Hot answers tagged polarizer
35
I use polarizer so much that I never take it off of my main lens. The good thing about it that depending on its rotation you can adjust how strongly it affects you picture from maximum to virtually nothing.
Let's start with what the polarizer physically does:
it reduces (sometimes completely) the glare from non-metallic objects.
How does it translate ...
26
A polarizer cuts out light — about one and a half to two stops, give or take. Additionally, one does not always want the effect. In wide angle shots, it can make skies look distinctively uneven.
So, it makes sense to not include them by default.
B+W and Hoya are good brands. It's worth spending a bit more a well-made one with good coatings.
19
As a DSLR user, you actually see through the lens, which is why it is easy to use a circular polarizer.
First is to know when to put it on and when not too:
It is not advisable to keep it on constantly, although I met people who do that, because it gives you 2 stops less light. This means your camera either uses slower shutter-speeds which makes things ...
19
One result of using a polarizer is the deeper blue skies; that effect isn't hard to replicate using software such as Photoshop, Lightroom, Picasa, or the GIMP.
Another important reason a polarizer might be used is to reduce glare and reflections. The best example of this is if one is photographing a puddle or pond; without a polarizer the surface will ...
19
Polarizers are often more expensive than ND filters and you need two of them.
Stacking two filters can cause vignetting with wide lenses.
You have an extra glass surface with two polarizers which can cause flare and potentially loss of contrast/sharpness.
This arrangement can cause colour shift toward yellow (but so some ND filters).
Extreme wide angle ...
17
A polarizer works in the way that it will let through only the light that is polarized in the same direction as the filter is currently turned. It is true that many AF systems have problems with this. To solve this, circular polarizer have a layer "inside" the polarizing filter that "un-polarizes" the polarized light so that the AF can function properly. The ...
15
While their are two types of polarizing filters, circular and regular, they should never look like this. This looks defective to me. Some filters do have areas with no "filtering" such as with a graduated neutral density filter. In this case 25% or 50% of the filter may appear clear such as this. Although for a polarizer I would never expect to see ...
11
The downsides are:
Vignetting with wide angles
Flare, because every filter adds 2 more glass-air surfaces and the coatings do not have 100% efficiency, polarizing filters have even more layers
Loss of contrast (same as above)
Loss of light - every filter (even UV) absorbs some light, polarizers absorb a lot
And, last but not the least, filters get stuck ...
10
A polarizing filter removes secondary light, i.e. light that has bounced on a surface and become polarized.
This happens when light bounces off of things like a water surface, glass window, and even in the atmosphere. (Light that bounces off a metal surface doesn't get polarized though.)
If you filter out the light that bounces in the athmospehere, you ...
10
The short answer is that yes, you can do this. Just stack two polarizers, and when you rotate them relative to one another, the transmission will vary.
Make sure that the polarizer in front is either:
linear, not circular, as the latter essentially un-polarizes the light as it exits the filter.
a reversed CPL (but now the threads won't line up).
The ...
10
Those look like features of the glass windows that are being revealed by the polarizer. I don't think there is any way to avoid them other than by not using the polarizer, or being careful with the filter orientation and lighting.
I've observed this effect many times in car windows. I can't find a technical explanation but I imagine it's to do with stresses ...
10
In the photo you put in the question, note how the foreground is extremely underexposed. This is because the exposure metering was made relative to the snow. However, if you set the snow to the standard exposure, you will get a "dark", gray snow. You need to add about 2 stops with Exposure Compensation (or use manual mode) in order to get a bright white ...
9
Here's polarizers' test: http://www.lenstip.com/115.4-article-Polarizing_filters_test_Results_and_summary.html. Even if you don't choose anything among these filters, it still gives good idea what to value.
9
You might find that the corners of your image get shaded by stacking two filters, as light from a wide angle that would make it to your sensor normally are blocked by the filter ring of the second filter. This is called mechanical vignetting.
Note that if you are using a lens designed for a full frame camera on a cropped sensor body then it is unlikely to ...
9
It's something to be aware of, but as long as you're aware of it, you can often still use a polarizer.
I've a 10-22mm UWA and I'm quite happy that I spent the money to get a polarizer for it.
A couple of suggestions for you:
You can often hide the variation across the image by e.g. including clouds in skies for example
When you've rotated your polarizer ...
