do you use protective filters with your lens?

[chrismoret]

To be honest..only on the mostly used Biogon 35mm. On my 28mm Elmarit I don't even have a cap.

So anyone with a E48 cap to spare..

 

[thegman]

I used to use a warm-up filter on colour film, as a combo of protection and also for it's intended purpose. When I changed lenses to one with a different filter thread, I never bothered to replace the filter. It now seems strange to worry so much about the quality of a lens, but then shoot it through a cheap piece of glass every time, which probably does not have the same level of coatings etc. the actual lens does. Maybe if my lenses were more expensive, I'd feel differently though.

 

[fixed point]

Always a filter, sometimes a hood, and I never use lens caps.

 

[taskoni]

Never on the rangefinder.
I have a clear filters for protection on my summilux 80 1.4 and 50 1.4 for my leica r7 because the lens caps often are falling off. Of course, I always taking them off before shooting a picture.

 

[Lax Jought]

I have an M8.2 so I always have the UV/IR filter on.

 

[shimokita]

this morning I took a little spill... just a slip on the steps, but the camera in the backpack took it on the lens. Had to get a "filter loose" tool to wrench the Y2 off the lens, but both camera and lens are okay. The lens cap is a little worse for wear. Without the filter, the lens threads may have been bent.

Bought some extra padding for my backpack and ordered a replacement Y2 filter. Did some test shots for focus confirmation and glad to be home.

Casey

 

[wray]

I don't bother with glass condoms.

 

[Roger Hicks]

this morning I took a little spill... just a slip on the steps, but the camera in the backpack took it on the lens. Had to get a "filter loose" tool to wrench the Y2 off the lens, but both camera and lens are okay. The lens cap is a little worse for wear. Without the filter, the lens threads may have been bent.

Bought some extra padding for my backpack and ordered a replacement Y2 filter. Did some test shots for focus confirmation and glad to be home.

Casey

Dear Casey,

Exactly. When Frances tripped on some uneven steps in the Himalayas, a good few years ago, we were VERY glad to see that the star-shaped crack on the front of her 35/2.8 PC-Nikkor was confined to the L39 filter.

Cheers,

R.

 

[shimokita]

Yes I found that I have to take a little more care when moving around... I could not believe how the steps managed to move during my walk ;-).

Always carry the Y2 or Orange and a protect filter (with one on the lens and one in a small kit bag), so I could replace that star-shaped broken glass out and away.

I have seen enough used lenses with dammaged front filter threads.

Please give my best to Frances...

Casey

 

[lewis44]

Hoods on every lens.

 

[Dante_Stella]

You're right on this, Roger. I'm not a tester like Ctein, but I have never seen a filter make any noticeable (let alone objectionable) degradation to resolution. Not in 15x examinations, not in scans, and not in big optical prints.

Maybe I'm just undemanding. Or unobservant. Or stupid. Maybe the Fujinons I use are so terrible that filters are the least of their problems. Or maybe it's time for the resolution sniffers to cough up some results.

Yes, you can get a little bit of extra flare. But it's usually to accentuate flare that is already occurring with the lens from having a point light source in the frame. If that happens, you either use a hood, unscrew the filter or skip the shot.

I view it this way. If you've ever looked through a lens from the back, you can see just how filthy front elements get. Try that some time and see if you can get everything off the front glass. It's far harder than you think. Try it in a controlled environment. Now think about the wild. Every cleaning leads you closer to the eventual silica grain that gives you cleaning marks. Touching a lens element with your finger also makes an oily fingerprint that is actually pretty hard to get off the glass. It is far easier to just switch a filter out if you are on the road than it is to try to find a sterile cloth or lens pen to clean the lens itself. Maybe there are places in the world where crud isn't continuously condensing from the atmosphere and welding onto optical surfaces (this happens to digital sensors and is so much worse with lenses). I can tell you firsthand that those places are not located in the the Americas, Europe, Asia, or Africa. That leaves Australia and the Antarctic.

There are also types of lens assemblies where screwing on a filter makes a dust-tight assembly (like the Hexar AF, where a filter seals a fixed lens barrel in which the optical unit moves back and forth). It also appears to be the case with the Fuji X100.

And sometimes you might like to throw your camera in your pocket without worrying about what the front glass is going to contact (coins, keys, lint, etc.).

