The whole range:
1. Do you use a UV for protection ALL OF THE TIME or only when conditions require it? The school of thought debate that any glass in front of the lens affects image quality.
2. Circular individual filters compared to either Lee or Singh Ray. Who uses what, when, and why?
3. ND, GND, Polarizers, Warming, ???
:) Just gathering more information for our next big trip!
1. No. You buy a very expensive piece of glass, why put a cheap UV filter in from of it?
2. Singh Ray offers one of the best filters in the market. http://www.singh-ray.com/faqmain.html. This link will answer your questions.
3. ND, Polarizers and Warming filter is all I use.
Have a good trip!
Have you been able to tell from looking at a photograph that it is taken with a lens that has a UV filter on?Originally Posted by Jay Gould
Go take a look at Moose Peterson's photos and see if you can pick those that you think are taken with uv filter on the lens.
Des, you are picking on me! Just kiddin'!!
Of course I cannot pick those that might be taken with the UV on the lens. Can you? The reason for the question from me - perhaps not from someone else - is to learn from all of the Masters at BPN.
I can remember when it was like a handshake; buy a lens and put on a UV filter; never questioned.
Now I am questioning!
To the Masters: do you EVER use a UV filter and if so when? That includes you and Maxis; I already have his answer.
No, I'm not picking on you. Of course not :D
I am no master but here's the way I see it: if I cannot tell the difference in the image quality, then there is no difference. I believe this could apply to anyone, too. Therefore, if you're one of those who can't tell the difference, and the viewers of your photos also can't, then whether you want to put a filter on the lens or not should be determined by factors other than image quality (which to your eyes stay the same in this case). For example, if it makes you feel good to have the filters on the lens, go ahead and do it because it makes you feel better, which can be very important to some people (as most of the time people don't make decisions based purely on logic and objective facts). If it doesn't (perhaps because people you respect also don't like it), then don't.
Then of course if you can see the difference in the change in image quality before and after the use of the uv filter, and you don't like the "after" one, my bet is you definitely do not want to use the filter.
I saw one of Moose Peterson's videos. In it he says he has filter on all his lenses. The reason? He has bird's poo poo felt on this lens before.
"I saw one of Moose Peterson's videos. In it he says he has filter on all his lenses. The reason? He has bird's poo poo felt on this lens before."
Thanks for that; I have always used them.
The next question would be if you do use them, do you remove them when you put on an additional filter(s)?
I use a UV at all times ...except at night do not use filters, as it can cause flair and I don't use a UV if using another filter. I do always use good filters, not the cheap ones. I don't feel a good filter is putting bad glass on a good lens. Say a good filter is $100. Most lenses will have 8 or ten elements in them. At the cost of a filter the glass for a lens would cost about $1000 for a cheap lens. So IMHO the cheap glass is in all lenses.
Bill
There is no need to use a UV filter for protection ... that is why they make lens caps.
btw haven't seen many UV filters on 400DO, 300 2.8, 400 2.8 etc
Well said Al. I leave my lens hood ON all the time with my 500mm. Another option to protect your front element.
Ok, here is a different take on UV filters: I never use them on any lens and do not recommend that you do either. I once came across a situation where an intermediate Nikon telephoto lens simply would not focus. Once we took off the UV filter, it focused perfectly. Same story several times with Canon 100-400s.
Camera store salesmen are trained to see them to you. No questions asked is what they like. And considering that my images do not suck, I do not see the need for one. If somebody says" Wow, that image would have been improved if only you had a UV filter on" and they are right (not likely), I might reconsider..... But likely not. And that has not happened in 25+ years.
BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.
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Raining down there too Al? It's about time. I rarely use lens caps and use lens hoods only in the rain for the most part. :) :) :) I could have used the one on my 400DO to prevent flare the other night when photographing backlit baby cranes. Funny, no problem in the same situation witht the 800 with no hood.... (Surely a result of the narrower angle of view).
BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.
Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,
E-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.
I would like to confirm what Art wrote - I used to own a camera store and always pushed UV filters and used them on my own cameras. The reason? I made as much or more money on that UV filter than I did on a whole camera outfit. I closed my camera store back in 1982 and haven't used a protection filter on my lenses since. I found too often they could flare and lower contrast and really didn't add anything to the final image.
I use lens hoods on all my lenses at all times. Hoods should be able to block flying poop. No UV filters.
I do use Singh-Ray warming polarizer, Grad NDs, Vari-ND filters. They are outstanding. To date, I have only used them for landscapes.
I do have a 77mm UV filter that came with a lens I bought on eBay. I have kept it for a time when I might be shooting around a splashing waterfall or ocean waves so the water would splash on the filter and not the lens. So far, I have never used it.
I don't use any filters except for a cpl (B+W Kaesemann). I will be picking up a vari-nd though, because nothing else can recreate their effects. Most filters were designed to work with film and not digital sensors. Because they (UV, warming, skylight, etc.) are generally not curved correctly to direct the light onto a digital sensor correctly, they can diminish your sensors ability to record contrast. Also, UV and skylight filters physically alter the wavelength of light reaching your sensor, and your sensor has no way of knowing that you've put on a UV filter (according to Seth Resnick & Jamie Spritzer - "The Photoshop Lightroom Workbook"). Use a lens cap & a hood for protection:)
Putting a good UV filter on your expensive lens used to be a good idea, when film was "the thing". But most experts I've heard from about this state that it is not a good idea, if you are looking to get top quality out of your digital camera's sensor. BUT, you have to decide for yourself if the filter is actually harming your images more than it is helping protect the front element and if it is something that you can punch a bit of contrast into during post.
Different strokes...
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