Protective filters on quality lenses

sinar

sinar

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Julie
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Hi,

I was wondering if anyone had any opinions about putting protective filters on quality lenses.

I have previously only had budget lenses and always put a protective filter on them to protect the front element, I think it was more to do with convenience than anything else, basically using them as a lens cap, as I aways lose lens caps so never bother putting them on.

A couple of days ago I got my first quality lens, a Nikon 70-200 F2.8 VRII and I'm not sure if I should put a protective filter on it, on the plus side it would help to protect the front element, and on the negative side I've paid quite a high premium in price and weight to get a "good" lens, and I would hate to compromise the image quality by putting a filter on it.

I took it out for the first time today without a filter on it, and I did feel a bit apprehensive about it getting damaged, it felt a bit "naked" without a protective filter.

If I were to put a filter on it would a hoya Pro 1 be suitable (that is what I use for my other lenses) or is there something better I should be looking at?

On a related note, does anyone know how much approximately it might cost to have the front element of a lens replaced if it were to get damaged?

Thanks for reading

Julie
 
I've always had UV filters as well but I'm starting to sway the other way. I now leave hood on all the time (where practical). It won't stop dust getting on the lens but it will protect the glass from minor knocks.
 
This issue is one that seriously divides this forum and there have been a few heated debates about it.
My view is that a filter to protect is not necessary under "normal" conditions and may degrade image quality.
An effective lens hood will protect your front element from knocks and also prevent things like flare.
Having said that, on my 24-105 I have................................................
 
I used to use filters, but now dont bother, I just use the hoods. As you can see below my Glass isnt exactly cheap either.
 
Why pay a fortune for great glass and then put an extra layer in front of it that may distort the incoming light.
 
i use a lens protector just to protect the lens when i am not using it - when i am using the lens the protector comes off. all my lenses have hoods as well.
 
I'd get a cheapish filter just to protect the glass during travel and just take it off if I'm setting up specific shots
 
FrankCastle said:
I'd get a cheapish filter just to protect the glass during travel and just take it off if I'm setting up specific shots
Click to expand...

That's what a lens cap is for!!!
 
I have to say, I'm undecided on this. I have had a filter that was supposed to be an expensive B&W pro filter (but did come from ebay) that visibly distorted the out of focus areas on my 70-200F4L. See below:

with-uv.jpg


without-uv.jpg


Guess which is which.... I don't use a filter on that now. Having said that, I use a filter on my 24-105 (and can't tell the difference with it on or off) and I'm just buying another couple of L lenses where I'm still undecided about what to do with filters...
 
My advice about filters for protection is not to ask for advice about it and do what you are happy with.

Saves a lot of unresolvable arguing. :)
 
I'm an Ex protective filter user too. Lens hoods has been effective enough since retiring them.
I think the habit was driven by the upsale from camera shops wanting extra revenue from sales of cheapo UV and skylights whenever you bought a new lens.
 
StephenP said:
Why pay a fortune for great glass and then put an extra layer in front of it that may distort the incoming light.
Click to expand...

:plusone::agree:

Your DSLR has an internal UV filter, your lens does not need one. Its a hang-over from Film days. Never put any filter on unless you know specifically why and can see the difference it makes (be it a CPL, ND, Grad, etc).

The only time you would put a UV filter on is for protection from salty water spray (easier to clean/remove). Even when it comes to scratching - you'd be amazed how much the front element can take without it affecting your pictures - but a Hood (which is the best thing you can stick on the front of a lens) should prevent this anyway!
 
I'm anti protection filters as a permanent fixture. Just always use the lens hood - it'll stop you sticking your fingers on the glass, which is the most common problem and greasy smears are the worst for image quality!

Most of the time, a good quality filter is invisible, but not always. The main problem is flare and ghosting with bright lights, like sunsets, night street scenses etc. It's a reflection off the sensor bounced back from the rear of the filter, so you can't see it through the viewfinder. If you want to see what happens, switch on live view and point the camera at something really bright against a dark background - car headlights, a security light, that kind of thing will really provoke it. Just hold the filter in front of the lens and you'll see reflections moving around.

The other thing with long lenses is that they really magnify any optical imperfections and you can get some strange sharpness and bokeh effects.

Lens hoods offer excellent protection, and don't be frightened of cleaning the lens. Dust off any particles with a soft brush, then wipe with a microfibre cloth. You can rub quite hard on any stubborn bits without worry. But don't get obsessive about it - a few bits here and there will make absolutely no difference.

Then get a quality protection filter anyway, and use it when you have to. Sea spray is horrible stuff, flying mud at a rally is also not great. That kind of thing. Don't worry about a few drops of rain - just be careful and you won't get a drop on the glass and it cleans off easily anyway.

Best protection filter I know is the Hoya HD.
 
Generally don't use a filter, prefer just using the hood. But having one is always useful for certain situations e.g. by the beach
 
Thanks for the replies, I think I'm going to go without a filter in low risk situations, and use a filter in high risk situations, like on the beach where the lens might get some sea water spray on it.

