p.1 #1 · show us your pic with circular Polarized Filter
The reason i asked this is because I've had the CPL filter and don't know what the difference in effect when using it, what i felt is that the filter actually gave me darker pictures. my CPL filter is N***N and i bought it for more than US$200 (its very expensive around here and actually B&H, Hoya do not available around here)\
p.1 #2 · show us your pic with circular Polarized Filter
Well, it will be 1 1/3 to 2 stops darker, yes. It will eliminate reflections though, and is generally most useful on brighter days when the light loss is little problem.
p.1 #4 · show us your pic with circular Polarized Filter
You have to be at the correct angle to the sun for the polarizer to have maximum effect. I believe that angle is 90 degrees from the sun (north or south). Here is a shot, first with the polarizer turned till it had least effect, and then with the polarizer turned to maximum effect
It has the most effect on the sky and reflective objects (car paint, windows, water). But in some cases I notice that it effects rubber and even plant leaves. I guess anything that has even a remote amount of shine or "film" on it.
Notice how the forground stays almost the identical exposure, but the background (haze) and sky are much darker.
http://www.danielbuck.net/wip/polarizer_1.jpg
http://www.danielbuck.net/wip/polarizer_2.jpg
Edited by Daniel Buck on Jan 19, 2005 at 10:07 AM GMT
p.1 #5 · show us your pic with circular Polarized Filter
The beauty of the polarizer is that you can see its effect in the viewfinder.
Here's how to learn what it does. Find a building with large windows. Put the polarizer on your lens. Stand at a 45 degree angle to the window glass, and look through the viewfinder at the glass, and the reflections you see in the glass. Now rotate the rotating element of the polarizer. See what happens to the reflections in the glass.
You could also try this with water, if there's a pond nearby. Rotating the polarizer will reduce the glare of the sky on the water, and in some cases allow you to take pictures of what's under the water rather than what's reflected by the surface.
Polarizers are also extremely useful for rainbow photography. Turn the polarizer and watch the colors in the rainbow pop.
They can also be used to darken the blues in the sky, increasing contrast with the clouds. This effect is most pronounced when shooting at a 90 degree angle to the sun, and nearly non-existant when facing the sun or directly opposite.
p.1 #6 · show us your pic with circular Polarized Filter
When shooting a vehicle (reflective paint) you can twist the polarizer and watch the reflections dance all over the curved surfaces. It really gives you a *great* deal of control over the reflections. For vehicles, I usually turn it so that the front window has almost no reflection, and the side of the car has heavy reflections.
p.1 #7 · show us your pic with circular Polarized Filter
I do a lot of shooting on the water. A polarizer will take the reflections off the water surface so you see the water color instead of just a silver reflection. You can also protograph things under the water much more clearly. When i take pictures of wooden kayaks on the water, a polarizer is an absolute must. You will get tons of detail in the wood which is very hard to show without one.
I use it a TON at car shows, as i can eliminate reflections on the cars so you see the color of the paint, not a reflection of the car next to it and the people walking by (or my ugly mug hiding behind the camera).
When you take pictures with foliage (green grass and plants), they are much more green, with much more saturated color.
You can also get blue skies with well defined clowds instead of the whit-ish blown out skies... but this can easily be overdone. You can overdo the effect and make skies look almost purple, which looks kind of neat the first few times, but other photographers will scoff at it.
I also use one in my 300 f2.8 lens to simply cut the light down at car races, as i don't own a neutral density filter. I get better color on the cars, but losing two stops of light (and shutter speed) helps get some motion in the wheels.
Daniel: thanks for your sample pic, Now I know what it uses for... I got the same result as you, however before i bought the filter, I though it will give some effect to the sky and cloud as it showed in the web instead of the foreground.
"The B+W 77mm MRC Circular Polarizer Filter (as well as the other good circular polarizers) will cut the polarized light hitting the lens. The amount of reduction of the polarized light is adjusted by turning the end of the B+W 77mm MRC Circular Polarizer Filter. The effect is most noticeable at an angle of 90 degrees from the sun. Blue skies become VERY blue. Reflections are dramatically reduced or eliminated"
p.1 #9 · show us your pic with circular Polarized Filter
Here's an example with a polarizer.
Without it you woulsn't see the deep maroon paint color on the sides of the car, you would see a reflection on the car next to it.
