this post was submitted on 25 Nov 2023
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took me a long time to stop. I started in the '70s when using a UV filter for protection was a radical new idea.
Took me until 2010 to realise just HOW MUCH extra flare and desaturation they were responsible for. Took me until 2020 to realise I had literally never scratched one or replaced one, and that they had therefore achieved precisely fuck-all. Took them all off.
I now use exactly one, which is on a pinhole lens to keep the dust out. Oh and another I use on my cheapest DSLR kit lens when I am on a beach - not that I have ever replaced THAT either.
I have always put a filter on my lenses and I have replaced many over the years. There are situations where I take them off where flair or reflections are an issue but otherwise they stay on.
That is very interesting. I checked all mine with a loupe a couple of years ago, in raking light, and they were all practically undamaged. Maybe I don't use my lenses nearly enough!
I have to say that I have never checked mine with a loupe but occasionally I do clean my actual lens glass (I find those lens pens are very good) and have only ever had one small spec on one lens (200 2.8). It was very minor, but it was there.
I don't spare my equipment and risk it a bit. I find having fulters on my lenses allows me to operate in situations where I might not otherwise - like in crowded situations where i might get a scratch, thumb print or some liquid spilt on it. Or dusty environments etc.
Also, when the tempo of a shoot picks up I occasionally put lenses in my camera bag or jacket with no lenscap on (I always manage to get the rear caps on). It's not hard to get a scuff on an uncovered lens in that situation.
I must admit that I have never taken side by side shots with the filter on and off to compare the results. I think I will do that to see how much difference it makes.
I have become very lazy about lens caps since I started religiously using lens hoods which help against bumps and knocks a lot.
But I think a lot of it is just being less poor than I was: it would not be disastrous if I damaged a lens, like it would have been 10, 20, 30 years ago for me. Not a good attitude, I admit :-(
Ahh yes, you will get flare at an almost 90 degree angle to the sun if you have a filter on because it's further forward than the lens itself.
I shoot a few portraits and probably 75% of them are backlit so there's potential for flair to get on my lenses a lot of the time.
So I have three tiers of lens shading to keep sun off my filter. The first is a lens hood. If, due to the angle, the lens hood doesn't stop sunlight or other bright light striking the filter I take off my cap or hat (which I always wear on a shoot for this single purpose) and hold it at the end of the lens would to shade the lens.
Then, if it's still not enough shade I have an assistant or a bystander hold a black card which I have on a stick and ask them to shade the lens with that. Regulars have become very adept at wielding the card on a stick! Then sometimes when I'm going for a strong rim light I will shoot right into the sun and in that situation I remove the filters.
I find it's imperative to take the filters off when I'm shooting at night because any bright light will reflect off the inside of the filter causing bright spots in undesirable places. So that's pretty well any nighttime light source.
If I damage a lens, for me that wouldn't be disaster either. But it would be a financial inconvenience. Then there's also downtime for the time it takes to replace or repair the lens. And on top of that there's the boss (my wife) to take into account!