What a difference a polariser makes...

[Timmah Veteran]

Ok so I got my polariser on Thursday and to be honest I wasn't particularly amazed by it at first - till I did my little experiment.

FYI - it cost me ?5 off ebay, ?6.50 with P&P - unbranded, don't care because it really does make a difference!

One thing I've found - to truly reap the benefits of a polariser you HAVE to say goodbye to Auto mode on your Nikon, Canon or what have you and go for a manual setting - my personal choice being shutter speed priority. Shoot at low ISO and adjust your White Balance settings accordingly and you'll get your money's worth.

First picture: 1/125 sec, F/5.6, WB: Cloudy - without polariser

Second picture: 1/125 sec, F/5.6, WB: Cloudy - WITH polariser

So yeah, even if its just a cheap one like mine y'all should think of getting one anyway.

I'm only stating the obvious here but I didn't realise this till I bought one so hopefully people will take the plunge and order one now!

[neufuse Veteran]

polarizing / UV filter lenses are definatly worth the cost for good photography, and personally... for professional photography you should never use the auto settings :) always pick what you think looks best

[Pink Floyd Veteran]

I find UV useless unless you never shoot outdoor. If you perhaps shoot outdoor, this is the night versus day!

See the windows? Did you notice how dark blue a sky can be? This is insane and as soon as you shoot outdoor with a polarizer, you cannot live without it anymore!

The only downside is that you lose 1 to 2 f-stop but oh well, you shoot outdoor anyway! who needs light ;)

[kin]

Polarizing seriously can make a world of a difference.

[Buu]

Polarising basically limits the number of light waves entering a lense. It filters a certian range of light frequencies allowing some more than others usually creating different effects. Most of time, the green spectrum is allowed through more making pictures look more lush

[accesser]

Yeah I've got a Hoya one for my Canon only problem is it only fits my 18 -55 and not my 55 - 200. I use it for a lot for my outdoor shots is your adjustable mine I can twist it to adjust the strength of the effect I've yet to master this and have had a few where it has made the shot to dark.

While others the filter worked really nice

[Deciever]

Thanks for that post, I do wish I would have ordered a Polarizer lens instead of UV for $30 but I really was in a rush to get anything to protect my investment FZ7. In a week or so I will probably order a Polarizer maybe sooner. Thanks for the comparison.

[saxondale.]

I will probably get one, see if it makes a difference for me...I use manual all the time on my camera when im actually doing meaningful photography, if not, and im lazy, auto all the way!

edit - i think im bidding on the same one :p

Edited May 28, 2006 by saxondale.

[noroom]

Polarising basically limits the number of light waves entering a lense. It filters a certian range of light frequencies allowing some more than others usually creating different effects. Most of time, the green spectrum is allowed through more making pictures look more lush

That's not entirely true. Light has the properties of a wave. Waves oscillate in different directions. Very often, light that is reflected on a surface, is automatically polarized in a certain direction, which means that the light "waves" reflected will only oscillate in a specific direction. If you take a polarizing filter, and set it up so it polarizes that light in a 90? angle, there won't be any waves going through, as they will be cancelled by the second polarization.

It doesn't affect "certain range of light frequencies" more than others.

[Deciever]

It is interesting looking at things through polarized lenses I believe it also tells you what else you have that has some polarization to it. Such as LCD's and the PSP.

[noroom]

Of course, that's how LCDs work. Even digital watches. :)

[MR_Candyman]

UV lenses are always a must for me...of course I shoot film and it really helps on fringing.

Adjustable polarizer filters are amazing and I'm really glad I bought some as well. They do work well using auto settings as well BTW (which I do when I'm lazy, as usually you can get just as good of a picture.

[Island Roots]

I got a Tiffen polarizer filter as a gift and I've yet to really use it (or rather the opportunity to use it). On the times that I have used it, I haven't noticed anything benefits from it.

However I did notice that when I went on vacation this past weekend for Memorial Day, the filter did significantly lower the glaring reflections coming off the water (was in the San Juan Islands).

[Brandon]

I have mine on my 70-300 sigma lens and love it. Only times ive taken it off was for low light sports shooting (just enough light for it without the polarizer), but i quickly switched to my Nikkor 50/1.8