Circular polarizers.... Must have?

[SabrinaO]

Are circular polarizers a "must have" for outdoor photography?? When wouldn't you use them outdoors?

Just some simple questions and would love your input!

 

[Nathaxthelarge]

They sure can give you some awesome photos I rarely take it off.

 

[SabrinaO]

Are you into nature or portrait photography? I know a polarizer will make the scenery pop but what does it do for people? Any difference with it on or off?

 

[AgentDrex]

With it on a stop of light or so...gets rid of non-metallic reflections...haven't tried this, but may be good for getting rid of shiny faces...45 degrees from the sun for maximum effect...add to it a backwards linear polarizer and you have a filter perfect for long shots during the day....

 

[Stradawhovious]

Yes.

 

[KVRNut]

CPL filters are a must in my filter bag and they're the one filter I tell new comers to photography to get as a first filter. I use both regular and warming CPLs and it's pretty rare I don't have one or the other on the end of a lens. I even use them with my ND filters in shade or on cloudy days. About the only time I don't have them on is when I do some types of photography after dark or if it interferes when I'm using a lens reverser.
As far as using a CPL when photographing people, it depends on the person, the situation, and what you're trying to achieve with your picture. The beauty of a CPL is that you can "tune in" the amount of polorization from virtually none to 100% so you can get just the shot you want.

 

[Stryker]

If you are into landscapes, like shooting at glass, bodies of water, showroom displays, aquariums, airplane windows, or cars, a CPL is a must-have. The CPL enhances the color of the sky and removes glare and reflection from water, glass, paint, and other non metallic materials. How to use it? The sun must be on your side and shining on your shoulder. It is very effective when the sun is at most 45 degrees from the horizon.

 

[altitude604]

definitely a great thing to have. i found it made a noticeable difference to a lot of shots with regards to reflections and sky saturation.

still haven't grabbed one for my 70-200 yet though... thanks for reminding me.

 

[Big Mike]

Highly recommended. There are many situations where a polarizing filter can be a benefit. I like using them outdoors, especially when it's sunny. You can often use it to make a blue sky bluer, which makes clouds pop out in contrast. They can take the glare off of green foliage, making it look greener. It can take the reflection off of water or glass, possibly allowing you to see through. It can take (some) of the glare off of people's skin, but it's can also have other effects on skin, which some photographers don't like.

It's a versatile filter because you can rotate the front part of it, allowing you to fine tune the effect.

Possibly the most important point, is that this is one filter than can't be replicated easily (or at all) with software. So while many filters are obsolete in a digital workflow, polarizers are as relevant as ever.

I don't use them all the time though. They do eat about a stop of light, so when shooting in a situation where I don't want or need the effect, I don't have the filter on....as it just causes longer shutter speeds (or smaller apertures, higher ISO).

 

[Pgeobc]

You have actually asked two questions, one of which has been answered with many opinions. The other question is whether or not a Circular Polarizer is needed and that depends solely on your camera. If your camera has a pellicle miror (99.99% do not) or, if your light meter is a beam-splitter and requires it, then a straight polarizer will not do. If you have a plain, old, everyday camera--like some of mine--they will take a plain straight polarizer just fine.

 

[ulrichsd]

Can you use a CPL on a wide lens? Or just a normal or tele lens? It would seem like a good place to use a CPL on an wide lens for landscape photos, but should I be worried about vignetting and distortion?

I'd like to play around with some filters, but not sure what to get since all my lenses take different filter thread sizes...

Thanks,
Scott

 

[Vinny]

Yes you can use on a wide lens and I guess you might get vignetting but not sure - go to a store and try it out. As far as what to do, buy a polarizer at the largest lens size and buy step down rings for the other lenses.

 

[bottguardo]

With it on a stop of light or so...gets rid of non-metallic reflections...haven't tried this, but may be good for getting rid of shiny faces...45 degrees from the sun for maximum effect...add to it a backwards linear polarizer and you have a filter perfect for long shots during the day....

I love doing long shots in the daytime using this setup.

 

[Helen B]

With it on a stop of light or so...gets rid of non-metallic reflections...haven't tried this, but may be good for getting rid of shiny faces...45 degrees from the sun for maximum effect...add to it a backwards linear polarizer and you have a filter perfect for long shots during the day....

I love doing long shots in the daytime using this setup.

The linear polarizer does not have to be on backwards, of course (it doesn't matter which way round it is). If the first polarizer (ie the one on the outside) of the pair was a circular polarizer it would have to be on backwards, and therefore it would have no effect on reflections. If you want to make a variable ND filter from two polarizers, and your camera needs a circular polarizer, the options are:

Lens - circular polarizer the normal way - linear polarizer the normal way (allows variable ND and reflection control)

Lens - circular polarizer the normal way - reversed circular polarizer (allows variable ND with no change in reflections)

Best,
Helen

 

[Big Mike]

Can you use a CPL on a wide lens? Or just a normal or tele lens? It would seem like a good place to use a CPL on an wide lens for landscape photos, but should I be worried about vignetting and distortion?

I'd like to play around with some filters, but not sure what to get since all my lenses take different filter thread sizes...

Thanks,
Scott

Yes, you can use them on wide lenses. I use one on my 10-22mm lens very often. You do have to we aware that a thick filter may cause some vignetting, and stacking more than one filter is likely to cause vignetting...but stacking filters isn't recommended anyway.
The usual reason that you will hear people say not to use a polarizer on a wide angle lens, is that the effect will vary as you go across the frame. I'm not sure if it's been mentioned in this thread yet, but you get the maximum effect from a polarizer when shooting at 90 degrees to the sun's rays. But if you are shooting with an ultra wide lens, it's likely that only part of the scene will actually be 90 degrees from the sun....so the most common scenario is that you have a blue sky that gets darker/more saturated in a fading gradient, rather than uniformly.
I personally don't mind it in most cases, and think that the benefits outweigh the problem. But I may also take several shots, some with the polarizer turned so that the effect isn't so strong.

And as far as size goes, it's obviously not good to buy all your filters in all the different sizes of your lenses. So that's why we have step-up rings. They are simple adapters that allow you to mount different sized filters onto your lenses. So the best scenario would be to buy the filters for your largest lens, then get the step up rings for your smaller lenses. They can be found for less than $20.