67mm Multi-Coated Circular Polarizing (CPL) Filter

Knowing that CPL filters can cost much more than this one, I had somewhat lower expectations for this filter. Overall, after using it for a week-long vacation on sunny days by a lake, I am very happy with my purchase.I am still learning that the magnitude of the effects depends on the location of the sun relative to where I am shooting so take my opinions with a grain of salt, as I may have just been in the wrong position.The overall effect on the image is impressive. I'm a beginner, so I was surprised to see that not only was the sky enhanced, but because the filter has a modest ND effect (maybe 2-4 clicks of the shutter wheel), the foreground is brighter as well. The effects on reflections seems to be moderate-to-good. This is not a huge need for me, so I did not test it out too much. The effects on water seem to be minimal-to-moderate. No problems with vignetting or anything. On some shots, you can see a circular "band" of sorts in the sky, where there is a circular gradient of darkness. My sample image with the buildings and bare trees in it shows it well. Not sure if that's common/uncommon or good/bad. It doesn't really bother me.I uploaded four sample pictures - two with the blue sky & foreground objects, one with reflections on cars, and one with water and sky visible. The only edits I made were adding text and re-sizing/cropping. I noted which picture has the filter and which one is "without filter," although I should note for the "without filter" pictures, the filter was still attached to the lens, but it was just rotated so the effect was minimum. I took sample shots with the filter set at "minimum" and without the filter and noted no differences, so I thought leaving it on would not be a problem for the comparison shots. All pictures were taken with a Canon T4i / 650D and the 18-135 STM lens.The build quality also falls into the "moderate" range for me. I have had some minor struggles getting it mounted on the first try for my 18-135 STM and after securing it, I have had difficulties getting it off of the lens as well. I also have used it on the 55-250 with an adapter ring and it was a bit difficult to attach it to that as well. Once it's on, it seems secure, and I barely notice that it's on there. I try to always rotate to the left to avoid accidentally unscrewing it. If I set it at a certain rotation, it stays that way all day unless I rotate it again.Overall, I'm pretty happy with this. The build doesn't seem completely rock solid and the effects aren't always very noticeable, but at this price point, it does the job very well. If I had similar difficulties with a filter in the $40-$100 range, the review would not be as high. But given that this filter is one of the least expensive ones on Amazon, I think it deserves 5 stars.

I'm a macro/nature photographer with some commercial experience, now getting into wildlife photography and longer lenses. I want a CPL to increase sky contrast and reduce reflections, while keeping distortion and flare to a minimum. When I bought this product, I thought that an AGFA-brand CPL would suit my needs.This AGFA filter tested positive for circular polarization, as well as an ability to cut surface reflections and Rayleigh Scattering--the band of strongly polarized sky 90 degrees to the sun. However, is polarization the only criteria for a CPL filter? I care greatly for image sharpness and contrast, having invested a lot in quality optics, which I don't want compromised by a filter. To determine how sharpness, contrast, and distortion are affected by this CPL, I embarked on a series of tests.Equipment used: Nikon D300S with Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED IF AF-S VR (67mm filter). This is a very sharp lens in its "sweet spot" of 135-220mm, good enough to be used for some closeup work. As I said, I have taken photos commercially and am quite able to capture images that are consistently sharp, provided the optics are good.Near focus test: I focused on a highly-detailed subject at 200mm set to f8, focusing at the near end of its range (5ft) while using a tripod for support w/remote shutter release. Without any filter, the lens is remarkably sharp throughout most of the image, rendering the finest lines crisply. But once I installed this CPL, it became immediately apparent the filter confuses the autofocus on the camera; a dozen shots produced very blurry pictures. To determine absolute sharpness, I turned off autofocus and focused on the pattern manually (I have some experience doing this). Out of a dozen bracketed photos, not a single picture was satisfactorily sharp. The results were both blurry and low-contrast, indicating the filter optics are poor. See my test pictures in the gallery.Far focus test: Here I used a sharply-defined daylit subject: a parking sign at 275ft with the lens set to f8 at 210mm. Without any filter, the image is both crisp and high-contrast, a testament to Nikon's lens engineering. Then I put on the CPL, and once more the images took a turn for the worst. Again, the autofocus did not work correctly with the CPL. Therefore I switched to manual focus, taking a dozen bracketed shots. The results were poor. This CPL ruined this lens's ability to capture details and contrast; it even introduced distortion. I have posted a test picture, clearly showing the detrimental effect this CPL has on lens performance.Conclusions: while the AGFA CPL performs satisfactorily as a circular polarizer, it interferes too much with autofocus at any focal distance as to render it inoperable. I find this result perplexing. As the CPL only reduces incoming light by one f-stop, that's hardly enough to affect focusing on a daylit subject. Just by looking at this CPL, it's hard to see why it would blur, distort, and reduce contrast so much--perhaps the polarization grating and quarter-wave plate are poorly mated? Whatever the cause, the results are simply unacceptable to me. As a replacement, I bought  this top-rated Marumi DHG CPL  --which does not detectably compromise AF or image quality. For comprehensive testing of this Marumi CPL and other top brands, visit LensTip.

