Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Amazon Basics Circular Polarizer Camera Lens Filter

Top positive review

Works exactly as advertized

Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2024

Good product, great price. I don't have other polarizers but this worked perfectly for me. Can't believe the one star reviews!

Top critical review

Critical reviews›

Camedia

Great price, but not the right color

Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2015

I replaced my Sony A-mount 70-300mm G lens with a Sony E-mount 70-200mm. I needed a new 72mm polarizer for the 70-200mm, and I wondered if the AmazonBasics was good enough. Since I already had a B+W 62mm Kaesemann Circular Polarizer with Multi-Resistant Coating for the 70-300mm G and a Sigma EX DG 62mm Wide Multi-Coated Circular Polarizer Filter (OLD MODEL) for a Sony 10-18mm, I decided to get a 62mm AmazonBasics to compare with the other two first.

To compare the filters I first customized the white balance of my Sony A6000 with a light panel, and then I placed all three filters on the light panel and took a picture. After I imported the attached image into Adobe Lightroom, I took three separate RGB readings for each filter and the panel. The top one in the picture is the AmazonBasics, the bottom left is the B+W, and the bottom right is the Sigma. The average values for each area are:
Panel: R 94.17 G 94.17 B 94.17
Amazon: R 78.33 G 78.87 B 77.37
B+W: R 68.87 G 69.60 B 71.73
Sigma: R 72.83 G 73.50 B 74.40
You can tell from these values that the B+W and the Sigma have more blue, and the AmazonBasics has a green tint. Also the AmazonBasics' light transmission is higher than the other two.

I reset my A6000 to auto white balance and took some pictures with the 10-18mm and all three filters. I set the aperture to f/8.0 and focal length to 18mm, and I rotated the filters until the longest exposure was achieved, meaning the sky was the darkest and the polarizing effect was maximized. For the same scene the shutter speed for the AmazonBasics was 1/60", and the other two filters used 1/50". When viewing the pictures on a calibrated monitor, the B+W and the Sigma images are almost identical and the blue skies look better. As expected the sky in the AmazonBasics image is not as good, and it's not easy to adjust it in Lightroom to match the other two, but if you don't compare them side by side you probably wouldn't know the difference. In terms of sharpness I can't see any difference.

The AmazonBasics has the same thickness as the B+W, so both cause vignetting at the 10mm end. Considering the B+W cost twice as much of the Sigma, I think the Sigma EX DG is the best value for me. If you are a casual shooter who only uses kit lenses and shoots JPEGs, the AmazonBasics is definitely a good value. If you are a more demanding photographer, you probably want a better filter to match your expensive gears.

369 people found this helpful

20,382 total ratings, 4,119 with reviews

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From the United States

SMW

Works exactly as advertized

Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2024

Size: 72 mmVerified Purchase

Good product, great price. I don't have other polarizers but this worked perfectly for me. Can't believe the one star reviews!

Helpful

Jonathan Belle

Enhancing Photography with Amazon Basics Polarizer

Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2023

Size: 55 mmVerified Purchase

The Amazon Basics Circular Polarizer Camera Lens Filter (55 mm) is a great tool for both amateur and professional photographers. It effectively reduces glare and reflections, enhancing the color and contrast in outdoor shots. The build quality is solid for its price, offering good value for those looking to improve their photography without breaking the bank. Easy to attach and use, it's a straightforward way to elevate your images, especially in bright light conditions. A practical addition to any camera kit.

Helpful

Garrett Coleman

Works great

Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2023

Size: 72 mmVerified Purchase

Works great but I wish the polarized size was a bit bigger. I shoot cars and it always feels like it’s barely not enough

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Mike Brum

Results

Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2024

Size: 55 mmVerified Purchase

This filter works incredibly well and is a great value.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Amazon Customer

These are great, but beware.

Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2023

Verified Purchase

Like I said these do their job, but come with limitations. I have had multiple issues with focusing, sharpness and weird distortion issues on some hazier days when using these filters. I have 3 of them for different lenses. On a shoot I had lots of issues with one on a tamron 200-400 lens on a canon EOS 5D mark 1. The lens kept focusing weird and the camera was losing its mind, pictures came out awful. When I took it off they looked 10x better. Contrast that with the one on my 18-55 efs Or 55-250 efs both on my t3i and it’s just a better experience. So it varies with lens and camera, but also should be used in situations where you absolutely need it, not just left on the lens and go out on random shoot of just anything.

6 people found this helpful

Helpful

Joseph Stevenson

High quality filter for a cheap price

Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2023

Size: 52 mmVerified Purchase

Very good photo quality when paired with an iPhone 14 Pro. Definitely recommend.

There are some bugs with the iPhone when trying to auto focus, but overall it’s snappy and quick to focus.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Camedia

Great price, but not the right color

Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2015

Size: 62 mmVerified Purchase

369 people found this helpful

Helpful

Kevin Miller

As intended

Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2023

Size: 52 mmVerified Purchase

Good fit, good clarity. Pleased with both quality and price

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Igor S.

Great alternative to a brand-name CPL that costs 4x-10x more

Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2021

Size: 82 mmVerified Purchase

At the price of just over $10 I decided to give this CPL filter a chance. The filter is made in China and packaging was nice but not as fancy as more expensive filters. Is packaging too important? Probably not, as long as it allows for the safe and easy storage when the filter is not in use.

There are lots of reviews on this item, so I am not going to repeat what other people said and instead concentrate on testing for a few potential claims about this filer brought up in the reviews.

1. Filter does not work, or makes no difference - FALSE
This filter works as a CPL filter supposed to, i.e., significantly reduces light reflections because of that helps capture more of the useful dynamic range and details.

2. Filter introduces unacceptable color shift - FALSE, esp. with Auto WB
If you look at the provided samples you will notice a slight color shift if I calibrate WB and use the same value for both no CPL and CPL. However with Auto WB the camera perfectly compensates for this and the difference is unnoticeable.

3. The filter reduces image sharpness - FALSE
The difference in sharpness is impossible to tell, particularly when using A7RIII (42MP full-frame resolution) and a good lens (Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Art at 70mm)

4. The filter significantly reduces the amount of light - TRUE but no more than 1-1.5stop
The CPL/no CPL comparison images have exactly the same aperture and shutter speed. The only difference is for CPL the ISO increased from 100 to 200. This is much better than many expensive filters producing more than 2stops of light reduction.

5. The filter has no multi-coating - hard to prove or disprove
The reflections from this filter are definitely stronger than B+W but they are comparable with the filters in the $50-70 price range. Also the greenish tint may indicate that the filter is not uncoated glass. The real life pictures taken against the sun show some increase in flares but it is not too bad.

6. The filter causes vignetting - TRUE for a wide angle lens (but no more than other non-slim filters)
This filter is not what is called "slim". It has the same thickness as most other filters, so it is likely comparable with them in terms of vignetting. If you are concerned about vignetting then you should be looking for a super-slim filter.

7. The filter looks and feel cheap - TRUE
Yes this filter is not as smooth more expensive ones and makes a slight "hissing" sound when being rotated. It also has a tendency of thread-freezing (do not over tighten or you may have to leave on forever!). However the lack of any fancy look and feel does not impact the filter functions.

Overall conclusion: if you are in looking for a perfect professional quality filter and money is not an issue, you will get better results with something like B+W XS-Pro Kaesemann High Transmission Circular Polarizer MRC-Nano Filter. However if you are on a budget and only need it for occasional use, this filter seems to be a safe choice.