olddutch Loc: Beloit, Wisconsin

How important is a Polarizing filter to have with a 70-200 f2.8 IS II lens and a 5DIII?? I have searched a few pages back in past topics, and came up ??
I shoot Air Shows, Landscape, and Sunsets...It seems that I am not up early enough for the Sunrise. mostly.. thank you... And a good brand of Filter?

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

I prefer Hoya Brand.On a digital camera you need a CPL type. Yes, a Polarizing filter can and will make a difference in your images of air shows,landscapes.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

It depends ....

How near are you to water with reflections or a blue tint to the scene? How much haze exists in the air? Do you include Cumulus cloud types which might appear all white and without features, but with a polarizing filter, the details are revealed?

Airshows can be a challenge for CPLs. The filter should be aligned relative to the position of the sun. But, when you follow a plane across a 180-degree field, the relative alignment changes defeating the positive effect of the polarizing filter ... If, say, you limit to shots of oncoming planes from only one direction, the polarizing filter can be very useful compared to results without.

You might also want to look at Neutral Density filters ...

olddutch Loc: Beloit, Wisconsin

The Cumulus Clouds adds a lot to the photos. I an very much in favor of them. I understand there are numbers as to the power of the ND filters. do you have a starting point??

f8lee Loc: New Mexico

Polarizing filters are essentially good for two things: remove glare on smooth surfaces (still water, metal, glass) and darkening the sky so the clads "pop" a bit more. If the kind of shooting you do doesn't involve these things, then maybe you don't need one.

As @CHG_CANON points out, since the effect of a CPL depends on the relative positions of the sun, the subject and you, at an airshow panning along the sky to follow a plane makes it challenging to get optimal results. That said, if you're strolling around outside and want to remove some of the glare from canopies or wings, it can help.

As for brands, in general you get what you pay for - Hoya and Tiffen make multiple lines of filters, and their high-end models are good. B+W and Heliopan are also excellent brands.

Now a Neutral Density filter is another animal altogether (you mention ND in your follow-up post). These are not polarizers; rather, they are essentially "sunglasses" for the lens that cut out (ideally) all colors of light be a certain amount of stops. Their purpose is to allow you to shoot at a larger aperture (to achieve shallow depth of field) or slower shutter speed (to purposely create motion blur) than you otherwise could in a bright environment. Like CPLs, this kind of filter is something you need on the lens when you take the photo - there are no post-processing "filters" that can take their place. There are a couple of different numbering schemes for NDs, but basically the larger numbers equate to a darker filter, the maximum being about a 9 or 10 stop filter (at 10 stops, the filter is cutting out 99.9% of the light that enters it - making for the ability to have shutter speeds of 10 or more seconds at high noon at the beach (depending on ISO and aperture settings, of course).

CO

I agree with CHG CANON about not using a polarizer for the air shows. Polarizers have their maximum effect when the sun is oriented 90 degrees from your line of sight. The polarization will be constantly changing as you track the planes.

Neutral density filters are very useful. I use them when photographing flowing water to help slow down the shutter speed to get a smoothed out look. Avoid variable density ND filters. They can produce a weird cross effect. Colors can be off also. I have a Hoya 3-stop and 4-stop ND filter that I use. Those are strong enough to get the effect that I want.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

It's not the lens or the camera, it the subject and the lighting. I use Marumi.

Lots of links -

https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2017/09/my-not-nearly-complete-but-rather-entertaining-circular-polarizer-filter-article/
http://www.lenstip.com/139.25-article-Polarizing_filters_test_2015_Results_and_summary.html
http://www.techradar.com/how-to/photography-video-capture/cameras/best-circular-polarizer-filter-5-top-models-tested-and-rated-1320842
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Circular-Polarizer-Filters.aspx
http://www.lenstip.com/index.php?art=139

http://www.lenstip.com/115.1-article-Polarizing_filters_test.html
http://www.lenstip.com/115.4-article-Polarizing_filters_test_Results_and_summary.html
http://nikonrumors.com/2014/07/26/how-to-use-a-polarizing-filter.aspx/

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

There are times when a polarizing filter is invaluable. My personal preference is B+W. I've personally spoken with one of their application engineers and was quite impressed with the candid honesty expressed by the company. Additionally, they use brass frames instead of aluminum. This reduces the possibility of another inherent quality of aluminum, galling.
--Bob

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

Let me put it this way, a polarizer works best when the camera is at a 90 degrees from the sun. It darkens skies, saturate colors, acts as a two stops ND filter and suppresses reflections from non metallic surfaces. It is as useful in the rain as it is when the sun is shining. It is not good for human skin and not good either for sunsets or sunrises.
Enough said.

cthahn

Try doing a search on Polarizing Filters on the internet or Utube and you will find more information than you can absorb.

pepprdog

I won't do much shooting outside without one simply because it will enhance most shots by taking glare from the leaves, grass, glass, water, skin, etc.
I wouldn't consider not having one on during an air show. You may not have perfect alignment for the filter but anybreflections that are reduced will make a difference.
I've used both my B&W and Nikon 77mm for well over 20 years. I suggest getting at least one or two sizes too big for your biggest lens and use step down adapters so the lens hood doesn't crop your corners, especially with zoom and wide angle lenses.
Specifically, my 80-210 2.8 takes a lot better photos with the filter on when it's oriented right.

Nikonman44

the polarizing filter will ad depth and colour definition to your aerials

Brings out the blues and the greens and makes for a very vivid shot that otherwise would be OK to most folk looking at it.

Nikonman44

thats good to remember vignetting (around the edges or at least on one side of plane ) can occur shoot more than you are after and then crop out any dark spots.

Nikonman44

cameraappi seemed to do a good job of describing why have one.

I use mine . Telesar and Nikon are Japanese glass I think Hoya is still around and maybe Roley.

Adorama has a good selection and they are priced affordably

Leitz Loc: Solms

Polarizing filters do not remove reflections from metallic surfaces.