Neutral Density (ND) filters help control image exposure by reducing the light that enters the camera so that you can have more control of your depth of field and shutter speed. Polarizers or polarizing filters work in a similar way, but the difference is that they selectively let light waves of a certain polarization pass through. This effect helps create more vivid colors in an image, as well as manage glare and reflections from water surfaces. When it comes to the differences of an ND filter vs polarizer, both are regarded as some of the best filters for landscape and travel photography as they reduce the dynamic range in high-contrast images, thus enabling photographers to capture more realistic and dramatic sceneries.
ND Filter vs Polarizer
ND filters and polarizing filters are thin pieces of glass that screw onto the front of your camera lens. While they can protect the front element of the lens, these optical filters are largely alter image quality rather than serve as protective hardware accessories.
Aside from protecting the lens from scratches and dust, these filters are essentials for outdoor photographers. However, they have different uses for improving the quality of your images. You’ll find that taking a photo of that stunning view is not as easy as seeing it with our own perfect eyes due to the wider disparity in dynamic range.
Without any of these two filters, you’ll have dull and differently exposed areas in your image (usually an underexposed foreground or an overexposed sky), no matter how well you know your camera.
These filters work well together but are often used separately to address specific issues like water reflections, high-contrast landscapes, dull skies, and the need for shorter depth of field (and stunning bokeh) even in broad daylight.
Correctly using an ND filter and a polarizing filter when shooting outdoors will not only allow you to capture vivid, realistic and possibly even surreal images, but will also save you from having to painstakingly post-process your photos afterwards.
What does an ND filter do?
- Allows the use of wide apertures without risking overexposure
- Allows the use of slower shutter speeds when there’s too much light
- Helps capture motion blur when photographing moving objects
- Reduces depth of field in excessively bright ambient light
- Balances exposure across the entire image
- Protects the lens
Neutral density filters don’t affect the color of the image, which is why they’re very transparent. However, they do reduce image exposure by controlling the amount of light that reaches the camera sensor. By doing so, it allows the user to shoot with brighter apertures and do long exposure shots without incorrectly exposing parts of the image.
They come in many different kinds, each offering different strengths (or stops) in blocking out light. Common kinds are the 1 stop, 2 stop, and 3 stop filters. Bit others offer up to 10 stops of exposure compensation. Types of ND filters include the graduated neutral density filter, on which the ND effect graduates halfway across the filter, and the variable ND filter, which allows you to control the strength of the filter by twisting a part of it instead of buying multiple ND filters.
But enough about that—users would tell you that it’s also equally important for you to know when to use ND filters when shooting outdoors or even indoors.
When to Use ND Filters
Neutral density filters are beneficial for shooting during the day, when there is likely to be excessive light. They help balance the exposure across frame, so you get properly exposed foregrounds and darkened, neutralized skies. You also get properly exposed model subjects with background bokeh when shooting outdoors or with strobes.
ND filters are helpful for panning shots and shooting with shallow depth of fields when it’s not possible to reduce the brightness of ambient light.
Or, say you’re shooting a beautiful meadow and would like to use a narrow the depth of field for flowers in your foreground. Using wider apertures, even with the lowest possible ISO setting and a fast shutter speed, may still overexpose your photo due to bright and blinding sunlight. Simply popping on an ND filter will reduce the amount of light that comes through your lens and finally allow you to use a wide aperture without overexposing your image.
Soft edge or hard edge graduated ND filters are easier to use for landscapes with high dynamic range as they correct and darken only the bright top half of the frame—the usual feat for landscape photography.
However, the most interesting use for ND filters is for creating surreal motion blur for bodies of water. Using multiple-stop ND filters help permit the use of much slower shutter speeds that allow you to capture breathtaking images of creamy, flowing rivers and waterfalls.
What does a polarizing filter do?
- Improves overall color vibrancy
- Reduces glare and reflections when shooting in bright sunlight
- Provides better color and contrast when photographing skies or bodies of water
- Helps reduce glare and reflections when shooting through glass
- Protects the lens
Polarizing filters are tinted, circular lenses that are used like color filters. But aside from intensifying the colors in an image, they also helps manage reflections.
To use them, they are spun around to change the degree of image saturation. Simply put, they add that much needed color boost for your photos, which will otherwise have dull-looking skies and muted colors.
When to Use Polarizing Filters
Having polarizing filters saves you time from having to edit your photos, as long as you use them properly. When incorrectly used, it produces uneven saturation of colors—one part of the sky darker and bluer than the other—that might be even harder to post-process.
A popular use for polarizing filters is to make skies “pop” and add texture to clouds by darkening them, thus bringing out the rich blue color of the skies and the shadows of the clouds. If you’ve never tried polarizers, you can mimic the color effect by directly placing one of the lenses from your sunglasses in front of your camera lens and seeing how it adds contrast and clarity to your images (of course, we wouldn’t suggest that you do this instead of getting an actual polarizing filter, as incompatible filtered lenses create distortions and image blurring).
Another good use for polarizers is for significantly reducing reflections on bodies of water or even wet rocks. As you can see, the polarizing filter greatly improves your images by eliminating distracting reflective highlights and giving you clear waters and drier-looking surfaces.
While both are quite similar and occasionally confused with each other, it must be noted that the ND filter is better at blocking light and the polarizing filter directly affects and intensifies colors within an image. As with all accessories used for photography, their efficiency depends on when and how well you use them to improve your image output.
ND Filter vs Polarizer Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use ND filter and polarizer together?
You can absolutely use an ND filter and a polarizer at the same time. In certain cases, it is, in fact, essential. For example, let’s say you’re photographing a waterfall where you want to slow down the shutter speed and remove unwanted glare from reflective surfaces such as leaves and stones to bring out the saturation. This would be an ideal situation to combine the two filters.
If you’re using these filters in combination on an ultra wide-angle lens, you need to be careful about vignetting (darkening at the corners) when stacking filters. You may need to zoom in just a bit to minimize or eliminate vignetting.
Do ND filters affect image quality?
Anything you place in front of your camera lens will affect image quality. So, you want to choose optically high-quality filters to minimize image degradation. Low quality ND filters will not only decrease the sharpness of your images, but they can often impart strange color casts that are not easily corrected in post processing.
The general rule of thumb is to use ND filters only when you need to or you’re going for a particular artistic effect. Also, remember to keep your eye on the shutter speed as ND filters will increase exposure time. The shutter speed may get slow enough to require a tripod to avoid blurry images.
Polarizer filter vs ND filter: How to choose the best one for you
Whether you need to use a polarizer or an ND filter all depends on the effect you’re looking to achieve. Most polarizers are dark enough to stop about 1.5 to 2 stops of light from reaching the sensor, so they have some “built-in” ND effect. If your main purpose is to simply increase the richness of colors, remove glare from reflective surfaces, or minimize reflections, then a polarizer is all you need.
However, if you’re trying to stop a lot of light from hitting the camera sensor because you need to maintain a shallow depth of field under bright conditions or you need to significantly prolong exposure time (eg, create a smooth effect on flowing water), then an ND is your best option. You can choose ND filters of varying strengths to suite the situation.
Shop the entire line of lens filters available at Adorama to suit your imaging needs.