Obviously I'll always be using the lens hood

I'm wondering if there is any difference between a Hoya Pro 1 filter and the Hoya HD High Definition filter (besides the fact the the HD one is about £20 more expensive)
 
sinar said:
I'm wondering if there is any difference between a Hoya Pro 1 filter and the Hoya HD High Definition filter (besides the fact the the HD one is about £20 more expensive)
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Thickness I think - Pro-1 is thin, HD is heavy duty so thicker - mostly an issue with wide-angle lenses. I've got several Pro-1's and (touch wood) not had any issues.
 
I used to have a good UV filter on all my lenses all the time, but I've taken to removing them and relying on the hood in 'safe' conditions. However, when out and about near the sea or beaches here, I'll make sure there's a filter on the front.
 
I use filters on my 'press' lenses: the 17-35 f/2.8; 24-70 f/2.8 and 70-200 f/2.8 VR-II (and any other lens I happen to take on that kind of job) as they're more likely to come into contact with nasty bits and bobs. This type of work, while it needs to be as sharp as possible, isn't quite as critical as my other work. The subject matter will still sell an image even if it isn't quite as sharp as the lens is capable of producing in a laboratory environment.
You may be able to replace a front element on those lenses relatively cheaply, but not by yourself - it's certainly not a field-repair and sod's law says it'll happen when you're miles from anywhere and still need to keep shooting.
A properly-fitting lens hood and UV/protection filter is a must under those conditions.

My 'portrait and studio' lenses: the 50 f/1.4; 85 f/1.4; 105 f/2.5; 135 f/2-DC and macro lenses are generally filter-free as that work does need to be as sharp as possible regardless.

But they're your lenses, do as you see fit.
 
Personally I use filters on my lenses, and they have already saved a lot of expense/hassle, by taking the brunt of an impact and smashing, rather than the front element of the lens (this was with the hood fitted).

The feeling of shattered glass down my arm wasn't very nice, until I realised that it was just the filter and not the lens that had broken.
 
sinar said:
Thanks for the replies, I think I'm going to go without a filter in low risk situations, and use a filter in high risk situations, like on the beach where the lens might get some sea water spray on it.

Obviously I'll always be using the lens hood

I'm wondering if there is any difference between a Hoya Pro 1 filter and the Hoya HD High Definition filter (besides the fact the the HD one is about £20 more expensive)
Click to expand...

Hoya's HD officially stands for Hardened Coating. It has more multi-coating layers, greater scratch resistance, easy-clean surface, toughened glass (not thicker), slim-line mount, etc etc.

How many more reasons do you want? And how much did your lens cost? ;) Full info on Hoya HD range here http://www.intro2020.co.uk/pdf/HOYA-HD-Catalog.pdf

Craikeybaby said:
Personally I use filters on my lenses, and they have already saved a lot of expense/hassle, by taking the brunt of an impact and smashing, rather than the front element of the lens (this was with the hood fitted).

The feeling of shattered glass down my arm wasn't very nice, until I realised that it was just the filter and not the lens that had broken.
Click to expand...

What on earth do you guys do with your lenses? I've never had a problem in 40 years.

And if I was going to drop a lens, I would rather it had a lens hood on it to break the fall and not a filter that would shatter and quite likely cause more problems than it solved.
 
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HoppyUK said:
What on earth do you guys do with your lenses? I've never had a problem in 40 years..
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:lol:

I had an Army plastic bullet trash a 135mm lens in Londonderry once (I still think the squaddie was aiming at me on purpose...lol).
Dropped a few lenses while trying to change them on the run.
Depends on your line of work - one of our guys recently came back from Afghanistan with all of his equipment totalled: the US Marines had put a pallet-load on top of his camera-bag after he boarded a helicopter and squashed everything!

I think it's better now with these new plastic lens hoods - the old metal or rubber ones either got dented really easily or just didn't soak up any impact at all.
I used to carry small pliers to straighten my lens hoods as they got bent all the time.
I always used Hoya or Nikon filters though - even when I shot on Canon A-1 bodies - Canon's filters were never much good.
 
I don't really see how a filter can protect a lens that is dropped...seems more likely that the filter would protect it from scratches, etc. that could occur by accidentally wiping a cloth with sand/grit in it across the front of the lens.

I occasionally use a filter "for protection" but most often just use the lens hood and otherwise do my best to be careful.

As an aside...I just read through a long thread on using welding glass to get long exposures, and everyone was oohing and aahing about the images and rushing to put a thick chunk of optically inferior glass in front of their lenses.

The point is that function appears to outweigh other drawbacks...use the filters as you need them to get specific images, IMHO.
 
HoppyUK said:
What on earth do you guys do with your lenses? I've never had a problem in 40 years.
Click to expand...

Ski photography, skier landed on me. the lens hood on the 17-40L doesn't really do much in the way of protection either.
 
On any of the Ef Len's i have, they all have second hand HOYA filters on them from my Local LCE they cost like 4 quid, and i don't use caps. Its cheeper to buy a new filter if you get a scratch than it is to buy a generic cap from Jessops, they cost 7 quid :O but they are more secure than the Canon Ones, having the Nikon Type release ( Clips that you push in in the middle of the cap)
 
* 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.
 
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