Which polarising filter

If you are not familiar with the polarizing filter and its usefulness, I invite you to read my article dedicated to this. Basically, the polarizing filter is a photography filter which is widely used in landscape photography. It is one of the most useful and perhaps even most essential accessories you should have in your photography bag i.

In bright sunlight it may very well save your entire shoot! A polarizing filter is very often coupled with a wide-angle lens this allows you to take even more beautiful pictures. If you want to learn how to photograph correctly using a polarizing filter against daylight, your position in relation to the sun in the sky, etc.

How to choose a polarizing filter? In my opinion, there are five main criteria to consider when purchasing a polarizing filter :. This is definitely the first thing to look at when choosing a polarizing filter. The diameter size is indicated on the top in millimeters Ex: 16mm, 35mm, 50mm, 55mm, 65mm, 77mm, 82mm, mm, mm, etc. In theory, one polarizing filter of the correct size should fit all. Basically, if you have several lenses you can buy an adapter ring to make your filter fit them all.

Choose a polarizing filter that fits the largest in diameter of your lenses and then buy an adapter, which reduces the diameter, thereby allowing you to use your polarizing filter on smaller lenses. Here is another criterion to take into account, even if it is less and less relevant today. Overall, there are two types of filters:.

Circular Polarizing Filters CPL : the majority of the commercial polarizing filters these days are of this type. These filters are able to measure the desired polarizing effect on your photo. Once attached, you can measure the polarity and accentuate or reduce the effect depending on the scene and the lighting conditions of the shot.

I often make several attempts when choosing the level of polarization I want for a landscape. These filters are the easiest to use and the ones I particularly recommend. These filters are also easy to use; you simply place your polarizing filter on to the thread of your camera lens, screw it on and rotate it according to the desired effect. It should be noted that the use of a lens hood would be limited in most cases.

Once finished, simply unscrew the filter, clean it with a cloth and store it in its box to prevent it from collecting dust. Some well-known brands offer these as an alternative, including Cokin and Lee. However, these filters have a major disadvantage: they are linear polarizing filters.

It is therefore impossible for you to play around with the desired level of polarization for your scene. Note also that these must be mounted on a filter holder.

You should also know that you can use a polarizing filter along with other filters GND, ND thanks to a filter holder system. Wondering which brand to choose? Is there a good brand? In my opinion, this is an important criterion to take into account when choosing a polarizing filter. There are indeed some brands that stand out from the crowd, and which all photographers agree are the best on the market: :.

Note that if you have a Canon lens, a Nikon lens, a Zeiss lens or similar brands, all polarizing filters can be mounted on them. You should also know that even the major camera brands have made their own filters. Thus, the Canon polarizing filter and the Nikon polarizing filter exist, even if few people actually choose to use them. I generally advise to stay with well-known brands; you will have less surprises on the quality of the filter and its impact on your photos.

This is also one of the key criteria when choosing your polarizing filter. Thin models are almost mandatory for wide-angle lenses. Depending on the focal length used, the type of camera aps-c or full frame , and the aperture of the diaphragm used while taking your photographs, you will see more or less vignetting on the edges of your photos. Most of you will use a circular polarizing filter which allows you to adjust how it impacts your shots but simply rotating the front element of the filter.

This will help your polarizer to have the greatest effect. The first time I used one again, on my film camera I was travelling through outback Australia. I was amazed by the shots I was able to take, especially of the large blue skies contrasted against the red rocks.

Have you ever tried a polarizing filter? What was it like? What subjects did you use it on? However, just because the filter is capable of its maximum effect in the above directions, this doesn't necessarily mean this is where the image will appear most effected. Rotating your filter will toggle the angle relative to the sun that appears most polarized. The best way to get a feel for this is to rotate the filter while looking through the camera's viewfinder or rear LCD , but you can also consult the box below for specifics on how this process works.

Notes on Filter Rotation Angle. At one extreme, you can rotate your filter so that the direction of maximum polarization will be perpendicular to the direction of the sun as shown in the above examples.

In that case, the polarizing effect will be as pronounced as possible. As this angle gets progressively closer to the direction into or away from the sun, the polarizing effect will appear progressively less pronounced. Any more rotation than this and the polarizing effect increases again and the cycle repeats.

Since a polarizer's effect varies with angle, results can appear uneven when using a wide angle lens. Some portions of the scene might be in a direction which is directly into the sun, whereas others might be at a right angle to the sun. In that case, one side of the photo would have a strong polarizer effect, whereas the other side would not.

In the example to the left, the sun was near the horizon, so the strip of sky directly overhead was most influenced by the polarizer causing it to appear darker , whereas the upper left and lower right regions nearer the horizon were much less impacted. If a telephoto lens had been used to photograph just the tower, then the sky would have appeared much more even. Although wide angle lenses certainly aren't ideal, rotating the polarizing filter can sometimes make the effect appear more realistic.

One approach is to ensure that the most pronounced polarization coincides with the image's edge or corner. This way the change in polarization will look more like a natural gradient across the sky such as how the sky might appear during twilight.

One of the first characteristics that you're likely to notice with polarizers is how they increase color saturation :. When direct reflections are reduced, a greater fraction of the subject's light is of the diffuse variety — resulting in a more colorful representation.

Foliage will be rendered with a brighter green, skies will have a deeper blue and flowers will appear more intense. However, saturation isn't always increased uniformly. This all depends on whether a particular object is at an optimal angle to the sun, and whether this object is highly reflective.

In general, more reflective objects will see a greater increase in saturation when using a polarizer. Clear sunny days are also much more heavily influenced by polarizers than overcast or rainy days.