Polarized when shooting through a window?

[SnappingShark]

This weekend, got a train journey through the mountains and surrounding areas and am taking my camera and 24-70 2.8 - That's it.

My question is - I'll be inside the train shooting out, so should I get a polarizing filter to remove the window glare, or should I be OK?
Conditions are supposed to be sunny.

 

[Overread]

A polarizer will help, but it also robs you of around 1-2 stops of light (varies and 1.5 is a good rough middle ground figure unless you're talking about a specific model). You can also remove reflections by simply shooting so close to the window that you obscure all light sources behind you castling light on to the mirror surface you're photographing through.

In practice that can work one of two ways;
1) Rubber lens hood - and then just press up to the glass, on a train you'd certainly want a rubber one as you don't really want the camera pressed to the glass direct (all those shudder and judders from the trains motion on the glass).

2) A large black card sheet secured over the lens; this then acts like a barrier that blocks the light - bonus is you don't have to be pressed right up to the glass; downside is it is generally quite big and cumbersome.


I'd say take the polarizer and a rubber lens hood if you have one (sold on ebay for many lenses - they don't make them for petal lens hoods though; however their rubber nature means you can oft peel them back enough to not give shadows in the corners at wider angles for zoom lenses).

 

[petrochemist]

Sometimes a polarizer will be brilliant for reducing unwanted reflections like this, on other occasions they will pick up stress pasterns in the glass.
If you can be lose to the window a few square feet of dark (lightproof) cloth with a hole for the camera lens & little suction cups in the corners can be the ideal solution. It can completely stop any light getting to your side of the glass within the field of view. Rubber lens hoods or even just a suitably held hat or coat can also work to shade the glass you're shooting through - but are more restrictive.
Generally it's best to avoid having any solid part of the camera/lens touch the glass or it'll transmit vibrations.

I'd take a polariser, and the dark cloth. If the polariser works it gives you more freedom of movement, and allows shots where you can't get close to the window. Neither will be particularly bulky.

 

[table1349]

Put the window down?

 

[bratkinson]

As one who has shot through a lot of windows on Amtrak, my experience has been to not use any filters. The Lexan they use on the windows doesn't seem to have a consistent thickness and/or an uneven level of stress inside the window. The end result is that with a polarizer on, I've ended up with what looks like 'stress swirls' in the image. I've also had shots where one side of the picture is noticeably darker than the other side, or diagonally 'split'. Of course, I didn't notice the problems until I got home and had the pictures on my computer screen.

However, if you are riding a tourist train like the Durango and Silverton, I suspect they have real glass in their windows, so a CPL may or may not make sense.

Shooting from a moving train always presents a problem as you have to 'see' your picture, frame it in your camera, and shoot all in 2-3 seconds. The lighting is ever changing as the track doesn't run in a straight line for long in the mountains. So, one minute the sun is on your left, and a minute later, it's behind you, or blocked by a mountainside, etc. For this reason, shooting in full manual mode only adds to the difficulty of getting a good shot in the second or so before it 'disappears forever' in an ever-changing landscape. I've had good luck shooting in Av mode somewhere between f8 and f22 for good DOF with an ISO speed fast enough to consistently get the shutter speed above 1/100 to freeze camera motion blur. Faster than 1/125 is preferable. Obviously, if shooting into a shadow area, crank the ISO a bit or open the aperture a tad to get a good exposure while still maintaining a fast-enough shutter speed.

As for not getting reflections from the inside of the train on the window, perhaps the best solution is to have the lens hood in direct contact with the glazing. Also, rarely do I ever shoot exactly 'square' to the window as I'd end up with my own reflection in the image. Having a roomette and having the room lights off and curtains to the aisle closed helps considerably to cut down on the reflections. If your preference is standing in the vestibule, remember to keep a 3-point contact at all times...2 feet + hand gripping something, or 2 feet plus leaning against the wall. Suddenly rough track or a quick stop can put you on the floor if your feet are the only contact with the car you have. If you're in a Superliner vestibule, remember to keep the windows closed for safety reasons (passing trains are sometimes less than 12" apart, and I've seen an open trailer door (intermodal) hit the side of the Amtrak car I was riding in!). The vestibule affords opportunities to shoot on both sides but restricts the amount of available 'pre-planning' of a shot due to the horizontally small windows in the doors. Also, if you are closer to the front of the train, bears, cougars, and other large wildlife usually don't start running from the train until the locomotives pass, so be on the lookout and ready to shoot in 'full point and shoot' mode, no time to change anything.

Most of all, don't get so wrapped up in trying to get a zillion shots in 2-3 hours that you don't have time to simply watch out the window and enjoy the view. For what it's worth, I've got a cross-country Amtrak joyride coming up in 4 weeks and will be doing a lot of the same.

Sit back and relax.

edit: by the way, bring LOTs of memory card space. The last thing you want to have happen is to run out of memory (or battery power!) just as you get to the 'really good part' of the scenery. Back in the '80s, I went cross-country in Canada and ran out of film on the return trip on a different route!