PolarPro or Skyreat ND filters

[stberlin]

Let’s just eliminate skyreat and kuquaa. They produce low grade drone accessories. So if the rest of their lines are this way and by no means have any expertise in photography, what are you buying? Polarpro is know very well for top quality. You can check out the boat load of reviews.

I'm not skimping. I bought two sets of filters from different companies. What I found is that the build quality is the same. I expected more from Polarpro for the price.



also go to best buy and check out the polarpro carrying case. The outer shell looks cool, but the inside is made out of cheap materials. I guarantee you, you will not trust your 'expensive' drone with it.

 

[Jameslavis]

This is exactly my point. All of these off brands are not made or QA’d to the same level as the premium brands. They are often discarded premium brand or bland rip offs. They can perform a basic level but fail in comparison. I have never bought a Chinese rip off that our performed the OG brand. Ever. Buy the polars.

 

[Cheech Wizard]

Here is what is guarantee, weight to pass gimbal calibration, won’t f-up the delicate threads, quality optical glass. If you get the same guarantees polar gives from skyreat, go for it. I’d bet you xian-li from skyreat won’t answer you back.

Are you saying the Skyreat filters WILL allow you to mount it before the gimbal calibrates during warm up? To me, that is a huge issue.

 

[Jameslavis]

No I’m saying buy lenses from legit real companies. Polarpro tests their lenses, have insane amounts of feedback and ensure it does not impact the drone before or after calibration. When it comes to lenses never buy from these amazon companies based in China. Buy polar

 

[CanadaDrone]

Me neither. It seems either the tools needed to perform such tests don't exist or nobody has them. I'm guessing that's why some people assume the amount of money spent is directly proportional to the quality of the product and/or resulting photos/videos.

The tools most definitely exist (data like that is available for DSLR filters), I just suspect nobody has had the desire to run such involved tests on drone filters, where even the premium filters are very cheap.

It's not a firm rule, but often in the world of photography you generally get what you pay for (with the exception of outliers like Leica, Hasselblad, etc.) The point of diminishing return depends on each individual's quality standards, but for the majority of casual users is probably pretty low.

I can't say I've tried all the different brands but the Polar Pros are built well, have accurate/uniform ND ratings, fit really well, do not vignette, do not easily flare, and do not introduce color casts. Along with a lifetime warranty and very reasonable prices, that is enough to keep my business unless something changes. Always happy to look at alternatives though.

 

[msinger]

The tools most definitely exist (data like that is available for DSLR filters), I just suspect nobody has had the desire to run such involved tests on drone filters, where even the premium filters are very cheap.

Any ideas as to where one could acquire such tools?

 

[CanadaDrone]

Any ideas as to where one could acquire such tools?

You could email the owner of LensRentals - Roger does lots of excellent testing on lenses & filters and can likely provide insight on some cheaper testing methods. I know one of this tools he has at his disposal is a $200,000 optical bench:

https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/20...anking-of-the-major-uv-filters-on-the-market/

 

[Jameslavis]

This

The tools most definitely exist (data like that is available for DSLR filters), I just suspect nobody has had the desire to run such involved tests on drone filters, where even the premium filters are very cheap.

It's not a firm rule, but often in the world of photography you generally get what you pay for (with the exception of outliers like Leica, Hasselblad, etc.) The point of diminishing return depends on each individual's quality standards, but for the majority of casual users is probably pretty low.

I can't say I've tried all the different brands but the Polar Pros are built well, have accurate/uniform ND ratings, fit really well, do not vignette, do not easily flare, and do not introduce color casts. Along with a lifetime warranty and very reasonable prices, that is enough to keep my business unless something changes. Always happy to look at alternatives though.

 

[Jameslavis]

I’d like to see these ranks as well, aside from potential impact to the drone there is a quality aspect. If you buy a nice dslr, do you drop 50 bucks on an amazon wide angle or do you buy a brand? Same goes here. In most cases nowadays, you do get what you pay for.

 

[msinger]

If you buy a nice dslr, do you drop 50 bucks on an amazon wide angle or do you buy a brand?

You say this like PolarPro is a well known camera filter company. They are no more of a camera filter company than companies like PGYTECH, Freewell, and Taco-RC. Their marketing is surely on point though.

Same goes here. In most cases nowadays, you do get what you pay for.

Interestingly enough, in the article @CanadaDrone linked above, the tester (Roger) stated the following:

"This is, I know, where I’m supposed to put a click-bait statement like “the Wunderbar UltraClear” is the absolute best filter. That’s kind of silly for filters, I think. Most of us just want to know which ones won’t screw up our images. Personally, there’s nothing I see that makes me feel like the highest-priced filters are worth the money, at least on the basis of these screening tests. The Hoya, B&W, and Marumi filters on the list above all have good reputations and are reasonably priced. They should all do just fine."

