have been a reason that Polarpro discontinued them.

To be honest, there were some minor design oversights, like packaging and orientation marks, but nothing major that can't easily be overcome, but should have been better thought out by a company that markets their products as "top-of-the-line"... and charges like it. My main objections was the case, which obscured the already difficult to read density marking (they marked the ND on the side where the marking are covered when in the case). And, based on their orientation markings, they are marked for vertical gradation when we know that the main purpose is to darken a bright sky to help match the exposure occuring lower in the frame. No big deal, but leaves me scratching my head.

I've put the Polarpro gradients in my Skyreat case in lieu of the polarizers that I will rarely use which will now go in the Polarpro case. This will be much better as I will have access to all the main filters I will need in once case.

Lastly, the build quality of the Polarpro filters SEEMS only a hair better than the Skyreat brand, largely because of the matte black finish on the body. Based on measurements the Skyreat filters were spot-on for light reduction and work perfectly. Considering the $70 Skyreat package would have cost $150 for the same Polarpro set, I would say there isn't even a $10 quality difference. Just my opinion.

I look forward to testing the Polarpro filters really soon, and short of user malfunction I'm sure I'll be very pleased with them now that I have things sorted out. I'll try to get out later this afternoon for a quick before and after shots. Stay tuned.
P.S... As a bonus for putting up with my diatribe I have included an image of the Filter Guide that can help decide which ND filter to use in a given situation.

 

[Platinum 4 ever]

One of the members had mentioned in another thread that he had used Polarpro gradient filters to help reduce the exposure differences between ground and sky. I thought it a good idea to have them as there are several clips so far that I would have found them useful. As I went to order them, ALMOST nobody has them. I couldn't even find them on Polarpro's website. B&H Photo lists them as "no longer available" (!). I was able to locate a set via Amazon.... shipped from Japan! I have a set of Skyreat regular and polarizer ND filter for comparison, so I now have a general idea of difference.

Warning: I'm going to be nit-picky about the PolarPro filters as they cost up to twice the price of their competitors and so I'm partially evaluating for "value" as the overall quality is quite good...when you get past the small stuff.

I had written a litany of comments but decided do provide the Cliff's Notes version...

In short, these appear to be very good filters, well made and will do the job. It appears that the Polarpro gradients were the only game in town and not readily available. There must have been a reason that Polarpro discontinued them.

To be honest, there were some minor design oversights, like packaging and orientation marks, but nothing major that can't easily be overcome, but should have been better thought out by a company that markets their products as "top-of-the-line"... and charges like it. My main objections was the case, which obscured the already difficult to read density marking (they marked the ND on the side where the marking are covered when in the case). And, based on their orientation markings, they are marked for vertical gradation when we know that the main purpose is to darken a bright sky to help match the exposure occuring lower in the frame. No big deal, but leaves me scratching my head.

I've put the Polarpro gradients in my Skyreat case in lieu of the polarizers that I will rarely use which will now go in the Polarpro case. This will be much better as I will have access to all the main filters I will need in once case.

Lastly, the build quality of the Polarpro filters SEEMS only a hair better than the Skyreat brand, largely because of the matte black finish on the body. Based on measurements the Skyreat filters were spot-on for light reduction and work perfectly. Considering the $70 Skyreat package would have cost $150 for the same Polarpro set, I would say there isn't even a $10 quality difference. Just my opinion.

I look forward to testing the Polarpro filters really soon, and short of user malfunction I'm sure I'll be very pleased with them now that I have things sorted out. I'll try to get out later this afternoon for a quick before and after shots. Stay tuned.
P.S... As a bonus for putting up with my diatribe I have included an image of the Filter Guide that can help decide which ND filter to use in a given situation.

View attachment 115626View attachment 115627

Good luck with your new filters..... look forward to seeing some before and after pics.

 

[vindibona1]

Good luck with your new filters..... look forward to seeing some before and after pics.

I tried to get some comparable shots today with Litchi, but the mistake I made was that I never tested the "actions" in Litchi and had programmed it, or so I thought, to take photos at a few waypoints so that I could get apples for apples comparisons. I have some shots that look very nice, and I think were taken with the ND32-8, but I'm not sure what the filter situation was as I had a ND8 for the comparisons. I'm just not sure. I think I'll try it again tomorrow and modify the missions to just pause for several seconds so I can push the button manually when it's time. I think they'll work out well. I wonder why Polarpro discontinued them? They're unique and I think I'll use them a lot.

