What do you use to protect the front of your lens?

Hood always.

A filter on lenses which have a short hood, but no usually in those that do. If in a harsh environment, filter always.

A while ago my kit lens got a scratch on the front element. No idea how or exactly when. It doesn't affect IQ, but it's annoying. I don't want that to happen to my Fujifilm XF lenses costing £hundreds +.

Graham Meale said:

High quality filters (and usually a lens hood too — but not so much for protection). Filters must degrade the image — about as much as putting a feather on an elephant's back will make it heavier. I can live with that, and have never needed to remove any stubborn globs of unexplained gunk from a lens.

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Exactly. I'm surprised that people don't use a filter on an expensive lens. I remember reading guff about filters degrading image quality way back in my student days; it was guff then and it's guff now. Sure; occasionally you might get flare or ghosting, so take the filter off for those shots. No biggie.

All my lenses have had filters on from new. I've never suffered a single scratch on any of them, and all are perfectly spotless even after many years/decades of use. Using filters helps preserve the value of a lens. Remind me to never buy any lenses from any of you who choose not to use filters...

Shooters on My Squad said:

And yesterday I purchased my first lenses that don’t have a lens hood: the two Nikkor SE primes. At first I thought I have to buy them separately like with the cheaper Canon lenses, but then I learned that they don’t officially support lens hoods at all. So these two lenses will just have the clear filters on them.

Otherwise I keep the lens hood always on.

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Shooters on My Squad,

The Vello LHN-HN52 lens hood from B&H Photo works great on the Nikkor Z 28mm and 40mm SE lenses.

..

For years I've been living and working in a jungle

environment, it can be very brutal at times !

To save my lens there's always a lens

hood and clear UV filter attached.

It's not a easy walk in the park.

.

And a few times the camera/lens is

used as a defensive weapon too !

.

Weapon of choice - D300, Nikkor 17-55 2.8 lens.



.........................................................................................................................................................

Cultius Ponc said:

Graham Meale said:

High quality filters (and usually a lens hood too — but not so much for protection). Filters must degrade the image — about as much as putting a feather on an elephant's back will make it heavier. I can live with that, and have never needed to remove any stubborn globs of unexplained gunk from a lens.

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Exactly. I'm surprised that people don't use a filter on an expensive lens. I remember reading guff about filters degrading image quality way back in my student days; it was guff then and it's guff now. Sure; occasionally you might get flare or ghosting, so take the filter off for those shots. No biggie.

All my lenses have had filters on from new. I've never suffered a single scratch on any of them, and all are perfectly spotless even after many years/decades of use. Using filters helps preserve the value of a lens. Remind me to never buy any lenses from any of you who choose not to use filters...

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No filters on mine, lens hoods only and I've never had a lens get scratched. I occasionally use a polarizer, and I prefer not to have to remove a clear filter first in order to do so.

[No message]

I use a lens cap. Every lens comes with one and nothing works better.

DesertDrifter said:

I use a lens cap. Every lens comes with one and nothing works better.

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I finally found the minimalist guy who does only black on black photography.

Usually something else. The lens cap does its thing....no filter needed, unless it's pola, ND, etc. Good part of the time I use larger filter on WA lens (67mm) and don't have a proper shade.....but there is this and it fits most cameras.

Lens Cap

You've paid good money for a quality protective filter.

Now what do you do to protect that investment.

Shooters on My Squad said:

DesertDrifter said:

I use a lens cap. Every lens comes with one and nothing works better.

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I finally found the minimalist guy who does only black on black photography.

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So I read between the lines there and figured out what you were alluding to, then I checked and I get it - the cap is removable! You changed my life! Thank you!

Boris22 said:

Clear filter-no question. Notice a funky reflection situation?-easy --take it off. My 50 yr old lenses that have been dragged over some of the nastiest environments imaginable don't have a speck of dust on the lenses protected by a clear filter. Do what you want though- it's your circus.

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i use Hoya uv haze filter ,no glare even shooting directly into the sun.

A74Me said:

i use Hoya uv haze filter ,no glare even shooting directly into the sun.

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.. no protective filter!

All my lenses without fail are protected by filters AND lens hood AND lens cap but you surprise me that you get no flare shooting into the sun. What about a bright light on a dark night? That's when I take the filter off. The trousers stay on!



PS. Until recently my most expensive lens was a Nikon 300/F4. The manual even advises a protective filter.

I sometimes use a lens hood, but depending on the lens I use, there is some instances where it's just not practical.

I am also not a fan of spending money on UV filters, and cheap UV filter is the equivalent of degrading your front lens element's optical performance.

So I mostly use nothing. When it's in a bag or not in use I put the lens cap back on.

David Lal said:

A74Me said:

i use Hoya uv haze filter ,no glare even shooting directly into the sun.

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.. no protective filter!

All my lenses without fail are protected by filters AND lens hood AND lens cap but you surprise me that you get no flare shooting into the sun. What about a bright light on a dark night? That's when I take the filter off. The trousers stay on!



PS. Until recently my most expensive lens was a Nikon 300/F4. The manual even advises a protective filter.

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i use the uv haze filter as my protective filter as i live near the beach. i have them on all my lens, best filter i have ever used.

.. and I'm sure some of the posters here probably have to change theirs after reading comments that differ from their own set in stone, unchangeable ways...

It's very conditional for me. If I'm going to be near the ocean, and I don't want sand or salt spray on my lenses, I will use a high quality UV filter like a hoya Evo or something along those lines. I may even go full belts and suspenders and use a lens Hood to reduce the likelihood of sand or salt spray laterally as well landing on my lens element. With the exception of one RF body, all of my primary gear is weather resistant.

The same applies for a Dusty or Sandy environment.

But if I'm just going out on a nice sunny day, I'm probably not bringing anything other than a polarizer to put on the front of any of my lenses. And in that case, it's a top end Hoya, B&W, or Singh Ray...

I shot competitive swimming for years, and depending on my access point on deck, and the capability level of the swimmers, I would also put a clear UV protector on the front of my lenses as I don't want chlorine water on my lens elements, especially if it's something very subtle and I don't notice it for a couple of hours.

And lastly, depending on the weather conditions, I won't bring any weather sealed lenses that trombone with me for photography, as I don't want to run the risk of having Ingress on the barrel as it retracts. Most of my RF L zooms stay home in anything more than the lightest rain, and I bring my non-tromboning m43 gear instead.

So no, you're not a moron if you use a clear filter, or a hood, and you're not a moron if you don't use anything. It's a personal preference, and everybody has their own favorite way to do things.

A74Me said:

i use the uv haze filter as my protective filter as i live near the beach. i have them on all my lens, best filter i have ever used.

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Interesting. I also live by the sea. I often go sailing and always have a camera with me! The air around here is always salt-laden.

MJ_Photo38 said:

I am also not a fan of spending money on UV filters, and cheap UV filter is the equivalent of degrading your front lens element's optical performance.

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Buys a lens for $3,000, but says a filter for $100 is too expensive (4% of the lens price, really?), then complains that cheap Amazon UV filters for $10 degrade the quality (now we’re at 0.4% of the lens price).

Slightly schizo, but yeah, checks out.

You’re not the only one. It’s your life, and your decisions… and… your final consequences.

Thanks for the discussion.

Both a lens hood and a premium quality clear filter (usually B&W MRC or similar). The hood I'd use anyway since they do more than protect. I use the filter in addition because even with a hood the amount of crap I have to clean off from the filter after a day's shooting is enough that I would never consider not using one.

I also use a lens cap whenever the lens/camera is not in active use or is being stored.