Do you use a Polarizer?

[Ektagraphic]

Hi Guys- I picked up a Tiffen circular Polarizer a couple of months ago and I can't believe what I have been missing. It has really imroved some of my color slides! Do you use a Polarizer? Would you like to use one? I highly reccomend one!

 

[2F/2F]

I sometimes use them to cut down on reflections when shooting products on glass or Plexi/Lucite, but that is pretty much it. I find the effect on general ("out in the world") photographs too difficult to judge on the ground glass or through the viewfinder, and often quite unappealing or even garish in the end, even when they looked OK through the lens. So, my vote is for the second option, for lack of a better one.

 

[Q.G.]

I have a bunch of them, but do not know why.

I concur with 2F about the use and effect of these filters. So if i can avoid using one, i do.
And i find it is not too hard to avoid using one.

So my vote would be: "i never use a polarizer/I own quite a few of them. That's how i know why i don't."

 

[Vaughn]

Don't own one (those 77mm filters get expensive), don't shoot color with my LF.

Vaughn

 

[bsdunek]

I find the polarizer is good for both color and B&W. Yes, a red or yellow filter will darken the sky, but it won't take the reflections off the foliage, water, or windows. Only a polarizer will do that. As I don't have any auto-focus cameras, I use a linear polarizer. I've been told it doesn't matter, circular or linear, but in my experience, the linear has more effect and more control.

 

[removed account4]

i have had one for years and only used it maybe once.
it worked well .. but i haven't had a need for it much since ..

 

[nickandre]

It's very nice for darkening the sky, contrasting with clouds, and pulling the viewers attention towards the center of the image.

 

[Jeff Kubach]

I use it once in awhile, like removing glear off of windows, darkening the sky and contrasting with the clouds.

Jeff

 

[Ian David]

Yes, a polariser is more useful than I used to think, both in colour and black/white, particularly with landscape work. Wherever there are any sort of reflections, a polariser may potentially come in very handy to adjust them to your taste. It can for example make a pretty significant difference to the look of water and leaves, both of which reflect a lot of light.

 

[Ektagraphic]

It really is interesting how much light leaves reflect.

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

In the production of all my work a POL-C (circular polariser) is employed constantly on Velvia 50. POL-C is removed (use SKY1B) for early morning/evening imaging. It's an exceptionally useful filter for anybody to have (my sole POL-C is a B&W Käsemann 77ø). It's excellent at all but removing (that is to say I don't "flatten", or removeall spectrals from the scene) and adding the dramatic wow factor in Ilfochromes (but Velvia is still judiciously over-exposed a little for this).

An EV2.5 (1.3) factor is engaged when hand-held metering with a POL-C.

 

[Steve Smith]

Do you use a Polarizer?

No. I'm English so I use a polariser!


Steve.

 

[Ian Grant]

No. I'm English so I use a polariser!
Steve.

I voted no, but I do have a few, and I guess I'd use them if I still shot colour.

They can be useful, so I used to carry one all the time when in the UK in my backpack. Like 2F/2F says, you never know what you might be shooting and suddenly need one,

Ian

 

[colrehogan]

I use them for both b/w and color.

 

[Christopher Walrath]

I would vote but there's no 'I sometimes use a polarizer when shooting black and white' option.

 

[Prest_400]

I do, sometimes, when there's harsh sunlight. It helps darkening that yucky light blue skies and saturating a bit more the colors; It helps with that glare and washed out colors on leaves. Oh, not forgetting contrast of bright skies, keeping them darker helps.

 

[Slixtiesix]

I´d like to have one but they are expensive for Rollei Bay VI, and even more for Bay VIII :-(
Maybe next year...

 

[Sirius Glass]

I use polarizers for both color and black & white when I think they would be useful. A polarizer with black & white does not work exactly like the yellow, orange or red filters for the sky. Then again I have never seen a yellow, orange or red filter take out reflections either.

Steve