I wasn't expecting much for this polarizer, but it delivers a lot for a low price.Some good things:-machining is spot on, screws onto my camera easily with just the right amount of pressure to tighten.-rotating polarizer requires a good amount of pressure to rotate, and is not loose.-does in fact work as a polarizing filter.Now for some things that could be fixed:-the worst part about this filter is there is some aberration in the glass. In particular there was one football-shaped section that pointed from the center to the edge of the filter, and would spin around as I try to tune the polarizer. The good news is it's almost impossible to see on your camera screen unless you have a very small pattern in your field of view. Actually this might be a bad thing since it'd probably come up more on your computer afterwards...-my filter came with a few small tool marks on the threads, this didn't seem to impact my ability to install the filter but it sure doesn't look right.-this filter doesn't seem to work as well as other circular polarizers I've tested in stores. It can remove the majority of the glare from windows etc but it cannot remove it all.If you can't afford a $60+ circular polarizer (like me) then this one will not disappoint you (much). However, if you do have $60 you should probably invest in a better filter that will get you better quality,

I will not pretend that AGFA Circular Polarising filters are as good or superior than much more expensive filters such as Hoya's PRO 1D CPL. What I will say is that after losing the Hoya CPL filter on my 70-300L lens and replacing it with one of these, I could not tell the difference between them. I was so impressed by the 67mm version, that I purchased 72mm and 77mm versions for my Canon 17-55 and Sigma 10-20mm lenses. These CPL's and lenses combined my Canon 7D Digital SLR work perfectly.The only slight downside is that the rims on these filters are quite thick. On my Sigma 10-20mm wide angle lens, I notice some additional vignetting at the 10mm end when shooting with the aperture wide open. As I tend to use CPL's in bright sunlight it is not really a problem because I can stop down to f/5.6 or f/8 where the problem disappears.These are great for the price.

The filter was well packaged and arrived quickly.It is fairly easy to fit and remove from the camera. I have been very pleased with the effect of deepening the colour of the sea and sky, and the associated effect of making clouds look more dramatic.The price was low, so until I tried it out I was concerned that the coatings might not be up to the standard of more expensive filters. I am pleased to say that I have not noticed any stray reflections or loss of contrast.Overall - very good.

I previously used Hoya filters but decided to try this one since Hoya was so expensive. I was pleasantly surprised as it was much better than I expected. Build quality was very good. The filter ring was thicker than the Hoya ones but I like that. Not sure if it's due to the multi coated thing but i did notice a better polarization affect with this filter than my previous one, but that could be a matter of perception.I think this filter gives some serious value for it's price. Very satisfied with it.

i'm not an experienced photographer i have to say. but this filter allowed me to capture very nices images making use of polarization effect. in some ocasions i found a little vignetting, which was never an issue as it only required a little crop which i would have done any way.

I have used this filter several times now it has grown on me I'm really happy with my purchase.The filter gives lovely vivid colours and the quality that you would expect from Agfa products. It also eliminates any reflections from glass.Thanks again.