Camera lens filters

[Shari]

Sorry - I don't know if this forum should be for camera but I just want to ask one question. When buying my camera today (Fuji S5200 10X) The salesman suggested I by a Tiffen Sky 1-A Filter that absorbes half of the UV light and protect the lens. He said I can leave it on all the time and it provides good protection from breakage and dust, scratches etc. It is only $30.00 and I did buy it but I thought before I opened the package I might just ask your expert opinions. I took several low light photos tonight and am amazed at the difference from my little camera. Can hardly wait for a nice day tomorrow and get out and try. Thanks anyone.
Shari

[karen donnybrook]

Shari, I know when we purchased our first SLR film camera, we were given the same advice and were very pleased we did have that extra protection on the lens because the filter was scratched and it was much cheaper to replace the filter than the lens :D

[MikeH]

Shari,

I would definitely recommend that you fit this filter to your camera to protect the lens. Every lens I have has one permanently fitted.

Mike

[jwhitten]

I second Mike's advice. All of my lenses (I have several :) ) have their own UV or polarizing filters on them. Clean the lens and the inside of the filter very good, screw it on and then never take it off - unless it gets scratched. Polarizing filters will act as UV filters and they are great for reducing glare and making the sky look nice and blue.

Joe

[CarolLHB]

Ditto and ditto-UV filters were top of the list of "also buy" that Ray gave me when I got the new camera. They were $10 each and were the first thing I did after taking the camera out of the box.:) The thought of scratching the actual lens...:eek:

[TonyW]

Ditto here although I wouldn't recommend leaving a polarizing filter on - they cut out a significant amount of light so you lose about 1.5 stops of sensitivity - not usually a problem on a bright day but sometimes you need all the light you can get.

Tony

[bayhli]

Tony.... can there be a loss of light with a UV filter as well?

Since I put on a Hoya UV filter I've noticed a difference in my photos in low light situations, that I've attributed to the filter. A couple of them even had a significant dark grey, cloudy-looking area in a lower corner that I haven't experienced before. There is a bit of a dark tint to the filter lens & I wondered how much this influences the pictures. I was even considering taking it off but I want to protect my lens. I only have a Canon G5 so perhaps it is only this camera.

Thanks for mentioning the loss of light issue - the polarizing lens is the one I'd like to leave on, but that doesn't sound like a good idea. That's a lot of light lost!

BTW - is it my imagination or does the filter attract more dust and air "fluff" than just the normal lens? Always seems to be something on it!

[MikeH]

A couple of them even had a significant dark grey, cloudy-looking area in a lower corner that I haven't experienced before.

Pat,

Are you taking wide angle shots? UV filters can produce vignetting when down at 18mm.

Mike

[Shari]

Thanks everyone - I will put the filter on now. Boy, do I have some learning to do when I read what you guys are posting! 1.5 stops of sensitivity!! I can see I have a lot of reading and experimenting to do - and maybe some lessons although I would rather wait until the fall for that.
Shari

[bayhli]

Hi Mike,

No they weren't wide-angled shots but the lighting conditions were probably the lowest I've ever used - in my basement!

I've been doing some more reading on the G5 on photography forums and it sounds like, while better than some others the G5 is not as great as I thought in low-light.

[GaryK]

Hi Pat

I wonder if it could have been a slight shadow from the filter ring if you were using the flash. (or something along those lines)

If you want to send it down here, I would be more than happy to test it out for you .. for the next 2 or 3 years. :D :D

[bayhli]

Gary :D

You know, my first thought was that it was a shadow and I checked to see where my camera strap was. Never considered that a ring could cause a shadow and I was using the flash which I rarely do.

I'll have to check those photos again and take a closer look - if I didn't delete them that is. Thanks!