question

[Jemma87]

i was just wondering what u guys think about the circular polarizer ??? i have a UV filter on my olympus at the moment but what i was wondering is do they do the same job ??? or which one is better to have on or can i use both ???? i will be doing some outside portraits next weekend and would love to know what somebody thinks ????

[zona5101]

circular polarizer and a uv are 2 different animals. While the uv will cut some haze, it's most important function is to protect the front element. A polarizer is used to reduce glare. It will also darken foliage and the sky. It consists of two pieces of glass that restrict the angle of light that can pass. While one piece of the filter is attached to your lens, the other piece can be turned. Turning it will allow more or less of the angled light to pass, increasing or decreasing the the reduction of reflection and the darkening of sky/foilage. Most (all?) newer cameras can't use linear polarizer and must use circular polarizer because linerar won't work with the focus and exposure sensors.

[bono]

The polarizer is used to reduce reflections or make the sky more blue. But you loose one or two f-stops. You can buy a used one and play around.

Concerning the UV-Filter - you don't need one. They just reduce the image quality of your lens. Go with a lens hood instead - this reduces flare and protects the lens without having a negative impact on image quality.