Preventing Dust Buildup in the 17-55

Hello all,

Seems like my copy of the 17-55 Is particularly prone to build of dust inside the front element. I am pretty firmly in the"not using filters" camp, but my question is: would a filter help to minimize the dust buildup in this lens?

My Canon hood is pretty much glued to this thing, so it's not so much an issue of protecting the front element from physical damage, but buying a filter may be easier than opening the thing up to clean it every few months.

The second part of the question is, what is the popular opinion of what filter to get? My priority would be to minimize the effect on image quality as much as possible, while spending as little on the filter as possible.

Thanks for the input everyone!

I hate filters, but when I owned this, I had a filter on it because of the dust. Look at the front of the lens and you will notice three gaps. Air gets sucked in through those gaps, along with the dust. Putting a filter on it greatly reduced the amount of dust I got into the lens.

That being said, if you're going to buy one, buy a GOOD one. Multi-coated and something that interferes the least with incoming light. There are many reviews for the best UV filter. Get one of those.

TaDa wrote in post #15626814
I hate filters, but when I owned this, I had a filter on it because of the dust. Look at the front of the lens and you will notice three gaps. Air gets sucked in through those gaps, along with the dust. Putting a filter on it greatly reduced the amount of dust I got into the lens.

Yeah I noticed those openings, i Just didnt know if those were the main culprits for the dust. I assume it also takes air in on the opening between the expansion and the main body and the lens. I guess you are saying the filter was a dramatic change though.

lol good luck you cant stop the dust problem only hope to contain it...

pkilla wrote in post #15626837
lol good luck you cant stop the dust problem only hope to contain it...

I expected this was the case, but I was hoping a filter might at least significantly reduce it.

singer.rick wrote in post #15626838
I expected this was the case, but I was hoping a filter might at least significantly reduce it.

should of just went with sigma 17-50 no dust problem there...

pkilla wrote in post #15626841
should of just went with sigma 17-50 no dust problem there...

I had the tamron, and upgraded for my own reasons. The dust doesn't (seem) to affect IQ, but I am sure there are plenty of us that can't stand seeing it when we are cleaning the front element.

I've had this lens for maybe four years now, and despite doing a lot of shooting at dusty archaeological sites, it has only a few small specks of dust under the front element. I put a UV filter on it the day I first unboxed it, and I only ever remove it to put some other filter in its place (CPL, ND, etc.). So yes, I'm certain that using a filter helps a lot with the dust intake.

Phrasikleia wrote in post #15626868
I've had this lens for maybe four years now, and despite doing a lot of shooting at dusty archaeological sites, it has only a few small specks of dust under the front element. I put a UV filter on it the day I first unboxed it, and I only ever remove it to put some other filter in its place (CPL, ND, etc.). So yes, I'm certain that using a filter helps a lot with the dust intake.

Wow awesome. What UV filter did you get? I was looking at this one: http://www.amazon.com …/ref=cm_cr_pr_p​roduct_top

Seems like a decently reviewed and reasonably priced option.

Chinese New Year is almost done. Buy from maxsaver.net. They'll save you coin. B+W MRC are usually pretty good.

if you get enough dust that it bugs you..it really only takes like 30sec to remove the front element and blow out the dust and put back together. I did that with my old 17-55

05Xrunner wrote in post #15627006
if you get enough dust that it bugs you..it really only takes like 30sec to remove the front element and blow out the dust and put back together. I did that with my old 17-55

Yep, I just did that for the first time the other day. I was looking to see if a filter would be a viable time saving and potential Me-screwing-up-and-damaging-the-lens saving purchase.

singer.rick wrote in post #15626878
Wow awesome. What UV filter did you get? I was looking at this one: http://www.amazon.com …/ref=cm_cr_pr_p​roduct_top

Seems like a decently reviewed and reasonably priced option.

I bought a Hoya HMC Super from maxsaver. That B&W should be great too.

I was just thinking about this. After two day having this lens, I managed to get a dust speck in there already. I'm looking to buy a filter soon too.

I have owned this lens for approx. 3 years now and dust has not been a problem for me. I've never had a filter on mine and I have no plans to get one.

I highly doubt the effectiveness of a filter to mitigate this problem. The inner barrel extends during zooming and there is quite a gap between the inner and outer barrels to facilitate zooming. IMHO, THIS GAP is the main source of air (and dust) entering the lens and there is no way to mitigate the dust problem on a lens that extends as far as this one does.

YMMV.