GH2 Do you use a Polirizer when you use a ND (or variable) Filter?

[Inprogress]

Bit or a general question related to any camera.

If you use a ND filter, or a variable ND filter, do you need to use (or want to use) a Polirizer? I will be one of the camera men next year for a local motorcycle navigation/endurance rally for the big trailies (450cc and up). The route is then obviously outdoors, and I believe there might be some sand involved (route kept secret till the day), although not beach scenes, some dunes sections - cannot confirm, based on previous qualifiers. I was thinking of merely using a ND filter (thinking of a Tiffen set, or to try a Polaroid Variable to see if the variable thing works for me workflow wise). Then the thought crossed my mind about a CPL and whether it is needed if I use the ND's.

There will be some wide angles and for that I will not use a CPL, but in general, is it needed (apart from avoiding to stack filters anyway) in terms of how the light is registered and glare etc? I suppose its two different applications. If you want to remove glare and lessen light intensity a tad bit due to the inherent use of the filter, use a CPL. If you don't mind the glare but want to lessen light intensity to gain shallow depth of field, use ND.

Thank you for the advice from those in the know.

EDIT: P.S. The one thing that bothers me about using a CPL is the possible banding issue I might encounter with the sky - talking from lack of experience here, just a concern I have read about but not had the chance to test for myself.

 

[MikeGunter]

Hi,

I'm a long, long time photographer and a video maker, but doing this (GH2) for a short time, so what I have to say might not be golden.

Neutral density reduces light without any footprints, but polarizers do have a impact on color and quality of light, reducing reflections, making skies bluer, saturating colors, so on. For more information see:

http://www.leefilters.com/camera/products/show/ref:C4756CAB0E4B5E/
http://photo.tutsplus.com/tutorials/lighting/how-when-and-why-to-use-a-polarizing-filter/
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/camera-lens-filters.htm

You can stack them, too, (ND and Polar filters) for reducing your f-stops, if that is what you want to do, something I would give you a slight word of caution to do. You will want to have a little more DOF in this sort of situation to ensure good focus of the participants - so I'm not sure how shallow you'll really want to do in all cases.

My best,

Mike

 

[Inprogress]

Thanks for the reply Mike. I don't mean to go that much darker for this situation as you mention. I suspect (not from experience) that a CPL will probably do just fine, however I want to be prepared in case I see I do need/want to reduce the light a bit further than just the CPL, hence the stacking question, South Africa can get quiet bright, and I suspect if there is sand, even more so.

Thanks for the links, I'll go read them soonest. I have read up some on the filters about a year ago but haven't actually gotten round to acquire some.

The other thought that just crossed my mind, will using a CPL whilst panning, considering its function, change the light filtered? In other words, pointing the camera north, you adjust the CPL to remove the glare, now you pan to the east, the light reflected changes (?) and now the glare enters the picture. I just need to get me one and start experimenting and see what works for me....that was a silly question.

 

[Jordan Scott Price]

I use a CPL and ND filter together quite often when shooting outside in direct sun, but usually only in a wide shot when I don't have tons of silks and such to fly over the set. For example, if there are clouds in the shot, I usually drop in the Polarizer and the ND to try to expose for them, which adds some richness to the shot (in my opinion), if it's warranted.

In close-ups, I prefer to pull the Polarizer out, as I do my best to maintain quality skin tones, and Polarizers can cause a slight green shift in the skin. Also, there's no real need for the Polarizer in an MCU or CU if I'm not shooting anything as bright as the sky.

I've never had an issue moving the camera with both filters in. I've gone handheld tracking talent with a Polarizer and ND.9.