You want to learn photography faster? –> tag along with pros &, amateur who share the common interest as you. I did and i think it worked. Some of my buddy really helpful on giving me idea, pointer on this subject.

But if you notice it, as you tag along with this wonderful people, they tend to recommend thing to buy or so called essential photography gear/equipment. Wireless remote - lah, 50mm f1.8 -lah, tripod -lah, CPL -lah, wideangle lens -lah, telephoto lens…. Eager newbie, most of us will buy without even thinking “am i going to use it?” At this learning stage many buy what ‘most people’ want, no what they really need.

One of the favorite (almost 8 out of 10 people recommended) is CPL, Circular polarizing filter, C-PL
OK do you really need it?

Recommendations : This is my personal opinion (newbie photographer) so pleaseee take it lightly
Go and buy it, buy the slimmest. it’s a must have for landscape shot.

me? after almost 10 month into photography, i finally decided to buy a good grade (Pro-1D) second hand hoya circular polarizer.RM300+ for new one is way too expensive for me. Off course before i decide to buy it, i do a lot of research of this called magic filter. In this post, ill explain a bit technical part of it. Mind you this is not new tech/stuff like ‘protein synthesis in cytoplasm’ so there’s a lot of other site that might explain the same thing. I will explain about CPL based on my understanding, own research that might benefit others.

There are two types of polarizing filter : linear and circular. Most DSLR cameras need circular polarizers.Non-DSLR in general do not use beamsplitters and can use both (linear or circular). It improve outdoor (or even indoor scene) by improving contrast, saturation by eliminating reflection on glass/non metal object

 to get the best effect on eliminating reflect as shown in picture above, the following rules must be followed:-

 Other tips and tricks related to polarizer.

• when i met with my 2nd hand CPL seller and about to stack the CPL on top of my UV filter to test it, he advise me not to do so. vignetting will occur when shooting at 24mm and below (depends on lens)
• Half press the shutter (go get the metering) then only start to turn the polarizer for effect. (or use manual mode) polarizers are darker and reduce two-stops, the TTL metering system will sense this change and adjust aperture and shutter speed. if you compose your picture and turn the dial before pressing the shutter, your picture will washed out and the saturation will disappear.
• it reduce two-stop, as a result, shutter speed will be slower. careful when taking hi-speed moving object.
• when in min effect, it also function as ND graduated (ND2 i think) filter. yaay.. now i can take flowing waterfall in the afternoon (well not that beautiful flow (compared to ND8).. but way better than freezing waterfall)

kenko and hoya share the same parent company. B+W also make good filter. avoid keep filter. cokin and lee filters is for pro i think. buy the best you can afford. the price vary from 52mm (cheapest) to 77mm (expensive)

need to know more? this site offer a lot of information.