to filter or not to filter?

That is the question!

i'm going to buy my first "L" glass soon. In the past, i've always slapped on a UV filter to protect the lens. I've read on Luminous Landscape that he doesn't use filters because, "Why spend the money for a superb lens only to cover it with glass of a lower standard" (something like that)

What do most of you guys do?

Thanks!

Mike

You will find a poll on this forum that shows that the majority of the folks use filters for "protection". That does not mean that it is the best thing to do.

I have a number of lenses that I purchased in the 1960's and have used heavily over the years. None of them have ever had a filter applied except for creative purposes (a polarizing filter or possibly one of several colored filters for black & white contrast control). All of them, however, have always had good quality (and properly designed) lens hoods attached whenever they were in use. Most of my old lenses have significant portions of the outside finish worn off (which is an indicator of how much they have been used), but the glass is as pristine as the day I bought the lenses. One of the lenses was involved in a 4-foot fall onto a concrete sidewalk. The hood (and a corner of the body) took the impact. The lens hood is the only item that needed repair (I replaced it because it was ugly when re-bent).

A lens hood provides several levels of protection. It will block stray light that could affect your photo. It will keep your fingers off the lens element. It will act like a "bumper" and keep the actual lens away from things that you bump into. As I mentioned above, it can provide significant protection against a real crash. The crumpling lens hood imparts a lot less force to the lens than a smashing filter.

If I planned to go shoot in a sandstorm-like situation, for example, I might think of using a clear filter for protection of the lens. I would probably expect to discard the filter afterwards. Since I don't own a clear filter for my current batch of Canon L lenses, I would have to find a camera store on the way to the shoot.

This comes up almost weekly. Do a search. I agree with Skip but everyone is different in their perception of 'risk'. I doubt most would notice any difference unless they used a poor quality filter. A filter but no hood is a pretty stupid approach tho'!

SkipD is right on. I can't think of anything to add except my vote.

Ditto on everything SkipD said. You'll find many that recommend clear UV filters on all lenses for protection. I'm not one of them.

Depends on what you're shooting. The "no filter" people point to specific cases where they've seen problems with filters, and generalize them. The pro-filter users point to the general prevalence of potential hazards to support the claim for using filters. Personally I don't trust lens hoods as my only protection since I have had them pop off, there's that time interval when you're reversing the hood to store the lens so there's no protection, I'm often working in strong winds which can easily be blowing damaging debris around, and I often photograph dogs whose prime goal in life is to leave nose prints on the lens. I can always take my filter off. Since Skip doesn't have one, he's got to hope he can find something better than a Coke bottle when he needs one.

I recommend clear UV filters on all lenses for protection, I don't buy into the hood only protection....

I have great video footage of a stone flying off a car tyre , bouncing along the road , then straight into the camcorder's lense. I should try to sell it to Hoya for advertising!
I use filters for some situations , not for others.

I'm a 'both' kinda guy - a filter protects the glass, and a hood protects the lens body. Since most folks remove the hood when storing the lens, the hood won't protect you from that foreign object in your camera bag if the cap pops off. On the other hand, my 20D fell off of my tripod with my 24-70 L (with hood) attached and the hood absorbed all of the shock as the camera bounced a couple times on a concrete floor. The body was damaged, but not the lens. This is like religion and politics - there will always be discussion, and you have to do what's right for you.

As for the Luminous Landscape recommendation, I say buy a quality filter (Hoya or B+W for example), and there won't be any image quality issues. But put a Sunpak or Quantaray filter on a 135 f2L and you are degrading the lens.

My 2 cents.

Have Fun,

I buy the worst available filters (no name ones are best) and mount them three deep just to be sure.

I particularly like to take pictures at night and of bright light sources.

Sometimes I get two images for the price of one and am very happy.

Not everybody agrees with my approach, but it suits me. Some don't even take me seriously either.

Graham

I use a filter and lens hood when I'm shooting on a sunny day. Indoors I use hood only. I have the Hoya Pro1 S-HMC and have had no image quality issues.

LOL I agree with Blue Max,but I thought I was the only one that used this multiple filter system.

The best available "protection" for a lens front element is.... drum roll..... the blasted lens cap ! If you are afraid to use the lens, don't remove the cap.

A filter is not part of the lens optical formula. It will *always* degrade more or less the image quality. A polariser, a ND filter, or a color filter for B&W or other filter that have an optical *use* compensate for it because they have.... a *use*.

A "UV" filter is not only silly but also totaly useless. Multicoatings on *all* manufacturer lens are like 98%+ UV opaque since the 70s.

Oh, also, the "protection" bit is a two edged sword. I'm a lens collector, I have about 60 of them, I had about 100 passing thru between buy/sells etc. I service lens too...

And one thing I noticed is that a lens that is sold as "had a filter fitted for protection since day one" has a very, very high chance of having fungu on the front element, or further in. It's that simple. Filter threads are not waterproof or sealed, and keeping the filter on will make a very nice and cozy environment for spores.

i hear ya. when i am changing lenses fast and furiously it's nice to have the extra protection on the lens and unless i am in bright light i seldom use a hood.

besides, i'm not a good enough photographer to use a filter as an excuse for a bad picture .

ed rader

Multi Coated B+W UV filters and hood are always on my lens in or outdoors...