Poll: UV Filters : Use them or not?

[gdanmitchell]

The down draft from the Black Hawk was quite strong and I had my eyes partially shut while a lot of undergrowth and sand/pebbles were being blown up during the landing sequence (all of us were crouched down while I knelt and kept snapping away).

You'd never find me arguing against using a clear glass protective filter if you must shoot in the blast of a Blackhawk helicopter - of course, if that is your typical sort of shooting you probably also want to used a sealed 1 series body and one of the L lenses that becomes fully sealed with the addition of the filter. (Basically I acknowledged this sort of possibility in my post referenced earlier in the thread.)

I'm also guessing that one doesn't worry a whole lot about a bit of loss in contrast or a bit of flare when shooting handheld in the whirlwind of debris that the chopper kicks up! ;-)

On the other hand, I'm guessing that your situation is a major outlier - in fact, some of the concerns here were a bit more domestic: baby's finger prints on the lens, a bit of splashed soda... ;-)

Dan

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G Dan Mitchell - SF Bay Area, California, USA
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[gdanmitchell]

Noted.

It sure looked exiting at the time when I was taking the pictures. I was not aware of the damage it would cause (like I said, I wasn't thinking or using my head). A normal helicopter landing in an airfield (with grass or asphalt underneath) usually does not cause any damage to nearby camera/video equipment. A lesson learned and wiser next time.

not necessarily, still could have stones, dust, soil, etc.

+1. I've seen it happen. Once the helicopter is down things can be a bit less crazy, but when it is hovering there is enough of a blast to toss small stones and other stuff around pretty violently.

(I discovered this for myself by being a bit too close to the landing of a rescue helicopter in the Sierra. Next time I'll pay more attention to the ranger's warning!)

Dan

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G Dan Mitchell - SF Bay Area, California, USA
Blog & Gallery: http://www.gdanmitchell.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gdanmitchell
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gdanmitchell/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/gdanmitchell
IM: gdanmitchell

Gear List: Cup, spoon, chewing gum, old shoe laces, spare change, eyeballs, bag of nuts.

 

[dashogun]

Birds pooping or debris falling off trees or people walking by and accidently touching my lens scare me. So I keep my filter on.
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--==happy shooting==--

 

[photonius]

Birds pooping or debris falling off trees or people walking by and accidently touching my lens scare me. So I keep my filter on.
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--==happy shooting==--

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Life is short, time to zoom in ©

 

[maiaibing]

UV etc. filters all introduce a color cast. That was good for the film days. Meanwhile I use the "new" type of clear filters for digital cameras that do not reduce your f-stops and still protect your lens.

My brand is HOYA Pro Digital D-1 and have been very happy with them.