Circular Polarized Filter question

[Tweedy]

How do you determine the "sweet spot" when using the circular polarized filter? Is it when you get the deepest colours?

[awboater]

Since you can never tell the angle of the sunlight, the spot will never be the same.

 

While you can use a polarizer to enhance the blue sky, most use I think will be when shooting through glass or at glass or water and you don't want the sun's reflection.

[pierces]

The maximum effect on the sky is at a 90º angle to the sun and the difference is plainly seen when you rotate the filter. As awboater said, one of the best uses is to cut glare and reflections on glass and water. The best effect can be clearly seen there when you rotate the filter. The water colors will deepen dramatically when the "sweet spot" is hit.

 

Be cautious with people at a portrait distance since removing reflections from the skin can make people look plastic and generally un-flattered!

 

Speaking of plastic, polycarbonate airplane and helicopter windows are a no-no with a polarizer. The plastic semi-polarizes the light naturally and shooting through it with a polarizer can give you odd patterns of light/dark and color shifting.

 

Here's an article I wrote about filter usage. I might answer a few questions.

 

http://pptphoto.com/ArticlePages/Filters.htm

 

Dave

[Tweedy]

Thanks for the replies. i have found alot of information on the net and read through the link pierces posted. I'll need a little practice before I use it in the caribbean in a month.

[sundownlow]

The maximum effect on the sky is at a 90º angle to the sun and the difference is plainly seen when you rotate the filter. As awboater said, one of the best uses is to cut glare and reflections on glass and water. The best effect can be clearly seen there when you rotate the filter. The water colors will deepen dramatically when the "sweet spot" is hit.

 

Be cautious with people at a portrait distance since removing reflections from the skin can make people look plastic and generally un-flattered!

 

Speaking of plastic, polycarbonate airplane and helicopter windows are a no-no with a polarizer. The plastic semi-polarizes the light naturally and shooting through it with a polarizer can give you odd patterns of light/dark and color shifting.

 

Here's an article I wrote about filter usage. I might answer a few questions.

 

http://pptphoto.com/ArticlePages/Filters.htm

 

Dave

Just checked out your webpage pierces! Love it! I'm not exactly new to photography but I love the way you make everything so understandable and easy. Loved the articles on lenses and filters.

I'm heading off on my first Alaska cruise this May. I hope to get some good shots!

[pierces]

Just checked out your webpage pierces! Love it! I'm not exactly new to photography but I love the way you make everything so understandable and easy. Loved the articles on lenses and filters.

I'm heading off on my first Alaska cruise this May. I hope to get some good shots!

 

Glad you enjoyed!

 

If you have never been to Alaska before, you and your camera are going to fall in love! It's my favorite destination so far. Especially Ketchikan!

 

Happy shooting!

 

Dave

[awboater]

Nice article pierces.

 

I hesitate to even make the comment as they are all but obsolete, but there are different 85 filters, depending on the Tungsten film.

 

For example, I used to use an 85B filter for EktaChrome Tungsten film.

 

I think White Balance is the #1 improvement DSLRs have over film cameras.

[awboater]

Also - those were very nice photos in your low-light page.

[pierces]

Nice article pierces.

 

I hesitate to even make the comment as they are all but obsolete, but there are different 85 filters, depending on the Tungsten film.

 

For example, I used to use an 85B filter for EktaChrome Tungsten film.

 

I think White Balance is the #1 improvement DSLRs have over film cameras.

 

You are correct that digital has really killed the white-balance filter market. The 85A/B/C filters to use the various flavors of tungsten light in daylight have been replaced by a menu much like the ISO range has. About the only filters that have found a new home in the digital age are polarizers, UV/protection, Neutral density and various special effects filters.

 

Any amateur who ever re-wound their half-used roll of film with the tail left out, wrote the frame number on the can so you could reload it later and loaded a different color temperature or ISO film for a different project really appreciates those menus! They basically give us a camera shop full of film choices and big memory cards give us a Sports Illustrated shooter's bag full of film.

 

I can truly say that my level of nostalgia for the days of film is pretty low! ;)

 

Yay Digital!

 

Dave

[sundownlow]

Glad you enjoyed!

 

If you have never been to Alaska before, you and your camera are going to fall in love! It's my favorite destination so far. Especially Ketchikan!

 

Happy shooting!

 

Dave

Ketchikan is the one place that I'm having a hard time trying to figure out where to go and shoot. I would love to hear some suggestions. Thank you in advance!

[nmg222]

Ketchikan is the one place that I'm having a hard time trying to figure out where to go and shoot. I would love to hear some suggestions. Thank you in advance!

 

If you have available funds, I highly recommend a trip to Anan Creek to watch the bears feed on salmon. Here's the company I used: http://www.islandwings.com/bear-viewing-tours

 

As for Alaska photo ops, it's at the top of the list.

[pierces]

Ketchikan is the one place that I'm having a hard time trying to figure out where to go and shoot. I would love to hear some suggestions. Thank you in advance!

 

We did a tour that took us out to George inlet on a Dungeness crab boat and then to a lodge for feast, Afterwards we did a walkabout in the great little town afterwards. Two thumbs up for Ketchi Candies and their chocolate dipped Oreos and dried kiwi fruit!

 

 

 

 

Link to Ketchikan slideshow and gallery: http://galleries.pptphoto.com/p640792198/slideshow

 

Dave

[sundownlow]

We did a tour that took us out to George inlet on a Dungeness crab boat and then to a lodge for feast, Afterwards we did a walkabout in the great little town afterwards. Two thumbs up for Ketchi Candies and their chocolate dipped Oreos and dried kiwi fruit!

 

 

 

 

Link to Ketchikan slideshow and gallery: http://galleries.pptphoto.com/p640792198/slideshow

 

Dave

Thanks both NMG222 and Dave for your tips! Dave - Love, love the food porn images! I am definitely interested in seeing bears feeding on salmon and eating lots of crab! Thanks again for your input.

[zackiedawg]

I'm late to the thread, but wanted to throw in one more thing: I find with circular polarizers that it's useful to mark the polarizer for the direction of the polarizing effect - CPs can be rotated so the polarization angle can be adjusted for where the light is coming from - this is usually done by eye through the viewfinder and works well enough - but there are some situations where it can be hard to notice the effect, or even worse, with 'live view' cameras like P&S, the polarization effect is canceled out by the LCD display gaining up, sometimes making it impossible to see when you've got it adjusted correctly. Get it wrong, and you get 1/2 polarized sky, and 1/2 not. So I hold up the CP filter by itself, looking through it, and turn until I can clearly see the polarization effect darken the sky - when I've got it exactly level, I put a small dot (using a silver paint pen...though you can use anything you want) along the outer adjustable ring's rim, right at the top. Some good CPs come with an index dot marked on them, but many do not. This lets me very quickly know exactly where my CP is aligned, and can quickly adjust it to where needed.