Polarising filter

[leica dream]

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Many years ago (20 ish), before I owned a Leica, I made a trip to Singapore and was advised to fit a polarising filter to my SLR to cope with the heat haze.

I recall that it was not just a question of fitting the filter, but one needed to rotate the filter which gradually obscured the picture and I never did get good shots because I obviously did not set the polariser correctly.

Now, after a C series, I use a V-LUX1 and am considering a polarising filter once again. Does anybody have advice on which is the best product and tips for successful use?

Richard

[USA road racer]

I have a B&W 55MM CIRCULAR polarizer on my VLux1 when I take landscape photos. The polarizer only works when the sun is off to your side & you rotate the polarizer to alight the filter correctly to the sun. You won't find it useful indoors. But the colors & saturation it produces under certain conditions is breath taking!! Some of the most vibrant color I have ever taken were shot in Sedona, Arizona red rock country and could only have been done with the polarizer filter. You need a CIRCULAR filter as it is designed to be used with auto focus cameras. I used an old linear polarizer on it & auto focus was anything but correct. Spend the geld on a good glass as that's why you bought a Leica to begin with.

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[twittle]

The "best" polarizing filters are made by B+W or Heliopan, as they use the best glass and polarizing films--they're also more expensive than other brands. And a circular polarizer should be used rather than a linear one because linear polarizers can interfere with the camera's internal light meter.

[lars_bergquist]

You should get a good pola filter--and then use it WITHOUT the camera!

 

Hold it up to the eye, rotate it and observe the effects. The effect on the camera image will be the same. Many polarisers (by Hoya, e.g. not B+W) have a mark on the rotary rim to indicate the direction of polarisation. You will find that ...

 

(a) ...reflections from flat surfaces such as water, glass, paint or polished wood (not metal, which does not polarise reflected light) can be fully or partially suppressed if the angle of reflection is c. 30-35 degrees, and the direction of polarisation of the filter is at a right angle to the plane of the reflecting surface. So in the case of water e.g., the direction mark on the filter should point at 12 o'clock, indicating vertical polarisation. The horisontal water surface polarises light horisontally, and horisontally polarised light is extinguished by a vertically oriented filter.

 

Foliage in a landscape reflects lots of light from the sky. This reflected light decreases colour saturation, and is mostly horisonally polarised. So with the filter in a vertical orientation, you extinguish much of it and increase the colour saturation--sometimes to an unnatural degree! That is the effect you mentioned.

 

( ...the light coming from a clear blue sky is partially polarised. The highest degree of polarisation is at 90 degrees from the sun. So a pola filter with its orientation mark pointing toward the sun will darken the blue sky while not affecting white clouds.

 

The light that passes a polarising layer in a filter is itself polarised (in the direction determined by the filter). Such light can in some cases behave in undesirable ways in the camera. So it is best to obtain a circular pola filter. This de-polarises the light again before it passes to a camera's metering system or sensor, but does not diminish the visual effect on the subject.

 

As polariser effect is dependent on the angle of the light, wide angle lenses (field of view larger than that of a 35mm lens on a full-frame 35mm camera) will not have equally strong effect over the entire field of view. You will have to judge from case to case if the image suits you.

 

Print out this post, get a filter and start learning. A filter with a proper orientation mark can be used quite well even on non-reflex and non-live view cameras like a Leica M.

 

The old man from the Age of the Yellow filter

[russell c. greenberg]

I agree with Lars, but get a circular polarizer, not a linear polarizer. The latter will not have the "correct" relationship with the sensor. See other threads regarding polarizers on this forum to better understand what I am talking about here. (More technical posts regarding this subject) Russell

[leica dream]

Very many thanks, Lars, for explaining the detail so thoroughly. Understanding is what it is all about and your words are most valuable. There is no doubt that a circular polar is what I shall get. As you say, there is no point in getting a cheap version to work with a Leica so I shall look around for a good source of B & W.

 

Thanks everyone for your input too.

Richard

[twittle]

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Many polarisers (by Hoya, e.g. not B+W) have a mark on the rotary rim to indicate the direction of polarisation.

 

Heliopan pol filters are marked with numbers rather than a just single mark--for instance, an E60 is marked with the numbers 1 through 18. I find that to be extremely helpful in determining the amount of desired effect.

[lars_bergquist]

Yes, but for use with a non-SLR or non-live view camera, the numbers have to be aligned in a consistent way with the filter's direction of polarisation. I don't know if this is the case with Heliopan filters.

 

During the 1940's Leitz offered a pola filter with numbers around the filter rim, but this was an A36 slip-on filter. You oriented the filter visually, by looking through it, and then you pushed the thing onto the lens while carefully keeping the same orientation--that was what the numbers were for. The procedure becomes a recurrent pain in the [ ... ] with screw-in filters!

