Circular Polarized Lens Hood Combination

       

Circular polarized filters work. They just do. They cut glare on the water, on rocks on or through glass, they are amazing. I didn’t use them for the longest time and a professional photographer friend asked me what kind I used? I told him I didn’t use them. Typically I moved around until I found an angle that worked best. I thought that was something you just did in constructing a good photograph and it is but, the polarized filters allow you to pic the best spot then adjust the filter to cut the glare and or get the effect you want.

But there is a slight issue with the lens hood, you use your fingertip to rotate the filter. Most filters are too deep to get your fingertip in there to adjust to effect. One lens/hood combo works however it isn’t a lens that I use in bright glaring conditions.

   

This was a series of pics from my first time using a CPL, as you can see the sky can be greatly affected if not adjusted properly. It becomes second nature after a while and the filter no longer is an issue. Also, if you don’t like the effect, you can remove it. I do not adjust the exposure at all. Arizona has nuclear blasting light during mid day and even mid morning in the summer. The CPL just makes shooting in these conditions pretty easy to mitigate glare.

Ultra wide angle lenses accentuate the effect that the polarization has on the sky. Sometimes the sky is uneven or a band is produced. So if I’m using one on a wide angle, I keep the sky to a minimum.

What I end up doing is to purchase a metal hood and screw it into the CPL and I support the front of the lens with my hand and use a fingertip to rotate the filter/hood combo. I really like this method. I’m careful with my lenses knowing if I knock the hood, it can damage the lens filter threads.

I use two primary brands, the stock Nikon CPL II and Marumi. I source my aftermarket lens hoods through Amazon or eBay. The 95mm CPL is expensive! A couple of hundred and the hoods are typically inexpensive. Nikon CPL’s usually have a lens hood combo ready as is, the above is a 77mm. I find a regular lens cap to place on the hood opening for ease of use. The lens hoods I use are slightly larger than the filter size to prevent vignetting so you will have to buy a hood with the proper lens cap size or dig around in your extras box, hopefully you have one that fits.

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