CP in motorsports

[Ves]

Hello!

How beneficial is using a circular polarizer when taking motorsport pictures? I've never been totally sure on what they do, I know they minimize reflections a bit but I haven't seen real examples except for bluer skies.

Would a CP be beneficial when the light is very strong? I live in Arizona where there's always light and lots of it, and I really don't like it. Would a CP help?
Some CP vs. no CP shots would be cool.

Thanks,
Oliver

[NordieBoy]

CP will help control reflections and contrast and also let you use lower shutter speeds in bright situations.

[Cadwell]

I rarely use them because the loss of one and a half to two stops of light slugs the AF mechanism too much. This may not be an issue for you sunny Arizona...

[Zilly]

I rarely use them because the loss of one and a half to two stops of light slugs the AF mechanism too much. This may not be an issue for you sunny Arizona...

same shoot raw and you tweak the picture enough not to need one

[TCorzett]

CP will help control reflections and contrast and also let you use lower shutter speeds in bright situations.
With many race cars (that use lexan windscreans) you will get rainbow patterns. They are also very hard to get properly set-up... given that the subject's angle is changing constantly. As for using lower shutter speeds, yes... but you might as well use a ND filter for that (however there are some effects on AF with either a CP or ND).

-Todd...

[Ves]

I guess what I'm really not liking is all of the blown highlights I'm getting. The car's are exposed correctly but the background is always looking pretty nasty.

Examples of what I mean are here: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=244278

[Zilly]

try under exposing a little bit that how i combat the "wall" at shakey

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h152/zilly_photos/RQ5P1704.jpg

or re-adjust in ps

[Ves]

For whatever reason I never though of doing that. :P
Is there anything that would combat reflections coming off the cars?

[Ves]

I think the most important thing for me atm is to try and avoid white things in the backgrounds.
Also, how much will shooting raw benefit to gain back the detail lost in blown highlights?
In Photoshop and JPEG, I can make it so the walls aren't exactly #FFFFFF white, but there's no detail in them.

[PhotosGuy]

The car's are exposed correctly but the background is always looking pretty nasty... most important thing for me atm is to try and avoid white things in the backgrounds Right. You can't just shoot anywhere!? Pick your spots.
KennyG - Best use of location and AF points for motorsport (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=135409) Also, how much will shooting raw benefit to gain back the detail lost in blown highlights? Some, but life isn't perfect? ;)