Lee Filters Lee100 Polarizer

£206 / $322 www.leefilters.com

Lee Filters is one of the most widely known filter manufacturers. Its products are used by many professional photographers, but the company faces increasing competition from other brands. The current Lee Filters Lee100 Polarizer was introduced in March 2019, along with a new Lee100 Holder. The filter replaced the earlier version, which is bigger, heavier and requires an extra ring to be mounted onto the original filter holder. The new Lee100 Polarizer is about half the depth of the original and it has clips to mount it in the current Lee100 holder. The Lee100 Holder mounts onto a lens via an adapter ring, which must match the lens’s filter thread. The filter comes with a zip-closed semi-rigid case with a plush interior to keep it safe and scratch-free. There are two metal rings around the glass of the filter. The rear one is the wider of the two and holds the plastic clips that allow the filter to be snapped onto the Lee100 Holder. The front ring has deep knurling, like a cog, which makes it easy to grasp and rotate to get the effect that you want. The Lee100 Polarizer snaps on to the front of lenses using its two clips that must be aligned with catches on opposite sides of the holder. It’s quick and easy to do, but it’s worth double-checking that both clips are secure before you let go of the filter. Removing the filter is another matter. Basically, you need to press down on one of the clips as you lever the filter away from the holder, but there’s a knack to it and you need to press on the outer edge of the clip. The Lee100 Polarizer does a great job of cutting down on reflections, boosting colour saturation, enhancing a blue sky and making clouds more distinct. This is done without reducing the amount of detail visible in images when the are compared at 100% on a computer screen. There is, however, a subtle warming effect. Because the polarizer clips onto the Lee100 Holder, it can be used with up to two rectangular filters, for example, an ND filter to extend the shutter speed and a graduated ND to balance the exposure of the sky and the land.

N-photo verdict

The release mechanism could be better but it gets easier to use with practice and, overall, the filter puts in a good performance.

PROS Slimmer than original; snaps into place; ace optical performance

CONS Removing it is a pain; only works with the ‘new’ Lee100 Holder