August 10, 2016

How Does a Polarizer Filter Help Improve My Images?

A polarizing filter is an essential tool that belongs in every photographer or videographer’s camera bag. Whether shooting with a DSLR, drone, or a GoPro, a polarizing filter will help to reduce glare from direct reflections in your surrounding landscape, resulting in a more vibrant image. A polarizing filter will also help to isolate objects that are wet, underwater, or behind a window, and are are especially useful in cutting glare when filming near or above large bodies of water or snow, such as when filming above a lake with a drone, or using a GoPro topside on a boat or while skiing in the mountains. By bringing out more definition in hazy, overcast or flat light conditions, a polarizing filter gives you more creative control over your composition, especially during post production.

Why use a Polarizer filter

When filming with a drone from an aerial perspective, direct reflections from the sun and ground become exaggerated, and atmospheric pressure differences will also reduce the quality of your footage, often times resulting in hazy or overexposed footage. By cutting through haze and reducing glare from direct reflections, a polarizing filter will increase color saturation—bringing out vibrant color in foliage and the sky, and adds translucency to bodies of water. For these reasons, a polarizing filter is the most popular filter among landscape photographers and videographers, and is an essential filter for every drone pilot. On top of creating a balanced image, PolarPro’s Polarizer filter will reduce the camera’s shutter speed by 1.6 f stops, giving you the ability to use slower shutter speeds on bright days without underexposing your image. This is especially important when shooting with a drone, where using a slower shutter speed will produce smoother photo and video.

While GoPro cameras are designed to capture fast motion in bright light, even these camera sensors can absorb too much light in very bright conditions, resulting in a blown out highlights and washed out color. PolarPro’s Polarizer filter for the GoPro will reduce highlights and bring out saturated, vibrant color in your video and pictures. The Polarizer will also add much needed contrast to bright scenes, making your subject that much more dynamic and interesting.

What does a polarizer filter do

PolarPro offers the Polarizer filter in models that fit the DJI Phantom 3, Phantom 4, Inspire 1 line, as well as for the Zenmuse X5. For the GoPro, PolarPro offers a model that fits directly over the Hero 3/3+/4 (designed for use with drones), and also offers the Polarizer in a model that fits over GoPro’s standard waterproof housing, designed to be used at surface level over bodies of water or snow.

From reducing direct reflections and scattered light, to cutting through haze and sharpening clouds, a polarizing filter is an essential tool for photographers and videographers of all types and skill sets, from the GoPro enthusiast to the industry pro.

How To Install a PolarPro Polarizer Filter?