Help - Filters, UV IR Clear oh my!!!
- Thread Starter ShaneF
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Use a lens hood. Lens hoods help control lens flare and offer a substantial measure of 'protection'.
Situation awareness adds the final measure.
When you put any kind of filter on the front of a lens you add an air gap.
That air gap promoted lens flare.
Even top-of-the-line filters absorb some light and have been known to produce Newton rings in images - Newton's rings - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The glass in filters is a lot thinner than the front lens element and is easily broken. When the glass in a filter is broken, the sharp shards are often push back into the very lens element they were designed to 'protect'.
When that happens, imagine unscrewing the broken filter and dragging those sharp shards across the front lens element.
The bottom line is filter used for protection cause more problems than they solve.
The scratch on the lens you mention was likely just a scratch in the lens coatings. It takes some real effort to scratch the glass on a front lens element.
Situation awareness adds the final measure.
When you put any kind of filter on the front of a lens you add an air gap.
That air gap promoted lens flare.
Even top-of-the-line filters absorb some light and have been known to produce Newton rings in images - Newton's rings - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The glass in filters is a lot thinner than the front lens element and is easily broken. When the glass in a filter is broken, the sharp shards are often push back into the very lens element they were designed to 'protect'.
When that happens, imagine unscrewing the broken filter and dragging those sharp shards across the front lens element.
The bottom line is filter used for protection cause more problems than they solve.
The scratch on the lens you mention was likely just a scratch in the lens coatings. It takes some real effort to scratch the glass on a front lens element.
This forum is filled with UV filter haters, so get used to it.
I use B+W Pro, easy to clean, little hassle, but they are on the thick side. Here we have a new local brand "Sunpower". A pro photographer recommended it so I gave it a try. It's pretty good. The brim is slim and just as easy to clean as the B+W, for a fraction of the cost. IQ wise, not noticing any major difference.
Perhaps I am not the type who really can't get past the idea of "sharp" images. I shoot street most of the time. The condition is often much less than ideal so I have to pump up my ISO often already. Having a filter or not doesn't really make noticeable difference for me. In fact, my lens was once saved by a UV filter that took the impact instead of the lens. Many say use a hood. Sure, having a hood is like a bumper, but it's way too bulky for my bag especially when I have to swap lens quickly. Hoods, to me, are more hassle than protection.
Put it this way, when I post a photo, no one's gonna be able to tell "Oh you had a UV filter on!".
When I am shooting landscape where I can take my time to set up my shot, I will then remove my UV filter. I guess everyone has their own way of survival out in the wild. There's no right and wrong. If you are a survivor, you are doing it right.
I use B+W Pro, easy to clean, little hassle, but they are on the thick side. Here we have a new local brand "Sunpower". A pro photographer recommended it so I gave it a try. It's pretty good. The brim is slim and just as easy to clean as the B+W, for a fraction of the cost. IQ wise, not noticing any major difference.
Perhaps I am not the type who really can't get past the idea of "sharp" images. I shoot street most of the time. The condition is often much less than ideal so I have to pump up my ISO often already. Having a filter or not doesn't really make noticeable difference for me. In fact, my lens was once saved by a UV filter that took the impact instead of the lens. Many say use a hood. Sure, having a hood is like a bumper, but it's way too bulky for my bag especially when I have to swap lens quickly. Hoods, to me, are more hassle than protection.
Put it this way, when I post a photo, no one's gonna be able to tell "Oh you had a UV filter on!".
When I am shooting landscape where I can take my time to set up my shot, I will then remove my UV filter. I guess everyone has their own way of survival out in the wild. There's no right and wrong. If you are a survivor, you are doing it right.
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That's because there's no equal image without it to compare it to. And full-size images are needed to boot.
If all you do is post your images on the web, you don't need to worry about IQ. But some of us need to get our images big. REALLY big. So every bit of IQ we can gain means money.
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Kolia
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XS-Pro with MRC and Nano coating sound like a good option, not too expensive either.
Personally, I only use filters when I want to do something with the light. The rest of the time, it's hood only.
It takes a lot of damages to a lens to see a significant degradation in IQ. Have you tested your scratched in your pocket lens ? A scratch on the front element will block a very small amount of light and only that light coming straight at it. Since the light from the subject radiates in all directions, the detail that you might think would be blocked will actually be picked up from all over the front element and focused around that scratch.
Just look at the reflex telephoto lens. You still get sharp images with a 30mm mirror smack in the center of the front element !
Personally, I only use filters when I want to do something with the light. The rest of the time, it's hood only.
It takes a lot of damages to a lens to see a significant degradation in IQ. Have you tested your scratched in your pocket lens ? A scratch on the front element will block a very small amount of light and only that light coming straight at it. Since the light from the subject radiates in all directions, the detail that you might think would be blocked will actually be picked up from all over the front element and focused around that scratch.
Just look at the reflex telephoto lens. You still get sharp images with a 30mm mirror smack in the center of the front element !
skieur
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I would much rather have condensation on the protection filter rather than on the lens especially if it is frozen condensation due to extreme cold. I also prefer blowing snow melting on the filter rather than the lens and the same holds true for pelting rain. Sand blowing around at a beach is not condusive to lenses either. A protection filter can keep it from scratching the lens.
The latest protection filters have considerably improved over some of the older UV filters. Four times stronger glass, water and oil repellent, scratch and stain resistant, ultra thin frame compatible with wide angle lenses, high density glass, high transparency, 8 layer anti-reflective multi-coating etc.
The latest protection filters have considerably improved over some of the older UV filters. Four times stronger glass, water and oil repellent, scratch and stain resistant, ultra thin frame compatible with wide angle lenses, high density glass, high transparency, 8 layer anti-reflective multi-coating etc.
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