PolarPro or Skyreat ND filters

[ChrisW81]

Oh yeah!! Well.... FStop Labs sent me a free kit to try out. So there’s a “what for!”

Already own a few PolarPro filters. Will give the FStop Labs filters a try and review as they requested in exchange for the kit.
All I can say at the moment is that both brands pass Initial Startup. With the limited testing so far, I have only found that the FStop PL filters do free turn more loosely than I would like but haven’t tested them in flight to determine if the PL alignment gets knocked out.
Otherwise, they are both close in resemblance of build and quality. Sure the PolarPro feels better but that does not translate to working better.

 

[Mavflyer]

Maybe Polar Pro can chime in

Hey @PolarPro! Would you chime in? This had made me a little curious. Do you make your own filters? Or do you buy from a manufacturer? Skyreat claims theirs are the same as yours. Is this true?

 

[PolarPro]

Hey @PolarPro! Would you chime in? This had made me a little curious. Do you make your own filters? Or do you buy from a manufacturer? Skyreat claims theirs are the same as yours. Is this true?

Thanks for tagging me in!
Haha thats a pretty funny claim that they are the same as ours, we own the entire process except for the package printing, so maybe what they are telling you is that their glass quality and frame quality is the same. We have done QC testing against a lot of the other manufactures and find more often than not the filter densities are not actually what they say they are (ie. ND32 is not in-fact a 5-Stop reduction), coatings are not color neutral and shift, and the fit and finish are off.

When you support our brand you get a fully QC'd and consistent product, high-end glass with no defects, color neutrality, perfect target transmission, Customer Support from a US based company who actually films and flies drones, a lifetime warranty, a filter calculator / filming app, Youtube videos to help support / inspire ideas.

So to recap, our quality and consistency is the best in the industry, we own the entire manufacturing process, and our customer support is outstanding

I am also happy to answer any technical questions you may have!
-Jeff from PolarPro

 

[PolarPro]

Skreat says they are the same, I'd like to see them post some objective evidence of that. I wonder if Polar Pro would agree that their identical product is sold for cheaper under another name. I don't really care either way, I am genuinely curious. Personally I don't believe they are identical in every way even if performance is similar because I don't think Polar Pro would build their business around an identical product that is cheaper. Maybe Polar Pro can chime in

A lot of companies try to copy our design and glass, its not EXACTLY the same, they always miss on the raw glass material, coating processes, multiple layers of QC (transmission, color neutrality, resolving power, fitment), lifetime warranty (actually honoring it), technical customer support from the US from actual photographers and videographers. So yes they certainly try to copy, but there are a lot of things they can't copy that make a PolarPro filter a PolarPro filter

Hopefully that sheds a bit of light on it
-Jeff from PolarPro

 

[PolarPro]

To clarify, normally a product claiming to be something (A brand)it is not would be considered a ripoff. A product manufactured by a different company does not make it a “RIPOFF”. I personally do not own and never will own a PolarPro product. Nothing to do with the product but their marketing practices.

I only post after beer time.[emoji481]

Thanks for the feedback What marketing practices are bothering you?
We don't really have a marketing department here, so I would be interested to see what we could improve
-Jeff from PolarPro

 

[CanadaDrone]

Sounds like it's as expected...they are not the same, do not come out of the same factory, and there are likely differences in things like filter uniformity, ND rating accuracy, glass quality, and coatings.

Thanks for chiming in Jeff - forum relations can be difficult so it's good of you to take the time.

 

[msinger]

We have done QC testing against a lot of the other manufactures and find more often than not the filter densities are not actually what they say they are (ie. ND32 is not in-fact a 5-Stop reduction), coatings are not color neutral and shift, and the fit and finish are off.

Are you able to post the detailed results for these tests?

FWIW, I remember when Taco-RC used to make claims like this over at Phantom Pilots. They never posted the results of their testing though, so we all just had to take their word for it.

 

[CanadaDrone]

Honestly I think Skreat should be the one posting the data - they are the ones coming out and claiming their filters are identical to PolarPro which is impossible if PP owns their own production.

At any rate, I'd like to see the data if they are able to post it. If it's their own internal testing there may be legal reasons they can't post it - not too sure about that.

 

[msinger]

Honestly I think Skreat should be the one posting the data

Honestly, anyone who is making claims that their products are better than someone else's should be okay with posting the data to prove it. If that data cannot be posted, then such claims should probably not be made with such confidence.

 

[CanadaDrone]

Honestly, anyone who is making claims that their products are better than someone else's should be okay with posting the data to prove it. If that data cannot be posted, then such claims should probably not be made with such confidence.

