Reply To: Polarizing Filters

[cameraclicker]

A circular polarizing filer is the variety you want.  The filter screws into the filter thread on the front of your lens and once threaded on, the front will still rotate.  Look through the viewfinder and watch the reflection change as the filters is rotated.  It may not completely remove the reflection but it should reduce it.  It will also reduce light generally, a little, so that will have to be taken into account if you use an external light meter.  TTL metering, used by the camera’s meter sees the reduction and reports it.

The CP filter will reduce reflections from non-metalic surfaces.  If the reflection is from bare metal, it will not help much.  Whether you are dealing with reflection from metalic or non-metalic surfaces, you can drastically reduce reflection without a filter if you can control the light source.  Angle of incidence equals angle of reflection.  If you can put the light where it will not reflect into the lens, the camera will not see the reflection.  That said, everything the camera usefully records is probably reflected light, you are trying to remove only the objectionable reflections.

Some of the less expensive lenses allow the front to rotate when focusing or zooming.  This will require care when using a CP filter.