Camera Labs

I hear a lot about polarizing filters.

What are they?
What do they do?
what types are there?
How much do they cost?

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I think that could actually be a good idea for a video guide.

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Jake

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they take reflections out of glass, off water. They make sky's and the sea blue'er. they range from cheap to expensive. I paid 35 pounds for mine. You get circular and fixed i think. Do i think they're worth it? Not really. You can do the colour changes in photoshop and. So imo its just for getting rid of reflections.

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Linear and Circular polarizers, deepen the bright blue sky, enrich colors, and remove reflections.

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Does anyone have any experience with polarizing filters at auto shows? A million reflections on super shiny cars seems to be the biggest issue beyond trying to push through the crowds and actually get a shot. Do polarizing filters help at all?

I don't have experience at auto shows but I used a polarising filter at the Zoo last year and it pretty much removed almost all trace of reflections from the glass I was shooting through. You can always see a very faint reflection if you're looking for it but generally the result is extremely effective.

The good thing about these filters is that you can rotate them to graduate the intensity of the reflections to suit your tastes. I'm not sure but I imagine this might be useful at an auto show where some reflections enhance the look of the vehicles.

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Hi there, we are planning a workshop on using polarising filters. Sadly they can only remove reflections on non-metallic surfaces though...

I believe fearless leader mentioned the two types of polarisers available: linear and circular. When you do the workshop Gordon, could you include the distinction between the two with regards to metering and AF? I think this is an important point for the beginning photographer to understand before they make the investment. As tempting as the cheaper linear polarisers are, they just aren't really suitable for the modern DSLR.

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Nikonian

http://www.edtangphotography.com
http://journeysintophotography.blogspot.com/

Circular Parlarisation filters is the way to go.

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A link on how polrized light comes from a reflection
here!

Reflections can come from different materials and materials that always reflect light whatever the incident angle of the light is don´t polarize the light. Metals reflects light but dosen't polarize the light for exaple and thus the polarizing filter dosent work there.

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Canon EOS 40D, 17-85 IS USM, EF 100 f2,8 macro

Another thing too..

In order to get maximum polarization the sun needs to off to your left or your right. 90 degrees is the best.

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This is one place when the live preview makes a difference. You rotate the filter and you can see it darken then sky.

One caveat, don't wear polarized sunglasses when using this filter or you might be seeing rainbows and other weird effects.

This is where I am and am looking for a polarizer and UV filter, but I'm having a very hard time figuring out what is the price I need to spend to get on that works decently. I am a beginner so $150 filters are to high for me right now. But I will be shooting in mexico's beach this year, and would like some help with nice sky and ocean colors. And do all of circular filters rotate to change the polarizing effect.

thanks

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Canon 40D kit Lens 28-135mm IS, Canon 50mm F/1.8, 10-22mm, 100 2.8 macro, 580 Ex.

I ought to have answered my own question within my earlier post. Here goes:

It truly depends on the lens, csmonte. If you have expensive glass, get a high quality filter (usually with an equally high price), but if you have cheap glass, get a cheaper filter, and so on. Let's say you had a $400 kit lens - it makes no sense spending half the value of that on a filter - for a $1000 lens, that cost can be that little be more justified.

So things to look out for when you get a filter:

1) rim - is it too thick and will cause vignetting (really only the case on wides/ultra-wides)

2) how many coatings does the filter have? Settle for no less than double. Multi if you can afford it.

3) material - filters in general are glass, but on odd occasions you may find a UV filter that is made otherwise; stick with glass.

4) consider your lens thread sizes - get as large a filter you need, and you can use step-up rings to fit it onto a smaller threaded lens - it may cause a bit of vignetting, but you could potentially use your filter on more than one lens. Note that this method will compromise IQ - there will be a bigger gap between the filter and lens

5) consider a slot-in system, like the popular Cokin P-series. This avoids the problem of different thread sizes. They can be more clumsy to use at times, but has a greater degree of freedom when choosing how you want your filter to work (esp. graduated filters)

And with polarisers - avoid linear at all costs. It really is not suited for digital photography by spoiling metering and the use of AF (if you happen to do).

Polarisers are not the only way to get colour in sky, but that's another thing from the root of this thread.

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Nikonian

http://www.edtangphotography.com
http://journeysintophotography.blogspot.com/

That was a very helpful Post Photo J, I may consider that using step up rings now for my lenses and until I develop my skills I'm not sure that spending gobs of money on little stuff will be the best use of my money at this time. I'm am definitally not one to double buy, but fitting both my lenses with hoods/and 2 filters each, has added up very quickly.

I would assume that you all would still recommend a UV filter for Every lens for the sake of protection? (so now I'm looking at only a $30 difference)

I will be looking into a $1000 zoom lens in the future so then I could see spending a bit more to allow my lens to use its full potential. I will compare prices and try to weigh the differences.

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Canon 40D kit Lens 28-135mm IS, Canon 50mm F/1.8, 10-22mm, 100 2.8 macro, 580 Ex.