Can you use a rear gel polarizer on a lens that only accepts rear filters?
Asked 6/21/2015
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I’m considering a lens that only accepts rear gel filters. Is a polarizing filter available in gel/sheet form for rear filter holders, and are there any practical limitations when using one on a camera lens?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
2 Answers
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You can get sheets of polarizing gel filters designed to be used on studio and theatrical lighting and trim a piece to fit the rear gel holder. They're not cheap, though. The main problem would be the sheets are linear polarizers and so the auto focus system on you camera would likely be disabled. The other significant issue would be that since polarizing filters are directional, you would need to cut a different piece (at a different angle) for each direction you would need, and have a way of marking each one with regards to the direction of the polarization.
Search for Rosco Polarizing #7300 Filter - 17x20" Sheet from an i.p. address in the UK and you should find someone selling them.
Although intended to create "left handed" and "right handed" light for use in filming/video recording 3D movies, Edmund Optics does offer circular polarizing sheets with a film substrate. While not gel material, the type with the film substrate can be cut to size. It may be possible to use a combination of a linear filter material such as that sold by Rosco referenced above and a layer of the Edmund material directly behind it in the rear filter holder of your lens to do what you want. Of course you would still have the constraints listed above with regard to the directionality of the linear material and you would also need to use the circular material at the proper 45º angle to the linear material. So you would need a separate set of both filters cut for the correct angle to use for each direction you wish to polarize the light!
The reason you would need both layers is because in the context of a filter used in the optical path of a camera, a "circular polarizer" is actually a linear polarizer with a quarter-wave plate behind it which transforms the polarization of the light wave into a helix shape.
For the difference between linear and circular polarizers, please see What is the difference between a linear and a circular polarizer? and the Wikipwedia article "Circular Polarization."
Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user15871
11y ago
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Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—polarizing film is available in sheet/gel form and can be cut to fit a rear filter holder. Products sold for studio, theatre, or film lighting can work for this purpose.
The main catch is that these are typically linear polarizers, not circular polarizers. On many cameras, a linear polarizer can interfere with autofocus and sometimes metering, because camera AF systems often expect circular polarization.
There’s also a usability issue: a polarizer’s effect depends on its orientation. With a normal front-mounted polarizer you rotate the filter to adjust the effect, but a rear gel holder doesn’t allow easy rotation in use. That means you’d likely need multiple pre-cut pieces at different angles, and label them so you know their polarization direction.
So while it is possible, it’s usually less convenient and potentially less compatible than using a standard front-mounted circular polarizer.
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