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Circular Polariser filter for general?
- Thread starter Lou Nardi
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- Name
- Chris
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It has a specific effect. It can reduce or intensify reflections or glitter from water, glass, glossy leaves, polished surfaces, etc., and can darken or lighten part of a blue sky (because blue sky is polarised circularly around the position of the sun). So sometimes it can be a useful effect in some photographs in certain lighting conditions. It's not really "for" any specific kind of photography. It could be useful in some landscape shots to reduce the glitter from diffusely backlit foliage, and annoying in other landscape shots where it would selectively darken some of the blue sky, and lighten another part. It could be useful in zoos photographing some animals behind glass, or an annoying loss of light when photographing a fidgeting animal in dim light.
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- Toni
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I have one but found it disappointing - it doesn't work like a conventional polariser where you can rotate the filter to an optimal position, and it just gives a half-hearted effect while making the viewfinder dim from loss of 2 stops.
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- Ian
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A polariser isn't just for landscape. You could use it for many applications if you want to remove glare or reflection from a surface such as glass.
Also it's good to boost saturation of colour though you need the sun to your left or right for maximum effect.
Also it's good to boost saturation of colour though you need the sun to your left or right for maximum effect.
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- Richard
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You mean a Circular Polarising filter? They're very good for landscapes, darkening blue skies and richening foliage (by removing some reflections) but not always a good thing for general photography. They reduce exposure and in portraits they will often remove some reflections off shiny skin making it look a bit like putty.
All polarising filters can be rotated (they'd be useless without) and work exactly like a linear polariser. If you're not seeing the effect, then you're not using it properly. Read up on angles to the sun for darkening blue skies, and the critical angles for reducing reflections.
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- Toni
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Thank you for the advice. I've used a linear polariser for many years, but the circular device I have does not behave the same, possibly inferior for some reason, but it simply doesn't work the same way.
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- Richard
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Summat's not right then. A circular polariser is simply a linear polarising filter with a quarter-wave plate stuck to the back - that has no effect on the polarising performance - and works in exactly the same way. The quarter-wave plate is only there so the filter doesn't upset metering and AF systems that may be sensitive to polarised light.