Lens filter question/answer

I have read on serious photographic sites the for and against using a filter on a lens

The for camp says it helps protect a lens against damage ,which is fair enough

The against camp says the picture deteriorates a bit with a filter on.

So I decided to do my own test using a Spyderlenscal as the target.

The camera Nikon D800 with a prime 50mm f1.4 lens

The filter used was a Nikon NC 58mm.
The whole mounted on a manfrotto 055XPROB tripod with a manfrotto MVBH502AH head

Also a Nikon Speedlight SB-900 flashgun. For those interested that is.

So having set it all up and everything being equal was there a difference?

I have to say yes,but,and a big but, not enough to make that amount of difference. Unless the 2 photos are put side by side, which is what I did on the computer monitor.
Even then i had to step up the magnification x4 to start to see what a filter makes.

So my conclusion ,based on my simple test, is use a clear glass filter of good quality and protect the lens which is the expensive bit

Re: Lens filter question/answer

Only filters i use are a polarizer or grads which serve a specific purpose, as i use lens hoods i dont expect to bump my glass im more likely to drop it, but if it gives you peace then then thats fine. None of my contemporary`s use them all are wildlife photographers.

Re: Lens filter question/answer

Lens filters offer protection against damage and for that reason should be considered an essential piece of kit if you have an expensive lens. But you are quite right in that some filters will offer a deterioration of image, usually chromatic distortion or push away very fine focussing.

The best advice is find the most expensive filter you can afford if you can dare to use a lens without one. Personally I would never use a camera without one unless there was very good reason to do so.

Re: Lens filter question/answer

NOM
if you photographed something like a off road motor sport with grit flying off the rear of vehicles would you still have the same idea. Just to be controversal.

I have to say I do prefer using a filter clear or UV mainly but do have others as well such as polorized etc.

That is not to say if one prefers not to use a filter then that is their choice. On balance the little test I did showed very little difference between use or not use.

My most expensive lens is the AF-s 80-400mm Nikon at just under £2,000
next is the AF-s 24-70mm at just over £1200. So I would rather add a filter than risk having those damaged let alone my other 6 expensive lens.

I wonder how many others have conducted this simple test in post 1 before coming to any conclusion.

of course the quality of a filter makes a difference so get the best on the market, you pay a lot for a lens so do not go cheap on protection

Re: Lens filter question/answer

All i can say is ive never found the need to use a protective filter for the reasons ive already mentioned, nowt controversial just down to personal choice as far as im concerned.

Im aware of the potential problems and i agree with Graham if your going to use a protective filter buy a good one as its another layer between the sensor and the light.

Once made the mistake of buying cheaper Grads and ND grads which did impart a tinge of colour to my images. Nothing that could not be corrected in PS, but if i had bought the more expensive kind would not have had the same problem.

In the end its only the image that counts, and all we have to do is make one that makes us happy, once attended a lecture at a photography club unfortunate the lecturer could not make it.

The club chairman stepped in and gave a talk showing images he had taken with a bog standard compact camera, and they were of a very high standard, its not always about high end kit but having an eye for an final image.

I have decent kit and im happy with my bird images most of which i achieve with fieldcraft in conditions most would not venture out in. No right way or wrong way, down to individual choice.

Re: Lens filter question/answer

My wife bought me an expensive zoom lens for my camera which was virtually new. The previous owner was selling it because he believed it was broken, given fuzzy pictures at full zoom. It turns out he brought the world's cheapest filter imaginable (possibly made from a milk bottle) which was distorting the images to the point of confusing the focussing system and giving poor colour contrast. Unscrew bad filter, fit professional filter and I have a lens with pics so sharp I could shave with them.