 

The old man from the Age of the POOMA

[twittle]

Yes, but for use with a non-SLR or non-live view camera, the numbers have to be aligned in a consistent way with the filter's direction of polarisation. I don't know if this is the case with Heliopan filters.

 

I've got three in different sizes I use for my M lenses. I don't know that the numbers are actually alligned according to polarization direction as I haven't paid all that much attention, but I don't think it really matters. What I do, as you suggested above, is look at my subject through the filter without it being on the lens, rotate it to the degree of polatization I want, look at the number at the top of the filter, then screw the filter on the lens and make sure the same number is still at the top of the filter. It's the same principle as the dot Hoya uses, but more comprehensive. And yes, the process is a pain, but it does work.

[graeme_clarke]

Just some snippets to add to Lars' post:

 

Polarising filters add 1 to 2 ev onto the exposure depending on the degree of roatation, i.e they double or quadruple the exposure needed. This can be useful if you want to slow the shutter speed (such as when wanting to make moving water look milky in a well-lit scene), otherwise they can be a nuisance if you are hand-holding in low light and don't want to increase the ISO too much.

 

Secondly, over-polarisation on bright sunny days in high summer can sometimes make a blue sky look over-dark or greyish even though cloud formations look fantastic.

 

Thirdly, on dullish days the filter can flatten the contrast - its better to remove it and tweak the images in your raw converter to set the saturation and curves by the desired amounts.

 

I also entirely agree with the advice on using a circular polariser from either B&W or Heliopan.

 

I trust this helps.

 

Graeme

[Artorius]

I use the one from Robert White on my Leica RF's, see here.

http://www.robertwhite.co.uk/products.asp?PT_ID=284

 

A very good article about polarizers here;

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tu...larizers.shtml

Edited April 16, 2009 by Artorius

[lars_bergquist]

I've got three in different sizes I use for my M lenses. I don't know that the numbers are actually alligned according to polarization direction as I haven't paid all that much attention, but I don't think it really matters. What I do, as you suggested above, is look at my subject through the filter without it being on the lens, rotate it to the degree of polatization I want, look at the number at the top of the filter, then screw the filter on the lens and make sure the same number is still at the top of the filter. It's the same principle as the dot Hoya uses, but more comprehensive. And yes, the process is a pain, but it does work.

It is NOT the same. The point of an aligned orientation mark is that you know immediately how to orient the filter, WITHOUT unscrewing it, looking trough it, rotating it and screwing it back in.

 

This is how to check orientation: rest a pane of glass carefully level, out of doors. Stand in front of it so that the reflection of the sky in it is at a maximum. This reflection is horisontally polarised. Now rotate the filter until it reduces the reflection to a minimum. The orientation of polarisation of the filter is now vertical (crossed polarisers extinguishes light). See if the single mark on the rotating rim, or the zero on a numbered rim, is pointing vertically (12 o'clock). If so, all is well and you can use the mark or number as I told you before.

 

You can of course use the same procedure to put an orientation mark on an unmarked filter. Just have a helper put a temporary mark at 12 o'clock--or do it yourself if you have three arms, equipment that Leica M photogs of yore used to have. After checking, you can make the mark permanent, with a sharp point on a Dremel tool, for instance. I have marked B+W pola filters that way.

 

The old man in Polaroid specs

[amoebahydra]

For Leica glasses, I prefer using polarizing filters marketed by Leitz; at least, they will give me better confidence in preserving Leica optical quality. I am using E55, E60, and E67 for various R-lenses; Series VIII for R24/2.8 with adjustment from lens shade, EW67 for PC28/2.8 to provide sufficient coverage for shift, and Series VI with identical optical thickness as the dummy glass filter of the Apo-Telyt-R system in order not to impair the optical performance. The M-polarizer with adapter E39, E46, E49 for various M lenses; the M-polarizer can swing 180 degrees such that the effect can be observed before swing back to the lens for shooting.

 

In my opinion, if metering accuracy is not of prime importance, the best polarizing filter is Kaesemann type linear polariser which has the most pronounce effect.

 

 

For other cameras with no preview like Linhof 617and rolleiflex TLR, polariser with marker to remember the best effect position before putting it back to the lens for shooting. In case of the TLR, the filter can be first viewed in upper lenses for effect and remember the setting for use in the lower photo taking lens.

 

Edited April 16, 2009 by amoebahydra

[leica dream]

After all this positive input, NOW I see why I had so much trouble getting decent shots all those years ago! Art's web pages have been most interesting, as have all the other inputs. I am glad I asked the question so I can now go forth and try my luck again with renewed confidence.

Grateful thanks, everyone.

Richard

[twittle]

It is NOT the same. The point of an aligned orientation mark is that you know immediately how to orient the filter, WITHOUT unscrewing it, looking trough it, rotating it and screwing it back in.

 

Yes, I can see how that would be much more convenient. I'll have to check my own filters for orientation.