On Mon, 6 Mar 2000, Ray Moth wrote:
> Dear fellow Zuikophiles,
>
> If UV is that much of a problem, don't modern
> lenses already provide the necessary protection?
No, and there's a reason why. UV light may annoy with its bluish
haze, yet it is the same reason that under an overcast sky or fog
colors come truly alive. It acts like a low-power black light. Most
of the time the ratio of UV to the rest of the light is small, but
under certain circumstances, it changes drastically in proportion.
To use a UV filter then is to cheat oneself of maximal saturation.
Of course, one may want that, and that's the beauty of USING filters
instead of just parking one in front of the lens, it is also why
clear, non-UV filters exist.
Think about guys like James Stanfield, NG photographer extraordinaire,
who claims to have never owned/used a filter !
There's different kinds of anal retentiveness in the heart of
most photo-techno-geeks. One of the most common is sharpness. I mean,
they're already using 35mm, a small format, but they obsess with it,
and it is those very people that proceed to degrade lens quality
by mindlessly throwing a (usually cheap) filter in front of the lens.
Adding absurdity to geekness, most often the filter is protecting
an $80 (at most) 50mm/1.8, and from NOTHING. The types who
obsess with "protection" (hahahaa) never would take their precious
jewelry into any near-dangerous situation. For that they use disposables
or that excellent little UW Canon AF. If they ever stopped thinking about
the hardware long enough they might make a few decent pictures.
A good OEM shade is the best investment one can make for their lenses,
and learn how to clean them. Also, how little they need cleaning. The
same AR factor keeps geeks up to their hips in used lens cleaning tissues,
straining their eyes to see if a microscopic piece of lint is still
there. :-)
If you're going to the beach, or fog, where spray will act as a sort
of glue/dirt attractant, yeah, a protective filter's good.
Also, intelligent (non-AR) use of filtration, such as an XO with
B&W, or an 81B with color involves a compromise between image management
and maximal sharpness, but it is a case-based creative decision, not
a mindless one.
End of Sermon on the Mount(ing of filters)
*= Doris Fang =*
> Conventional wisdom concerning UV filters seems to fall into 2
> opposing camps, namely:
>
> 1) Use UV filters to protect your valuable lenses; replacing a
> scratched filter is cheap. Take the filter off for back-lit
> scenes to prevent unwanted glare from internal reflections.
>
> 2) UV filters are superfluous, degrade the optical quality of
> your lens and detract from picture quality.
>
> Nobody seems to think that screening out UV is at all relevant -
> lens protection is the only benefit mentioned from these
> filters!
>
> The following quotes are taken from websites of people whose
> opinions I respect:
>
> * from Philip Greenspun's article on Filters for photo.net:
> "I don't think a beginner should buy any filters, except
> possibly a UV filter to protect an expensive lens."
>
> * from Philip Greenspun's Building a 35mm SLR System for
> photo.net: "Do not get a filter. A 50/1.8 is cheap enough
> that you don't need a filter to protect the lens and filters
> are generally only useful in unusual circumstances."
>
> * from Stephen Gandy's Building Your First SLR Outfit:
> "Don't buy the infamous UV filters for "lens protection"--
> they are just a camera store profit builder."
>
> What do you guys think about this? Is the issue of lens
> protection the only issue or can these filters genuinely reduce
> UV flare? I've been using UV filters for years but have never
> done any comparisons of pictures taken with naked lens vs.
> filtered lens. Maybe I'm missing out on the true capabilities on
> my Zuiko lenses, by 'polluting' them with unnecessary filters?
>
>
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