Polarizer with M8?

[Scott Root]

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I use a polarizer quite a bit with my M6TTL and wonder if polarizers are typical in digital photography or polarized effects be introduced digitally? In other words, should I put my polarizer on e-bay?

[cbretteville]

Scott,

There are some PS filters that tries to mimic a pola. However they can only do this for colours and saturation. Removal of reflexes is something that id harder to do without a pola. I use a pola on my D2 from time to time and so far I see no reason to let my universal pola go. Even if I do end up getting an M8 my guess is that I'll keep it.

 

- Carl

[jaapv]

Scott,

There are some PS filters that tries to mimic a pola. However they can only do this for colours and saturation. Removal of reflexes is something that id harder to do without a pola. I use a pola on my D2 from time to time and so far I see no reason to let my universal pola go. Even if I do end up getting an M8 my guess is that I'll keep it.

 

- Carl

 

Imho there is no way to get a polarizer effect in postprocessing, despite claims by makers of "digital filters" At worst the result is ugly, at best the file loses quality with the effect being superficially similar, but certainly not the same.

[davidada]

keep it , it works the same way on an M8 as a film body

[Scott Root]

Thanks for the feedback everyone as I am now planning on continuing to use my polarizer with a yet-to-be-ordered M8, but do you think the IR filters that will be provided by Leica will include threading to accomodate my Leica M polarizer?

[ho_co]

Aha!

 

Now you hit us with the real question, Scott!

 

Your guess is as good as mine. I think most Leica filters have front threads, so these should as well.

 

The B+W filters are offered in versions with or without front threads, so that would always give you another route.

 

Of course, the Leica polarizer is a clamp-on type, so from Leica's viewpoint, it's a moot issue. But you may not be using their polarizer...

[Jean LeBlanc]

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Thanks for the feedback everyone as I am now planning on continuing to use my polarizer with a yet-to-be-ordered M8, but do you think the IR filters that will be provided by Leica will include threading to accomodate my Leica M polarizer?

 

This is just one more problem with the "solution" to the M8 nightmare. You need the IR filter to get best results. Then, if you want a polarizer, instead of having that one filter on your lens, you now have two, with the opportunity for light to bounce back and forth between to the two filters for a while before deciding to mosey on down to the sensor. Joy and rapture.

 

At least there's no need for color correction filters when shooting digital, or the situation would be even worse.

 

Are there any filter effects other than polarization that can only be done with a physical filter, rather than in Photoshop?

[jaapv]

This is just one more problem with the "solution" to the M8 nightmare. You need the IR filter to get best results. Then, if you want a polarizer, instead of having that one filter on your lens, you now have two, with the opportunity for light to bounce back and forth between to the two filters for a while before deciding to mosey on down to the sensor. Joy and rapture.

 

At least there's no need for color correction filters when shooting digital, or the situation would be even worse.

 

Are there any filter effects other than polarization that can only be done with a physical filter, rather than in Photoshop?

 

I would not think, in general, that the lighting conditions that neccesitate a polarizer are the ones that dictate the use of an IR filter. Of course, I can think of some exceptions like a shop window, but that would be all.

[Scott Root]

Aha!

 

Now you hit us with the real question, Scott!

 

Your guess is as good as mine. I think most Leica filters have front threads, so these should as well.

 

The B+W filters are offered in versions with or without front threads, so that would always give you another route.

 

Of course, the Leica polarizer is a clamp-on type, so from Leica's viewpoint, it's a moot issue. But you may not be using their polarizer...

 

I have a Leica M polarizer that clamps onto a ring of sorts that screws into the front of my lenses--something I bought in Germany some years ago. Is this the clamp mechanism you are refering to? In order to use my Leica polarizer I need to screw it in front of the lens or in the case of the M8 it will need to be screwed onto the IR filter. Sure hope it is possible since I use my polarizer quite a bit.

[gduveen]

In another thread there was a suggestion that it might be possible to offer an IR filter which could be used with the Universal Polariser, presumably as a substitute for the polarising filter. That suggestion was made since the Universal Polariser can be used with a wide selection of lenses. But is it possible to extend this idea and suggest that a combination IR Cut+Polarising filter might be produced which could then be used in the Universal Polariser? Is such a combination filter technically feasible? If so it would greatly simplify the process of using the polariser with the M8 -since at present the advice with the Universal Polariser is that it should not be used with a filter already attached to the lens.

(Though perhaps Jaap is also right that the lighting conditions in which one might want to use a polariser are generally different from those requiring the IR filter).

 

Gerard

[Guest guy_mancuso]

I believe these will be made from B+W since they already make these filters, it may have Leica's name on it though

[jaapv]

In another thread there was a suggestion that it might be possible to offer an IR filter which could be used with the Universal Polariser, presumably as a substitute for the polarising filter. That suggestion was made since the Universal Polariser can be used with a wide selection of lenses. But is it possible to extend this idea and suggest that a combination IR Cut+Polarising filter might be produced which could then be used in the Universal Polariser? Is such a combination filter technically feasible? If so it would greatly simplify the process of using the polariser with the M8 -since at present the advice with the Universal Polariser is that it should not be used with a filter already attached to the lens.

