Essential and Rather Unique Filters: The 135 Series From PolarPro

A circular polarizer (CP) and a mist filter are two filters that, in my opinion, everyone should own. And PolarPro makes some lovely CP and mist filters. I’ve been using their CP for the past couple of years. From travel photography to tabletop food photography in the studio, it’s a great filter. So, with an already great CP and mist filters to their name, why did PolarPro launch new versions?

PolarPro collaborated with YouTuber Peter McKinnon on these new 135 Series filters, which consist of a Circular Polarizer (they call it a Chroma PL), a Black Mist, and a Gold Mist. Thread sizes available are 49mm, 67mm, 77mm, and 82mm. They sent me some to test. A filter is a filter, right? Yeah, but these—I love them. Really love them. Would I use the cliché that they’re a game-changer? Er, not quite. Almost. Very close. I’ll explain why.

In the world of digital photography, we don’t need a lot of the filters that we used to require for film photography. Graduated NDs, colored filters, and colored graduated NDs are all surplus to requirements with digital photography. We can get better results when we’re post-processing. But there are two filters that are still relevant today. For me, they’re essential for both photography and filmmaking: a circular polarizer and a mist filter.

Circular Polarizer

Cutting out glare and reflections is a big deal. Getting rid of reflections and glare in car windows, foliage in the landscape, or an annoying sheen on products can make a huge difference. A CP is the only filter that gives you a result you can’t achieve in post-production.

Mist

A mist filter softens the highlights of an image without affecting the mid and dark tones. It gives a lovely highlight roll-off. Modern lenses are so sharp and clinical; a mist filter helps give a more natural, organic look to your photos or videos. I use a mist filter all the time—far more than a polarizer, actually—particularly when shooting video.

One of PolarPro’s claims is that you can get a retro film look with their mist filters. The Gold Mist gives you a Kodak Gold film stock look, and the Black Mist a Kodak Portra film stock look. One could argue you can create a similar effect during post-processing, but I say it’s better to use a mist filter. The bonus is it protects your lens from getting scratched, too.

Testing The 135 Series Filters

So, back to PolarPro’s new 135 Series—why would you want to buy them? PolarPro already makes similar filters, so why these?

My PolarPro CP does a great job, so I did some comparison tests against the new 135 Series Chroma PL. The new Chroma glass in this filter is said to give a cleaner, sharper image with more color accuracy. We’ll see.

One of my tests was in the studio with controlled light, with the camera white balance set to 5,500K. I shot a color chart—first without a filter, then with my CP, and finally with the new Chroma PL. There wasn’t much of a difference, to be honest. If I get really nerdy and pixel-peepy, I see a slight warmth to the CP, but it’s so slight it's barely noticeable at first glance. I'm not one for testing and comparing in this manner—and I was concerned I might turn into a pixel-peeper permanently—so I thought it best to head out into the real world and use the filters.

I went for a walk around a nearby town and shot a couple of rather uninteresting scenes that featured lots of glass and reflections. You can obviously see the version below without a filter, but with the CP and the Chroma PL, I can't see any real difference. Are the lighter areas slightly warmer on the CP? Oh, sooooo slightly. PolarPro makes such great quality filters that this wasn't a big surprise.

I tested the Chroma PL and Black Mist on my Leica Q2M. I’ve been using both together, stacking them, and I’m getting great results. For my street and travel photography, I don’t want reflections, but I do want to create a soft, organic look, take the edge off the incredibly sharp Summilux lens, and have a soft highlight roll-off. These are the perfect pair of filters to achieve that.

I have a number of Black and Gold Mist filters from various brands and didn’t really see much of a difference between them all as far as color shift. The reality is, if you shoot RAW, any slight color shift can be easily adjusted in post, particularly to achieve warmth in your highlights that a Gold Mist filter gives you. If you’re shooting film, then it becomes more of an issue. But it must be said—if we want to be pedantic—PolarPro does make exceptionally clean, clear filters with little to no color shift when compared to other brands.

Why Buy The 135 Series?

I think the reason to get these filters over other versions is for the back and front screw-on caps. My old PolarPro CP filter came in a bulky plastic case. There’s no case with the 135 Series—no plastic—just beautiful, metal, retro-looking front and back caps that keep the filter safe. The smaller sizes fit very conveniently into your pocket.

I love that you can have two or three filters, stack them together, and just have one back and one front cap. It’s a huge space-saver, particularly for traveling light with a little shoulder bag, which I do often.

Now, some of you might think it’s a pain to screw on a cap when, with a traditional plastic lens cap, you pinch it, and it’s off in a second. True, but when I go out and shoot, I don’t have a lens cap on anyway. I only use a cap when I’m traveling and my camera is in my bag. Then, the cap stops the filter from getting scratched up. The problem with traditional plastic lens caps is they come off in your bag or backpack. These screw-on lens caps don’t.

One Small Disadvantage

Nothing is ever perfect. The only thing to watch with metal threads—particularly aluminum—is that they tend to bind. It’s been an ongoing problem for me with all my filters and step-up rings, particularly in cold weather. It’s been minus 24 here recently, and there’s nothing worse than fighting to unscrew a filter or cap when it’s that cold. The simple solution is: don’t screw anything together too tightly. When it starts to get tight, turn back a little. Problem solved.

Conclusion

PolarPro's existing standard 82mm CP and Black Mist filter are both $99.99. Their new 135-Series Chroma PL and Black Mist filter are both $119.99. For the extra $20 on either of them, you’re getting the front and back caps, which are much nicer than the plastic container you get with the standard CP (I assume you get the same kind of case with the Black Mist—I don’t own one). I think it’s the better deal and the better option.

I really do love using these 135 Series filters. They’re exceptional quality, the design with the caps is very unique and practical, and—let’s be honest here—they look good too!