A polarizing filters arranges, and filters, this directionally polarized light perpendicularly to the reflected light, allowing for the absorption of much of this light. This results in a noticeable reduction of glare and reflections form non-metallic surfaces and an increase in the saturation of skies and foliage.
A Circular Polarizer only differs from a linear polarizer in that it contains a quarter wave plane in addition to the linear polarizing filter. The addition of this quarter wave plane is to circularly polarize the linearly polarized light for the use of auto focus and exposure functions. Due to how the light is broken down and filtered with a linear polarizer, auto focus and exposure accuracy become skewed during us. When the light becomes circularly polarized, it permits the use of these functions.