[mattyb]

I got myself one of these to go with my new camera. I mustn't be using it properly because I cannot see any difference between the photos that I take with the filter and the photos taken without. I've usually got the camera on Auto or Landscape mode. What am I doing wrong?

[MacNNUK]

Originally Posted by mattyb 

I got myself one of these to go with my new camera. I mustn't be using it properly because I cannot see any difference between the photos that I take with the filter and the photos taken without. I've usually got the camera on Auto or Landscape mode. What am I doing wrong?

Take it of the camera, look at blue sky, glass with reflection, tv screen, glare off anything.

Rotate it slowly whilst looking through it, see how the sky darkens, glare disappears etc

That's how to use it on camera.

That's for a linear polariser.

A circular polariser produces less reduction, but doesn't need rotating.

Auto or Landscape mode makes no difference either way.

Beware though, the polarised light may fool some camera exposure systems.

And you lose some light, say a couple of stops, or a 1/4 of shutter speed.

Google is your friend

[Spheric Harlot]

NB: a polarizer has almost *no* effect in artificial light. This is because artificial light sources generally exude unpolarised light.

In natural light, the effect is stunning - windowpanes suddenly change from white reflective mirrors to completely transparent, plants in sunlight suddenly become a rich, deep green, and the effect on water is equally amazing.

Especially on water, it's much fun to experiment with various settings to see where the compromises lie between taking off too much sparkle and enhancing the contrast.