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who uses filters on their primes???

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conora

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hey all,,

just trying to get an indicator as to who uses filters on their primeS????

Im waiting for my 35mm 1.4 to arrive and am wondering whether i should put a $80 piece of glass on top of such a beautiful piece of glass!

However that $80 piece of glass may be handy to stop the important one from coping a scratch or two. .
what do you do? particularly with your expensive L primes. .
cheers
 
I have decent quality filters on all my lenses. I've done this since around 1969 when I realised just how dirty my Minolta SRT101 standard lens had got. I have had trouble with a few rogue filters - one was effectively a meniscus lens with a focal length of around 60m, so my 300 f4.5 never focused properly on infinity. I also use lens hoods much of the time, and these help to keep rain spots off the filter.

Cleaning Hoya HMC types can be difficult - I find a drop of detergent, tap-water rinse followed by a de-ionised water rinse works fine. (I use mainly a mixture of non-L and L primes, and the odd zoom on my 5D.)

--
Malcolm Stewart
Milton Keynes, UK
 
And I think it's not been taken out of the bag for 3 years now, except for one visit to a misty, windy beach.

I had two, but used one as a lens cap when I was short of one, for a few months. I wanted protection for feeding the lens face down in the bag, taking it off to shoot.

Basically, filters are used for effects as deemed needed, and insurance against damage comes in the form of. . Insurance.

--
...Bob, NYC

'Well, sometimes the magic works. Sometimes, it doesn't.' - Little Big Man

Galleries: http://www.pbase.com/btullis

 
Hi

I think it's better not to use one. I don't for my Sigma 30 f1.4 or my 60mm macro, but for financial reasons I always have a Canon UV filter on my 300 f4 IS, in case of damage.
I guess it's where you draw the financial line.

Brian Price
 
what's the difference between using a protective filter on a prime vs. using one on a zoom? i don't get why this question is only related to prime lenses...?

i use a protective UV filter on my 28mm f/1.8, but that's only because it's my "bar" lens. i take it out with me to parties, bars, etc. whenever i go out with my friends. people get sloppy, the camera gets passed around, people get inebriated, drinks get spilled etc.

but i do not use that filter specificlaly because it's a prime lens, it has to do with the environment. if it was a 18-55mm lens i'd use the filter just as same
 
...when I paid the invoice for the 85L II and realized the cost for protection was insignificent.

 
I am using filters on all primes/zooms, only case I am taking them off is low lights inside buildings. I am using Hoya Pro1 SHMC or B+W MRC, never had much problems.

Also prefer using filters with weathersealed lenses & mkIII. Last month I shot with 24-70L in pretty heavy rain for about 2 hours - no issues with lens or camera after.
 
When I started buying my first digital SLR back in December 2007...sheesh! that's only 8 months ago...I bought some UV filters for each of my lenses.

After reading some posts here I learned I don't need them for the most part.

So now I shoot without a UV filter...most of the time. The few times I use them are really in dusty conditions....like the desert...or the beach...or wherever else...

I shoot a lot of landscapes so I use a CPL a lot....unless I use the 14 II L...it cannot take a front filter at all. They are mostly sunrise/sunset shots using a one hour window...actually it's just a 15 minute window. That's when you get the best colors.

I only use B+W and Heliopan filters. I learned that in this forum too. They are very high quality filters that are very easy to clean.

Danny Tuason :)
conora said:
hey all,,

just trying to get an indicator as to who uses filters on their
primeS????
Im waiting for my 35mm 1.4 to arrive and am wondering whether i
should put a $80 piece of glass on top of such a beautiful piece of
glass!
However that $80 piece of glass may be handy to stop the important
one from coping a scratch or two. .
what do you do? particularly with your expensive L primes. .
cheers
Click to expand...
--
http://www.scandinavius.com/sweden/sesongs.html#anchor1139692
 
I use the 35mm F1.4 and other primes (Sigma 50mm F1.4, Canon 135mm F2, 200mm F2.8, 300mm f4, 400mm f5.6.

I am using Canon sharp-cut UV or UV haze filters. I have compared them to and expensive BW filter I have and could not see any difference in image quality when pixel peeping at 100% and overall view of the image.

I also have multipe times taken shots with and without filters. I could not seen any degredation of image quality due to filters.

I alwasy use a filter to protect the lens. It has saved lenses for me.

--
Canon EOS 5D & 40D - Albuquerque NM
 
After using filters for "protection" for a bit, I stopped, buying into the best IQ = no layers in front of a lens. Sometime later, I noticed a small scuff mark on the front element of one of my lenses. I don't remember what I would have done to mark the lens, but there it was.

So I have gone back the other way now. Sh*t happens, no matter how careful you try to be, and I would rather it happen to a filter.

Under a more controlled environment, such as for studio shots, where I can concentrate more on taking my time with the lens cap, etc., I will still take the filter off. Otherwise, it is on.

Besides, I am not sure I could notice much, if any difference.

