CPL use

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Calzor Suzay

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Steve
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Is it a case of look through the viewfinder and twiddle till it looks ok to you?

Some have a notch or a mark and was wondering if you're supposed to point this at say the direction of the sun for maximum effect?
 
I don't think either of my CPLs have a notch, I just twist them until I get the desired effect.
 
Calzor Suzay said:
Some have a notch or a mark and was wondering if you're supposed to point this at say the direction of the sun for maximum effect?
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Haven't seen any with a notch but some do have a mark. From what I have seen having the mark at the top is supposed to be maximum effect and quarter turn minimum, though I would have thought it depends on the direction of the light in the first place.

And as has been said, just turning till you get the effect you want is the best way to go :)
 
stick it on and twist whilst looking through the viewfinder. Its all part of the creativity IMO. Take several photos at various CPL settings and learn?
 
AFAIR light reflected from a plane surface is plane-polarised in the plane of the surface. This means that the orientation of the CPL filter for maximum reduction of reflections will depend on he surface that is producing the reflections. If you turn it so you reduce the reflections from a vertical pane of glass (a shop window for example), you should find that you have to turn it another quarter turn to get rid of reflections from a horizontal surface, i.e. a calm lake or a glass-topped table.

The blue light from the sky is also polarised (because it is reflected from dust particles high in the atmosphere) and the polarisation is at a maximum at right-angles to the direction of the sun, so the amount of darkening you can achieve depends very much on the direction in which you point the camera with respect to the sun.

In either case, just twiddle the filter until you get the best effect.
 
Twiddle for best effect. It varies. That's why they rotate ;)

The mark that some have is just a reference point, but often the glass moves around inside the mount with use and cleaning. It will usually be around the top for a blue sky, but if you turn it through 180 degrees you will get exactly the same effect with the mark at the bottom. It goes max, min, max, min at 90 degree intervals.

Reflections are obviously highly subject specific. Max angle is 33 degrees to the surface, but between 30-40 degrees is usually about right.
 
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