 

[Thomas B]

Likely because they did not sell well.
I take my images and vids the adjust in post. I do use PP filter most of the time, but often use an adjustable ND filter to make filter decisions quicker.

 

[vindibona1]

Likely because they did not sell well.
I take my images and vids the adjust in post. I do use PP filter most of the time, but often use an adjustable ND filter to make filter decisions quicker.

It's understandable that they did not sell well thus the discontinuation. I suppose I should count myself fortunate to have scored a set. There aren't any other options at this time. . Polapro seems to have been the only company that made them, but at $43 USD per filter x 3 for what some would think would be a "novelty filter", in addition to having purchased traditional ND filters the price would cause most to balk. Have the gradients ever available for the M2 zoom or whatever preceded the M2's or any other models? While I cannot provide any A/B comparison shots at this moment, due to operator failure, and it's too early to tell, if the images I got were in fact with the gradient filter, then they could very well be my go-to filters for scenic shots.

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

Wait, you reviewed the filters, but hadn't used them yet?

 

[vindibona1]

Wait, you reviewed the filters, but hadn't used them yet?

I suppose I got carried away in the excitement of getting something that I suppose now are rare. While I am disappointed that I could not produce A/B examples, I realized that I did manually take photos in three directions with 32/8 filter. So while I don't have a before/after" comparison I do have a few shots which I'm sharing below. They are straight out of the camera with no alterations, shot manually. I'm not sure what the WB setting is without checking. I believe I put the video setting on shutter priority at 1/50 but didn't get any video out, unfortunately relying on my understanding of Litchi automation.

People have been raving about the quality of their filters and because with experience back in the film days with gradient filters I wanted a set and was willing to pay a premium for them. When I got them, some of the minor design oversights just made me go "huh???", especially because the attention to the general packaging made made them look like $1million, while overlooking some of the more practical aspects such as easy identification (internal packaging oversights), clarity of markings, and showing that they understanding of standard use via orientation markings.

 

[mdrm_mavpilot]

The upper sky has a nice blue to it, but it is not possible to make a critical comment without a before after comparison. You might want to tilt the gimble a bit, so that the horizon is not in the middle, but at 1/3. This invokes the 1/3 "rule", and will control highlights on the clouds on the horizon

 

[vindibona1]

While I don't have an A/B comparison, I'm about to post a video in the showcase, hopefully later today. Most of it was flown with the 32/8 gradient. I think I am very pleased with the results. I think this is an area that Freewell and Skyreat should be all over.

 

[OurAngryBadger]

While I don't have an A/B comparison, I'm about to post a video in the showcase, hopefully later today. Most of it was flown with the 32/8 gradient. I think I am very pleased with the results. I think this is an area that Freewell and Skyreat should be all over.

Yes please show a video using the filters ?

Personally for photos I just bring back the sky in raw and it usually works. Or add a fake blue sky using Luminar4. Lol

 

[Dobmatt]

Main reason for grad filters disappearance is the introduction of the same in digital form. Adobe Camera Raw Filter is offering perhaps the most advanced incarnation of this concept, working amazingly well with DNG, JPEG or TIFF formats. DaVinci Resolve grad filter for video is a no joke either.

 

[vindibona1]

Main reason for grad filters disappearance is the introduction of the same in digital form. Adobe Camera Raw Filter is offering perhaps the most advanced incarnation of this concept, working amazingly well with DNG, JPEG or TIFF formats. DaVinci Resolve grad filter for video is a no joke either.

Resolve has a grad filter???

 

[Dobmatt]

Resolve has a grad filter???

Yes!!!

 

[vindibona1]

Yes please show a video using the filters ?

Personally for photos I just bring back the sky in raw and it usually works. Or add a fake blue sky using Luminar4. Lol

I just posted the project in the Showcase section. The first 80%+ had the 32/8 gradient filter on. I like what it did. Very subtle. But unlike many of the other shots I had taken with sky showing on the horizon, the filter really seems to have done the job without overkill. Here's the link to the Showcase post: Video with gradient filter in Showcase area

 

[vindibona1]

Main reason for grad filters disappearance is the introduction of the same in digital form. Adobe Camera Raw Filter is offering perhaps the most advanced incarnation of this concept, working amazingly well with DNG, JPEG or TIFF formats. DaVinci Resolve grad filter for video is a no joke either.

As I said... building blocks. I have been discovering so many things as I go along. I'm going to check out the gradient option in Resolve now. I've begun to do some basic masking and learned different approaches to color grading and have now been shooting all in DLog, though Normal seems to do a really good job without much help.