Mark E
New member
Should I use a circular polarizer on photographing birds in the water? I'm very new to this and need all the help I can get. Thanks.
Circular Polarizing Filter
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Warren D
Well-known member
I'd say try it and see if the trade-offs are worth it. On the plus side, it would minimize reflections and might kick the contrast. On the minus side, it'll cost you 2 stops of light, meaning you'll be either dropping shutter speed or increasing ISO (or a combination of both). For static birds it might not be a problem but for flying/diving birds it probably won't work out. Those 2 stops of light reduction will also hit your AF response speed. You don't mention what gear you're using but my usual bird rig is a 600 EFL with a 1.4 tc. That's f5.6 and if I were to add a CPOL, that goes to f11 (as far as the AF sensors are concerned) which exceeds the specs of all bodies except the D6. Even with the D6 I doubt I'd get anything useful. The other issue would be if you are changing the camera direction you would need to re-adjust the cpol. Then there is the time of day/sun direction, might not do anything but eat 2 stops of light.
Capturingtheunseen.com
Well-known member
Has anyone had luck using a polarizing filter on a zoom telephoto? If so, I would like to know which brand you use. I've tried a few different ones on my 200-500 and it throws the focus off.
Warren D
Well-known member
I use Breakthrough CPOLs and have not had any focus issues on my 200-500. That said, AF performance will drop due to the extra 2 stops of light loss.
Mark E
New member
Thanks for your response.
Hi, I just joined the forum and came across this one. Some time ago I had a Nikon 200-400 f4 VR and used it on D610 and D7100 for wildlife. I spent a lot of time and quite a bit of money to get hold of one of these drop-in polarizers (original Nikon). It certainly helped under psecial circumstances to make the photo look better, but at the price of loosing some sharpness and having an AF that is slower and less reliable due to loosing light. In the end I had it sitting in the drawer and finally sold it. Since then I have never used a CPOL on a Super-Tele or Zoom again. But this is only my personal view ;-)
Warren D
Well-known member
I have and occasionally use one of those drop in's and Nikon is really the only choice there. The OP doesn't say what gear he's using which would help narrow the advice. I'll agree with you for wildlife use.
Mark E
New member
I appreciate everyone's comments.
Mark66
New member
I just purchased a drop in Nikon C-PL1L circular polarizer for use on my 600mm f/4 this week. I'm going to try to test it out this weekend. I would be very interested to hear if Steve uses a polarizer for wildlife photos.
bobkoure
New member
If you have reflections in the water that are distracting from the shot or the birds are wet and their true colors aren't showing through, then, yes, a polarizer can help. There are definitely downsides (AF takes a hit, you lose a stop and a half of light which you'll have to accommodate with slower speed, shorter DoF or higher ISO) which prev posters covered.
Mark E
New member
Thanks Bob. Diving ducks can definitely have water on them, so knowing this will help. Assuming they'll stay still long enough for the shot.
I purchased the Nikon PL2 Circular Polarizing Filter , does it work with Matrix Metering on the Z8?
24-70mm /2.8 S lens
24-70mm /2.8 S lens
Yep. it'll work fine.
Thank you, I had remembered, reading somewhere that a polarized filter doesn't work with MATRIX metering. Made no sense to me but I just wanted to verify. Thank you very much for the response.
Used to be a thing when there were non circular polarizer. These days it's hard to find anything but Circular. Yes I know they are all in a circle shape, but it was the way the light rays are blocked that is Circular.
IIRC linear polorisers stopped the AF working where circular ones are OK with AF.
Yes, I recall it was an issue with dslr cameras with the mirror and focusing sensor, but I don't know how a linear would respond on a mirrorless. They all seem to be cpl these days. Be interesting because I think the linear eats less light.
Polarizers eliminate reflections, which for your scenario I would NOT want to do because I like seeing the bird's reflection in the water. I use a polarizer for landscape shots often, but almost never for wildlife.
As far as which one to get, Roger Cicala from LensRentals is a scientist who does extensive tests. His test of polarizing filters showed in terms of quality and polarizing effect they are more or less equal: https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/20...tertaining-circular-polarizer-filter-article/
As far as which one to get, Roger Cicala from LensRentals is a scientist who does extensive tests. His test of polarizing filters showed in terms of quality and polarizing effect they are more or less equal: https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/20...tertaining-circular-polarizer-filter-article/
Thank you for the reply. and the link to LensRentals.com, very informative. I have already purchased the Nikon PL2 Circular polarizing filter. The Nikon PLC is not mentioned in the article. I now must search for comparisons .......