Nikon D5300 with polarizer
Jan 19, 2018 08:00:11 #
Sorry for the stupid question, but it seems like when I add the polarizer, the resulting photos are darker. I thought it had thru-the-lens metering, or am I wrong?
Jan 19, 2018 08:03:10 #
bighammer wrote:
Sorry for the stupid question, but it seems like when I add the polarizer, the resulting photos are darker. I thought it had thru-the-lens metering, or am I wrong?
Yes, it does meter through the lens. The CPL does decrease the light a bit. The polarizer works best when shooting at 90 degrees to the sun to reduce reflections and increase color saturation. It's not an all-purpose alway-on filter/lens. If you can post a shot with the filter and another without, we can tell you more. Click "(store original)" so we can examine them in more detail.
Jan 19, 2018 08:06:37 #
What Jerry said. Additionally, the polarizer will remove a great deal of the reflections within the scene. Thus, it may appear darker, but the colors should be substantially better.
--Bob
--Bob
bighammer wrote:
Sorry for the stupid question, but it seems like when I add the polarizer, the resulting photos are darker. I thought it had thru-the-lens metering, or am I wrong?
Jan 19, 2018 08:24:56 #
Pablo8
Loc: Nottingham UK.
jerryc41 wrote:
Yes, it does meter through the lens. The CPL does decrease the light a bit. The polarizer works best when shooting at 90 degrees to the sun to reduce reflections and increase color saturation. It's not an all-purpose alway-on filter/lens. If you can post a shot with the filter and another without, we can tell you more. Click "(store original)" so we can examine them in more detail.
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Too bold a statement about the "90 degree angle" syndrome. That is ok for darkening the blue sky, to improve clouds, but not for reflections from shiny surfaces. Too many folk fall for this 90 degree hackneyed comment. The optimal angle from camera to subject surface, is approximately 30 degrees. Shop windows, automobiles, shiny leaves. water surface, etc. etc. Check text-book physics if you need to.
Jan 19, 2018 09:40:12 #
bighammer wrote:
Sorry for the stupid question, but it seems like when I add the polarizer, the resulting photos are darker. I thought it had thru-the-lens metering, or am I wrong?
Assuming you've positioned / turned the CPL correctly to reduce glare / reflections, add positive exposure compensation to increase the exposure by maybe +1. If unsure of how to apply Exposure Compensation, do a quick search of your camera manual for this term.
Jan 19, 2018 11:06:07 #
The purpose of the CPL is to remove reflected light coming into the lens at an angle. That will darken the photo as so much of over exposed highlights are reduced. Colors will appear deeper and more saturated.
Experiment, but I would be leery about adding any exposure compensation on the camera. I would rather slightly underexpose than over expose.
Experiment, but I would be leery about adding any exposure compensation on the camera. I would rather slightly underexpose than over expose.
Jan 20, 2018 03:49:32 #
Pablo8
Loc: Nottingham UK.
bighammer wrote:
Sorry for the stupid question, but it seems like when I add the polarizer, the resulting photos are darker. I thought it had thru-the-lens metering, or am I wrong?
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I have found that the TTL metering on my Nikons will take care of the darkening effects of the filter. But remember if using a hand-held meter for readings, the meter must be set to take account of the filter factor, approx' two stops difference.
Jan 20, 2018 05:25:08 #
RWR
Loc: La Mesa, CA
bighammer wrote:
Sorry for the stupid question, but it seems like when I add the polarizer, the resulting photos are darker. I thought it had thru-the-lens metering, or am I wrong?
Your D5300 does have through-the-lens metering, and if you are in one of the auto-exposure modes will compensate for the polarizer. In manual, zero the meter by either lowering the shutter speed, opening the aperture, or increasing the ISO. You might experiment by changing your position relative to the subject - you will see the effects of the polarizer change as you move.
Oh, and you will find many more stupid answers than stupid questions here!
Jan 20, 2018 09:35:53 #
Are you sure you are using a circular polarizer and not a linear polarizer?
Jan 20, 2018 10:29:54 #
bighammer wrote:
Sorry for the stupid question, but it seems like when I add the polarizer, the resulting photos are darker. I thought it had thru-the-lens metering, or am I wrong?
Something I didn't see addressed, but worth considering, is that you will get a darker circle of blue in the outer edges of the sky when you use a very wide focal length (18mm, for example, on the D5300); whereas, at longer focal lengths, the overall evenness of the polarizing effect is improved. I have seen the use of polarizers discouraged on ultra-wide lenses altogether. Do you see that difference in the degree of darkness of the blue in your images between the wide shots and zoomed shots?
Jan 21, 2018 00:54:04 #
IDguy
Loc: Idaho
Check your metering mode. If using spot metering a small movement can cause a significant exposure difference. It has nothing to do with the CP.
Jan 21, 2018 05:38:25 #
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