Using protective filters of RF lenses

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Assaf

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Hi there,
I hope this is the right forum for asking such a question.
Just got my first lens for my new M6. An Ultron 35/1.7 lens. It took it less than a week (!) to come from LA to Israel.

I'm wondering wether I should put a UV filter on it.
On my SLR lenses I always used filters, but I noticed that in RF lenses not everybody is using them.

It seems this specific lens front element is small and nicely protected by the hood. In addition a filter can cause flares shooting light sources at night, and can also mess up the contrast shooting B/W, am I right? .

Another thing - in this lens a filter should come between the lens and the hood, making the hood a bit longer - won't it cause vignetting?

I wonder if other people here use or do not use protective filters on their lenses.
If anyone has a recommendation for a filter I'd be happy to hear it. Within the right price of course.... (I don't think it will make much sense puttung a 100$ filter on a 400$ lens....)
 
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Hi Assaf,

There are 2 schools of thought in this question. Some who use UV filters point to the pictorial effects and the protection offered to the front element. Others who say that it affect the optical performance of the lens.

I do tend to use filters on my RF lens - having tested them with and with out I find that there is no discernible negative impact on picture quality..as least with my eyes 😉

Most of my RF lenses are 50+ year old Leitz and I use Leitz UV filters for other lens including my SLR stuff I tend to use Heliopan filters
 
I use "protective filters" on older lenses whose coatings (or glass surface) are prone to be easily damaged. Except in extreme lighting or a night, where reflections and flare from the filter would be likely.

On modern multicoated lenses - especially those with smaller front elements, like the Ultron - I never use a filter for protection, only if I want the effect (ie. yellow filter, red filter, ND filter, etc.).
 
Thanks for the answers!
Silva - where did you buy Heliopan filters and do you remember their price roughly?

Rogue - do you mean that the coating on the lens front element should protect it from scratches etc. ?

BTW - the lenses on my current glasses are plastic and cost more than the Ultron lens (that's how bad my eyesight is....). I never got my glasses lenses scratched, plastic or flint glass, even when they fell on the groung....
 
Assaf, this is a very controversial subject.

I think about it like this: for lenses that are hard to replace (costs,
rarity, etc) I use filters. Just balance risk vs. benefit of not using a filter.
The Ultron will be easy to replace for a while. Might be a different
story with a classic Summicron, for instance.

Modern B+W filters are very, very good.

Roland.
 
Much of the Leica consituency who used to ridicule and berate anyone for keeping a permanent UV filter on their lenses, making grandiose statements that their photography demands only the best lenses and nothing to possibly degrade their performance, have fallen silent on the issue, now that they're forced to keep IR filters on their lenses due to the M8 😉
 
ferider: it's also a question of money - filters are cheap, lenses are not... even if the lens is available in shops, it depends if the photog has money to buy it... I try to keep Skylight 1A filters on most of my lenses.
 
?

?

This has nothing to do with RF vs SLR. It's just a simple personal choice. A UV filter does nothing for a modern lens, which has coatings which block UV anyway. So if you are the type who likes protection, go ahead. If you feel the lens hood is sufficient protection, that's ok too.

Assaf said:
Hi there,
I hope this is the right forum for asking such a question.
Just got my first lens for my new M6. An Ultron 35/1.7 lens. It took it less than a week (!) to come from LA to Israel.

I'm wondering wether I should put a UV filter on it.
On my SLR lenses I always used filters, but I noticed that in RF lenses not everybody is using them.

It seems this specific lens front element is small and nicely protected by the hood. In addition a filter can cause flares shooting light sources at night, and can also mess up the contrast shooting B/W, am I right? .

Another thing - in this lens a filter should come between the lens and the hood, making the hood a bit longer - won't it cause vignetting?

I wonder if other people here use or do not use protective filters on their lenses.
If anyone has a recommendation for a filter I'd be happy to hear it. Within the right price of course.... (I don't think it will make much sense puttung a 100$ filter on a 400$ lens....)
Click to expand...
 
