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You thought you got a beautiful landscape image, but even with such a beautiful subject, the blue of the sky or the green of the grass faded. Has this ever happened to you? It's caused by reflection.
The PL (Polarized Light) filter suppresses reflections and depicts natural subject colors. The PL filter emphasizes the hues of the sky and the contrast of the greenery and curbs reflections from water and glass surfaces, so you get crisp, transparent photos.
- When a PL filter is mounted, the light amount drops and the shutter speed slows down. Watch out for blurring.
- When you're shooting with your back against the sun, or when you're shooting against the light source, the filter has no effect.
- If the effect of the PL filter is too strong, the contrast level can become too high. Check the effect while rotating the filter frame.
- Turn the rotary ring and adjust it to the position where the reflection is weakest. When you want to shoot a clear blue sky, the optimal position is where the landscape is darkest when viewed from the LCD / LVF.
Light that is reflected from water vapor or airborne dust can turn skies gray. When the exposure is adjusted mainly to match the subject, this gives the sky a drab, whitish appearance. It's quite difficult to shoot impressive-looking skies. Using a PL filter brings out the vividness of the sky and clouds.
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Greens that look beautiful in nature can easily turn lackluster when photographed. One reason for this is that plant leaves sometimes reflect sunlight. Using a PL filter eliminates the reflections and renders plants in all their natural, vibrant beauty.
The PL filter is also effective for eliminating reflections from water and glass surfaces. This allows you to express the beautifully transparent water of a river or ocean. It also suppresses reflections from the glass surfaces of cars, buildings, and other objects to give you sharper, crisper photos.
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