Hoya 72mm Filters: When to Use a CPL vs an ND 1000

Quick answer

Reach for the Hoya HD CPL 72mm when you need to cut glare or deepen a sky in normal light; reach for the Hoya PRO ND 1000 72mm when you want a 10-stop slowdown for long exposures. They solve different problems, so the right choice depends on whether you are controlling reflections or controlling time.

Step-by-step: choosing and using the right 72mm filter

1. Decide what you are controlling: Ask whether the scene problem is reflections and glare or too much light for the shutter speed you want. Reflections, wet foliage, glass, and hazy skies point to the CPL; smooth water, streaked clouds, or motion blur in bright light point to the ND 1000. If you cannot name the problem in one sentence, you probably do not need either filter for that shot.
2. Set up the CPL for glare and sky: Mount the Hoya HD CPL 72mm, then rotate the ring while watching the viewfinder for the point where reflections weaken and the sky deepens. Keep the sun roughly 90 degrees to your shoulder for the strongest effect. Common mistake: over-rotating until the sky looks unnatural or the corners darken; back off to the point where the effect looks believable.
3. Set up the ND 1000 for long exposure: Compose and focus before fitting the Hoya PRO ND 1000 72mm, switch to manual focus so the camera does not hunt through the dark glass, then mount the filter and calculate exposure by adding 10 stops to your metered shutter speed. Checkpoint: if your calculated exposure is shorter than about one second, the ND 1000 is probably the wrong strength for the effect you want.
4. Stabilize and time the shot: Use a sturdy tripod and a remote release or self-timer for any exposure the ND 1000 makes longer than a fraction of a second. For moving subjects, the shutter speed you choose decides whether they blur or disappear entirely. Common mistake: forgetting that 10 stops turns a 1/250-second exposure into roughly four seconds, which is long enough for camera shake to show.
5. Check and refine: Review the histogram rather than the rear screen brightness, since a 10-stop filter makes the preview look darker than the file. For the CPL, check that reflections are reduced without crushing shadow detail. If highlights are clipped with the ND 1000, shorten the exposure rather than removing the filter; the filter is doing its job.

Product facts

• Hoya HD CPL 72mm Filter PL-Cir Circular Polariser: High-transparency, high-durability UV-absorbing film with 25% greater light transmission than standard polarizing film. You lose less light than with a typical polarizer, so the HD CPL 72mm stays usable handheld and in changing light.

  

• Hoya PRO ND 1000 72mm Neutral Density Filter: Filter factor 1000, which equals a 10-stop reduction in light. Ten stops is a specialist tool: it enables multi-second exposures in daylight but is too dark for normal handheld photography.