I don't really care who posts it, the data would be interesting so long as it's credible

 

[Mavflyer]

Honestly, anyone who is making claims that their products are better than someone else's should be okay with posting the data to prove it. If that data cannot be posted, then such claims should probably not be made with such confidence.

I agree. Polar Pro said the same thing. There should be zero legal issue with any of the companies publishing their results if what they are saying is true. They seem to have already done the testing, so why not show us the results?

 

[Jameslavis]

Funny how the tides of this chat leaned further to what a few of us have said. There is a difference, I’ll chill.

Quality differences exist in every field. I can speak first hand pharm and would have no problem stating these are just using similar supplies but nothing propriety, like little QA. But hey they get the job done for some.

Glad to see polar here. Top notch products. Think of this as well, do these other companies have Twitter, staff or a dev team? I can call polar tho. I bet these venemous defenders of no name brands are vendors or have some vested interest. My only interest is quality for my drone and guarantee not to f it up

 

[PolarPro]

I agree. Polar Pro said the same thing. There should be zero legal issue with any of the companies publishing their results if what they are saying is true. They seem to have already done the testing, so why not show us the results?

Showing our competitors the exact quantitative data they need to improve their product mighttttt not be the best idea
But back to the thread, I would say that the whole PolarPro vs. Competitor debate really just comes down to each person's preference and how they value each specific benefit/feature that the product/company offers.

These threads are always fun to read because there are many opposing viewpoints and none of them are wrong

Happy to answer any other questions!
-Jeff from PolarPro

 

[Mavflyer]

Showing our competitors the exact quantitative data they need to improve their product mighttttt not be the best idea
But back to the thread, I would say that the whole PolarPro vs. Competitor debate really just comes down to each person's preference and how they value each specific benefit/feature that the product/company offers.

These threads are always fun to read because there are many opposing viewpoints and none of them are wrong

Happy to answer any other questions!
-Jeff from PolarPro

You say this

We have done QC testing against a lot of the other manufactures and find more often than not the filter densities are not actually what they say they are

That's a bold claim and one that would no doubt win you many customers if you can prove it, so why not do it? It's not like you have to show any of your processes or techniques to prove a claim like this. You would just be showing how much light was let through. Companies point out the inferiority of others products all the time. If you're going to make the claim, you should back it up.

 

[Mavflyer]

Filters from skyreat are the same as PP

The same goes for this. If you're going to make this claim, you should provide some evidence of it.

 

[Skyreat]

The same goes for this. If you're going to make this claim, you should provide some evidence of it.

I will offer some date here soon.Include the transmittance & reflectivity and ect.

 

[Wacker2611]

Funny how the tides of this chat leaned further to what a few of us have said. There is a difference, I’ll chill.

Quality differences exist in every field. I can speak first hand pharm and would have no problem stating these are just using similar supplies but nothing propriety, like little QA. But hey they get the job done for some.

Glad to see polar here. Top notch products. Think of this as well, do these other companies have Twitter, staff or a dev team? I can call polar tho. I bet these venemous defenders of no name brands are vendors or have some vested interest. My only interest is quality for my drone and guarantee not to f it up

Haha ‘venomous defenders’ !!! I don’t think so cupcake. The only person on this thread who’s been throwing his weight about is you.
I’ll stick with my lovely Skyreats and you stick with your Polars.

 

[Mavflyer]

I will offer some date here soon.Include the transmittance & reflectivity and ect.

 

[PolarPro]

I will offer some date here soon.Include the transmittance & reflectivity and ect.

Those would be 2 out of about 20 tests to run for image quality
-Jeff from PolarPro

 

[PolarPro]

You say this

That's a bold claim and one that would no doubt win you many customers if you can prove it, so why not do it? It's not like you have to show any of your processes or techniques to prove a claim like this. You would just be showing how much light was let through. Companies point out the inferiority of others products all the time. If you're going to make the claim, you should back it up.

Hi MavFlyer,
I think you are asking to show Light transmission results which isn't going to really be useful at all because its not a third party or unbiased test. To run an unbiased full image quality analysis you would need a sample set of about 50 units from each manufacture and run them through a third party like DXO mark. We actually have the same testing software and machines DXO but if we run the test, one could say we cherry picked through the competitors and discredit a month's worth of benchmark testing.

I agree with you that I should not have made that claim, because those were internal competitive analysis's and not unbiased third party data. So I will revert to the original question, and no their products are not manufactured by us or our machines

Happy to answer any other questions!
-Jeff from PolarPro