Will a filter save your lens?

[Dallasphotog]

I see the occasional debate about the ability of a filter to save the front element of a lens. My 16-year old daughter carries a Canon XT everywhere and it generally lives a pretty rough life. Last weekend she had the camera knocked from her hands. The camera landed lens downwith the requisitenoise of glass breaking.When she got home we removed the filter andto our surprise the front lens element isundamaged.


This incident has me looking at my lenses again tosee what is not wearing afilter.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v639/hit4cycle4/BeforeAfter.jpg

[Keith B]

That is good news!


I bet if she had a hood on, there wouldn't have been any damage at all.


Yes I'm from that school.

[Chuck Lee]

Obviously,


From your experience it does. So is the posted question relavent? Why not post a statement rather than a question? Filter saves Lens, Scene at 11. Maybe it's because the answer is not stricktly yes or no. It needs to be qualified. We get to editorialize!! yeah!


1) In your daughters case it was "yes" qualifier: "when dropped on it's face" the filter served as a protective device.


2) In my case "no" qualifier: " when taking shots of the sunrise it caused a teriible flare spot and lowered the contrast of the lens"


3) In my wifes case: "yes" qualifier: "You should have seen the front elements on her Minolta 35mm set after a year"


4) In my case "yes" qualifier: When shooting on a windy beach it's a good idea to use a UV filter rather than exposing the front element of a $1000.00 lens to the blowing sand.


Good Thread Dallas..........

[Keith B]

4) In my case "yes" qualifier: When shooting on a windy beach it's a good idea to use a UV filter rather than exposing the front element of a $1000.00 lens to the blowing sand.


Good Thread Dallas..........









Yeah windy beach and extreme weather are the reasons I have a 77mm UV in my bag. Just not full time on any lenses.

[Chuck Lee]

Exactly!! I do the same.

[Bob]

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"]<span lang="EN" style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"]Dallasphotog<o:p></o:p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"]<span lang="EN" style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"]<o:p></o:p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"]<span lang="EN" style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"]The next question you should ask, did the dropped camera suffer any damage?<o:p></o:p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"]<span lang="EN" style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"]Is the lens mount parallel to the sensor&rsquo;s plane? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"]It would only take a 1/100 of an inch or less to have one side of the image become soft due to a bent / displaced lens mount on the body. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"]Check the corners of your photos, do they all look the same or is one side different?<o:p></o:p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"]<span lang="EN" style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"]A lens hood, being made of plastic, will dampen the shock of hitting the ground vs. the hard metal ring on the filter.<o:p></o:p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"]<span lang="EN" style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"]Hope your camera is OK.

[clemmb]

I do not have a filter on any of my lenses but have a lens hood on all of them all the time. They seem to stay pretty clean.


I have bumped and banged my lenses around but have not dropped one yet. Hope my luck continues.


Mark

[Maleko]

I have a lens filter on any of my more "expensive" lenes all the time, unless I need to change the filter for a different one. Saying that I also have lens hoods on all my lenses, as this does have more of a protection in some cases.


But, at the end of the day, provided you have the camerawrapped round ur neck securly , dropping it shouldn't be an issue, expect for knocks.

[rlriii13]

I'm not sure how or when this happened. I was shooting with this lens and didn't even notice it until I went to put it away. I don't reside on either side of the fence about filter safety vs. image quality, but on this day I was happy I had a filter on.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6051/6356239923_9d99874b24_z.jpg
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlriii13/6356239923/)

[Don Burkett]

It has saved my 100-400 and 70-200 at one point or another, so I'm a believer.

[Thom Deevers]

Take the filter off when needed - keep on otherwise.

Add one to the filter on group!

It saved my front element two years ago when my Canon lens strap failed.

[btaylor]

I dropped my Sigma 85mm f/1.4 while in Geneva a month or so ago. I had a UV filter on the front. The filter broke and the mounting ring was slightly bent making it difficult to remove however the front element of the lens was fine. BUT... the AF motor was stuffed and there sounded like some internal damage so it was stuffed. Ended up buying another one in Berlin 2 days later because I love the lens so much.

So yep - it can certainly protect your front element (I use a filter on all of my lenses), as can a lens hood (I use it on all but the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 because I love the crazy flare you get without the hood and shooting into the sun - most people don't like flare, I reckon it's your friend). But a significant impact will do more damage than just the front element.

