Filter or no filter for 85 1.2?

[Keith B]

I always love when someone posts a pic or tells a story of a lens that was saved by a filter. The filter is alway shattered and jammed on the lens and my response is, " Great! Glad you saved the lens. Imagine if you had a hood on it, you probably wouldn't have had any damage at all."


I don't know if some folks realize, a filter will not absorb any shock and the lens and body absorb it all. A hood will absorb quite a bit of the shock and could save the internals of both lens and body.


I know from personal experience shock will take out a USM even in an L lens.

[Cory]

With me it's almost more about just general protection. Whacking your lens on something accidentally, the random chance of getting hit by something (like a baseball - I've been hit in the face twice with soccer balls), using the lens on a beach (as I was just over a week ago) and getting even just that saltwater mist on your lens face (say you say: Weather sealing?)


Call me crazy, but on a $1800-$2000 lens I'm a little more comfortable with a protective filter on it.