Hmmmm..... Lens Filter?

[fuzzylogic]

Howdy from Texas!

I've been a photography hobbyist for the past 3 years. It's been 6 years since I've been to Disney World, so needless to say, I CAN'T wait to get there and take some new pics! We're going in 8 weeks...

My question... should I use a polarizing filter??

I've got a Canon 7D that I'm taking and I think I've got it narrowed down to taking my Sigma 18-250 Lens and My Canon 10mm-22mm for some wide shots.

If you do use a polarizing filter, do you think it would make much of a difference at WDW?? If I get the filter, it will be going on my Sigma 18-250. I read somewhere that you really shouldn't put a polarizing filter on a wide angle lens. Is that true??

Thanks in advance!

 

[Tigger2252]

I generally use my 18-200mm as my "all the time" lens and have a polarizing filter on it when I'm outside. I also have one for my 70-300mm lens as that is also one I use the most when shooting outside. It helps me by cutting down the glare on water, and compensating for really bright sun.

 

[ukcatfan]

A CP can be useful if used correctly. Make sure you take it off inside or you might end up with blurry shots from needing a slow shutter speed. It also is not very effective while the sun is high in the sky. It works better closer to sunrise and sunset and at 90 degrees from the sun. It can be effective on random polarization like water at all times of the day. It can also be used a a mild ND filter when you are trying to get a slower shutter speed.

As for your lenses, I suggest throwing in some sort of normal fast prime such as a 30mm or 50mm. The wider end is better for dark ride shots.

 

[bob100]

Howdy from Texas!

I've been a photography hobbyist for the past 3 years. It's been 6 years since I've been to Disney World, so needless to say, I CAN'T wait to get there and take some new pics! We're going in 8 weeks...

My question... should I use a polarizing filter??

I've got a Canon 7D that I'm taking and I think I've got it narrowed down to taking my Sigma 18-250 Lens and My Canon 10mm-22mm for some wide shots.

If you do use a polarizing filter, do you think it would make much of a difference at WDW?? If I get the filter, it will be going on my Sigma 18-250. I read somewhere that you really shouldn't put a polarizing filter on a wide angle lens. Is that true??

Thanks in advance!

A polarizing filter will get you bluer skies and less reflections but it's probably not worth it for a WDW trip

 

[kshark]

I only used one on our last trip along with an ND filter to get some really slow shutter speeds on rides for some motion blur (I really just needed a different ND filter). Disney is tough for a polarizer because you are constantly going inside so much that the filter is always going on and off the camera.

With really wide lenses you need to watch for vignetting in the corners from the filter. Some people will say to buy a slim filter and honestly, I just got my 10-22 so I'm not sure if my standard B&W polarizer is going to be a problem or not... I need to check that out.

The other problem with really wide lenses is that your skies will be unevenly polarized so one side of the frame will be darker than the other. It really depends if you like the look or not, and for me it works in some shots and for others it kills the image. If you are shooting HDR, it almost always kills the image.

 

[alloyd1170]

CP's are also good for shooting through glass, like at an aquarium. Cuts the glare as well.

 

[boBQuincy]

A polarizer is definitely worth using on a WDW trip or any other time when there is sufficient light. A polarizer reduces glare and saturates colors in a way that is almost impossible to duplicate in any other way. As others have noted, there can be some uneven darkening of the sky with a wide angle lens but 18 mm is not really very wide on a 1.6x crop camera. The type of lens and polarizer will determine if there is any vignetting, I use one on my Canon 10-22 and have not seen any problems.

 

[fuzzylogic]

Thanks for the replies! I think I'll go ahead and get a CP filter for my Sigma 18-250.

Going to take my nifty fifty and the wide angle too! Can't wait to take some better photos this trip!

Hey, couple of more questions... Anyone use one of those gorillapods?? How do you like it? I thought about buying a table top tripod or another light weight tripod for some evening shots. Do you think the gorillapod is a good one?

Also, from time to time, I've heard that the security guards have given people hard time for bringing in "professional" photography equipment and that it wasn't allowed. I would guess my Canon shouldn' be a problem??

 

[alloyd1170]

I've never had a problem with my 7d, and several lenses including the L 100-400.