Polarizing filter? (Page 3): Like it with the without the polarizer better!

Dlevon Loc: New Jersey

Crwiwy wrote:

Strange advice but I have heard it before. br br ... (show quote)

Like it with the without the polarizer better!

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

rook2c4 wrote:

The best way to figure out what a polarizing filter can and cannot do is to simply put one on and play around with it for an afternoon or two. Only then will you know when such a filter is useful and when it is not. To ALWAYS use a polarizing filter for landscape photography is silly. There are many situations when a polarizing filter will not do anything of significance to the image, particularly on overcast days.

:thumbup:

Along with the position of the sun with relation to the scene one is photographing.
-Bob

MW

Using a polarizer with an ultra wide lens may result in an image with uneven sky saturation. The effect of a polarized depends on the angle between the lens and the sun. With an ultra wide that angle will be different left vs right.

izzyandal Loc: Hilton Head Island

Big difference when shooting scenes over water, too.

BTW, Anyone who loves a Siamese (or any other cat) can't be all bad.

Meow

Crwiwy Loc: Devon UK

Dlevon wrote:

Like it with the without the polarizer better!

Thanks, so do I. The polarizer appears to over intensify colours for me.

Crwiwy Loc: Devon UK

MW wrote:

Using a polarizer with an ultra wide lens may result in an image with uneven sky saturation. The effect of a polarized depends on the angle between the lens and the sun. With an ultra wide that angle will be different left vs right.

Thanks - that is something I will have to bear in mind.
The picture that I noticed the effect on was taken with a 18mm (on crop sensor) so that would explain the strange effect.

MW

Except for reducing specular (right term?) reflections on shinny objects like chrome and seeing through the surface of water, I don't think polarizers have the same utility with digital images as they did with film. Darkening a sky and increasing saturation can be done with software and probably with better control.

Old Redeye Loc: San Mateo, CA

The process you're referring to with the flashlight is called "light painting" and has become quite popular. There are other uses, as well.

CocoaRoger wrote:

good idea thanks, meanwhile on this show they are shooting a waterfall at night. Something I would never have thought of doing. He wants to illuminate the fall yet get stars in the background so he set his ISO 1600, F stop 4 and a twenty second exposure but then he took a flashlight and shined it up and down and around the waterfall so the exposure gives him a almost glowing waterfall while still seeing the stars in the sky. Heck of an idea.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

CocoaRoger wrote:

I'm watching a photography show and they said when doing landscapes etc... to ALWAYS use a polarizing filter. They said it makes a huge difference with colors and glare but didn't show any example. So I was wondering what everyone else not only has to say but maybe some examples as well? Thanks

It depends on your angle to the sun. It can make a huge difference or no difference at all.

Here's a comparison from Poland, so the prices are in Polish currency. I use the Marumi. If you have lenses that take different size filters, buy the larger size and use step-up adaptors to attach them to smaller lenses.

Polarizing Comparison

http://www.lenstip.com/115.4-article-Polarizing_filters_test_Results_and_summary.html

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

izzyandal wrote:

BTW, Anyone who loves a Siamese (or any other cat) can't be all bad.

Meow

:thumbup:

Picdude Loc: Ohio

CocoaRoger wrote:

I'm watching a photography show and they said when doing landscapes etc... to ALWAYS use a polarizing filter. They said it makes a huge difference with colors and glare but didn't show any example. So I was wondering what everyone else not only has to say but maybe some examples as well? Thanks

I think to say ALWAYS use it is a pretty bold statement. However, depending on the situation/subject it can be close to indispensable. I used one a lot on my old Nikon EM 35mm when I was working off-shore. Made a huge difference when shooting sunsets/sunrises or other water shots for glare off the ocean. I frequently took it off and left it off when I came back on shore for break.

They really aren't that expensive and are well worth the money to buy and experiment with. Some things can be fixed in post, but keep in mind that glare is usually a localized spot of really blown-out highlights, and there just isn't a good fix for that.

kaybee Loc: Peterborough UK

Possibly a bit 'over the top' but it may help.
http://www.photonics.com/Article.aspx?AID=35808

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

kaybee wrote:

Possibly a bit 'over the top' but it may help.
http://www.photonics.com/Article.aspx?AID=35808

I'm going to print this and consult it the next time I shoot with a polarizer. :D

Sailor man Loc: Forest, VA

True, the polarizing effect is greatest when you are shooting at 90-degrees from the sun. What you have to watch out for is including the sky on a very wide picture. The polarizer can make the sky uneven --- dark in the middle only.

izzyandal Loc: Hilton Head Island

Does that principle apply to circular polarizing filters ?