Dante

With most of the ones that are on the camera most of the time, yes. The danger of image degradation is negligible, especially with wide angles -- I don't know anyone, including better experimentalists than I (e.g. Ctein), who have found any detectable loss of sharpness -- and with a decent lens hood (and I ALWAYS use a lens good), flare is more of a theoretical objection than a real one unless you are shooting straight into the sun (in which case you can remove the filter). I've seen it asserted that veiling flare is a problem but I have my doubts.

Cheers,

R.

 

[masterkin]

Leica was kind enough to force me to use filters on my lenses (m8).

 

[ibraz]

Never use UV or skylight filters, but always use lens shades.
I shoot daily, and despite that, my lenses only need cleaning one or two times a year.

The only time I used a protective filter was two years ago in an old mercedes van on a dirt road, where a thick layer of dust was on everything in less than 5 minutes...

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

I don't leave caps at home, and I don't walk with caps on: as soon as I grab any camera before going out, I place the cap in my pocket.

I use filters most of the time (soft light B&W is the exception) especially yellow for sunny B&W and warming for color film. NDs too. Those are my everyday filters, and I carry them for every lens I bring with me.

Images don't degrade at all with filtering, they get better.

Cheers,

Juan

 

[mwoenv]

No, because filter glass is never as good as lens glass and I never really shoot in situations with dust and moisture. I may have to gently clean each lens 2-3 times a year.

However, I carry protective filters for use where there is potential for dust or moisture and I want the shot. Also, I always use a hood and always keep a lens cap on when not shooting.

 

[Colin G.]

Depends on the lens. For example, my Canon 50mm 1.2 is already quite ugly and i didn't pay a whole lot for it, so no filter.

 

[hexiplex]

I have one on my Summicron 35 because it came with a Leitz UV filter, the CV 21 goes without since I haven't bothered to buy a filter for it yet. But I really need to take control of the filter situation, need yellow filters for the Summicron and the 21.

 

[Roger Hicks]

You're right on this, Roger. I'm not a tester like Ctein, but I have never seen a filter make any noticeable (let alone objectionable) degradation to resolution. Not in 15x examinations, not in scans, and not in big optical prints.

Maybe I'm just undemanding. Or unobservant. Or stupid. Maybe the Fujinons I use are so terrible that filters are the least of their problems. Or maybe it's time for the resolution sniffers to cough up some results.

Yes, you can get a little bit of extra flare. But it's usually to accentuate flare that is already occurring with the lens from having a point light source in the frame. If that happens, you either use a hood, unscrew the filter or skip the shot.

I view it this way. If you've ever looked through a lens from the back, you can see just how filthy front elements get. Try that some time and see if you can get everything off the front glass. It's far harder than you think. Try it in a controlled environment. Now think about the wild. Every cleaning leads you closer to the eventual silica grain that gives you cleaning marks. Touching a lens element with your finger also makes an oily fingerprint that is actually pretty hard to get off the glass. It is far easier to just switch a filter out if you are on the road than it is to try to find a sterile cloth or lens pen to clean the lens itself. Maybe there are places in the world where crud isn't continuously condensing from the atmosphere and welding onto optical surfaces (this happens to digital sensors and is so much worse with lenses). I can tell you firsthand that those places are not located in the the Americas, Europe, Asia, or Africa. That leaves Australia and the Antarctic.

There are also types of lens assemblies where screwing on a filter makes a dust-tight assembly (like the Hexar AF, where a filter seals a fixed lens barrel in which the optical unit moves back and forth). It also appears to be the case with the Fuji X100.

And sometimes you might like to throw your camera in your pocket without worrying about what the front glass is going to contact (coins, keys, lint, etc.).

Dante

Dear Dante,

Sure, but what chance does careful experiment stand against "what everyone knows" or "it stands to reason"?

Then again, maybe I'm as undemanding, unobservant or stupid. And I am persuaded that there may be a difference with long lenses, though I'm far from convinced.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

I think that letting your lens wear a protective filter is as proper and necessary as washing and combing your hair: if you like that sort of thing, you do it, if you don't you don't.

Except, of course, for those enlightened countries where they have laws against that sort of thing. Then there's no debate. ::shrug::

 

[Guaranteed]

Usually only yellow or ND.