On Fri, 07 Jun 2002 02:51:49 GMT, "David Mullen" wrote:

>>How about polarizer compared to a ND? Which one is more frequently
>>used in shooting video? Or should I buy both? What's special for a
>>"circular polarizer"? I know there must be somewhere explaining this
>>clearly, or please give me a link.

>I've been shooting Hi-Def lately with rented equipment, so keep that in
>mind. ND filters are absolutely important when shooting video to control
>depth-of-field, but most professional camcorders have them on their internal
>filter wheel. If not, I would get an ND.60 at least (2-stop loss), if not a
>complete set (ND.30, ND.60, ND.90, ND1.2).
>
>I also consider a Polarizor and ND soft-edge grads very important at various
>times to control glare, the brightness of a sky, etc. -- anything that might
>cause clipping. You can even use ND grads creatively, like sideways or at a
>diagonal, indoors, to control things like a row of bright windows.
>
>Beyond those, you might want to have some type of diffusion, depending on
>the look you want (Black ProMists are very popular with video shooters.)
>Just watch stopping down the lens too much on a wide-angle and seeing any
>patterns in the diffusion.
>
>A good sunshade or mattebox is important -- I'm always amazed when I see
>people shooting video with nothing in front of the lens at all to keep the
>stray light from striking the lens.
>
>As for using a Polarizor versus an ND.60, it depends on who you talk to.
>Some people use polas outside regularly even when they don't have something
>specific to polarize, just to get some more saturation out of the sky and
>greenery. Other people feel that it should not be used unless really
>necessary. I admit that I tend to use the Pola for most of my outdoors
>shooting rather than take it on and off all day long.
>
>David Mullen

Uh, all good advice for pro-level gear, but the original
poster said, "I bought a Canon ZR40 recently"...;-)
I doubt he will have much control at all over exposure,
let alone places to mount much of the above...;-)
Just a good UV and maybe a polarizer may be overkill for
a ZR40...;-)