Fiters, Lens Hoods , use them?

Another curiosity qeustion for you street shooterS.

I have been using my 40mm cron lately which can benefit from using a

lens hood somtimes.I personaly dont like to use hoods or filters.

But as when I was shooting mostly with my 35mm asph, and decided

to use a light yellow filter , low and behold my skyline shots

had much improved diffinititon and contrast. However I've developed

the habbit of not useing anything on my lens for the sake of keeping

it small and light. What about you, and how do you feel about having

the glass of your prescious lense exposed to the elements without

having something infront of it?

I've heard a lot of inane reasons for not using a filter but <<I've developed the habbit of not useing anything on my lens for the sake of keeping it small and light>> takes the cake.

 

I use B+W MRC UVa filters on all my lenses all the time. I never take them off even to use another filter unless it's a wideangle lens which would vignette with 2 filters. I get no flare or ghost images with the MRC filters (even two of them) that I wouldn't get with the lens alone. I've shot test frames with spotlights to check this.

 

I always suggest that anyone on the horns of this dilemma take a look through the classifieds of the volume Leica dealers and see how many lenses are listed as "slt mks frnt" or "fine wipe marks", and how the prices compare to those that have perfect glass. Then, call up Dave Ellwell and ask him the cost to replace the front element of each of your Leica lenses. Then buy one B+W MRC UV for your most flare-prone lens and shoot it with and without the filter in the light that you know gives you flare, and compare the shots to see if you can see more flare with the filter. You will then know whether to believe the bullsh*t that all filters degrade the image, or should only be used in a sandstorm or on the deck of a freighter in a hurricane, or that Leica coatings are too hard to get wipe marks, or that using a lens hood protects against wipe marks, or all the other rock-headed foolish drivel the anti-filter snobs propagate.

I use a hood everytime I take a picture, it's built into my version Summicron. And though I've actually heard people on this forum complaining about this "feature" I think it's great.

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As for filters I use them for effect when necessary, otherwise I don't bother. I keep the glass covered at all times when it's in the bag and even when I'm not shooting. The cap comes off as I bring the camera up to my eye. I know all the arguments about dirt and scratches and I'm not disputing the wisdom of a UV filter, but I have an SMC Pentax that was used daily by me for 20 years and it is spotless so I must be doing something right.

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Your mileage may vary...

Always use hoods, never use filters (any more).

 

I've only damaged two lenses in 30-odd years, both times due to fungus eating the front elements. The lenses had sat in a camera bag unused for a couple of years. I could be wrong, as is my custom, but I attributed it to a greenhouse/hothouse effect created between the filter ("protective" skylights, in my case) and the front element.

 

(Something new for the extremly paranoid to worry about! Air out your protected lenses every once in a while.)

Actually now that I re-read my post it may seem like I'm advocating <I>not</I> using a filter. I'm not, it's just a data point.

From a different angle, judicious use of the correct filters will

improve the contrast in your photographs, as you noticed. If you

think a light yellow's good for skies, wait 'til you use a red (25). If

you ARE using filters, I'd recommend using hoods too. Certain

lighting conditions will invariably cause a degree of flare with

even the best (multi-coated) filters, and a hood wil help eliminate

this. I'd always keep some kind of filter on the lens, anyway- the

less you have to clean them the better (I do it maybe once or

twice a year). If not in the interests of resale, at least for longevity

Yes. B+W MRC UV filters + hoods on all lenses except one. That one has a B+W light yellow + hood.

never a filter but always with a hood, unless I don't have one - lost mine for my elmarit 28/2.8 lens. anyone has one to spare?

I'll make my thoughts known with a simple change in punctuation:

 

Filters, use them? Lens hoods, use them!!!

 

In other words....the first is optional, the second is required.

I have not been as fastidious as Jay, but when I bought my old collapsible Summicron back in �62 I put a UV on it and threw away the screw in cap. It is still pristine after forty odd years. I don�t have much faith in the total efficacy of shades, but the best that are available are better than nothing and offer an additional safety factor. Snap on caps are no substitute � how many good pictures have been lost because of the damned things. When a filter gets old and cruddy and you can�t seem to get it clean, buy a new one � it�s a damn sight cheaper than lens repair.

Hoods always, filters when required for filtration, and very rarely for protection in hostile environments. If you actually use an optic to make pictures commercially, whether you can get $350 or $500 for it 25 years after you payed $250 for it is kind of neither here nor there.

I never use UVs unless I'm in a hazardous locale like the beach, volcanos (Pacaya, Guatemala), or it's raining, etc. I've never bought one unless it came with the set or lens I bought. I use polarizers and colored filters for effect. I have never scratched a lens with my cleaning technique, even the clean side of a t-shirt. But, a bag was dropped and the polarizer broke scratching the lens (later stolen, anyway). And I have some "old school" lenses with the so-called soft coatings.

 

I don't use hoods either. I have several; they came with the lenses. Why double the size of the lens (worst case) just to shoot into the sun?

Well it seems i'm in my own class in regrards to glass.

First thing is i beleive that if you keep a cap on front of the lense

until you move to take a shot, and your not in a sand storm, then a

u.v. is not needed, and futher more in regards to what Jay said( who ever he is)? I do find that useing a u.v. filter espcialy with out a hood cause's more flare then otherwise. I've shot my 35, asph without anything on the front of it and i get the best LEICA look then is possible otherwise.I know that certain situations require a hood and a filter but for general street shooting i dont use anything.

and wiping off a highly polished piece of coated high density glass

with a camel hair brush and a silk clothe ...well if that will eventualy degard the lense,... than thats the laws of impermanence.

