Filters

[boBQuincy]

UV filters are inadequate for protection. Keep the lens cap on. It offers the best protection. Just make sure that you bump up your ISO and open your aperture really wide because lens caps block A LOT of light.

Oh great! Now you have given away the secret for my next project, to sand down the thickness of a lens cap to make an inexpensive 12 stop ND filter!

 

[MarkBarbieri]

Oh great! Now you have given away the secret for my next project, to sand down the thickness of a lens cap to make an inexpensive 12 stop ND filter!

I'm working on a different approach. I'm trying to outfit my lens with eyelids and lashes and rigging them so that the lens can squint.

 

[mickeymaker2003]

My husband wants a UV filter for his Nikon 18-105 VR and 70-300 VR lenses. He wants them as protection for the lens (against scratches and dust). Which brand(s) would you recommend? He needs the 67mm size. I'd prefer if the lens cap and the hood still fit after the filter was on if possible. Thanks!

 

[MICKEY88]

tell him to just use the hood at all times, any extra glass between the
subject and sensor increase the chance of lens flare..etc..

the belief is also that the plastic lens hood will soften the impact, whereas a metal filter will not, if the lens is dropped..

 

[mickeymaker2003]

Thanks for the advice. I'll tell him that. His friend has him all worried about somehow scratching the lens while cleaning it.... If he insists on using the filter, which one should we get?

 

[rossb]

Use the Nikon NC filter.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/362564-REG/Nikon_2288_67mm_NC_Clear_Glass.html

 

[YesDear]

Here I go again. I support using a UV or skylight filter on all of my lenses. I have done so for 30 yrs. I have had lenses saved by a filter three times. I have never had a lens scratched by a broken filter.

I know that every time you put another piece of glass in front of a lens you potentially change the image. I still continue to do so and will continue to do so.

That is my story and I am sticking to it.

I would not get a $5 filter but I would not get a $50 filter. Any major brand in the $20-30 range is fine for me.

 

[MICKEY88]

Here I go again. I support using a UV or skylight filter on all of my lenses. I have done so for 30 yrs. I have had lenses saved by a filter three times. I have never had a lens scratched by a broken filter.

I know that every time you put another piece of glass in front of a lens you potentially change the image. I still continue to do so and will continue to do so.

That is my story and I am sticking to it.

I would not get a $5 filter but I would not get a $50 filter. Any major brand in the $20-30 range is fine for me.

I've gone filterless for 32 years, use my cameras every day, and have never scratched or broken a lens..

I never said the lens gets scratched,, the reduction of the impact can keep internal damage from occuring.

I recently read a thread on this subject over on Photocamel, one of the photographers stated that a friend of his who is a salesman, confessed that the only reason salespeople push filters is because the profit is higher on filters than any other photo item..

good insurance on photo equipment negates the concern for a filter..

 

[MICKEY88]

Thanks for the advice. I'll tell him that. His friend has him all worried about somehow scratching the lens while cleaning it.... If he insists on using the filter, which one should we get?

if he cleans his lens properly he will not scratch it,, I have lenses that I've been using since the mid 80's and I've cleaned them often..

 

[boBQuincy]

I used to use filters to protect a lens, but in recent years I have stopped that practice preferring a hood instead. I do know one person who had a filter possibly save their lens, although a hood would probably have done at least as well.

It is not likely that anyone who uses one or the other will change their minds anytime soon.

 

[My2Girls66]

I have Tiffen UV's on my 67mm lenses(18-135, 70-300mmVR)- I also have Tiffen CP filters for them. I think I got them thru Amazon. I've always used filters and can't seem to get myself to feel safe without them. I never had hoods until this year. Old habits I guess. For now they stay- I use both hoods and filters together, now.

 

[YesDear]

So I guess you can see this issue is one of preference. You have a devoted to and a devoted not to and a convert. I am probably not going to change my ways.

Mickey88 I do agree about having insurance. I am by the way an insurance agent! So I have very good insurance and I use filters!!!

 

[My2Girls66]

This is the one I bought for my each of my Nikon lenses.
Regularly $25.99 for $7.99
http://www.amazon.com/Tiffen-67mm-U...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1227710591&sr=8-1
and this CP filter
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...f?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1227710591&sr=8-1

 

[boBQuincy]

Mickey88 I do agree about having insurance. I am by the way an insurance agent! So I have very good insurance and I use filters!!!

Hmm, we have our photo equipment insured but if our agent is a "filter guy" and we do not use filters would he consider that contributory negligence?
And can the filters be insured too or are they in a high risk area?

 

[InsertWittyNameHere]

Hmm, we have our photo equipment insured but if our agent is a "filter guy" and we do not use filters would he consider that contributory negligence?
And can the filters be insured too or are they in a high risk area?

Don't these policies typically have a filter exclusion

 

[boBQuincy]

Impressed by ZackieDawg's blurred motion daylight photos, and bummed by the inability to get good blurred photos of Yosemite Falls, I ordered a Hoya ND400.

This neutral density filter, with a light transmission of less than 1/500 allows an exposure of about 9 stops more than usual, or about 1 second at f/8 on a sunny day! About the only thing more impressive than how dark this filter looks is how much it costs in 77mm size!!!

Oh well, it's all for the sake of art...

 

[MICKEY88]

Impressed by ZackieDawg's blurred motion daylight photos, and bummed by the inability to get good blurred photos of Yosemite Falls, I ordered a Hoya ND400.

This neutral density filter, with a light transmission of less than 1/500 allows an exposure of about 9 stops more than usual, or about 1 second at f/8 on a sunny day! About the only thing more impressive than how dark this filter looks is how much it costs in 77mm size!!!

Oh well, it's all for the sake of art...

I hope Art appreciates the gift,

now if you'd like to buy one for me, I can give you my mailing address

 

[YesDear]

Well Bob, it is so nice to see those who are helping the economy these days.

By the way, 77mm fits a number of my NIKON lenses!! Let me know when you are planning on leaving it in your car for the day!

 

[annnewjerz]

I completely agree... I think those pics are awesome. I purchased a 52mm nd400 when I first saw them to use on some shots to blur water.. The 77mm just wasn't in the budget... yet. For now I have a 77mm nd8 on the Christmas list and that'll just have to do on my 18-200 lens.

 

[zackiedawg]

Glad to hear the fun is spreading! I'm looking very forward to Disney next weekend so I can play with the filter - it was too hot on past trips, but I'm hoping a cool front will breeze through while I'm there to make lugging around a tripod and standing around holding shutter release cables more tolerable!

It is pretty dark, isn't it Bob? It doesn't look see-through - it can practically be mistaken for a lens cap.

I have been getting all the thrift I can from my 58mm ND400 - I bought a step-up ring so I could use it on a 49mm threaded lens, and am looking to buy a step down ring to use on a 62mm threaded lens. So far, with my DSLR, I am limited to using it on only one lens, and it's 75mm with the crop factor - so I need to be able to start playing with it on my 18-250!