A Polariser, How To Use It
Feb 10, 2010 Photography
What is a polariser? And how to use it? A polariser is an essential addition to any photographer’s kit bag. The filter may look like a simple piece of grey glass, but its effect can be far more impressive, adding extra punch and colour saturation to your images. The classic use for a polariser is darkening blue skies, but they can also reduce reflections and increase the overall colour saturation of your shots. The effect of a polariser varies as you rotate the filter, so most versions are circular and come in a mount that allows you to move the filter once it is fitted to the lens. Lee Filters produces a square polariser for its filter system, but the more useful type is a screw-in version that attaches to the front of the Lee Filters holder using a 105mm adapter ring.
Although almost all polarisers are circular in shape, they actually come in two types that are confusingly called linear and circular. This name describes the way that the filters work, rather than their shape, and which type you need depends on your camera. If your camera has autofocus or spot (or multi-segment) metering you need to use a circular polariser. For older manual models you can use the cheaper linear type, although you can also use the circular type and the effect is the same. So, if you use a digital SLR make sure you’re using a circular polariser to ensure that your camera will work properly!
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Tags: camera lens, lens, polariser
