Unusual Adapter Places a Polarizing Filter Between Lens and Sensor

While originally launched in 2017, Fotodiox created a line of lens adapters for modern and vintage SLR lenses it calls Polar Throttle adapters that have a built-in polarizing filter. The design allows multiple lenses to be adapted to a single mirrorless camera without needing different sized filters.

The adapters have largely flown under the radar, but YouTuber Mathieu Stern recently featured one of the Polar Throttle adapters — the Canon FD to E-mount version — on his YouTube Channel. He demonstrates that the filters work exactly as a polarizing filter is expected to — it removes reflections from bodies of water and when shooting through glass — but allows him to use multiple Canon FD lenses on his Sony camera without having to use different sized polarizing filters. It also reduces his kit significantly as it compresses all the circular polarizers he might need to carry with him into just one adapter, which is necessary for using the vintage lenses on his Sony camera anyway.

“Since mirrorless cameras hit the scene, our mission has been to vastly expand customer’s lens choices. With the Polar Throttle, we’ve found yet another way to deliver an important level of image control to the mix,” Bohus Blahut, the marketing director for Fotodiox Pro, said when the adapters were launched in 2017. “You can’t adjust light polarization in post, and fixing issues on-location used to mean lugging around many different-sized CPL filters. With the Polar Throttle, you get easy, reliable, built-in fingertip polarization control for any lens you attach. Cut down haze, manage reflections, create evocative long exposures in full daylight, and dial in richer, bolder colors whether you’re shooting photo or video.”

Stern shows multiple examples of how the circular polarizer works wonders on bodies of water, which can dramatically reduce reflections and reveal what is going on under the surface.

The adapter is available in a number of options for Sony E-mount cameras including Canon EOS, Canon FD, Nikon G, and Minolta MD and the polarizing adjustment ring is geared to allow for use on follow focus rigs in video production. Nine of the adapters are priced at $100, but one smart version that includes the circular polarizer and also features “Smart” adaptation between Canon EF and Sony E-mount is priced at $190. All options can be found on Fotodiox’s website.