A polarizer is a type of filters – a photographic tool that is often placed in front of the camera to aid shooting and create special effects by changing or controlling lights. A polarizer can control the reflected lights off the subject from a certain angle, preventing the unwanted lights from entering the lens and thus resulting in images with higher levels of contrast and color saturation.

The PL-C B polarizing filter produced by Canon is a circular polarizing filter which does not interfere with autofocus or TTL light metering functions of the camera. By controlling the lights reflected from a non-metallic surface, it can enhance the subject’s contrast and is particularly useful in reducing or eliminating reflections from glass or water surface. In some situations, it can reproduce a bluer sky. Polarizers can be divided into two general categories - Screw-type filters (figure 1) featuring ultra-slim design are good to use on wide-angle lenses, while Drop-in filters (figure 2) are designed for massive super telephoto lenses.

Autumn is just around the corner. It is the perfect season to hike and enjoy landscape photography with friends. To capture foliage in vivid colors, we can attach a polarizing filter to reduce reflections from foliage so that sharper and brighter leaf colors can be achieved – tips for photographing stunning scenery of mountains covered with yellow leaves. When dealing with reflective subjects like a lake surface or glass, a polarizing filter can help suppress the reflected lights to reveal the real subjects underneath the water or behind the glass. When it comes to sky and clouds, a polarizing filter can restore the rich gradation of white clouds and result in a bluer sky.