You should Never use Any filters, except...

[Overread]

....Well a few things seem rather strange here

1) lenses are made of more than one bit of glass - so why should a filter matter, its just another bit of glass on an already several element setup

- ok look this is not an argument, a lens is made or more than one big of glass yes, but they are balanced, calibrated and set to work together to give you the final image - there isn't spare glass in there just for the heck of it - the only lenses that come close to that are the long telephotos which a clearglass protective front element.

2) We keep getting this "NEVER" and "ALWAYS" in this argument and its just a sign that people are not thining but rather playing the brand war type arguments like PC vs MAC and Canon vs Nikon. Put some thought into things guys.
Polarizers and ND are filters too and I bet many of the "I never use filters" group have and do use them to get certain effects in camera which cannot be reporoduced in photoshop.

3) Filters always degrade image quality so should NEVER be used

Again this is not really much of a valid argument - its part of an argument but not all of it. You see anything, even air, infront of a lens can degrade the end image and in a fully controld studio environment I am sure we can show image degradtation from extension tubes, top end filters and more - However much of the time such image degradation is not as massive as some posts here are leading others to belive, many of the times you will get more image degradation just working in the field with uncontrold lighting and handshake and subject movement than you will from the filter.
Heck many people will happily use multi element teleconverters and extension tubes to get set effects on their setup = yes there is a degradation to the image but on a good pro end lens its neglageble when compared to the gain one gets.


Also an important point and one I failed to say earlier - filters are good protection against scrapes and grit, but not against rocks - if the filter smashes there is a very good chance that the lens behind will still take damage as well - maybe not as bad (remember filters are very thin whilst most front elements are a lot thicker and tougher) but it will still be there. Also one think I do fear about filters is getting one stuck on your lens to the point that your threads are damaged - never a good thing

I see a lot of people fighting over this point with some very polarized view points and not much willing to read and understand the other viewpoints around

 

[Moglex]

Also an important point and one I failed to say earlier - filters are good protection against scrapes and grit, but not against rocks ...

Oddly, the things I like to have protection from are not dry solids (which can be blown/brushed off with very little risk) but liquids - in very small drops (sneezes, coughs, any spray) and tiny particles of sticky things (e.g. insect and plant detritus). These things will impact on glass from time to time and I always fear that some microscopic piece of grit or similar will get attached to the front element with the droplet or whatever.

I see a lot of people fighting over this point with some very polarized view points and not much willing to read and understand the other viewpoints around

Which was why I started the poll to see what people actually did. There seemed to be more posters being very anti than pro (using) and I wondered how that trnaslated.

In amongst the (rather annoying) dogma good points have been made on both sides and it's certainly made me think about my take on the subject in some detail.

 

[Overread]

hmm good point on sticky things! Certainly they are not fun to clean off and if grit gets in then yes I can see cleaning problems and scratching risks!

And yah the poll is interesting - seems that more people use them than I thought - whilst it also seems that more anti-people post in should I use them or not threads

 

[TamiyaGuy]

Once again, Overread, you prove yourself to be an excellent person on the theories of photography and, just as importantly, the tendencies of internet forums . I think there's a time and a place for everything: for never, ever using filters and for using a filter for pretty much every shot you take. It's just a case of what people choose to do and/or what they feel is right for the time.

Amen, brutha

 

[Garbz]

spiralcity no one claimed that the quality increases due to the filter presence. I only claim that the quality of a good filter would create an image that is entirely indistinguishable from one without it, even under close inspection.

Oh and yes my UV filters I use for protection cost between $75 and $130 depending on the size. And the last time I bought one was in march. What's you're point? That you get what you pay for and the protection of your beautiful lenses is not worth $100. Well that's just absurd.

 

[Moglex]

The question was brought up to me so I answered. Do you have a problem with this?

Only that you seem to be extremely aggresive to anyone who disagrees with you and keep telling people that the discussion is absurd whilst continuing to join in.

Try trolling another post.

You may think you're a photo god and and anyone who disagrees with you is trolling but you're deluded/have a vastly overrated sense of your own importance.

I dont have time for you.

He says whilst demonstrating once again that he does, :lmao: