Polarizing filter on sony vx-2100
 

Hello all. I have a Sony VX-2100 and I have no experiance with filters. I'm interested in a Polarizer. From what I hear, a polarizing filter reduces reflections in glass/water etc.. and also helps bring out the color in the sky and such. Do you think this is a wise buy or not? From what I've seen so far, I think it's pretty useful. But I haven't seen footage of anything with or without the filter.

Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks.

A polarisor is a great filter to have in the bag. Go for the linear over the circular - it's cheaper and actually works better too. Get a multi-coated one as it'll end up being your zoom's front element on sunny days, and however well you hood, you'd never buy a camcorder with an uncoated front element, would you? No, you wouldn't.

The polarisor will absorb a stop and a half - no bad thing in my view, as in the sunshine the VX2100's two in-built NDs are not strong enough. Remember that the 'blue skies, white clouds' effect will be most pronounced at 90 degrees to the sun's axis, and this can give big editing continuity problems if you're critical. It'll also remove the natural sheen from the talent's skin and hair, so use with caution.

tom.

Polarizers, nice as their effects can be, have a downside if you pan the camera during a shot. Your nice clouds and super blue sky can disappear during a pan. Looks really ugly.

So a ND filter is nice to have as well if you need to attenuate the light a bit. So far, I've never run out of range with my PD150's in bright sunlight if I use the built-in ND filter. Of course one doesn't have much choice over the aperature in those conditions.