Why is a circular polarizer often mounted in front of ND or graduated ND filters?
Asked 5/7/2013
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When using a filter holder system, is there any reason to place a circular polarizer at the front of the stack rather than behind ND or graduated ND filters? For example, systems like the Lee 105mm ring put the polarizer in front. Is this technically necessary, or mainly for convenience when using grads and other square filters?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
13y ago
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The polarizer needs to be able to rotate independently of other filters. Square/rectangular system filters only have one other filter type, the graduated/split filters, that needs to be rotated at all. The entire filter holder can be rotated to accommodate the angle required for the split/graduated filter. But what do you do when the horizon (or whatever line is dividing the split/grad filter use) is different from the angle you need to set the polarizer to?
Note that the square filter catalog includes a polarizer. If you don't need to use a split/grad filter (whether that's a neutral density, colour correction or colour effect filter), you can use a square polarizer anywhere in the filter stack. If you intend to use a split/grad, then you need to mount the polarizer in such a way that it can be rotated independently. In the Lee 100mm kit case, that means attaching a filter ring to the front of the holder (or the front of the hood). Why not use a special mount for the split/grad? Because you need to change the position of the rectangular split/grad filter as well as the angle, so it needs to use a regular slot in the holder.
(In the past, a square filter holder with a worm-gear-driven polarizer was available. That may have been for the similar Cokin system; it was a long time ago and my memory ain't what it used to be. In any casse, that could be put anywhere in the stack, but there was a problem: it took forever to adjust, and was quite fragile.)
Originally by user2719. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user2719
13y ago
0
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The main reason is usability, not image quality.
A polarizer needs to be rotated independently to control reflections, glare, and sky darkening. In a square filter system, graduated ND filters may also need rotation so you can align the transition with the horizon or another edge. If the polarizer sits in the normal filter slots, rotating one filter can interfere with the other.
Mounting the circular polarizer on the front lets you rotate it separately, while the holder itself can still be rotated for the graduated ND. That makes it much easier to use both together.
There usually isn’t a major technical optical reason that the polarizer must go first in the stack. It’s mostly about independent adjustment and handling. Some photographers also leave the polarizer on more often and swap grads as needed, which is another practical advantage.
So: front-mounted polarizers are mainly a convenience and control solution for holder systems, especially when combining a polarizer with graduated filters.
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