Lens protection filter

J H Foto

J H Foto

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Jeff
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What is safe to put in front of a £430 lens without affecting quality ?
 
I tend to use Hoya Pro1 or HD Filters - you can put a standard protection filter or a UV filter.
 
I've always kept a decent quality UV filter on, unless I'm using another filter.
 
I can't even be bothered to get into this arguement again now, must be getting old? o_O
 
odd jim said:
I can't even be bothered to get into this arguement again now, must be getting old? o_O
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As soon as I saw the title I thought the same.

J H Foto said:
What is safe to put in front of a £430 lens without affecting quality ?
Click to expand...

The filter or no filter argument has plenty of threads on here if you want to read the pros and cons of using one. If you are going to put a filter on then buy a good quality one. A £10 cheap one from ebay will not really be that good. Hoya and b&w are good brands but the same goes for them price wise too.
 
I used to use them but don't normally now
You only need them if you are going to use your camera for really dodgy places like salt spray on the beach
I only use one when im going into a humid place like a butterfly house as its easier to wipe off a bit of condensation from the filter than the recessed front lens element
 
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To ensure the highest quality image we would not recommend using any filters on the lens unless you are shooting around salt water spray or heavy, blowing sand. If you do want to use a filter, only the highest quality ones, such as the Nikon "NC" series filters, should be used as others can greatly reduce image quality.
If a special effect is needed (such as a polarizer), again, you should only use the highest quality filters and you should never "stack" more than one filter one the lens at a time.

The effects of a lower quality filter will be an overall reduction in image sharpness or "soft" and blurry highlights. Click Here to view our Nikon Filter page for more information.


This is Nikons advice and good enough for me.
 
I stopped using filters for protection, only when I need to use them. Easiest way is - Just be careful - its expensive equipment, as long as you have that in the back of your mind at all times, you'll be careful. Lens hood is better protection, I've always got one on and its the first thing to get hit if your lens swings around on your strap and whacks a wall or something.
 
I use hoods all the time and a filter should I need one...
 
Quality Street wrappers give a nice, colourful effect. They can also be used on them flashlamp things.
 
RBaker said:
Quality Street wrappers give a nice, colourful effect. They can also be used on them flashlamp things.
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I know, I have tried them
 
  • No UV/'protective' filter can improve image quality on a dSLR.
  • All UV/'protective' filters will cause some degradation in image quality.
  • The seriousness of this degradation tends to decrease as filter cost increases.
  • Good filters will cause degradation that is not noticeable under most conditions.
  • All filters, even the best, will cause noticeable degradation in some conditions.
 
b w mrc ones are the best ive used, or the "nano?" ones they do
i use em because you dont plan on bashing your lens, but acciedents happen, so id rather have a filter get marked up than a lens thats expensive.
 
I used Hoya Pro or B+W filters on all my lenses when I started out and I was shooting with a 550D and the kit lens, a 55-250 and then got a Tamron 28-300 VC instead. I didn't notice much, if any degradation when using them on this equipment. However, after being left some money in a will I got a 7D, a 100-400 L and a 100 f2.8L Macro. The IQ really took a hit when I had the 100-400 on, with a Hoya UV filter, on the 7D. It was so bad compared with the 550D that I was on the verge of returning the 7D when I did a shoot without the filter on and there was a world of difference. Since then I've only used UV filters if I'm near the coast and there's salt spray and sand blowing about or if it's pouring with rain or it's very windy in a dusty environment. I always shoot with a hood on, if they don't come with one I'll buy one for the lens, and I've never had any problems with any of my lenses due to dust. I've had only one lens go bad, an 11 month old Sigma that got a focus problem (nothing to do with filters).
 
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