10 stopper, 2 stop nd grad, plus polariser. Polariser necessary?

[MixPix]

I recently read an article where the author had used a 10 stopper, 2 stop nd grad and polariser filter for long exposure shots facing the evening sun. I have a 10 stopper and 2 stop nd grad but have never user a polariser with this config before. The set up procedure is enough to put you off, fixing circular polariser, fixing filter rack, composing then whist holding the polariser slotting in the square nd filters. Is the polariser really necessary as it is not near 90deg to the sun? Or was he just using it as another light stopper? His images were very impressive but what a faff!

 

[Mikehit]

In thse circumstances I believe the polariser is not acting as a polariser but as an additional 2-stop ND filter.

 

[neuroanatomist]

Agree. That doesn't mean the author of the article was aware that the polarizer was not effective at polarizing when pointing into the sun...

 

[ahsanford]

I recently read an article where the author had used a 10 stopper, 2 stop nd grad and polariser filter for long exposure shots facing the evening sun. I have a 10 stopper and 2 stop nd grad but have never user a polariser with this config before. The set up procedure is enough to put you off, fixing circular polariser, fixing filter rack, composing then whist holding the polariser slotting in the square nd filters. Is the polariser really necessary as it is not near 90deg to the sun? Or was he just using it as another light stopper? His images were very impressive but what a faff!

1) What the guys just said about using it as an additional two stops. A polarizer is a poor man's ND in a pinch.

2) When I see a thread that gets concerned about ND Grad horizon orientation vs. polarizer 90 degree 'clocking' for best impact, always remember:

• Horizons on ND grads (esp. hard grads) look terrible when you get it wrong, so I always believe the grad orientation comes first and polarizer orientation comes second,
  
  
• Two slot-in holders can be attached via a tandem adaptor so each can be ideally oriented,
  
  
• Polarizers don't always need to be used at maximum polarizing effect, and
  
  
• Who said it had to be a slot-in polarizer? A lot of folks working with slot-in filters deliberately use setups that allow independent polarizer rotation from ND grad rotation. One setup is shown below that allows an enormous 105mm+ CPL to be used in front of a two-slot holder.

- A