My first tutorial,polarization,no reflections.(6p)

[erik]

Yesterday i saw Chip and Jon and maybe others were interessed how to remove the reflections on the glass.
Today i wrote this little tutorial.
Enjoy

In this tutorial i will try to give you an idea what a Polarization filter can do with your future photography of watches.

(Here you will see 2 pictures of my Polarization Filter.)



I will do the test, the first one is normally taken to much reflection as you see.


I will turn a bit with the bezel.. it looks much better isn't it?


Reflections... :


No reflections... :


I hope this tutorial was useful for you.
Good luck!

[Sam]

Thank Erik! I've been meaning to pick up a polarization filter anyway....even more excuse to buy one now.

[CHIP]

Good job Erik!!
Thanks man!

[erik]

Thanks Sam and Chip.

Sam just do it you won't regret it

Chip, i have no idea if that filter fits on your current camera...

[Sam]

I will Erik. That's the same one I need for my camera....58mm.

[Adam]

Very nice Erik thanks

To bad they dont make filters for point and shoot cameras.

[Warren]

Chip, I use one of these on my G2 for close up lenses and a polarising filter.

www.lensmateonline.com

[erik]

Adam thank you.
The problem "i guess" is you can not see the results with a point and shoot camera.

Wetowne, interesting.. but sounds very very difficult..

[Ben]

Greetings,

Polarizing filters (circular polarizers for autofocus cameras) are very useful tools that can correct a variety of things as well as enhance images (bluer skies etc.). However, I must point out that the positioning of the reflective surface, regarding the object being photographed, in relation to whatever light source you are using is a more important factor than using a polarizer. Often a polarizer's "influence" on a reflective surface is minimal. It depends on the degree of specular reflection.

Another point to make is that polarizers raise the overall contrast of an image, which could cause objectionable problems with things like stainless steel watch cases and other specular highlights. This can be tweaked in Photoshop et al. with level, curve and saturation controls, but it's something to think about.

Finally, polarizers reduce your exposure by 2 to 3 stops, so hand holding the camera with ambient light sources is difficult to impossible. Tripods required here.

-Ben

[Ben]

erik said:

Adam thank you.
The problem "i guess" is you can not see the results with a point and shoot camera.

Wetowne, interesting.. but sounds very very difficult..

If your digital camera has an LCD screen on the rear that can be kept on for composing your shot etc.; then you can see the effect of the polarizer on that LCD image to a large degree.

Oh....cameras like the Canon G2 have accessory filter holders that bayonet on over the lens and allow filters, close-up lenses, ring flashes and other neat stuff to be used with them. Many Olympus models also have this feature. Quite useful

-Ben

[Sam]

That's some good advice Ben....thanks!

[Warren]

Ben offers some good advice here. I use my polarizer rarely because of the limitations that he points out.I find it useful mainly for shooting outside on a sunny day.

Most of my shooting is done indoors using a light tent with movable lamps, here the best strategy for minimizing glare from the crystal is very careful positioning of the lamps, the subject and the camera. It's mostly trial and error but patience and careful composition will usually produce better results than simply relying on technology.

[erik]

Yes you are both right Ben and Wetowne.
Thanks for the information.