Jodi,
About any camera shop should have one. Perhaps I’m just adding something that you already know, but that’s the best insurance you can have to protect your expensive camera lens. Also it’s great for protecting it from scratches when you take a hanky to clean the lens (and shouldn’t ever)<g>. It becomes a throw away lens and cheap for the price.
Bob
I got both of mine in a camera store second hand, cheap. Jane
I like to buy from B & H as well. They aren’t always the cheapest but they ship fast and have great customer service. I just bought a circular polarizer for my DX 6490 from them. Now I just have to figure out how to use it! It’d be nice if Kodak would include some instructions for nobs like me but oh well.
Joe
Yes, i am a B & H Customer as well. Have given them plenty of business since I went digital 🙂 Thanks for all the advice, will look into the other links as well.
Joe Henry,
The easiest way to see if your polarizer is at its maximum setting is to watch the exposure indication on your camera. At its maximum it has the most absorption.
Leen
www.bhphotovideo.com
one great thing about them is how comprehensive their selection is. whether or not you buy an item from them, you can do lots of research, see lots of different alternatives and learn a lot about the items.
For instance, I never knew there were slim polarizers until I saw them on the B&H site. They eliminate the filter-stacking threads in the front, which makes the polarizer thinner to help avoid vignetting the corners of your wide-angle shots.
They also carry neat things like step-up rings, which my local pro photo store didn’t even stock. Those allow you to mount a larger-sized polarizer filter (preferably a slim one 🙂 ) than your camera normally uses, e.g. a 49-62mm step-up ring allows you to use a 62mm polarizer on your 49mm threaded camera lens. That way you can avoid vignetting altogether.
Robert
Joe Henry,
FYI there’s a very helpful thread on the forum going on right now, it’s called Simulating Polarizer Effect –> has lots of useful information on polarizers, how they work and good tips on how to use them effectively.
Robert
Jodi,
If you’re using the polarizer on a zoom lens you will need a "circular" polarizer.
I bought mine at a local camera shop. The circular ones are more expensive than the fixed local length polarizers but do a good job.
I’m not sure I would use my polarizer to "protect" the lens. I think a 1a skylight filter would do that quite well and be much cheaper.
Dick
Hi Patti, Thanks for that great site! I really didn’t understand the difference between the Circular one and the Linear one. Now I know that I have 2 Linear ones, and my local photo store is getting me a Circular one.
I learn something new here every day!
Jane
Thanks Leen but I don’t have an exposure indicator on my camera, at least not that I know of. When I select "M" from the PASM options the camera will automatically adjust the Exposure compensation depending on the camera’s position relative to a light source but I can’t get it to change when I twist the polarizer.
Thanks for the tip Robert, I’ll check that thread out. Also thanks to Patti, I’ll definitely check out that article. Looks like good info.
Joe
Joe,
Are you sure you’re pointing the camera at a polarized light source? If you’re not then the polarizer becomes effectively a neutral-density filter so no matter how it’s positioned the exposure reading will be the same.
Robert
Robert,
I’m not sure about anything! 😉 Will the sun work? I didn’t point it directly at the sun but off about 90 degrees. I’ve read elsewhere that to get the fullest effect from a polarizer you need to shoot at 90 degrees to the sun.
Joe
Joe,
depends. the rule of thumb (pun intended 🙂 ) is that when you point your index finger at the sun, holding your thumb at 90 degrees straight out, and rotate your wrist, your thumb will trace out the polarized band of the sky.
actually, you don’t need that trick, you can just look for the darkest part of the sky 😉 i noticed long ago that the already darkest part gets the most darkening w/ the filter. to him that hath, shall more be given!
another easy thing to do is find a window or pool of water with a reflection in it. stand at 45 degrees to the window or pool, look through the filter (or viewfinder in an SLR) and dial the filter around. you’ll see the reflections come and go. when the reflections disappear completely the polarizer is at max.
Robert
Joe, there is no indication of aperture or shutter speed on your camera? Usually there is. A polarizer has its strongest effects when under an angle of about 60 degrees to the light source.
Leen
Thanks Robert! I’ll give your techniques a try tomorrow.
Joe
Leen,
Yes, my camera does show the different settings when in one of the PASM modes and had I thought a little deeper on your suggestion I would have figured it out. My problem was that I was twisting the filter but not depressing the shutter button half way (as you do most digi cams to set exposure, aperture and shutter speed) to see the change in settings. Sometimes I’m such an idiot! 🙂 After I figured out approximately where the max settings were (thanks to Robert’s window trick) I did some more experimenting and had one of those head-slapping ah ha! moments. Press the shutter button bonehead! Anyway, as soon as I "figured" that out your advice was right on.
Robert,
when the reflections disappear completely the polarizer is at max.
That was so cool and worked like a charm! I now know where the max is on my filter. Actually there are two spots that appear to maximize the polarizer directly opposite each other.
So after all this, today was kind of cloudy and as I was experimenting, sure enough I could see the difference in my LCD. Yesterday must have been too sunny to notice.
Anyway, thanks everyone for your help. This and that other polarizer thread have been extremely helpful and I learned a lot!
Joe 🙂
Joe,
Great news! Very fine progress – on all fronts 🙂
Here’s another trick (actually, technique) for you to try. Turns out polarizers are even useful on cloudy days. Obviously for window reflections but also for landscapes. Reason is that plants and vegetation reflect a lot of polarized light that washes out color. Using your polarizer can make your shots of vegetation richer and more saturated even on overcast days. I explained this in the other thread but could get lost in the other details. Good shooting!
Robert
wrote in message
Jodi,
About any camera shop should have one. Perhaps I’m just adding something
that you already know, but that’s the best insurance you can have to protect your expensive camera lens. Also it’s great for protecting it from scratches when you take a hanky to clean the lens (and shouldn’t ever)<g>. It becomes a throw away lens and cheap for the price.
Correct about the necessity to protect the lens, but a polarising filter is the most expensive filter you can buy, not throwaway. Best to screw a cheaper skylight filter on top of the polariser.
I also use filter2.com and also my local camera store. If you have a fairly good camera, you should invest in fairly good filters. I got their ready-made filter kit for the Digital Rebel that included a Hoya multi-coated filter and a UV filter (mainly for lens protection).
For neutral density, don’t bother with 2x, go with a 4x and 8x. I have a 4x and two 8x but I like to experiment with long exposures.
If you’re really serious (and don’t mind spending more), Singh Ray filters are very good and work with Conklin B filter mounting (I’m pretty sure). Besides circular polarizer, they also have a variable ND that goes from 0 to 10x just by turning the filter — very nice, but more than I wanted to spend right now.
David.
Robert,
Thanks for all the great info, and I did see your post(s) in that other thread. In fact, I copied this and the other thread into my MacJournal for future reference. I’m going to be able to put the new filter and my expertise (or lack there of 🙂 ) to good use next week. My wife, the kids and I are road tripping from home in Minnesota to Sandpoint ID (my wife’s folks are from there) and then on to Seattle/Puget Sound. I’m sure to find some good "kodak moments" along the way.
Joe
Joe,
Great news! I’m sure you’ll come back with some award-winners, especially in Seattle, lovely country there. Please let us see them when you get back, and have a great trip!
God bless,
Robert