8
Yes, it's true - sometimes. Some AF systems work OK with a linear polarizer under some or all conditions, and others fail all the time. You'd have to try it and see.
When would you want a linear polarizer?
They are often cheaper.
Since there's only one polarizing layer, not two, light transmission is often greater.
8
Polarizers do block light, as they are designed to filter out light coming from certain directions. Polarizers are useful for a variety of reasons:
Mitigating highlights on water, rocks, shiny plant leaves, etc.
Enhancing the sky, particularly blue sky, and improving the contrast balance of a scene
Bringing out the detail in clouds by reducing their glare
...
8
What you should look for is a circular polarizing filter, as that is needed for an SLR. And of course the correct size to fit your lens.
Other than that, it depends on what you mean by "good". If you want quality, buy an expensive one. If you want a cheap one there are filters that aren't as durable, but should be enough for a hobbyist.
8
You have an understandable misconception which is clouding the issue for you. The "circular" in "circular polarization" doesn't refer to the way the light is polarized in a different plane as you rotate the filter. It refers to the way the waves of light themselves are aligned. Check out this (public domain) illustration from Wikipedia:
Trippy, huh? But ...
8
I think you can only get subjective answers on this, different things will appeal to different people. I'll give you my experience.
I have a polarising filter on my main lenses rather than a UV. If it's low light, or I otherwise don't need it, I remove it temporarily, but it always goes back on. I use the polarising filter all the time, so I don't like ...
8
Absolutely, the best ones are worth every penny. While I cannot say I tried every polarizer out there, I tried over a dozen and kept the 4 best ones.
My favorite by far is the Hoya HD Circular Polarizer which lets one full stop more light than every other polarizer. This is an import advantage since more light lets you shoot at lower ISOs and faster ...
8
Unless you put a polarizing sheet on the lamps, no effect (other than the global ND effect inherent in these filters), except if there is a reflection on the ground from them, then the reflection will be attenuated.
The polarizer removes the reflections from non-metallic surfaces and the stars are direct light from emitting sources.
Since the stars ...
7
Choosing a polarizer you have to consider the size, its use and the conditions that you will be under.
The price range of polarizers coincides with a huge variance in quality. I have owned several between $80 and $280 USD and I can tell you first hand that the $280 is absolutely the best.
Now, before you go and buy the most expensive one for you should ...
6
I would look into the Lee Filter Foundation Kit, based on the needs you specified. Lee makes a very solid, and less bulky, filter system similar to Cokin's, and it will more than adequately accommodate your need for LOTS of ND filtration, 100mm filters, graduated neutral density, and if you don't mind spending the money, glass and high quality glass (rather ...
6
The only source of light under water is the light that is refracted from the outside. Also there is a fact that the light that is refracted into the water surface will be partially polarized.Partially polarized meaning that the refracted light has all planes of electromagnetic vibration other than the plane of vibration of the reflected light at the surface ...
5
Apart from what has already been mentioned (decreasing reflections from water and glass surfaces, bringing out that tourist-brochure blue skies with bright white clouds) it is worth to mention that it also decreases reflections from leaves on plants. Using a polarizer when shooting landscapes with a lot of vegetation helps bringing out a deeper, more lush ...
5
I would say the best way to use a circular polarizer is to turn it until highlights look appropriate. The general reason you need a polarizer is because of bright, often "point" highlights that create glare and obscure detail. A notable situation where this occurs is on the surface of water, where the reflection of light sources blots out the true detail in ...
5
If you are looking for a lens to shoot wildlife and birds, I highly recommend the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS telephoto zoom lens. This is a superb lens, decently fast, and provides a great focal range for capturing wildlife and birds on the perch. It is not quite fast enough at 400mm to really help you capture birds in flight, however with good lighting ...
5
Normal unpolarized light rays have many different "orientations". A polarizing filter only lets through light with a certain "orientation" and proportionally filters out light rays with different orientations. The further the orientation is away from the orientation of the polarizer, the less light makes it through, up 90 degrees where no light makes it ...
5
In addition to what @Matt Grum gave as reasons:
A polarizer will reduce reflections, while a Neutral Density filter will not. You might want to include reflections in your images.
A Neutral Density Filter optimally does not change the hue or color of the scene at all.
You may not want to darken the sky, and a circular polarizer turned the correct way ...
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