Absolutes On Circular Polarizers

[weldwire]

Today I bougt an omega 55mm circular polarizer. I wanted
to shoot some pics of a few mountian streams. I forgot to take
the darn thing off after installing my cokin ND4.

The temp was around 30 and lots and lots of clouds.
Need less to say the pictures all turned out WAY....to dark.

So was it the polarizer that caused them all to be to dark??

[Jorge Li]

No, it was the ND filter, You are loosing 4 stops by using that filter.

[weldwire]

The effects intended were the silky waterfall effects...
In the future how then can I achieve the effects with out
the dark backgrounds?

Wish I could upload 2 or three for users to critique.

[shene]

Originally Posted by weldwire

The effects intended were the silky waterfall effects... In the future how then can I achieve the effects with out the dark backgrounds?

To get silky waterfall effects, what you need is a very slow shutter speed. Depending on your need, sometimes 1/8 sec or slower would be necessary. To get such a slow shutter speed, either you use the shutter-priority mode and set the shutter speed to a very slow one. Or you use the aperture-priority mode to set the aperture to the smallest (or the second smallest) one (i.e., the one with larger x.y in Fx.y). In general, the latter is preferred because in landscape photography, depth-of-field is crucial. After setting the aperture, if shutter speed is still too fast, add a ND, then another, then a third, etc until shutter speed is as slow as the one you want. However, if your camera is of the auto-everything type, it could be a little difficult to yield this effect. But, with some practice and taking notes, a few tries will eventually get you there. This is an easy task.

CK
http://www.cs.mtu.edu/~shene/DigiCam
Nikon Coolpix 950/990/995/2500/4500 User Guide

[weldwire]

Thanks Shane,

The digicam is a S5000 Finepix. Okay so I should buy at least
2 or 3 nd's in the 2 to 8 stop range??

And another question. When I was trying to use the polarizer today I could not see any effects of change in the viewfinder or the LCD screen. Do you have a secret?

BTW: your site looks great!
Buy a Finepix S5000 and let me know what you think... :lol:

[shene]

Originally Posted by weldwire

The digicam is a S5000 Finepix. Okay so I should buy at least 2 or 3 nd's in the 2 to 8 stop range??

You could count on your polarizer as a ND filter that can reduce 1.5 to 2 stops. Getting rid of 8 stops, hmmm, may be too much in general situation when you have a polarizer. Normally, if I have a polarizer on the lens, I would try the 2-stop ND plus the polarizer first. Then, stack the 4 to see if it is enough, followed by the 8 one.

Originally Posted by weldwire

And another question. When I was trying to use the polarizer today I could not see any effects of change in the viewfinder or the LCD screen. Do you have a secret?

You may not see the effect of a polarizer if the viewing angle is not right. When the view angle is right, you need to turn the ring to adjust the polarizer to get the effect you want. The "Filters" section has the details.

Originally Posted by weldwire

Buy a Finepix S5000 and let me know what you think

I have been thinking this for some time. However, the commander-in-chief of my family, you know who she is :lol:, has turned down my request multiple times, because she believes I will buy something big before the year end, hmmm, something that can replace my 5700. How do you feel about your S5000? I bet you love it. :lol:

CK
http://www.cs.mtu.edu/~shene/DigiCam
Nikon Coolpix 950/990/995/2500/4500 User Guide

[weldwire]

Oh yes I Love the feel of the S5000 and the way it operates. It has its draw backs like every thing else out there. I have found that the best pictures taken are at the RAW level.

You have to have at least a 256 mb Xd card if you plan on learning out in the field while shooting your pictures. RAW photos use at least 9mb of memory depending on the amount of pixals in the picture.

512MB Xd cards are around $150.00 if you can find them...
The best price I found on the S5000 was at Etronics, I paid $319.00
and it lists for $499.99. I sell them at Sears in my electronics department for $499.99 and couldnt see buying one with just a 10% discount...