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Author Topic: Tough using a polarizer on Canon PowerShot G5  (Read 5885 times)

DaveE

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Tough using a polarizer on Canon PowerShot G5
« on: February 21, 2004, 11:24:02 pm »

Since I posted I've been searching the Net for some answers to my question. Here's one that I did *NOT* find encouraging:

Quote
"This filter can be rotated to achieve almost no polarizing effect to a full polarizing effect and any degree between. Rotate to the position best suited for each use. When outdoor light is so bright that it is difficult to preview through the color LCD screen, hold the filter in front of your eye and rotate it to the desired position, then place the filter on the camera in that position."

Guess I won't be doin any action shots with the polarizer on! Yea, I'm bummin. Now I'm thinkin I shoulda waited and bought the new Canon digital SLR.
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Peter McLennan

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Tough using a polarizer on Canon PowerShot G5
« Reply #1 on: February 22, 2004, 12:05:25 pm »

You can see the effect with your naked eye with a little practice.  Rotate the filter to get the correct angle and keep the filter's orientation the same when you put it in front of the lens.  

I agree, omposition with an external LCD viewfinder in sunlight is next to impossible.  In snow or sand locations, there's no image visible whatsoever.  Silly.

Peter
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Bobtrips

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Tough using a polarizer on Canon PowerShot G5
« Reply #2 on: February 22, 2004, 12:44:34 pm »

One option is to use a viewing hood over the LCD.  Try a search for Extend a View.  

Used one on my first digital, worked fine.
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Tony Collins

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Tough using a polarizer on Canon PowerShot G5
« Reply #3 on: February 22, 2004, 03:38:24 pm »

Keep a spare polariser in your pocket marked to agree with the one on the camera. hold up to eye, set camera to match.
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Peter McLennan

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Tough using a polarizer on Canon PowerShot G5
« Reply #4 on: February 22, 2004, 11:28:09 pm »

The indexing mark on my pola is a dot of white-out.  

Rotational accuracy isn't rocket science.  Five degrees or so is close enough.  In my experience, you're going for maximum polarizing most of the time anyway.
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DaveE

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Tough using a polarizer on Canon PowerShot G5
« Reply #5 on: February 21, 2004, 10:44:25 pm »

I purchased the lens adaptor for my Canon PowerShot G5 so I could use filters, primarily a polarizing filter. But I am finding using the filter to be...well, a guessing game.

On my TTL 35mm SLR film camera I would look through the viewfinder while turning the polarizer until I got the desired effect, which I could visually see through the viewfinder. However, on my digital camera the view finder does not view through the lens, so that's not gonna work anymore. Also, if you are outside in bright sunlight the camera's LCD viewer is also worthless in terms of seeing what difference the polarizer is making.

So how do I get that polarizer set right on my digital? Seems like I'm going to have to know something about sun location in reference to the subject, and then know aproximately what position the polarizer lense needs to be in as a result. Is that correct? Anybody want to spell out how I figure all that out? There is a mark on the polarizer's outter ring. That should lend itself toward some kind of aproximation rule, right?
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John

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Tough using a polarizer on Canon PowerShot G5
« Reply #6 on: February 22, 2004, 12:55:15 am »

I use a Polarizer on my Canon G3 without any problem. I found the LCD hard to use in comparison with the viewfinder on my F5, but now I am used to it. Even in bright light. Photographers with large format camers use a black cloth to help composition and focus. Necessity is the mother of invention. Cheers John
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DaveE

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Tough using a polarizer on Canon PowerShot G5
« Reply #7 on: February 22, 2004, 12:14:05 pm »

Yea, I just discovered that this morning Peter. Sudden flash of realization!;-) I don't have to unscrew the polarizer to do the manual look-through with the eye. I can leave it on the lens adaptor and just pull that off the camera, do my look-through and figure out where the right spot is and put it back on the camera and make sure its still in that spot. Cumbersome, but doable. Feeling somewhat better now:-)
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drew

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Tough using a polarizer on Canon PowerShot G5
« Reply #8 on: February 22, 2004, 01:40:55 pm »

The problem you describe is of course not unique to a digicam, but is shared with any camera where you do not look through the taking lens. The Mamiya 7 uses a polarizing filter on a pantograph arm which can be located over the viewfinder and then swung down over the lens. The Bronica RF645 uses a clip on polarizer over the viewfinder which has a numbered scale. Turn the viewfinder polarizer to the desired position and transfer the number on the scale to a similar scale on the polarizer over the lens. If your polarizer is part of a filter system such as Lee, you can line up the polarizer with the filter holder in the exact position in which the holder attaches to the lens. This is the method I would use for something like an Hasselblad XPan.
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Garrett Adams

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Tough using a polarizer on Canon PowerShot G5
« Reply #9 on: February 22, 2004, 03:42:40 pm »

For use on non SLR cameras, rangefinder, etc., there were polarizers made that had an index mark and orientation numbers on the rings. Some manufacturers like Heliopan or B+W may still make them. Probably a bit costly but it would definitely solve your problem.
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DaveE

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Tough using a polarizer on Canon PowerShot G5
« Reply #10 on: February 22, 2004, 04:27:48 pm »

I agree with Garrett that the best approach would probably be to find a polarizer with the index and orientation markings on it. I'll check in at the major filter websites for something along those lines. Then one must hope they also include instructions on how to properly make use of the markings, or dig out the old physics text book and figure out how to do that.

Hey, I'm just an amateur 35mm SLR user who's finally gone full digital. It just seems obvious to me that a camera designer would consider how one might actually use such things as a polarizer filter on their equipment. Never had a problem on my SLR. Guess I'm surprised some of you medium format guys have put up with such inconveniences for so long;-)

Thanks for all the input.
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BJL

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Tough using a polarizer on Canon PowerShot G5
« Reply #11 on: February 23, 2004, 12:01:08 pm »

I have suffered the same probem with my digicam, so thanks for all the advice.
   Though a hood for the LCD sounds like the best overall solution (as it solves other problems too), it occurs to me that I own several polarisers anyway in different diameters, so once I mark each of them with a white dot at the corresponding orientation, I might be in business, at no exta expense.
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