Thoughts on "Multicoated" lens filters

Dave wrote:
i did a ton of travelling earlier this year and got my camera lenses
quite dirty at times. (did my best to keep them clean but i was in
crazy places...)

i wiped them gently with anti-static cloths but i didn't feel good
about it.

Don't worry overmuch.

should i buy "Multicoated" lens covers (i believe a.k.a. Neutral
Density Glass Filters)? has anyone used them?

If you feel better, use protection filters, but unless you want
no more than 640x480 web resolution, you want good lenses ---
and good filters, lest they compromise the lenses' image quality.
And lens hoods (which also protect lenses against many, but not
all, things).

And you probably want sealed lenses and camera bodies and
flashes. :-) At least if you go into seriously bad weather.

And if it *really* gets rough (say lots of sal****er or fine sand
in the air, dropping into the mud with the camera, etc.) some
underwater protection gear may be called for.

-Wolfgang

Tony Polson wrote:

No-one has ever produced comparison shots that showed any
deterioration in image quality when using a good quality filter.

Can you prove your statement?

-Wolfgang

Wolfgang Weisselberg wrote:

Tony Polson wrote:

No-one has ever produced comparison shots that showed any
deterioration in image quality when using a good quality filter.

Can you prove your statement?


Can you disprove it? Please go ahead and do so, because I would be
very interested to learn of any objective research, based on carefully
controlled experiments, that disproves it. Over to you!

Or are you just a troll, as your other posts would seem to suggest?

On Aug 10, 12:32 pm, Tony Polson wrote:
Wolfgang Weisselberg wrote:
Tony Polson wrote:

No-one has ever produced comparison shots that showed any
deterioration in image quality when using a good quality filter.

Can you prove your statement?

Can you disprove it? Please go ahead and do so, because I would be
very interested to learn of any objective research, based on carefully
controlled experiments, that disproves it. Over to you!

Or are you just a troll, as your other posts would seem to suggest?

THANKYOU to everyone who responded - i've been carefully following
your responses.

while travelling i did notice that it was my wider lens that were
taking more of a beating - and it makes sense as more lens surface is
exposed. i'll pickup a good MC lens of some sort (possibly UV filter
- although i've read the pros never use these). also, i agree HOYA
lenses are not the greatest so i'll stray from there this time.

i will experiement in varying lighting conditions and see how goes.
thanks again.

Dave wrote:

THANKYOU to everyone who responded - i've been carefully following
your responses.

You are very welcome, Dave.

while travelling i did notice that it was my wider lens that were
taking more of a beating - and it makes sense as more lens surface is
exposed. i'll pickup a good MC lens of some sort (possibly UV filter
- although i've read the pros never use these). also, i agree HOYA
lenses are not the greatest so i'll stray from there this time.

The UV filter is the correct one to use. It has no colour cast
whatsoever but has the added slight benefit of reducing UV
transmission which affects both film and digital capture.

Take care with wide angle lenses. A filter can cause vignetting
(severe light fall-off) at wide settings, so make sure that you buy a
brand that has a narrow filter ring which won't obstruct the lens's
field of view .

Some brands offer special thin rings specially designed for wide angle
lenses. They often omit the front thread so you would not be able to
add a second filter. But the thin ring is almost a guarantee of no
vignetting.

Avoid brands such as Tiffen with very wide rings. I know Tiffen
filters are very popular, but so are McDonalds hamburgers. The fact
they are popular doesn't mean that they are the best available.

You are right in that many pros don't use filters, but their employers
generally buy the lenses that they use. g

If you saw the condition of the front elements of the lenses used by
many photojournalists, you would run straight to the camera store and
buy a UV filter for every lens that you owned!

i will experiement in varying lighting conditions and see how goes.
thanks again.

Good luck. Let us know how you get on. Please feel free to ask any
further questions.

It is worth asking questions about the specific lenses you are using
because, chances are, other people on the newsgroup will probably have
used the same lens and will be able to offer advice about which
filters work best.

Dave wrote:

should i buy "Multicoated" lens covers (i believe a.k.a. Neutral
Density Glass Filters)? has anyone used them?

And, if the miraculous (so people keep saying) Pentax SMC lenses have
the best coatings, wouldn't Pentax filters (if indeed there are any such
things) be the best?

Daniele

"Bob Salomon" wrote in message
...
In article . com,
Dave wrote:

should i buy "Multicoated" lens covers (i believe a.k.a. Neutral
Density Glass Filters)? has anyone used them?

Not quite. neutral density filters are gray, not clear. A MC Protection
filter should be clear glass with no hint of a yellow, salmon, gray or
any other color or tone. An example of one is the Heliopan SH-PMC
Protection filter.

UV, Skylight, Haze and ND filters are not clear glass protection
filters. Although they can all be used as one.

--
To reply no_ HPMarketing Corp.


I use UV filters as protection for my front lens elements. Even though
today's film emulsions are less-sensitive to UV, and the multicoating on
lenses tends to absorb UV anyway, I have always felt that the use of a UV
filter--as opposed to a plain Protection Filter--couldn't hurt.

Is there any real advantage in using a clear glass (i.e., non-UV) filter?

"D.M. Procida" wrote in
message
...
Dave wrote:

should i buy "Multicoated" lens covers (i believe a.k.a. Neutral
Density Glass Filters)? has anyone used them?

And, if the miraculous (so people keep saying) Pentax SMC lenses have
the best coatings, wouldn't Pentax filters (if indeed there are any such
things) be the best?

Daniele

My Pentax filters are all UNCOATED. Go figure . . .

I routinely use lens hoods and I typically avoid shooting directly into the
sun. I've had no problems so far.

In article ,
Tony Polson wrote:

Dave wrote:


The UV filter is the correct one to use. It has no colour cast
whatsoever but has the added slight benefit of reducing UV
transmission which affects both film and digital capture.

Sorry but no. A UV filter is made from a slightly yellowish piece of
glass. A protection filter is the one with no color in the glass.


Some brands offer special thin rings specially designed for wide angle
lenses. They often omit the front thread so you would not be able to
add a second filter. But the thin ring is almost a guarantee of no
vignetting.
Heliopan only offers non-rotating filters like UV, protection, color
correction, ND, etc. in thin rings with front threads.

However a thin ring does not "almost guarantee" no vignetting. A thin
mount or a thick mount both extend the length of the lens barrel and
that is what can cause vignetting. To positvely, completely eliminate
vignetting you need a thin step-up ring to a size at least 2 sizes
larger in diameter then the screw-in filter and then use filters for
that larger diameter. So if your lens uses 72mm filters you would use a
step-up ring to at least 82mm. Then you will not vignette. If the focal
length is extremely short then step up 3 sizes or more.

--
To reply no_ HPMarketing Corp.

In article
,
(D.M. Procida) wrote:

Dave wrote:

should i buy "Multicoated" lens covers (i believe a.k.a. Neutral
Density Glass Filters)? has anyone used them?

And, if the miraculous (so people keep saying) Pentax SMC lenses have
the best coatings, wouldn't Pentax filters (if indeed there are any such
things) be the best?

Daniele

No more so then Leica would be best or Nikon would be best or Canon
would be best or Lomo would be best.

In fact very, very few, if any, camera manufacturers make filters. Most
buy them from specialist companies that make filters. Like Heliopan,
B+W, Hoya, Tiffin, etc.

--
To reply no_ HPMarketing Corp.