David Chadwick Photography - Landscape, commercial and wedding photography in New Zealand

Lee 105mm Circular Polarising Filter – a warning

David — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 06:18:46 +0000

I’ve long been a user of the Lee system of square / rectangular filters. In my experience, nothing comes close to the optical quality of their neutral density graduated series which I use on pretty much every landscape picture I take. Other manufacturers’ (e.g. Cokin) filters seem to introduce a very noticeable cyan colour cast which is impossible to remove in post-processing. One other thing I love is that the ND grads can be used as straight ND filters as there is enough surface area of the darkened bit. It saves having to carry around more of the very fragile bits of plastic….

So, I recently purchased a Lee 105mm circular polarising filter (and adaptor) to go on the front of the filter holder at the eye-watering price of £230. A lot of money, but if lesser products are discouraging you from using them at all, its good value. I’d previously been using a screw-in filter behind my Lee filter holder which a/ was very tricky to use as rotating the polariser meant rotating the other filters t00 and, b/ it caused vignetting at any focal length wider than 20mm or so.

Coming with so many great recommendations from well known and talented / discerning photographers I knew the image quality would be right up there and that the vignetting would no longer be an issue. After all, ultra wide angle lenses on full frame cameras are pretty common these days and the sheer size of the filter would mean the (very) thick rim would be safely out of site.

Not so. Again, beyond 20mm (I use a Nikon 17-35mm) and even stopped down to f16+ the rim is appallingly and distressingly visible. I’ve tried everything from trying the holder at different rotations to removing all the filter holder slots. But, the fact of the matter is that the polariser is just too big (deep). What is the reason for this? and why do you need a thread on the front like traditional screw-in filters when the only way to mount it on your lens (although I haven’t tried it on a lens that has a native 105mm filter ring) is via an adapter that sits behind the filter and the only place you could conceivably want it is in front of all other filters?

For now, I’m restricted to longer focal lengths than my fantastic lens is capable of unless someone can point out what I’m missing.

Rant over

Lake Rotorua

David — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:03:43 +0000

I’ve been trying to catch a dramatic sky over the lake for a while now. I’ve either been frustrated by bad weather (it rained all last week!), heavy clouds or being somewhere else. So last night, I headed down to my favourite spot, not too far from the house.

The result is a work in progress I think. The other day there was a log on the beach which created a much better feeling of depth in the image but now its gone. That’s the nature of landscape of photography – it isn’t often that all the elements come together at the same time. Or at least not whilst the photographer is there.

It was a big log though….makes you wonder where it has gone.

Lake Taupo W2K

David — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:11:37 +0000

We recently went for a bike ride along the “W2K” on the north side of Lake Taupo. Easy riding on a well made path through semi-natural bush to the lovely, lake-side village of Kinloch. It should be a 28km round trip but we inadvertently added the extra 12km loop. Not normally a problem, but I’m not used to carrying the camera on the bike at the moment, certainly not in a waist-pack. Also, there weren’t many views to be had, which was a bit disappointing to say the least! Here’s one I did get when I managed to catch up to Lisa:

Definitely a ride worth doing if you are in the Rotorua / Taupo area and you fancy a change from the forests.

PS: Ice creams available in Kinloch!!

Settling in

David — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:10:54 +0000

Well, I’ve now been in New Zealand for nearly a month and beginning to settle in. Its been quite difficult so far as its all so new, but Lisa and I have a beautiful home. The jet lag seems to have lasted a long time and dawn starts are proving a real challenge but I’m starting to get to know the local area and take some photographs.