Phill & Roland have it: there are two schools of thought and it is very controversial, almost religious in nature. Those who don't use them tend to scoff at those who do, and the filter users can point to their pristine front elements in reply! 😀 From that you can gather that I put a good quality filter on every single one of my lenses, old and new. As Ondrej states above the cost issue alone is a compelling one: it makes enormous sense to put a $50 filter on a $400 lens. I don't think I've ever experienced an image degradation or flare issue that can be attributed to a filter despite all the opinions I've read about this. I think most people buy cheap filters, have problems, then generalize that to every single filter out there.

The best filter you can get is a B+W MRC F-Pro. B+W (not B&W) is the name of the manufacturer, MRC means multi-resistant coating, and F-Pro is a filter type designation. I get mine from B&H in New York City - good stock, discount prices and great shipping. Hoya are also good but softer than the B+W filters and won't last as long, get the B+W if you can afford the extra $10 or so. You won't regret it. 🙂
 
I'm in the camp that thinks it's a bit of an insult to the designers and makers of fine lenses to stick a lump of cheap old glass in front of them when using them. So I never use filters for protection, relying on lens hoods and not dropping my cameras - and in 35 years or so I've never broken a lens (well, not in a way that a filter might have helped, anyway).
 
I use a B+W MRC UV filter on my lenses because I shoot naked. Meaning I do not use lens caps any more except in storage. Don't even take them on a trip. That way I am ready to go. I can tell no difference between with or without a filter. This way lens which are expensive are protected. I would rather crack filter glass then lens glass. (It happened once in Russia on a trip). The only other filter I always have with me is a Hoya 80A MRC for indoor lighting.

Best wishes,
 
Either plan on replacing the lens if you drop the camera or buy a hood.

It is the filter ring which offers the protection if you drop the lens without a hood, not the filter glass, if the lens filter threads are the only thing damaged the lens might still be ok, but its resale value big % less.

Do you insure your house?

Noel
 
Thank you all for your answers!

Noel, I got a really nice metal hood with the lens... and I insure my house...

Akiva, I hope your daughter is recovering and Shabat Shalom

Assaf
 
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Assaf said:
Thank you all for your answers!

Noel, I got a really nice metal hood with the lens... and I insure my house...

Akiva, I hope your daughter is recovering and Shabat Shalom

Assaf
Click to expand...
little daughter (age 27) is recovering nicely. Shabbat Shalom, Peace.
 
A high quality filter like B+W or Heliopan (both use the same glass) will protect the lens and not degrade the image quality. A less expensive Hoya or Tamron is okay for cheaper lenses (consumer zooms) but not for our nice RF glass.
The cheaper filters have aluminum rings whch can cross-thread or bend on impact. B+W and Heliopan use brass rings that are much stronger.
I recently dropped my LC1 square on the lens and the cheap Panasonic filter bent all to heck and I had to pry it out with pliers. Now and expensive Heliopan 69mm UV sits on the front and will never come off.
My Ultron has no filter because it's so darn small!
 
Heliopan and B+W Pro filters use Schott glass, like Zeiss and Schneider lenses, among others.

You will find a lot of Hoya glass in high-grade Japanese lenses. Hoya
HMC Pro filters are very good as well.

Good 39mm filters for your Ultron are expensive, unfortunately. You pay a bit
of the Leica margin there, since the Summicrons and other Leitz lenses
have the same filter size.

Roland.
 
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ferider said:
Good 39mm filters for your Ultron are expensive, unfortunately. You pay a bit
of the Leica margin there, since the Summicrons and other Leitz lenses
have the same filter size.

Roland.
Click to expand...

Yah, I've got adapter rings to 40.5 for both that, and my 40mm canon lenses, so I can use the same size filters (and hoods) between them.
 
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