For anyone considering a CPL...

I picked up my first CPL (A Marumi DHG) about a month ago, and I haven't used it all that much but I just wanted to share my most obvious (so far) example of how dramatically it can improve a shot if used well. So hopefully this'll help anyone who's on the fence about dropping some cash on one!

Both of these are SOC with no PP.

No CPL (well, with CPL but turned to minimize the effect):

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Commercial Pilots License? Lol. I'm new at this. I don't know what it is (i'm googling now), but that's incredible. I want one!


Edit:
Oh lol, another name for circular polariser, i'm def getting one when i finally get my first DSLR. They look like so much fun to play with.

Those are unedited right, you haven't tweaked the saturation in the second pic?

That's a great example; "a picture is worth a thousand words".

Where'd the shadows go?

plasticmotif wrote in post #11240622
Where'd the shadows go?

My thoughts also. Somethings not right with the before and after.

How would the two pictures compare if the exposure were the same?
The Before has half the exposure as the After. 1/800s vs 1/400s shutter speed. That alone makes a difference with or without a CPL filters.

tkerr wrote in post #11240875
How would the two pictures compare if the exposure were the same?
The Before has half the exposure as the After. 1/800s vs 1/400s shutter speed. That alone makes a difference with or without a CPL filters.

True. I wonder if he had to slow the speed down to compensate for loss of light with the CPL?

plasticmotif wrote in post #11240622
Where'd the shadows go?

Look at the EXIF data, one was shot at 1/800 and the other at 1/400.

tkerr wrote in post #11240875
How would the two pictures compare if the exposure were the same?
The Before has half the exposure as the After. 1/800s vs 1/400s shutter speed. That alone makes a difference with or without a CPL filters.

I think we are all accustomed to seeing CPL before and after shots with the foreground exposed for. The illustration being how the CPL brings out the highlights (skies).

In the OP's illustration, the sky was exposed for in both shots, therefore the slower shutter speed brought out the shadows.

Its the same thing, just exposed on a different area. If you can slow down the shutter speed, you bring out the shadows....there's nothing 'not right' about that. It is Photography 101.

Both shots are at the same aperture. The CPL on the slower shutter speed allowed for the shadows to be lifted and the sky to remain the same.

Here are other examples where the shadows were lifted with a CPL.

http://edkphoto.wordpr​ess.com …three-polarizer-examples/

The bottom example looks just like the OP's example with the shadows being lifted and the tree having more color saturation.

dansoto wrote in post #11240894
True. I wonder if he had to slow the speed down to compensate for loss of light with the CPL?

He probably didn't do it, the camera did. He was using (AE) Aperture Priority mode rather than full manual.

Yeah I was in AE mode, so the exposure difference was mostly the camera's doing and not mine (both times I exposed for the sky). Remember I didn't take these pictures for the purpose of comparison...it just turned out that way.

The impressive bit to me is less the difference in the shadows (though the CPL did make that exposure possible) but the DRAMATIC difference in color. When I looked at the second picture I wondered if I'd accidentally flipped to JPEG with some kind of Picture Style going on.

cptrios wrote in post #11246033
The impressive bit to me is less the difference in the shadows (though the CPL did make that exposure possible) but the DRAMATIC difference in color.

That it is, the second shot is very nice! More vibrant and much less flat than the first.

Well there is that about the shadows, but also glare. With less light coming through the lens, you would have to compensate and increase the exposure to get a light photo.

Taken with a CPL, purposely in the wrong "direction":

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This reminds me of my first shot with the CPL. Here was the comparison.

With and Without CPL

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