[Colin]

I use them just so I won't waste my time worrying about whether that little spec of dust is a scratch, and then in an effort to remove it without my blower or brush, smear the junk all over and make a mess of things.

[Sinh Nhut Nguyen]

I don't believe in front element protection, it doesn't feel real when I shoot :) :) :)

[Raid]

All

I originally had UV filters on all my lens. It lasted for only a month on my EF-S 10-22, the flare was unacceptable, with any bright light. Reflections on night shots as well meant that I never found a reason to put any of them back on.

Why would anybody buy a new EF 70-200L IS II and stuff the IQ by installing a filter?

@Sinh Nhut Nguyen

If you want go and play always put on you Wellies.

[w349]

... I originally had UV filters on all my lens. It lasted for only a month on my EF-S 10-22, the flare was unacceptable ...


May I ask what kind of filter you were using? I've always used B+W, they're expensive but the quality of the glass is a notch above the vast majority of the competition. I've never experienced any problems with flare beyond what I expect from my lenses to begin with.

[Dave Johnston]

May I ask what kind of filter you were using? .... I've never experienced any problems with flare beyond what I expect from my lenses to begin with.

Here Here.... I have been using Hoya super multicoated since the beginning. I too have never seen any "extra" flare. There have been times where I just knew that some flare I was getting was secondary to the filter. Took it off and then the same image was produced. If you get multicoated high quality filters, you shouldn't have any issues.

[Kayaker72]

I did a test awhile ago and was very impressed with the B+W MRC UV filter:

538

Versus no UV filter
539

Granted, a better test would probably would have been to put the light in the top corner. But still, very little difference. I also tested a cheap UV filter that generated plenty of haze. Both shots are 7D with my EFS 15-85

[Sheiky]

I did a test awhile ago and was very impressed with the B+W MRC UV filter
When I bought my 70-200 F4L IS second hand it included a regular B+W 67mm UV filter. I had quite some issues with flares(not the nice ones). when I replaced it with the B+W UV MRC filter it made quite a difference. So even in the same brand there can be differences.
I've got B+W MRC filters on all of my lenses from the second I bought them and never regretted them.

When my girlfriend bought the 85mm 1.8 last year the salesman recommend the Tiffen Digital HT filters over the B+W MRC. According to him they were better and cheaper. At that time the Tiffen was not in stock so we ended up with a B+W anyway, but can anybody shine a light on the Tiffen Digital HT filters?

[Rocco]

I have six different Tiffen Digital HT filters and swear by them, though I've never owned a different brand. I will say that I don't notice a difference in IQ or flair with them on.

[Raid]

The filter I have is a Hoya UV, doesn't say much else on the case and I don't know what to look for.

On my trip to Antarctica, being the only person who remembered the HDMI cable I was very popular. When another guy with good equipment saw this type of shot he attempted the same, with his CP filter installed (don't know what make). He end up removing the filter because his shots looked washed out. This is the same problem I was getting with the Hoya UV filter.


These are all taken with the Canon 7D, EF-S 10-22 at 10mm, f8, ISO400

Tony

http://i1046.photobucket.com/albums/b466/Gollum4242/Antarctica/IMG_9431_edited-1.jpg


http://i1046.photobucket.com/albums/b466/Gollum4242/Antarctica/IMG_8303_edited-1.jpg

[ChadS]

That second shot is without a polarizing filter? That's an amazing blue sky.

[Raid]

@ChadS. I haven't used any filters for years. Had to check the original RAW file but this is very close to the original, it doesn't look like I did much to it, only sharpened and cropped. The sky (when its clear) is amazing, its so strange, at times it felt like being on another planet.

I think I'm getting the post Antarctic Blues...

Here is another one, Neko Harbour

http://i1046.photobucket.com/albums/b466/Gollum4242/Antarctica/IMG_8283_edited-1.jpg

[neuroanatomist]

The filter I have is a Hoya UV, doesn't say much else on the case and I don't know what to look for.

Hoya has several lines. The good ones are Super HMC, Pro1, and HT. If there are no other designations other than UV, it's a cheap one, likely uncoated or single coated, and it's no surprise that there was a flare problem.