Pirate
Guitar playing Fotografer
Just curious to what lengths you guys go to when trying to keep out dust while putting on filters.
I was removing a filter today and noticed dust on the glass as soon as I pulled away the filter. I know it's just from static electricity and I can probably keep it down with a static cloth. If I get real concerned I'll bet I can use some canned air while putting a filter on, blowing it between the lens and filter as the filter goes on.
So how do you keep out dust and how far do you go to keep it out?
I was removing a filter today and noticed dust on the glass as soon as I pulled away the filter. I know it's just from static electricity and I can probably keep it down with a static cloth. If I get real concerned I'll bet I can use some canned air while putting a filter on, blowing it between the lens and filter as the filter goes on.
So how do you keep out dust and how far do you go to keep it out?
Alpacaman
keen bean
Well, I look at the filter, if there is dust on it I say "She'll be right", and I attach it. Works quite well so far 
bwcolor
Veteran
Very
Whatever it takes.
Whatever it takes.
julianphotoart
No likey digital-phooey
Also "very". Each time a filter goes on or comes off, canned air is used for all surfaces. And this reminds me of my obsessive need to keep the lens cap on except for the few moments I'm actually taking a shot. I see people just walking around with their lenses exposed and it's like fingernails on chalkboards.
Pickett Wilson
Veteran
Dust and scratches on lenses or filters don't actually seem to have much effect on photos, surprisingly. I use UV filters for lens caps, though, and never use a lens cap. I routinely shoot baseball photos with a telephoto through the fence behind the batter and it doesn't degrade the photos. So I doubt a little dust would make much difference. The key is that the dust and scratches, like the links in the fence, are too close to the lens surface to show up.
Shot through a heavy chain link fence. The fence disappears.
Shot through a heavy chain link fence. The fence disappears.
sepiareverb
genius and moron
Yeah, stuff that tiny and that close to the film is pretty meaningless. I do brush stuff off when I put on a filter, but after shooting a Nikon 105/2.5 that had a HUGE chunk of a paint flake dead center and seeing no effect on anything I've come to the conclusion that dust really doesn't matter in most cases.
jmcd
Well-known
Just a little poof from a rubber bulb is plenty to blow the dust away, with little risk of forcing dust into the lens works.
mtargz
Established
Dust does, however, flare up. It may be completely out of focus (in some cases, millimetres from the optical centre) - but bright light shining into the lens, via glowing dust-spots, is still light shining into the lens. I had a dusty viewfinder in a Minolta rangefinder that illustrated this well: Whenever I shot with bright lights hitting the dust, the whole scene disappeared, paling in comparison to the bright dust.
Keith
The best camera is one that still works!
My obessive nature is a challenge ... and that damned dust inside the filter offers it the ultimate challenge! It becomes a sick game eventually!
... remove the filter, carefully refit while using the rocket blower to pass air between the two items as they go together, check carefully under a strong light for dust! (which will always be there)
... remove the filter, carefully refit while using the rocket blower to pass air between the two items as they go together, check carefully under a strong light for dust! (which will always be there)
... remove the filter, carefully refit while using the rocket blower to pass air between the two items as they go together, check carefully under a strong light for dust! (which will always be there)
... remove the filter, carefully refit while using the rocket blower to pass air between the two items as they go together, check carefully under a strong light for dust! (which will always be there)
... remove the filter, carefully refit while using the rocket blower to pass air between the two items as they go together, check carefully under a strong light for dust! (which will always be there)
... remove the filter, carefully refit while using the rocket blower to pass air between the two items as they go together, check carefully under a strong light for dust! (which will always be there)
... remove the filter, carefully refit while using the rocket blower to pass air between the two items as they go together, check carefully under a strong light for dust! (which will always be there)
... and so on. :bang: (it's no wonder I get to take so few photos)
... remove the filter, carefully refit while using the rocket blower to pass air between the two items as they go together, check carefully under a strong light for dust! (which will always be there)
... remove the filter, carefully refit while using the rocket blower to pass air between the two items as they go together, check carefully under a strong light for dust! (which will always be there)
... remove the filter, carefully refit while using the rocket blower to pass air between the two items as they go together, check carefully under a strong light for dust! (which will always be there)
... remove the filter, carefully refit while using the rocket blower to pass air between the two items as they go together, check carefully under a strong light for dust! (which will always be there)
... remove the filter, carefully refit while using the rocket blower to pass air between the two items as they go together, check carefully under a strong light for dust! (which will always be there)
... remove the filter, carefully refit while using the rocket blower to pass air between the two items as they go together, check carefully under a strong light for dust! (which will always be there)
... remove the filter, carefully refit while using the rocket blower to pass air between the two items as they go together, check carefully under a strong light for dust! (which will always be there)
... and so on. :bang: (it's no wonder I get to take so few photos)
Jamie123
Veteran
I don't mind a little dust on lenses or filters at all. Only thing that bothers me is scratches and cleaning marks on the lens. Not because I think it'll show in the pictures but because I know that it will affect the resale value if I ever decide to get rid of it.
nikon_sam
Shooter of Film...
I try to remove as much dust as I can either with air or a soft brush...I know I won't get rid of 100% of it and I also know that for most shots it won't really matter...
What bugs me even more is something, anything on the focusing screen...that drives me batty...
I don't blow on the lens anymore mostly because I end up spitting on it and making things worse...I use a bulb blower or a small Gast Air pump that's very low pressure and dry air...
What bugs me even more is something, anything on the focusing screen...that drives me batty...
I don't blow on the lens anymore mostly because I end up spitting on it and making things worse...I use a bulb blower or a small Gast Air pump that's very low pressure and dry air...
LKeithR
Improving daily--I think.
I don't use filters because they will degrade image quality and a little dust on the lens isn't going to hurt anything anyway...
Pirate
Guitar playing Fotografer
Not even for Black & White photography?
shyoon
Well-known
I think some of you guys would just about pass out if you saw the condition of my lenses and filters! Nevertheless, they still work fine and give me good images.
Keith
The best camera is one that still works!
The frst time I ever saw an internal refelction of a light source from the inside of a filter I decided they weren't for me.
Out to Lunch
Ventor
Many moons ago, I bought one small and one big Giottos Rocket-Air blower and since then all is peachy... The big one is a great sensor cleaner as well.
Pirate
Guitar playing Fotografer
After reading Ansel Adams' "The Camera" and seeing his explanation of coated and uncoated filters, I see that using uncoated filters will make the light reflect between the glass and give ghosts. I try to only buy Multi-coated filters and lenses now. The coating helps the light to pass and not bounce around.
xxloverxx
Shoot.
If I can feel it there (that is, if it feels like it's grown a coat of fur), I wipe it. If it's just a bit...well, my lens-cap-never-on-lens' front element is probably dirtier. Haven't had any problems so far.
If I'm thinking about dust, I'm not thinking about shooting. That's not a good thing.
If I'm thinking about dust, I'm not thinking about shooting. That's not a good thing.
rbsinto
Well-known
I've heard of filters. Our coffee maker and furnace both have them.
LKeithR
Improving daily--I think.
If you're referring to coloured filters for B&W effects I rarely used them when I was shooting film and since I've gone digital I find I can adjust images just fine in PP. I do occasionally use polarizing filters when I'm shooting skys/landscapes but I do it so seldom that I never have a filter with me when I really need it. If I know I'm going to be shooting in dusty or salt spray conditions I'll throw a UV filter on for protection--if I think to take one with me...