Will polarizing filter cause vignetting on wide and super wide setting of zoom camera

[Peakbagr]

We have a Panasonic Lumix, FZ40. A camera somewhere in between a small DSLR and a point and shoot. In addition to the very sharp lens, its greatest feature is the very sharp 24x zoom.
Heading for a trip to Utah in a couple of weeks. Does anyone know if putting a polarizing filter on the lens will work? By that I mean at wide angle to very wide angle, will the extended glassware of a polarizer show in the corners of photos?
Used to sometimes have this vignetting problem in the film camera era when putting a polarizer on very wide OM-1/OM-3 cameras.

Thanks,

Alan

 

[DougPaul]

The only way to tell for certain is to try it. (Unless someone else has already tried it for you...)

If you have another filter (or ring that is the same diameter as the filter), you might be able to do a test simulation by holding it where the polarizing filter would be mounted. (Remember that polarizers are generally thicker than regular filters.)

Stacking filters will make the vignetting worse.

Some find a small amount of vignetting to be unobjectionable--it tends to focus the viewer's attention away from the corners. (Wide-angle lenses also tend to have a natural darkening in the corners even without filters. Some software or in-camera processing can remove this darkening.)

There is another issue with polarizers on wide angle lenses--the degree of polarization varies across the sky and the effect will become visible as an uneven darkening of the sky. (I have a number of pictures taken with a 28mm lens which show this effect.) See http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/polarizers.shtml for more detail and an example.

Many digital cameras also require circular polarizers--linear polarizers can affect the auto-focus and/or exposure mechanisms. (B&H lists a circular polarizer among the accessories.)

Doug

 

[Peakbagr]

The local camera store has a 52mm circular polarizing filter that was described as very thin. Bringing the camera over in a few days to try it out. They said it's as thin as a regular UV or clean lens filter in spite of the 2 elements. Believe it when I try it. Good advice DP.

 

[DougPaul]

The local camera store has a 52mm circular polarizing filter that was described as very thin. Bringing the camera over in a few days to try it out. They said it's as thin as a regular UV or clean lens filter in spite of the 2 elements. Believe it when I try it. Good advice DP.

Sounds good.

Don't forget to see if your lens cap will fit on the filter. (Some thin filters do away with the front threads which some lens caps rely on.) If it is friction fit around the lens and becomes loose, you can shim it with masking tape.

Also polarizers lose at least one stop of light, so you may need to remove it for dim light.

Doug

 

[ROCKYSUMMIT]

Alan,
Possibly a step up ring (very inexpensive) with a slightly larger filter may help. You would need a larger lens cap as well. This will add a little bulk to your set up but not too bad. If you use a lens shade it would no longer fit.
-Tony

 

[Peakbagr]

It appears that the Quantaray Digital circular PLD polarizer works perfectly and the bonus is the lens cap fits as snugly as it did on the UV lens filter that was there previously.
Thanks everyone.