You can't totally eliminate the reflection on a car, but by adjusting the polarizer you can get a reflecrion free area that you can move around by adjusting the filter.
I chose to eliminate the reflection of the next car, which left some reflection on the front of the truck.
p.1 #10 · show us your pic with circular Polarized Filter
Moondigger from what u said, when we want to get the effect from CPL, we have to turn the circular until we see some effect in the viewfinder (I though before the circular was kind of some accessories )
Uhm... sound like i understand a bit how to use it. What I'll need to do from now on is give a try..
Thanks guys for your kindly comment and suggestion.. I learn so much from this site (have been reading everyday from this site since 1/2 year ago)
p.1 #11 · show us your pic with circular Polarized Filter
Another less obviouse polarized shot.
I didn't eliminate the reflections so much as control them on this shot. The rear fender and back window of this car would have been a mess without the polarizer.
p.1 #12 · show us your pic with circular Polarized Filter
Here are two images with sky and water, taken 9 seconds apart. The only difference is that the CP was rotated 90 degrees between the shots (and the exposure adjusted).
p.1 #13 · show us your pic with circular Polarized Filter
Excellent example, Walker. Thanks for sharing that. What lens and CP did you use there? Looks like a semi-wide angle and I've read that CP work best on telephoto vs. wide.
p.1 #15 · show us your pic with circular Polarized Filter
Just out of interest, I know its kinda subjective, but can you really tell a difference between a generic $50 CP and a $200 CP? I am thinking of getting one but I am not sure if I wanna spend that much money on it.
p.1 #17 · show us your pic with circular Polarized Filter
ferdi wrote:
Just out of interest, I know its kinda subjective, but can you really tell a difference between a generic $50 CP and a $200 CP?
As far as the polarizing effect, no. Even a linear (as opposed to circular) polarizer will produce exactly the same results for glare reduction/blue sky enhancement/etc. "Circular" polarizers are only necessary because linear polarizers prevent AF and metering systems from working properly in many modern cameras. A circular polarizer is really just a linear polarizer cemented to a quarter-wave plate. If you have an old, manual focus camera body, you may be able to save money by buying a linear polarizer instead of a circular polarizer.
A more expensive CP will usually have better anti-reflection coatings, and sometimes incorporates UV filtration. Another difference is that usually (but not always) a more expensive CP will be thinner, and less likely to cause vignetting with super-wide angle lenses.
Personally, I don't think it's worth spending the extra dollars on an expensive CP. The antireflection coatings are kind of pointless, given the fact that you're already going to lose a stop or more of light just by attaching the polarizer in the first place. I use good multi-coated UV filters on my lenses, but I buy the least-expensive CP that will work.
p.1 #19 · show us your pic with circular Polarized Filter
The second image posted was actually taken first, with the CP adjusted for maximum reduction of the reflection from the water. Then just for the heck of it, I rotated the CP 90 degrees and took the other shot to show the difference that the CP made.
Both shots were taken at 18mm, with the sun at 90 degrees from the shot.
p.1 #20 · show us your pic with circular Polarized Filter
Anti-reflective coatings increase the transmission of light through an air/glass surface, making the image ever-so-slightly brighter than it would otherwise be. For a single air/glass surface, this doesn't amount to much additional light. But when you consider that many modern zoom lenses have as many as 15 groups of elements, and each element has two air/glass surfaces (front and back), it can add up. So it's pretty important for the lens elements to have antireflective coatings on each surface.
For a single piece of glass used in a typical UV filter, the presence or lack of antireflective coatings will not have an appreciable effect on image brightness... it's only 2 air/glass surfaces.
However, antireflective coatings on a filter can help reduce the incidence of ghosting and flare. For that reason, I always use multi-coated UV filters on my lenses (as opposed to uncoated or single-coated).
It's less likely to be useful on a CP, in my opinion. Typically they're used when the sun is out of the frame (90 degrees out, actually) where a lens hood is going to do the work of flare prevention. Second, as I mentioned previously, you're already going to lose a stop of light or more to the CP in the first place. Attempting to increase transmission through it by multi-coating the surfaces is sort of futile, really.
All in my opinion, of course. Your mileage may vary.
(I though before the circular was kind of some accessories 
)