09-06-2010, 10:10 AM
Whatever. I photograph on location and dont babysit my equipment. I am a photographer not a camera collector. Therefore I find it necessary to protect my lenss. No need to argue here.
UV filters have saved at least two of my lenses. IF you bump your front lens without filer your front element will most certainly get scratched. If you bump it with UV filter, there may be a slight chance that pieces of glass will scratch it, but to me that seems quite a remote chance and my expereince disproves your wild assumptions here.
Also why would one fidle around on and off screwing filters all the time, when UV filters dont degrade optical quality for all pricatical purposes?( maybe you can measure some degradation, but I certainly havent experienced anything in prcatice.)
BTW if you travel it is very easy for a little piece of sand to be stuck on your cleaning cloth, resulting in accidental scratches.
[quote name='Brightcolours' timestamp='1283766427' post='2517']
That is what Iove about internet, all these internet myths that keep on going around.
It is VERY hard to scratch a front element, to do so you need something that is harder. Not easy to find, most sand grains are not even as hard as the coated elements.
Basically you can NOT scratch a front element when you normally clean it (with microfiber lens cloth and a drop of lens cleaning fluid). And if you are leaving "cleaning marks"... then you are not cleaning it, obviously.
If you are paranoid about it, also get a soft lens cleaning brush, with or without blower, to get rid of dust and any other particles before cleaning.
If you actually leave cleaning marks on the front element... you leave cleaning marks on the filter!
Most arguments for "protective filters" are myths and bogus, born out some irrational fear and fueled by hearsay stories.
The easiest way to scratch a front element is this (most common in fact):
Put an thin sheet of optical glass in front of the front element (filter). Drop the lens or bump your camera bag against a rock or something else.
Find out that that THIN sheet of glass did not withstand the shock, and broke, leaving sharp shards of glass to scratch your front element.
If you are lucky, and the filter glass splinters did not scratch the front element, tell everyone on internet how your filter saves your lens (it didn't, your lens would have been fine without).
Fact: A lens cap protects the front elements against the bumps. It does not have a thin sheet of glass to break.
Fact: A hood protects the lens in a fall, as it will act as a shock absorber. It may crack, but will save the lens. It also acts as a buffer against bumping into things.
Fact: UV filters DO degrade IQ, sometimes ruining a photo. Even if you buy expensive multi coated ones.
My advice: Only put a filter on when there is something to filter, or when there is something to protect the lens against (and to which the filter can actually protect it). So, if you plan to shoot at a beach when it is stormy, or go shoot a motocross race, I can imagine a protective filter will give you peace of mind. Some lenses which are weather sealed want a filter to complete sealing, but no lenses you are considering are weather sealed. And you are probably not weather sealed yourself... <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='
' />. Finger grease is not something to protect a lens from, as it is easier to clean a front element that to clean a filter (due to the shape).
I have never used protective filters (only used UV filters when they were needed with film), and I have never had a scratch on any filter element (front or back). And I am not particularly careful with my equipment, and I HAVE broken a lens hood with a fall of the lens. I currently have 5 Nikon, 3 Canon, 2 Sigma, 1 Tamron and 1 Tokina lenses without any scratch and with nicely cleaned elements without cleaning marks. And I have not thrown away money on filters with thin sheets of glass that can scratch lenses when they break.
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UV filters have saved at least two of my lenses. IF you bump your front lens without filer your front element will most certainly get scratched. If you bump it with UV filter, there may be a slight chance that pieces of glass will scratch it, but to me that seems quite a remote chance and my expereince disproves your wild assumptions here.
Also why would one fidle around on and off screwing filters all the time, when UV filters dont degrade optical quality for all pricatical purposes?( maybe you can measure some degradation, but I certainly havent experienced anything in prcatice.)
BTW if you travel it is very easy for a little piece of sand to be stuck on your cleaning cloth, resulting in accidental scratches.
[quote name='Brightcolours' timestamp='1283766427' post='2517']
That is what Iove about internet, all these internet myths that keep on going around.
It is VERY hard to scratch a front element, to do so you need something that is harder. Not easy to find, most sand grains are not even as hard as the coated elements.
Basically you can NOT scratch a front element when you normally clean it (with microfiber lens cloth and a drop of lens cleaning fluid). And if you are leaving "cleaning marks"... then you are not cleaning it, obviously.
If you are paranoid about it, also get a soft lens cleaning brush, with or without blower, to get rid of dust and any other particles before cleaning.
If you actually leave cleaning marks on the front element... you leave cleaning marks on the filter!
Most arguments for "protective filters" are myths and bogus, born out some irrational fear and fueled by hearsay stories.
The easiest way to scratch a front element is this (most common in fact):
Put an thin sheet of optical glass in front of the front element (filter). Drop the lens or bump your camera bag against a rock or something else.
Find out that that THIN sheet of glass did not withstand the shock, and broke, leaving sharp shards of glass to scratch your front element.
If you are lucky, and the filter glass splinters did not scratch the front element, tell everyone on internet how your filter saves your lens (it didn't, your lens would have been fine without).
Fact: A lens cap protects the front elements against the bumps. It does not have a thin sheet of glass to break.
Fact: A hood protects the lens in a fall, as it will act as a shock absorber. It may crack, but will save the lens. It also acts as a buffer against bumping into things.
Fact: UV filters DO degrade IQ, sometimes ruining a photo. Even if you buy expensive multi coated ones.
My advice: Only put a filter on when there is something to filter, or when there is something to protect the lens against (and to which the filter can actually protect it). So, if you plan to shoot at a beach when it is stormy, or go shoot a motocross race, I can imagine a protective filter will give you peace of mind. Some lenses which are weather sealed want a filter to complete sealing, but no lenses you are considering are weather sealed. And you are probably not weather sealed yourself... <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='
' />. Finger grease is not something to protect a lens from, as it is easier to clean a front element that to clean a filter (due to the shape).I have never used protective filters (only used UV filters when they were needed with film), and I have never had a scratch on any filter element (front or back). And I am not particularly careful with my equipment, and I HAVE broken a lens hood with a fall of the lens. I currently have 5 Nikon, 3 Canon, 2 Sigma, 1 Tamron and 1 Tokina lenses without any scratch and with nicely cleaned elements without cleaning marks. And I have not thrown away money on filters with thin sheets of glass that can scratch lenses when they break.
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