Polarized sunglasses

Michael B. McGee

Michael B. McGee

Well-known member
alright, so i was shopping for some polarized sunglasses yesterday and found a pair i liked but something wasn't right about them. now these were the only polarized pair in the store, so i had nothing to compare them too. they only polarized light/reflections in the vertical position, 90 degrees from horizontal. obviously i'm not gonna walk around with my head tilted at 90 degrees just so these glasses will have an optimum effect. were they manufactured incorrectly or do all polarized sunglasses work this way?

thanks.
 
They're all like that. My Persols are all polarized so that you get the maximum polarizing effect when you're upright. If you tip your head left or right, you'll start to see the tempering on car windows, darken LCD displays to the point of going black and so on.

If you're getting these effects when the glasses are horizontal, you should return them.

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alright, so with that said, its sounds like when the glasses are in the horizontal position they aren't polarizing any light. they're more of a ND. if that's how the technology works with sunglasses, then how are they different then let's say normal/non-polarized sunglasses?
 
Polarized sunglasses are different then non-polarized in the fact that MOST of the time they magically allow you to see through things that would normally reflect something back at you... such as sky on a windshield... the surroundings of a building reflected in the glass... etc. Almost ANY glass appears more clear when viewed through a polarizer.

There are linear, as well as circular polarizers but, the polarizing effect varies with all polarizers (glasses AND camera filters) based on the angle of incidence. There is no "optimum polarizing" that can be had when you, or the camera, is moving... it will vary with any polarizer unless the light source AND the camera or sunglasses remain fixed.

You may be over-thinking this one.

As you go about through your day try to just enjoy the variety... and notice that for most things that matter... i.e. glass, water, haze in the air, etc. that you'll ALWAYS be better off then with non-polarized sunglasses*... but that the effectiveness of this will vary.

*the only time polarized sunglasses can be off-putting is when you're trying to read an LCD (like arrivals, departures in an airport for example)... at the angle where the screen blacks out... and this can also happen on a digital watch, etc.
 
ok MattinSTL. it just seemed very odd to me that the pair i looked at only worked(polarized) at a 90 degree angle from horizontal, ie: normal wearing conditions. thanks for the input but i need to investigate a little more.
 
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