LCD screen protectors

Are they worth bothering with? I like using the viewfinder but the LCD
screen ends up smeared.

On Tue, 9 Dec 2008 16:31:43 +1100, "DRS" wrote:

Are they worth bothering with? I like using the viewfinder but the LCD
screen ends up smeared.


They can be, but most LCDs on cameras are coated with anti-reflection coatings
to increase clarity in sunlight conditions. If you find that protecting your LCD
with a layer of plastic to be more beneficial then use one but it will negate
the anti-reflection coating on the LCD. Much depends on your photography-style
and needs. If constantly in harsh environments the extra protection may outweigh
the benefits of the anti-reflection coating. Some very expensive add-on screen
protectors also have anti-reflection coating. If you require both, protection
and anti-glare help, then it might be best to search those out.

However it will still become "smeared". You can detect the quality of
multi-coated optics by how well it changes color and contrast when receiving the
most minor of oil or grease layer on top of it and how difficult it is to get it
pristine again. If "smearing" is your only drawback, then it would be good to
get some micro-fiber cloths to clean the LCD frequently. Micro-fiber cloths
gained in popularity due to their ability to wick-up even the most stubborn of
skin oils without the need of any solvents. The very best of these can be found
as inexpensive window-cleaning cloths in your local super-market. Sold by Windex
in the household-supplies aisle in a blue box of twelve, 11"x11" soft-woven
micro-fiber cloths, brand name of "Clean & Shine - Microfiber Cloths" for about
$3.50 USD. They are much better than the expensive micro-fiber cloths sold at
outrageous prices from camera suppliers. Those expensive "for optics" cloths are
tightly-woven and will push dust and grit around on the lens. These inexpensive
cloths from Windex are a soft, open-weave mesh, which are much better at
trapping grit and dust. After cutting these 11"x11" cloths into 4ths they become
so inexpensive that you can throw them away after every few uses to make sure
you aren't grinding previously-trapped grit into your optics.

DRS wrote:
Are they worth bothering with? I like using the viewfinder but the
LCD screen ends up smeared.

They won't keep it from getting smeared but they will protect it from
light scratching (like from your belt buckle or from other equipment
you're carrying).

--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

DRS wrote:
Are they worth bothering with? I like using the viewfinder but the LCD
screen ends up smeared.


Definitely, for scratch resistance as well as resistance to
smearing. Some digicams come with a hard plastic cover over
the LCD. If yours doesn't have one, get a cover from
daproducts.com.

DRS wrote:
Are they worth bothering with? I like using the viewfinder but the LCD
screen ends up smeared.

Perhaps there is some improvement with newer LCDs but I understood the
main reason to be prevent cracking the glass which is a rather
catastrophic and easy thing to do. When my old D70 broke for other
reasons I disassembled it for fun and sold the LCD to a guy who had
cracked his and he successfully repaired his.

--
Paul Furman
www.edgehill.net
www.baynatives.com

all google groups messages filtered due to spam

"DRS" wrote:
Are they worth bothering with? I like using the viewfinder but the LCD
screen ends up smeared.

It was definitely worth for me. A while ago I put the camera on the
passenger seat in my car next to a pair of binoculars, both ready to be
grabbed at an instance. What I didn't notice was that for over 300 miles
on gravel roads the metal casing of the binoculars was chaffing on the
LCD. The protective cover got a pretty bad scratching across the whole
screen width.
I know, stupid me, but I sure was happy that I did put on that cover
that came with the D80, even if it is awkward to use.

jue