 

[CanadaDrone]

You say this like PolarPro is a well known camera filter company. They are no more of a camera filter company than companies like PGYTECH, Freewell, and Taco-RC. Their marketing is surely on point though.



Interestingly enough, in the article @CanadaDrone linked above, the tester (Roger) stated the following:

"This is, I know, where I’m supposed to put a click-bait statement like “the Wunderbar UltraClear” is the absolute best filter. That’s kind of silly for filters, I think. Most of us just want to know which ones won’t screw up our images. Personally, there’s nothing I see that makes me feel like the highest-priced filters are worth the money, at least on the basis of these screening tests. The Hoya, B&W, and Marumi filters on the list above all have good reputations and are reasonably priced. They should all do just fine."

The takeaway is basically don't buy no-name garbage (those have very noticeable effects on image quality that you can see without any special equipment, at least in the DSLR world) and you're probably fine. With DSLR filters though, there are enormous price differences - you can buy $8.00 filters and $300 filters that claim to do the same thing, so finding the point of diminishing returns is more important if you have 10+ lenses you need filters for. With drones, (at least looking at the Mavic Air options) the prices are so low even for the 'best' filters, that it's safer not to cheap out, at least IMHO.

Also, we're talking about a tiny 12MP 1/2.3" sensor here - not a 46MP Full Frame DSLR sensor. The threshold for required quality is not going to be the same. If there were a big price difference in Mavic Air filters, I would be putting more effort into the decision process. The Polar Pros are cheap enough that I don't really care, but if that may change if I go with a larger sensor drone in the future. You are also paying for their lifetime warranty somewhere in that price, but so far it's reasonable.

 

[Jameslavis]

^ again this. I didn’t bother to read into why you defend the cheap stuff, you link to them on your site.

In this land, polar is respected. Bad products get called out quick and people only chirp about the price, which is small. Anything under a hundred is peanuts. At minimum, play the long game and pay the bucks

 

[msinger]

I didn’t bother to read into why you defend the cheap stuff, you link to them on your site.

Yes, sir. I link them on my site because I own many of them and/or many other people highly recommend them. If I know something works well, I feel really good about recommending it to others.

Do I ever recommend products simply because the price is high? Nope. That would be doing a great disservice to this fine community.

 

[Jameslavis]

You’re in sales for third party accessories. I have not seen a field where QA is the same across brands. I can speak first hand to pharmaceuticals and generics, wife to food.

As numerous folks in this post have said, you are paying for a better product, likely on the QA end. These other products are passable at best. Lenses are where you don’t mess around, especially with that gimbal.

 

[msinger]

As numerous folks in this post have said, you are paying for a better product, likely on the QA end

Most folks in this thread are saying they've tried other filter brands and they love the results. Take another read through and you'll see some comments from people who actually own the filters you're telling people not to buy.

 

[Jameslavis]

Or read the ones that said there are different. Remember microscope post? The last few up that touch on the long run? Price mattering? That’s ok, protect your business if the brands that I don’t trust with my thousand dollar drone. Especially when you have to contact some kid in China.

 

[Drone Master]

My answer to this is, Skyreat filters for the MA, are the better deal!
I am very happy with their results. Best bang for the buck!

 

[c5chris1]

I have Neweer for my Typhoon H, Polar Pro and Freewell for my Mavic Pro and Freewell for the Mavic Air.

The most important requirement for me is for Gimbal Calibration with the filter installed. If you have those that required installation after gimball calibration, the ND filters may not be good for your gimbal due to the weight.

Second is the ease of install and removal. I noticed that the Freewells install and removal were easier on the Mavic Pro than the Polar Pros. This was the reason I went with Freewells for the Mavic Air.

Third is the case footprint. Drones are supposed to be portable so all packaging for accessories should be the same to fit in the bag. Polar Pros have smaller cases than the Freewells. It was perfect for my smaller Mavic Pro carry case. The Freewells have somewhat bigger cases, luckily my Air's Flymore bag jas some space to spare in the zip compartment outside.

Price is the lowest of my criteria which I should had ranked higher. I bought all 3 drones in a matter of 3 weeks. I am so broke after their acquisitions.

 

[CanadaDrone]

Regarding ease of removal, the Mavic Pro has friction fit filters, so they are more finicky. The Air has standard threads (the stock ring you remove to use filters actually has no glass on it, it's just a ring), and I don't know about the other filter brands, but the Polar Pro's could not be easier to install/uninstall securely, and the threads do not get stuck or bind.

 

[Jameslavis]

Agree that filters are not the same in mentality of buying other drone accessories. For these I always focus in quality no matter what the cost. It’s why we all have DJI and not parrot drones. Cheap NDs will get you by, but there’s a risk.