Correct way to use Circular Pol. Filter ?

Skippy

Hi there folks......did a search on this, but I dunno if it's me or not but I really didn't find anything :dunno

Could some be so kind as to give a little EASY TO UNDERSTAND rundown on the correct way to use a Circular Polarizing Filter .....hmmmmm maybe its the way I spell that I can't find nuffin :huh :rofl

I just brought my first one for my Canon 20 ....it will fit on three of the lens I have, and I fully plan to use it on my up and coming trip to USA.

Ohhhhhhh the one I decided on was a Hoya Moose's Warming Filter.

Soooooooo I will tell you my understanding of how to do and hopefully someone will correct me

You put the Filter on ......lets say the scene is bright day with big bright sky, few white clouds, mountains in the back ground and a lovely field in front of the mountains.
I would look at the sky through the lens and TURN the filter till the Sky was a lovely BLUE color then I would know I had it in the right spot right :dunno
Ohhhhhhh please please please tell me the correct way to do it :rolleyes
I'd like to get it right ......thanks in advance
Skippy (Australia)

MrBook2

I am no expert, but here is my 2 cents:

You basically have it right. Any polarizing lens works by only allowing light of a certain polarization to pass through. Light changes polarization when it scatters off of things. By only allowing certain polarizations through, you can selectively darken an image. As you rotate the polarizer on the front of your camera, you are changing the polarization angle that is allowed through. When you hit the sweet spot, you darken the sky to a deep rich blue. This effect can be more pronounced depending on what your angle to the Sun is. I have heard that the effect works best when you are pointed about 90 degrees from the Sun.

I find that when I am using a polarizer, I tend to rotate it until it is darkest through the viewfinder, then I go past until it lightens up, then I turn back. It gives you a good idea of where exactly you want it to be.

NOTE: A word of caution. Some cameras will change their exposure and almost negate most of what you have just done to darken up the sky. I have only really seen this on point and shoot digicams when the sky is most of the light in the picture. You put the polarizer on, adjust it (looking at the live preview in the LCD) and almost nothing seems to change. The camera is compensating for the light it considers as "lost". To prevent this, hold the shutter button half down and then rotate the filter, fully pressing the shutter button when you have it where you want it. Then rotate it back to the lightest and do it again.

Above all, experiment! Go out on a nice day and try different techniques. Just be sure to bring along a notebook so that you can write down what you did differently on each shot. (Be sure to do this BEFORE your trip so you don't miss "the" shot.)

I want to suggest that you keep a small notepad and pen in your camera bag at all times so that you can make notes about specific images. It can halp you figure out what you should and shouldn't be doing quickly.

--Aaron

Skippy

Thanks Aaron

MrBook2 wrote:

I am no expert, but here is my 2 cents:

You basically have it right. Any polarizing lens works by only allowing light of a certain polarization to pass through. Light changes polarization when it scatters off of things. By only allowing certain polarizations through, you can selectively darken an image. As you rotate the polarizer on the front of your camera, you are changing the polarization angle that is allowed through. When you hit the sweet spot, you darken the sky to a deep rich blue. This effect can be more pronounced depending on what your angle to the Sun is. I have heard that the effect works best when you are pointed about 90 degrees from the Sun.

I find that when I am using a polarizer, I tend to rotate it until it is darkest through the viewfinder, then I go past until it lightens up, then I turn back. It gives you a good idea of where exactly you want it to be.

NOTE: A word of caution. Some cameras will change their exposure and almost negate most of what you have just done to darken up the sky. I have only really seen this on point and shoot digicams when the sky is most of the light in the picture. You put the polarizer on, adjust it (looking at the live preview in the LCD) and almost nothing seems to change. The camera is compensating for the light it considers as "lost". To prevent this, hold the shutter button half down and then rotate the filter, fully pressing the shutter button when you have it where you want it. Then rotate it back to the lightest and do it again.

Above all, experiment! Go out on a nice day and try different techniques. Just be sure to bring along a notebook so that you can write down what you did differently on each shot. (Be sure to do this BEFORE your trip so you don't miss "the" shot.)

I want to suggest that you keep a small notepad and pen in your camera bag at all times so that you can make notes about specific images. It can halp you figure out what you should and shouldn't be doing quickly.

--Aaron

Ummmmmmmmmmm can you send me some nice weather so I can try it out cloud, cloud, more cloud, rain, that's what we're suppose to have for the next few days sucks I tell you .......thank you for the advice you gave, and I fully intend to carry around a notebook to jot things down.
Skippy (Australia)

Shay Stephens

There are a few things to keep in mind:

The sky darkening effect is most prominent 90 degrees from the sun. There is no effect on the sky looking at the sun or 180 degrees away from it.

A polarizer can also help reduce glare from reflective objects and certain not so reflective objects. Notable examples include glass, roads, water, foliage, etc.

A polarizer can help increase the color saturation of foliage.

A polarizer will cut the amount of light in the scene by about 1 1/3 stops.

