Circular Polarizer Study

[Spazzmodicus]

Here's a few shots from a car show this weekend. The only difference between these shots was the rotation of the circular polarizer on the end of my lens. Look at the hood of the truck or the roof of the building in the distance....

http://www.all-event-photos.com/img/v2/p551832649-4.jpg

http://www.all-event-photos.com/img/v2/p542377270-4.jpg

[Spazzmodicus]

And here's a few more....

http://www.all-event-photos.com/img/v2/p661915157-4.jpg

http://www.all-event-photos.com/img/v1/p720149498-4.jpg

http://www.all-event-photos.com/img/v2/p762473476-4.jpg

[luigis]

They are ok to see how the glass reflection is reduced, too bad the sky is blown because that's where the polarizer effect would be most noticeable.

Tks for sharing
Luigi

[Spazzmodicus]

They are ok to see how the glass reflection is reduced, too bad the sky is blown because that's where the polarizer effect would be most noticeable.

Tks for sharing
Luigi

I could understand your sentiment if these were scenic shots. I was specifically going after "detail" in these vehicles using available light.....so a blue sky wasn't an equation in the factor.

[luigis]

Then the only logic in using a polarizer is to eliminate the glare in the windows, polarizers don't work on metal surfaces.

[Spazzmodicus]

Then the only logic in using a polarizer is to eliminate the glare in the windows, polarizers don't work on metal surfaces.

Um.....if you look at the dark metal hood of one truck, or the black metal fenders of the second truck you will see that it is clearly working. How about the red metal roof in the distance? One of the functions of a CP is to saturate colors regardless of what the object is made of. Also, look at the glare on the side of the Black "metal" truck.

[argyle]

A CPL will reduce reflections from metal surfaces that have been painted, not so much with unpainted metal surfaces, such as a polished chrome bumper...it may change slightly due to atmospheric polarization as the light waves travel through the air, but not that noticeably.

[SkipD]

Um.....if you look at the dark metal hood of one truck, or the black metal fenders of the second truck you will see that it is clearly working. How about the red metal roof in the distance? One of the functions of a CP is to saturate colors regardless of what the object is made of. Also, look at the glare on the side of the Black "metal" truck.The surfaces of the truck fenders are PAINT, not metal. There's a huge difference there. A polarizing filter won't do anything for a reflection on stainless steel, chrome, etc., but definitely does have an effect on painted surfaces (where the paint is not a truly metallic coating).

[iamaelephant]

This seems a little weird to me. Look at the pics of the green truck. In the second image the polariser is blocking glare from the tailgate (look at the lower left and right corners of the gate) but there are strong reflections on the fenders. In the other two green truck images there is glare on the tailgate but the fender reflections are reduced dramatically. Why is this happening?

[powerslave]

Here's a sample from one of my initial shots. You know which is which.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v607/badd666/polarizer_trial1_diptych.jpg

[a_kraker99]

look at the windows of the car next to the green truck. one you can see right through and the other is a reflection of the sky. This game is fun.

Can we play Wheres Waldo?