As a suggestion...you should probably get a protective filter regardless, to have where you will definitely want protection--dusty, dirty environments, etc. Once you get the filter, take shots with and without the filter, and see if you can notice a difference. Depending on what difference you see, you can make a better judgement on the tradeoff of protection vs IQ for any particular situation.
conora said:
hey all,,

just trying to get an indicator as to who uses filters on their
primeS????
Im waiting for my 35mm 1.4 to arrive and am wondering whether i
should put a $80 piece of glass on top of such a beautiful piece of
glass!
However that $80 piece of glass may be handy to stop the important
one from coping a scratch or two. .
what do you do? particularly with your expensive L primes. .
cheers
Click to expand...
 
...the only noticeable degradation in IQ from a UV filter can come in a situation with flare potential. In those situations, I'll take it off, if the image seems special enough.

Be carefu,l when reinstalling, one of the easiest ways to stratch a lens is slipping while installing a filter.

--

There is simply too much beauty in the world to photograph it all, but I'm trying.
 
glasswave said:
...the only noticeable degradation in IQ from a UV filter can come in
a situation with flare potential. In those situations, I'll take it
off, if the image seems special enough.
Click to expand...
Another potential issue is on longer focal lengths. When I've had unaccounted softness, removing the filter was the cure (NOT related to light hitting filter flaring).

Once realized, I never bothered to pursue what it was that was causing it, but it was something that occurred from time to time at 400mm on the 100-400.

For what it's worth, just something to keep in mind. :)

--
...Bob, NYC

'Well, sometimes the magic works. Sometimes, it doesn't.' - Little Big Man

Galleries: http://www.pbase.com/btullis

 
ones I use are singh ray blue/gold, vari ND, color combo polarizer, and straight NDs.
 
I never put a UV filter on any of my lenses. I use a lens cap and a hood.
conora said:
hey all,,

just trying to get an indicator as to who uses filters on their
primeS????
Im waiting for my 35mm 1.4 to arrive and am wondering whether i
should put a $80 piece of glass on top of such a beautiful piece of
glass!
However that $80 piece of glass may be handy to stop the important
one from coping a scratch or two. .
what do you do? particularly with your expensive L primes. .
cheers
Click to expand...
--
---
G Dan Mitchell
SF Bay Area
Blog: http://www.gdanmitchell.com/
Gallery: http://www.gdanmitchell.com/wpg2-3/
 
Well the short answer is it depends :) In my opinion its best to avoid them unless absolutely necessary.

As much as your local salesperson will tell you the opposite, a filter for protection is psychological more than anything else. All lenses are multicoated these days, you'd have to try really hard to scratch them especially with the hood on. It would take a massive blow in which case you'd probably have bigger problems like the barrel breaking or elements getting misaligned, before you enjoy any "protection" from the filter. And in the unlikely event that you somehow manage to scratch the front element it will probably only affect resale price, not image quality. Scratches on front elements typically dont show on photos. An exception is salt water and spray which has corrosive abilities, so a good clear filter is a must at the beach.

The argument against filters is that no matter how expensive they will always affect image quality a little, or a lot. A lot is usually when shooting against strong sources of light, all filters will mutliply ghosting and flare, even Heliopan and B+W filters. In normal soft light you might never notice it. I wanted a CPol for my 35L, I tried two B+W kaessemans and with both of them I noticed strong loss of contrast on many photos which was a shame as I consider high contrast one of the best qualities of that lens. Nowadays I prefer to get the CPol effect on Photoshop. On the other hand there are some things that you simply cant do without filters, like get a long exposure during the day.

I hope this helps,
Spyro
--
http://spyro-p.smugmug.com/
 
does the higher price relieve you of the guilt of using a filter? every test i've seen doesn't show any difference between B&W and hoya and if you insist on spending more you can get B&W filters cheaper than that.

ed rader

--
my africa galleries... http://erader.zenfolio.com/f555279914/

 
conora said:
hey all,,

just trying to get an indicator as to who uses filters on their
primeS????
Im waiting for my 35mm 1.4 to arrive and am wondering whether i
should put a $80 piece of glass on top of such a beautiful piece of
glass!
However that $80 piece of glass may be handy to stop the important
one from coping a scratch or two. .
what do you do? particularly with your expensive L primes. .
cheers
Click to expand...
Hello,
I use UV filters for protection.
I have compiled a number of links and tests here:
http://photonius.wikispaces.com/Filters
Upshot: the holding tank did MTF tests with and without filters
with several types of lenses (tele, normal, wide angle).
No effect on IQ could be observed.

Coating: is important. That is the one area where a filter can make it's presence known, but introducing extra flare. Therefore a multicoated one is important.

Protection necessary?: depends how dirty the lens/filter gets. Even in relatively clean areas, I am always surprised, where dust and dirt comes from.
A blower is best to remove it, but there is always stuff that is stuck, so
you need to wipe. And then you have the potential of a scratch, if
a hard grain of dust happens to be in your cleaning cloth or on the lens.

So, I prefer to clean filters instead of front elements. It's easier - not recessed - they can be taken off, or put even under the water tap if necessary.

UV filter/protectors do not take away much light at all, so no need to take
them off inside - unless you want to prevent flare from strong light sources.
 
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