ND Filters and CPL Filters: Why, How, and When To Use Them

The Power of Filters

Some photographers often don’t want to overcomplicate their setup further than necessary. But, for those wishing to excel in their expectations and forward their hobby into a real profession, CPL and ND filters can potentially turn otherwise standard photographs into something much more dynamic. While both the CPL and ND filters perform different tasks and functions, each has the ability to give the photographer more control over what appears in your final product.

So, what are CPL and ND filters, and what do they do? These questions are common and pose an exciting take on leveling up our photography level(s) from amateur to professional. Let's go.

1. What’s a CPL Filter?

A CPL filter — a circular polarizer/linear — is a glass attachment that reduces the glare from reflected surfaces.

How does it help? Polarized light comes from light that has been reflected off of something. It can come from the light reflecting off an alpine lake, reflections from a coffee shop window, or even light reflecting off moisture and pollution in the atmosphere. Polarized light is made up of scattered rays and is something you don’t really want in your shot. The CPL Phone Filter filters out this polarized light, leaving you with an awesome image you can’t replicate post-production. Your final image has bluer skies, greener trees, and super-sharp clarity.

Of course, I work for Moment and believe we make top-quality products. I’m constantly astounded by the perfectionistic tendencies our gear team commits to and the many hours of hard-earned beers it takes to get there. But, I’m also a very non-technical photographer; I avoid unnecessary gadgets and gizmos, filters included. I sighed when asked to create photographs with our new CPL. But, obviously, I accepted the challenge and bribed my best friend, Eunice Beck, to gander around Arizona’s famous Canyon Lake for sunset. We packed our to-go coffees and tea, strapped our beloved cameras around our necks, and drove an hour East to a place where reflective surfaces and sunny skies were over the atmosphere.

Upon initial use, I didn’t quite understand the point of an ND filter. I threaded the filter on my lens before looking at the LED screen and noticed crisp detail in the water and skies (DUH, Natalie, where you’re supposed to!), but I wasn’t convinced just yet. However, I immediately noticed once I removed the filter, kept the same camera settings, and saw the difference between having it on and not at all. The skies without the CPL were vastly overexposed, had little to no detail, I could barely make out the actual color of the sky, and the foreground’s shadows were muddier than desired. The AntiGlare CPL filter made it so that the image’s dynamic range was much crisper and clearer than what your eyes can see, almost like having an iPhone's classic, juicy dynamic range. See below for a side-by-side difference.

Features and Compatibility for Moment’s Antiglare CPL Filter:

• Premium fused silica optical glass for supreme clarity
• Advanced 16-layer optical coatings
• Knurled grip texture for more control and easy removal from lenses
• Stacks with fixed NDs, Moment Cinebloom, or UV Filters
• Smooth rotation ring for precise polarization adjustment
• Available for standard camera lens sizes 58mm - 82mm

2. What’s an ND Filter?

Like sunglasses for your camera, an ND filter gives you ultimate control over the light hitting your sensor. This means slower shutter speeds, smoother motion in your clips, and more color in those sunset shots.

How Does It Help? It lets less light in, so you can do longer exposure shots during the day. If you have taken a landscape shot before, you know that your sky is either too bright or your foreground too dark, because you’re choosing between sky and foreground on what will be properly exposed.

Features and Compatibility for Moment's ND Filter:

• Featherlight (TM) Construction
• Cinema quality, shatterproof glass
• The neutral color and incredibly sharp
• Low 1.46 refractive index glass
• Proprietary optical coatings

3. When To Use CPL or ND Lens Filters

There are many situations when one might want to use a CPL or ND filter, as both excel in different areas of expertise. Let’s narrow down to a handful of scenarios you’ll most likely have.

👉 For a CPL filter:

Removing Glass Reflections: A common first mistake people might notice when starting out in photography is how difficult it can be to take a photo from inside a window or car door. A polarized filter reduces any unwanted streak of light or milky blurs that get in the way of your shot. It can also do the same for reflected light on water surfaces.

Make the Blues More Blue: Nothing ruins your landscape shots more than an overexposed sky (I've done this way too many times). But you'll more mood and color when using a CPL filter.

Remove the Haze: If you hope to make a specific color more vibrant in detail and hue, then a CPL filter is the way to go.

👉 For an ND Filter:

Long Exposures:Time to go manual mode! This is one of the more common ways to use an ND filter, as it commonly produces a hazy motion blur in the background of an action shot or milk the moving water in a waterfall scene. Stack additional ND filters for a more dramatic effect.

Action Shots: Reducing the amount of light entering the lens allows the photographer to select unique combinations of aperture, exposure time, and sensor sensitivity that would otherwise create an overexposed image. Action shots with an ND filter allow the subject to stay tack sharp without unwarranted streaks or flares.

4. Combined CPL/ND Filters:

Some filters pull double duty by combining ND and CPL into one, so you get light control and glare-cutting magic without swapping gear. Super handy when you want to pack light or just keep things simple.

These hybrids let you dial in both how much light you’re blocking and how much reflection you’re cutting. Great for bright days, shiny surfaces, or whenever the lighting’s being unpredictable and you don’t want to overthink it.

5. Practical Recommendations:

At the end of the day, ND and CPL filters are both solid tools that help you get better shots straight out of the camera. Whether you use them on their own or grab a combo filter, they give you more creative control than you’d get by editing alone.

Go for an ND if you’re playing with long exposures or want that creamy depth of field on a bright day. A CPL is your go-to for cutting reflections, boosting colors, and making skies and water pop. And if you're shooting in all kinds of lighting or just want to keep your setup simple, a combo CPL/ND filter is an easy win that covers a lot of ground.