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Polarizing filters test 2015

1 November 2015
Szymon Starczewski

15. Hoya CIR-PL Slim

Polarizing filters test 2015 - Hoya CIR-PL Slim

The Hoya products have been enjoying a lot of popularity for years, mainly because of their very good price/quality ratio. This time we decided to test some cheaper models offered by this company.



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Results of the test

Transmission and extinction coefficient

Polarizing filters test 2015 - Hoya CIR-PL Slim

  • Red color extinction coefficient: 2.79e-4; Score: 3.5/4
  • Green color extinction coefficient: 3.56e-4; Score: 3.5/4
  • Blue color extinction coefficient: 1.36e-2; Score: 0.5/4
  • Mean transmission of the whole spectrum: 31.88% Score: 1.38/3
    Score: 8.88 / 11 pts
Flares

Polarizing filters test 2015 - Hoya CIR-PL Slim
Without filter

Polarizing filters test 2015 - Hoya CIR-PL Slim
With filter

Score: 3 / 7.5 pts

Scattering

Polarizing filters test 2015 - Hoya CIR-PL Slim

  • Luminance: 16.80
    Score: 4.93 / 5 pts
Vignetting
  • Vignetting difference: 4.00%
    Score: 3.34 / 5 pts
Homogeneity

Polarizing filters test 2015 - Hoya CIR-PL Slim

  • Without reservation
    Score: 5 / 5 pts

Final score: 25.2 / 37.5 pts (67.1%)

  • Overall ranking: 10th place
  • Econo-ranking: 8th place

Design, usage and summary

A screwed-on, slim profile is neat and well-fitted. During easy, even movements you can hear some whirr which is never bothersome. No coatings. The marker of the azimuth doesn’t tally with real values, differing by about 10 degrees. The filter makes a solid impression.

The transmission characteristics is very flat up to red where you see a noticeable transmission increase. It might lead to a slight warming of colours but for a different reason than in case of other polarizers. The filter performs very well even in near-infrared, almost to 900 nm, reaching its transmission peak at that point. The extinction coefficients are very good apart from the short-wave, where some light comes from an unwanted polarization direction. In the visible spectrum the filter is a bit dark, letting in less than 32% of light.