Usage of circular polarizer


Status
Not open for further replies.

net-g

New Member
Jun 11, 2005
280
0
0
NUS
I intend to go to the zoo to take some shots but usually there are reflections on the glass separating the animals from us. Will a circular polarizer eliminate those reflections?
 

net-g said:
I intend to go to the zoo to take some shots but usually there are reflections on the glass separating the animals from us. Will a circular polarizer eliminate those reflections?

Eliminate... maybe not completely; depends on the angle of polarised light.
Reduce it... YES.

Good thing is with an SLR, you can see the effect.

Check this out:

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/polarizers.shtml

Regards
 

net-g said:
I intend to go to the zoo to take some shots but usually there are reflections on the glass separating the animals from us. Will a circular polarizer eliminate those reflections?

If used correctly a circular polariser can remove all glare. Just turn the thing until you are happy then shoot
 

An alternative is to go close to the glass, with your lens almost flush.

It's quite difficult to cut out reflections completely relying solely on a polariser... you'll need to do a lot of adjusting and sometimes it just isn't practical.
 

Do remember that the polarizer will prevent up to two stops of light from entering your lens. If you use this to remove the reflections from interior exhibits, I doubt if you'll be able to get a fast enough shutter speed to freeze action, let alone to handhold, unless you want to setup a tripod and don't mind shooting subjects which are less inclined to move eg. snakes, big insects.

As Solarii mentioned, move your lens closer to the glass to cut off reflections, and adjust the angle of the lens to the glass as necessary to minimise the effect of reflections in your image. However you'll need a lens with quite a close focusing distance, otherwise you might be too close to the subject to get a focus.
 

a CP filter can reduce but not totally eliminate reflections...
 

Actually, aren't the effects of a C-Polariser previewable in the view finder?
 

topster said:
Actually, aren't the effects of a C-Polariser previewable in the view finder?

Yes they are. In fact you don't even need a viewfinder. Just hold it in front of you and turn it... you can see if it'll have any effect on the shot, esp in terms of cutting reflection.
 

topster said:
Actually, aren't the effects of a C-Polariser previewable in the view finder?


Yup...with all SLR and DSLR and all P&S that lets you compose your shot via the LCD monitor and the image is taken directly off the zoom lens and NOT the tiny auxillary viewfinder that you see in some P&S cameras at the top left corner.

heheh I was also abit puzzle why he wrote that or maybe he knows this guy and his camera works in that manner.
 

Status
Not open for further replies.