In several conversations I have had with sales folks (first mistake I know) about some of my photos that were "blown out" they have asked if I had ever used one or the other.
Yeah - I've heard it all
I guess my next question would be what do any of you recommend for shooting in bright sunlight at or around water?
Sunlight? Nothing. Absolutely no filter. There's no need. A Neutral Density filter would lower the amount of light entering the camera, but unless you're planning on visiting Mercury there's really not a modern camera out there that can't handle the kind of light you're going to see.
The
huge exception is when you're trying to do certain things with the camera. Let's say you specifically want a really shallow depth of field and therefore want to leave the aperture wide open. On a really bright day your camera might not be capable of a high enough shutter speed to compensate (I doubt that, but let's just assume). In that situation you might use a really dark neutral density filter.
A more common situation is when people want a very slow shutter speed in bright light, maybe for shooting a waterfall with blurred water. Again, the neutral density filter would cut the amount of light down so you can use a very slow shutter speed.
Those are somewhat extreme situations though. A "bright sunny day"? You don't need a filter for that.
The
polarizing filter is a different story. It's dark because it's dark - not because it
needs to be - in fact Hoya makes a polarizing filter that is designed to be about half the darkness of the typical polarizers...anyway, the polarizer blocks light coming from different directions. So, if you're shooting water the polarizer can, in many situations, cut the glare off the water. They work the same way on every other surface light gets reflected off of but water and glass are the most pronounced examples.
Anyway - the point is, I can't imagine anyone without a
specific need running out to get a neutral density filter. A polarizing filter is another story - some people use them every day.