I have a Sony DSLR and I just got a tiffen 55 circular polarizer and i am not sure on how to use it?

Question

i twist it and take practice pictures but i am not seeing a differance. i am practicing on a winon a window to my house that is facing East and the sun is setting behinde it (in the west if you did not know) and i still get the glair for the trees and my self in the window

Answer 1

yup...it depends a lot on how mich you spent on it im afraid.
i dont think there is a polariser that works completely, but i know that it works best at 45 degrees from the subject.

some great places to test it are,
1. the bonnet of your car, with the light in front of you. the reflections should dissapear.
2. look at a blue sky, then twist the polariser. if its good enough the sky will turn deep blue, and have a slight vingnette effect.

thats all i can say im afraid

Answer 2

For maximum effect using your polarizer to darken the sky simply pretend you are standing on the face of a clock and facing towards 12. If the sun is at 3 or 9 you'll get maximum polarizing effect. If its anywhere between 2 & 4 or 8 & 10 you'll get less effect.

Answer 3

It's best if the sun is at 90 degrees of the camera lens (at your right or left shoulder). The polarizer is great for reducing glare on water and other objects and also useful for improving contrast. It's great for landscape shots that include a lot of sky. It really darkens up the sky to a nice blue color. I have the same camera and use a Hoya Circular Polarizer. I've noticed that trying to fine tune the polarizer lens is a bit tricky and is easiest if using a tripod. Good luck!!

Answer 4

About 45 degrees to the side/top. If you don't see immediate results through the finder, find a patch of blue sky turn the polarizer until you see a shift in sky color. Even if it means you have to move around fractionally. At that point you'll be able ascertain at what angle you should be at, to get the most out for your polarized effect.

Answer 5

The filter has two rings.

View your image while rotating the outer ring slowly.

When you see the image darken slightly (it'll only be a tiny bit), the filter is performing at max.

A Polarizer won't eliminate all the reflections in the scenario you describe, but it'll reduce them some.

The greatest benefit of a Polarizer is to increase contrast and aturation in brightly lit outdoor scenes. Clouds will appear whiter, blue sky darker, glare off water etc. will be less.