(Though perhaps Jaap is also right that the lighting conditions in which one might want to use a polariser are generally different from those requiring the IR filter).

 

Gerard

 

Come to think of it, a polarizing filter might not work together with an IR filter at all, if we consider the way these filters work. An IR filter is an interference filter with a directional component in the incidence angle. It might well mess up the directional polarisation of the light. The other way around polarized light filtered might well react unpredictably on an IR filter. Any light-experts here to comment on this? I don't mind being told I'm blathering nonsense - it is not my subject.

[Joseph S. Wisniewski]

I use a polarizer quite a bit with my M6TTL and wonder if polarizers are typical in digital photography or polarized effects be introduced digitally? In other words, should I put my polarizer on e-bay?

I've never seen a convincing digital simulation of a polarizer. One of the nicest things that they do is holding back the sky so that you don't have to choose between blowing the sky or underexposing the landscape and having noisy shadow detail. Another is penetrating into water.

 

This aside, polarizers can be annoying on highly infrared sensitive cameras. Polarizers block 50-70% of visible light, but lose effectiveness on deep red and infrared, so they exaggerate IR contamination problems. You'd definitely want the stack of a polarizer and an IR blocker. on the other hand, a polarizer in front of the IR blocker will hide that bright red filter from the public's eye

[Joseph S. Wisniewski]

Come to think of it, a polarizing filter might not work together with an IR filter at all, if we consider the way these filters work. An IR filter is an interference filter with a directional component in the incidence angle. It might well mess up the directional polarisation of the light. The other way around polarized light filtered might well react unpredictably on an IR filter. Any light-experts here to comment on this? I don't mind being told I'm blathering nonsense - it is not my subject.

They work just fine together. Remember, IR filters may be new to "Leica only" shooters, but those of us who have suffered through a decade of Kodak and Nikon DSLRs are pretty used to their quirks

[Jean LeBlanc]

I would not think, in general, that the lighting conditions that neccesitate a polarizer are the ones that dictate the use of an IR filter. Of course, I can think of some exceptions like a shop window, but that would be all.

 

I thought that IR makes all digital images softer than they would be with an IR filter. IR refracts more than visible light when crossing an air to glass surface. That's why lenses have the cute little red dot on the focusing scale. If IR is being focus along with visible wavelengths, they can't all focus on the same plane.

[trs]

RF Newbie question:

How does RF camera actually work with polorizer filters? How do you decide it is the right affect. I have only used polizer on SLRs. You don't see the polorizer effect through range finder, do you? Or are the special polorizer filter? I am not planning on getting any polorizer filter yet for my M8, but wanted to know how it works.

 

thanks.

Tanka

[Jean LeBlanc]

RF Newbie question:

How does RF camera actually work with polorizer filters? How do you decide it is the right affect. I have only used polizer on SLRs. You don't see the polorizer effect through range finder, do you? Or are the special polorizer filter? I am not planning on getting any polorizer filter yet for my M8, but wanted to know how it works.

 

thanks.

Tanka

 

There are at least two ways of doing it. Leica's solution is a filter that swings in front of the viewfinder to set the correct angle, then it rotates 180 degrees to fit in front of the lens. By rotating 180 degrees the polarization remains the same, it's just transfered from the viewfinder to the lens.

 

Another way of doing it is to have a very large polarizing filter, large enough to cover both the lens and the viewfinder simultaneously. Both types are available.

[ho_co]

I have a Leica M polarizer that clamps onto a ring of sorts that screws into the front of my lenses--something I bought in Germany some years ago. Is this the clamp mechanism you are refering to? In order to use my Leica polarizer I need to screw it in front of the lens or in the case of the M8 it will need to be screwed onto the IR filter. Sure hope it is possible since I use my polarizer quite a bit.

Scott--Yes, that's the one, the Universal Polarizer, which comes with a set of rings to use when the front of the lens isn't the right diameter for it to clamp on. I had forgotten that those rings need to be screwed in.

 

I'm sure you'll be able to use IR-cut and polarizer together without problem, because they both work differently. That is, the polarizer removes waves that are oscillating in a particular orientation, wheras the IR-cut filter traps certain frequencies by repeatedly reflecting them. (But I may be wrong...)

 

--HC

[Guest guy_mancuso]

Yes I have one of the Universal polarizers now that i am selling but they do work really nice they swing out than rotate to your taste than swing it back in, pretty cool setup . there expensive though like 420 US new. Here in Arizona i don't have much need becuase the sky is so blue all the time

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[craigrmurray]

Yes I have one of the Universal polarizers now that i am selling but they do work really nice they swing out than rotate to your taste than swing it back in, pretty cool setup . there expensive though like 420 US new. Here in Arizona i don't have much need becuase the sky is so blue all the time

Question, Guy:

 

Have you tried shooting your Universal polarizer with the 486 IR-Cut filter? I think that might be something that people on this thread are curious about.

 

Not that you're an experimental type of guy, or anything...