Many polarizers have writing on the outside ring. Some text, letter, graphic, or dot will likely line up with maximum effect when that indicator is pointing up. For example, I have a polarizer and the word Germany and specifically the letter G when it is pointing up will give me maximum effect in the sky and foliage. It acts as an easy guide for me.

For polarizers that are not indexed like this, I like to put four tiny paint drops at 90 degree angles around the filter. Two green and two white dots at opposite ends. I make the green dots represent maximum outside effect and the white dots represent minimum effect. That way I can set the polarizer ahead of time without so much fussing with turning back and forth, back and forth.

An easy way to index a polarizer is to point it at a laptop screen. Turn the filter until the screen goes black. That is the maximum effect position. Look at the top of the ring and see if anything lines up, if not, turn the ring 180 degrees until the screen again goes black and see if there is anything. If not, then drop a tiny paint mark there, or mark it in some way that pleases you.

Skippy

Smarty Pants

Shay Stephens wrote:

There are a few things to keep in mind:

The sky darkening effect is most prominent 90 degrees from the sun. There is no effect on the sky looking at the sun or 180 degrees away from it.

A polarizer can also help reduce glare from reflective objects and certain not so reflective objects. Notable examples include glass, roads, water, foliage, etc.

A polarizer can help increase the color saturation of foliage.

A polarizer will cut the amount of light in the scene by about 1 1/3 stops.

Many polarizers have writing on the outside ring. Some text, letter, graphic, or dot will likely line up with maximum effect when that indicator is pointing up. For example, I have a polarizer and the word Germany and specifically the letter G when it is pointing up will give me maximum effect in the sky and foliage. It acts as an easy guide for me.

For polarizers that are not indexed like this, I like to put four tiny paint drops at 90 degree angles around the filter. Two green and two white dots at opposite ends. I make the green dots represent maximum outside effect and the white dots represent minimum effect. That way I can set the polarizer ahead of time without so much fussing with turning back and forth, back and forth.

An easy way to index a polarizer is to point it at a laptop screen. Turn the filter until the screen goes black. That is the maximum effect position. Look at the top of the ring and see if anything lines up, if not, turn the ring 180 degrees until the screen again goes black and see if there is anything. If not, then drop a tiny paint mark there, or mark it in some way that pleases you.

So a few coloured dots .........how clever are you Mr Stephens
Well I just got it out of the little box and pointed it at the laptop and wow I see exactly what your talking about Shay ohhhhhhh geezzz it's scarey when I actually understand what you guys are talking about
The Mooses filter has writting on the outside and where the 77mm is printed it is the Darkest.....the screen disappears ........ohhhhhh this is exciting
Thanks Shay ........ Skippy (Australia)

David_S85

I wear polarized sunglasses outdoors. They allow me to view what a scene might look like with the filter on the camera, or without. It cuts the time down dramatically trying to decide whether I sould pull the thing out of my camera bag.

colourbox

Wow, that's a great tip. I'll have to remember that. (I only buy polarized sunglasses, so I've got those handy.)

Skippy, if it's cloudy and you want to try out your polarizer, walk down the street and rotate the filter in front of shop windows at an angle. You can control whether you can see through the glass or not because of the way the polarizer can remove reflections. You can also affect the color of some road and wall surfaces depending on the light and reflectivity. You'll really see the effect of a polarizer on a roadway if it's been raining and the road's wet and reflective. Actually, watch everything in the frame. The appearance of tree leaves, cars, bodies of water, etc. can also be altered.

Skippy

Ahhhhh The Old Sunglasses Trick.....

David_S85 wrote:

I wear polarized sunglasses outdoors. They allow me to view what a scene might look like with the filter on the camera, or without. It cuts the time down dramatically trying to decide whether I sould pull the thing out of my camera bag.

Hi ya David .....so you put the sunnies on hu : .....I wear script glasses, that have two sets of magnetized sunglasses that come with it, I think one pair are polarizers the other pair have you seeing a brown tone to the light source, I tend to wear them the most, so I better start wearing the other pair......I'm not sure if the bluer looking pair are polarisers, so I better take both pair with me.

Thanks for the Tip....... Skippy (Australia)

Skippy

Thanks Colourbox

colourbox wrote:

Wow, that's a great tip. I'll have to remember that. (I only buy polarized sunglasses, so I've got those handy.)

Skippy, if it's cloudy and you want to try out your polarizer, walk down the street and rotate the filter in front of shop windows at an angle. You can control whether you can see through the glass or not because of the way the polarizer can remove reflections. You can also affect the color of some road and wall surfaces depending on the light and reflectivity. You'll really see the effect of a polarizer on a roadway if it's been raining and the road's wet and reflective. Actually, watch everything in the frame. The appearance of tree leaves, cars, bodies of water, etc. can also be altered.

I'll be looking at everything after reading all these tips ohhhh boy oh boy, I love this forum .......you folks have so such knowledge and so willing to share, it's wonderful thank you ....... Skippy (Australia)