How anal do you get about keeping dust out of Filters?

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Pirate

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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?
 
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.
 
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.

baseball.jpg
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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)
 
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.
 
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...
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
Pirate said:
Not even for Black & White photography?
Click to expand...

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...
 
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