During those few hours a week that I am not in the office, I enjoy several hobbies, the most recent being photography. (The pictures at the bottom of this post are two that I took at the Dallas Arboretum.) One of the very first purchases I made after buying a camera (actually it was a gift from my wife) was a polarizing filter. Next to my camera and lenses, this is my most important and significant piece of equipment in my bag. It makes an enormous difference when shooting landscapes, sky, and water scenes, among others.

Just like the filter on my camera, polarized lenses filter out glare in your sunglasses. “But I don’t notice glare?”, you may say.  Really? Have you ever been driving on a day when there is a lot of moisture in the air and the sky is grey? Even though the sky is completely cloudy , you still feel the need to squint. You aren’t being affected by bright light, but by the glare! As the light travels through the air it hits the water molecules in the air and fractures, producing copious amounts of glare. A pair of polarized lenses will minimize this and make driving MUCH more comfortable!

But we see far fewer rainy days than we do sunny days around Dallas. Moisture isn’t the only thing that produces glare. How about concrete? I doubt you commute to work through a grass field, and even if you do, I suspect it isn’t on foot. You are going to be subjected to glare from street signs, cars, windshields, buildings and many other reflective surfaces. A flash of light can seriously affect your vision for five or ten seconds. At sixty or, let’s face it Dallas drivers, eighty-five miles per hour, you are covering a lot of ground with impaired vision. That is a lot of time for something to happen with serious consequences.

Polarized lenses are also great for sports. They will cut the glare for skiing, improve contrast for reading contours while playing golf, and help you see through the surface of the water while fishing. Here is a great site that shows different colors of lenses. Click on each one for a demo of the lens and a list of which activities each color is useful for. The most common two colors are gray and brown. Once you venture outside of those colors, availability will be significantly limited.

The photos below shows the same scene. I took the first picture of a Koi pond fed by a stream. After I checked the picture I realized I had forgotten to attach my polarized filter. I screwed it on and took another shot. Notice how the picture on the left is harsh, and you can barely tell there are fish in the photo? The photo on the right was taken with the polarized lens which greatly reduced the glare from the surface of the water.

Have you tried polarized lenses? What has your experience been? Leave a comment and let us hear from you. We will also answer your questions if you leave one in the comments.