Canon L Series Lenses Protection and Care

[shaun_carter]

This question is really for lenses in general, but now that I've

purchased my first cadillac lens (Canon L Series), I'm paying more

attention to protection and care. I have a few questions

regarding "protection" and "care": 1)do you keep a filter such as

the UV on there at all times to protect the lens from scratches and

dust?, and 2) do you keep a can of compressed air in your camera bad

to blow off dust versus wiping your lens with a lens cloth? Thanks!

[khaisy]

I do not have Canon but the answer is yes fro both questions.

[iskandar_azaman___kuala_lu]

I just purchased 3 L-lenses last month (17-40,24-70 and 70-200 IS L). I thought i would baby the lens but turns out i didn't really. I've always hated filters. It's extra money and i always felt that it would degrade the quality of the lens i paid so much for. Although i doubt it if i used something like a B+W filter.

 

I just make sure that i use the lens hood that was provided. This will protect it most of the time. I'm only into wedding photography so there's not much that can get through the lens hood unless it is raining or at the beach. That would be the only time i'd consider putting a filter on to protect it.

 

With regards to compressed air. I hate those things too. I just use those blowers. Air is free so i use that most of the time. I just blow any dust off. Breathe on the lens and wipe. That's me taking care of my L lenses.

[lovcom_photo]

Which body do you have? If you have a 1 series, and IF your L glass has a rubber gasket around the coupler, then you can take your kit into the most demanding torrenchial rains, into the worse Sahara dust storm, the baking heat of Iraq in summer, etc, etc...I have 1 series and three of my L zooms have the rubber gasket and I have used this kit all over, beaches, dust city, pouring rain, etc....never had a problem.

 

The L glass can only keep out dust and moisture if you use a filter.

 

Aside from simple care, your L glass is very tough...industrial strength.

[shaun_carter]

dan, i have the 20d, and the L lens is 24-70. i dont remember seeing a rubber gasket on the 24-70. iskandar, the squeeze air blower sounds practical...

[larry schaefer - chicago,]

I too have unscrewed the filters for unimpaired light transmition.

 

Cleaning - I use the lens pen. It has a soft retractable brush at one end and a treated pad at the other. Brush of debris and loose stuff first then use the pad lightly on the glass. I have not had any hang ups with this method.

[fotografz]

Filters can be useful, but they also can cause problems with flare ... especially true for

Canon Wide-Angles. I found I cannot use a filter (even a multi-coated B+W) on the

85/1.2L or I get double reflections from hot points of light in the scene, like from a

Chandelier.

 

Cleaning a lens before throughly blowing off dust is the leading cause of "cleaning" marks

on lenses. You may not see it at first, but it'll show up eventually. Microscopic dust doesn't

come of by blowing on it yourself ( not to mention the chance of spitting on the lens while

doing so ) A soft lens brush helps.

 

They make a compressed air in a "dry" version if you can find it. Doesn't suddenly spit

liquid on your lens like the regular compressed air can. I use this dry air to blow off my

digital sensors.

[shaun_carter]

mark, good point. dust and dirt can be abrasive. i assume there's some protective coating on the lenses and wiping before blowing off the dust and dirt could scratch off the coating and make the lens suscptible to all types of damage.

[picturesque]

I have B+W or Hoya multi-coated UV filters on my Canon lenses. They never come off. The only problems with flare I have is with my 16-35mm, but that is probably because it is hard to keep light off the large front surface (the hood is pretty small by necessity). It would probably flare with the filter off anyway. Also, because the hood is shallow, you are more susceptible to scratches and the like. On primes with longer hoods, you can probably leave off the filters and never end up with scratches.

 

I somewhat disagree that weddings are low risk places for lens front surface mishaps. I once had a piece of food somehow land on my Hasselblad 50mm lens. It dried, and when I wiped the residue off, a stain was revealed that is there to this day. Won't come off no matter what solution I use--I've tried many. I guess there was citrus juice or something in the food, which might have etched the coating on the Hasselblad filter I had put on the lens. I shudder to think what would have happened if the filter wasn't there, although optical quality was/is probabaly not affected at all.

 

I also carry a LensPen in my bag, and use the brush to brush dust off before cleaning. No compressed air. I've probably not touched the surface of the actual lens beyond brushing. Once the filter gets on, I don't need to do vigorous cleaning of the actual lens surface. The filters I clean more vigorously, even the $100+ 77mm B+W filter I got for my L zoom.

[wedding-photography-denver]

Q 1. Nope. Never. I will on occasion, use a polorizer or an ND for certain shots.

 

Q 2. Nope. I use a sesnor brush and charge it first.

[rdkirk]

One of the reasons for buying an L lens is to baby it LESS.

[lovcom_photo]

Delanza, your Canon 24-70L is sealed for moisture and dust, and does have the rubber gasket on the coupler...all great protection so long as you use it with a filter to complete the dust and moisture sealing.

 

This all per Canon.

 

I've used that lens in the pouring rain several times, and never a problem. One more thing, all the lens sealing in the world will not protect it if the body also is not sealed. Reverse is true too.

[picturesque]

I don't know about pouring rain, but I've used my 20D, with and without L lenses, in the rain and haven't run into a problem...yet. It was more like a shower, and while the top of the gear got wet, I tried to shield it's exposure as much as possible when not shooting. I have to remember to carry that plastic bag in my shoulder bag... I also wiped everything down immediately upon getting home.

[shaun_carter]

Thanks for the replies. This helps!

 

Delanza/Chicago, IL.

[lostfx]

I've got the Nikon UV filters (recommended by Vistek guy) for my L lenses, but I can see the quality degradation especially on highlighted subjects. In shade it is OK, but well lit subjects got something like chromatic aberation.

I did some tests on my 50mm 1.4 lens, with and without UV filter (some other brand). I did night shots and I compared the images, and quality difference was significant. With UV filter on, chromatic aberation on the street lamps was extreme, compared to the picture taken without UV filter.

 

DD

[lyndon_hawkins]

Hi Guys,

 

Just a note - why bother paying for high quality "L" series lenses, just to put another cheap

sheet of glass in front of it? I would certainly never shoot my photo's through a window,

so what is the difference with shooting through a cheap piece of filter glass?

 

Modern lenses use very very strong glass - they don't scratch easily.

 

If you want to protect the lense, use a lense hood and a bit of care - that will work fine. I

have used my L series lenses for a few years now and they look the same as when they

came out of the box.

 

Don't be scared - just go and take photo's!

 

Cheers,

 

Lyndon.