Filters

Lens hood. Unless shooting a rally or a war, then use the highest quality uv filter you can afford. No point having a lens of that calibre and sticking low quality filters in front of it.
 
shutter_speed said:
Thanks for the response I guess what I am asking is does big bucks mean best? Is there a standard that I should at least look and which brand. Thanks

Yes and no. I certainly wouldnt spend £5 on one. I'd be looking for a Hoya pro1 or a B&W. That said, I still wouldn't use one at all, but thats my personal preference from my experience with them. You've just spent hundreds on a pro grade lens. To get the best out of it means using a similar quality and comparatively priced filter, or none at all.
 
Thanks for the response I guess what I am asking is does big bucks mean best? Is there a standard that I should at least look and which brand. Thanks

Hoya Pro 1 Digital 'Protect' filter runs about £20 for 77 or 82mm thread, and is designed purely for protecting the lens. Cheaper than Hoya's UV filters and at least you're not feeding the myth.

Edit: decided to double check the price and discovered prices have gone crazy, with top price for a 'protect' being £132 now, odd given that they were £20 a while ago, perhaps they're made in thailand?

Anyway, found one retailer with them at £25, but I'm not sure if I'd trust them having never dealt with them before.

Still, Hoya's UV filters seem to have gone up in price too, so perhaps it's a general shortage, and at the lowest place I know is 'good' being £32 at SRS Micro, still cheaper than most retailer's UV filters
 
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For what it's worth, I use B+W filters and highly recommend them - excellent quality.
 
I have one of these for the rare occasions- as in the 4 or 5 times a year I deem it prudent to have on.

It's common sense really- depending on the situations you put yourself in the lens will either be perfectly safe or may require additional precautions.

I don't even always use the hood- that's how confident I am that things will not suddenly materialise in front of my lens and destroy it:D. That and I'm not a complete clumsy oaf. An oaf maybe- but not clumsy:lol:

At least you have the decency of contemplating a good filter for a good lens as opposed to those that insist on protecting the milk bottle they fit to the front of their camera with some plastic pap from ebay:eek:
 
I have Hoya pro-1s for about 25 quid each. I take it off when I can, but it does stop the dog licking the lens element!
 
Thanks for the input guys. I am thinking I should just get what seems right to me based on user opinion then test and make my own mind up on the quality argument, if it does suffer then I'll use it for protection when I think I need it, if it doesn't then I guess it will live on the lens...thanks again :)
 
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