Question on polarizing filters

When taking photos on the water of birds either in flight or not do most people use a polarizing filter for the water/sky and will it affect the clarity of the birds good or bad? ... I have a UV filter on my lens already but was wondering if most or any of you use a polarizing filter?
If not why not?
One more thing what mode does everyone prefer to shoot birds with?? Ive been looking at a lot of pictures EXIF data and seems like AE or TV is what a lot are using ... is this just because of the constant changes that can happen??
Sorry for the noob questions but I didn't know where else to ask

Thanks for your time

Steve

I've been shooting with a circular polarizing and Vari-ND filter and haven't noticed any loss of clarity with either. Of course what they say is true in that "you get what you pay for", and that especially holds true in filters. I have paid $270 and $500 for those two filters and the company guarantees little to no image degradation when using their products.

So my advice is if you are shooting an object that is far enough away that you may need to crop occasionally, use the best filter you can afford when shooting for the best results.

Thorrulz wrote in post #15942905
I've been shooting with a circular polarizing and Vari-ND filter and haven't noticed any loss of clarity with either. Of course what they say is true in that "you get what you pay for", and that especially holds true in filters. I have paid $270 and $500 for those two filters and the company guarantees little to no image degradation when using their products.

So my advice is if you are shooting an object that is far enough away that you may need to crop occasionally, use the best filter you can afford when shooting for the best results.

Thank you for you repsonse .... just curious

Which filters are you using and on what lens?? And are you using them together??

Steve

steve_douglass wrote in post #15943454
Thank you for you repsonse .... just curious

Which filters are you using and on what lens?? And are you using them together??

Steve

I'll try and give you as condensed an answer as possible and hope I don't confuse you as much as I confuse myself sometimes.

First let me clarify what I primarily shoot.
I shoot Portraits and Landscapes at about a 70/30 ratio. My primary portrait lens are the Canon 50 f/1.4, Canon 135L f/2 and even my friends Canon 70-200 f/4 IS when he lets me.

When I first set out to buy either the circular polarizer and/or a Vari-ND filter I did quite a bit of research on the different companies strengths and weaknesses in their filter product offerings. Since the 135L and 70-200 f/4 IS are two of Canons sharpest lens I didn't want an inferior filter taking away some of that sharpness or color rendition these lens are known for. Plus I factored in how well some of the various filters worked without needing extra post processing work. So here is what I found to be true more often than not when looking for suitable filters.

Circular Polarizers
I am not one to fix an images color shift due to changing densities when I am using the filter. Keep in mind also that some filters are horrible at cutting or reducing reflections off of water or glass as well. Get as much right in camera and do as little post production as possible is what I try to do with every image.

Most Vari-ND filters after reaching the 135mm focal point starts to degrade an image. And you will also see color shifting at the higher densities on these filters as well. Very important in that you really need to do your homework on studying other peoples tests, reviews and postings before taking the plunge on one of these types of filters.

Now to make a long story short, I found this company LINK that offered a combination of what I wanted in a filter.

Here is a youtube LINK

A Vimeo Link

And the company webpage LINK

Now keep in mind with my purchase that I received the Lee filter kit holder, circular polarizer and linear polarizing filter. It was pricey but allows me maximum flexibility in that I have a system that allows me to mix and match other types of filters as needed.

Depending on your particular filter size for a circular polarizer I would suggest no less than the B + W Kaesemann Circular Polarizer Multi-Coated Glass Filters which is also pricey but is an excellent filter.

I hope I have at least partially answered your questions but please feel free to ask if I can help or offer more insight.

steve_douglass wrote in post #15942841
When taking photos on the water of birds either in flight or not do most people use a polarizing filter for the water/sky and will it affect the clarity of the birds good or bad? ... I have a UV filter on my lens already but was wondering if most or any of you use a polarizing filter?
If not why not?
One more thing what mode does everyone prefer to shoot birds with?? Ive been looking at a lot of pictures EXIF data and seems like AE or TV is what a lot are using ... is this just because of the constant changes that can happen??
Sorry for the noob questions but I didn't know where else to ask

Thanks for your time

Steve

For birds you really don't want a UV filter or a Neutral Density filter. A CPL can be useful, especially for reducing reflections from water and for making blue skies bluer. However, they will reduce the light significantly (around 2-3 stops) which means you have to increase the exposure by opening the aperture (if you're not already wide open), reducing the shutter speed (and increasing the chances of blur) or increasing the ISO (with possible increase in noise). As with most things in photography, you need to weigh up the compromises needed to achieve the desired result.

If you're shooting Birds in Flight (BiF) in constant light then manual exposure is probably your best bet. Change your exposure settings until the meter shows around a stop over-exposure when pointing at some green grass. That's likely to give around the correct exposure for a bird flying across a bright background.

If the light isn't constant (walking in woodland with sunny and shady patches) I'll use Av mode with Evaluative Metering.

hollis_f wrote in post #15946070
For birds you really don't want a UV filter or a Neutral Density filter. A CPL can be useful, especially for reducing reflections from water and for making blue skies bluer. However, they will reduce the light significantly (around 2-3 stops) which means you have to increase the exposure by opening the aperture (if you're not already wide open), reducing the shutter speed (and increasing the chances of blur) or increasing the ISO (with possible increase in noise). As with most things in photography, you need to weigh up the compromises needed to achieve the desired result.

If you're shooting Birds in Flight (BiF) in constant light then manual exposure is probably your best bet. Change your exposure settings until the meter shows around a stop over-exposure when pointing at some green grass. That's likely to give around the correct exposure for a bird flying across a bright background.

If the light isn't constant (walking in woodland with sunny and shady patches) I'll use Av mode with Evaluative Metering.

Great info thanks for the info ... I will deffinitely give those suggestions a try ... I am finding the filter does hinder the shot ever so slight ... I played a bit last night with some night shots and the filter absolutely made a huge difference when I took them off ...

Thanks once again!

Steve

no filter at all is your best bet