I guess a lens is a lens, -by a cheap lens and put a filter in front of it and ,wow -look at that great contrast.

". . .for the sake of keeping it small and light."

 

Regardless of the debate regarding the efficacy of filters, I just have to ask you how much heavier and larger does a filter make your camera?????? I mean I've never put a uv or red filter on a Leica and thought, wow, its too heavy now, or its just too big. Am I missing something here?

BTW, I keep the hoods and filters for future sale as a set, and no one who has bought any of my lenses have detected any marks on any of my former glass. As far as built-in hoods, I don't extend them or disable them, this in the case of my Noctilux no, not cut off yet).

 

Hoods are a lens designer's excuse for poor exceution with design, and UV filters a marketing and retail bonanza, IMHO.

 

Most caps work well. If one has the fear to miss the moment, just wait for another one.

 

How much are 20 B+W MRC Pro-F filters in various sizes, enough to buy another lens?

Gotta agree with Jay here... I always have a UV mounted, and haven't noticed any image degradation or flaring (with B+W or Heliopan filters). The great, great advantage of a permanently mounted UV is that with reasonably caution, it negates the need for a lens cap. My lens caps are packed away with the leather cases and lens boxes, I never use them. I carry a LensPen and occasionally swipe the UV when there is a speck or fingerprint.

I use a hood on all my lenses, no caps and no filters. Unless I

use a medium yellow to puch-up the clouds.

 

My experience is the UV filters seriously degrade lens

performance by causing sub-image refelctions from specular

highlights and point light sources.

 

A hood protects all but the widest lenses just fine.

<i>I do find that useing a u.v. filter espcialy with out a hood cause's more flare then otherwise.</i><br><br>

 

<i>My experience is the UV filters seriously degrade lens performance by causing sub-image refelctions from specular highlights and point light sources.</i><br><br>

 

John & Dan, it depends totally on the quality of the UV filter. If you get a B+W UV MRC F-Pro filter (all lettering on the filter in a gold color) you will <i>not</i> get flare, reflections, or anything else. You'll get nothing, which is what you're after.<br><br>

 

When B+W merged with Schneider Optical they started to use the Schneider Kreuznach techniques for multi-coating filters for scientific optics which were specifically designed for the reduction of reflections. B+W added an additional layer that reduced the adhesion of moisture, dust and other dirt particles and also hardened the surface. They called this combination of treatments MRC, or mult-resistant coating.<br><br>

 

The MRC coating is applied to high-grade optical glass from the Schott Company which is diamond cut, precision ground, then polished to plano-parallel standards. These are not your ordinary filters. They are built to the highest standards and as you can imagine, they are not cheap, a standard size B+W 39mm MRC UV filter for a Leica lens is <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=95230&is=REG">$36.50 from B&H</a> and lists at $74.00. But you do get a filter that <i>does not</i> degrade your lens performance in any way. Try one! You'll like it!!<br><br>

 

(I have no connection with B+W, BTW.)

Filters? I rarely use a lens cap.

I always use a UV/skylight filter and a metal hood and thus never have to worry about anything affecting the actual front element, just the hood and the filter (which are comparatively dirt cheap). Trust me, no one ever thinks protective UV filters are necessary until they accidently scratch a prized piece of glass and have to add a new member to the 'paperweight collection.' Somehow, it still happens even if you have a sturdy hood!

I use only colour film, therefore don't need filters, therefore don't use filters. Filters schmilters, they cause fungus due to the greenhouse effect, as one informed contributor has already pointed out. This is a fact that every responsible camera owner should know, not just rock-headed drivel. Warnings should be printed on filters, as they are on cigarette packs: "Warning by the Sturgeon General: There is medical evidence that prolonged use of this product can cause fungus." <br><br>

 

I always use a lens shade, though (despite the enormous extra burden incurred), but <i>never</i> those swish leather pouches that Leica kindly supplies with each brand new lens. I wouldn't use those for storage if I were you. Being made of leather, they <i>will <b> definitely</b></i> attract fungus!

Who cares what I use. Use whatever it takes to make you comfortable with actually using

your equipment.

I always use a hood. The 12585 offers lots of protection.

 

I really dislike the collapsible hoods on most of the new lenses. In my opinion they are useless since they can't be locked into place and retract at the slightest bump. I will never understand why Leica didn't design them with a twist lock.

 

I ended up buying a metal screw-in hood for my Summilux. With the included metal lens cap it offers complete protection.

 

The only time I use filters is when I am in the desert or other hazardous environments.

 

 

Feli

Before I got into Leicas I used the Contax G2. Kyocera/Contax did not offer a hood for the Biogon 21mm and only had a thin ring for the 28mm. Even with the standard Contax filters I saw no flare with these two lenses (which along with the 45mm Planar were some of the best I have used). Aside from physical protection hoods are optional with wide angles as long as they have modern coatings.

Hoods: always. And that means always, not 99% of the time.

 

Filters: 97.5 percent of the time, with most lenses, and with a strong preference for the MRC filters, as Jay noted. I need to make a note to get a filter on my new 21mm ASPH.