UV filter affecting image quality...

[elrafo]

Hey there,


I bought a brand new UV filter for my nikon 50mm f 1.8 and for my sigma 17-70. I thought it was the best protection for my front glass and wouldn't affect Image quality, but it does!

what do you do when you want to shoot portraits with candles for instance ? I keep on having ghosty pictures (duplicated image of the light sources offseted on the top right of the picture. Same problem with high contract image, a bright specular on a reflective object or a window overexpoded for instance.
When I remove the filter, photos are clean, sharp and highlights are not offseted.

I suppose that people who buy a 6000 $ Leica 50 mm f1.0 will buy a lens protection, but if it affects the image like me, it is not a good solution!

is there an alernative way to protect your lens without having this kind of troubles ?


thanks!

 

[Garbz]

What filter did you buy? They vary greatly. It's lens protection. If you're careful you don't need it. Is it really that hard to screw it off when you need to shoot into the light?

For the record every piece of glass will create a reflection into the lens. Flat glass like filters are the worst and even though a Hoya SHMC Pro filter will not reducing image quality, if you shoot in to the light it will ghost (but not flare)

Comparison of filters was done here: Follow the link in that thread for yet another comparison. http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=100830

 

[elrafo]

thanks for your test! actually it is the same problem, and I own a Hoya too... must be a bad coating. I will check if some UV filters have better reaction to light!

thanks!

 

[Socrates]

Hey there,


I bought a brand new UV filter for my nikon 50mm f 1.8 and for my sigma 17-70. I thought it was the best protection for my front glass and wouldn't affect Image quality, but it does!

what do you do when you want to shoot portraits with candles for instance ? I keep on having ghosty pictures (duplicated image of the light sources offseted on the top right of the picture. Same problem with high contract image, a bright specular on a reflective object or a window overexpoded for instance.
When I remove the filter, photos are clean, sharp and highlights are not offseted.

I suppose that people who buy a 6000 $ Leica 50 mm f1.0 will buy a lens protection, but if it affects the image like me, it is not a good solution!

is there an alernative way to protect your lens without having this kind of troubles ?


thanks!

If your only purpose is lens protection, you should purchase a "protector" filter. Clear glass!

Unfortunately, in all cases (including the protector), you're adding glass surfaces, flat glass surfaces. Purchase absolute top of the line filters (for better multicoating), for example, Hoya Pro-1 series and always use a hood!

 

[MX962]

over 20 years and never had the need for a filter in any form except for ND's and such and believe me my equipment goes through hell

 

[Socrates]

over 20 years and never had the need for a filter in any form except for ND's and such and believe me my equipment goes through hell

You don't use polarizers?

By the way, forty years and, yes, I have needed protection for my lenses.

 

[MX962]

Yesssss I use them ,thats why i said "and such" gotta be so technical ! ha.You know i used to use them some time ago but i have had so much better luck on the higher end glass with nothing on it that i basicaly use all my old filters for coasters on the coffe table now ,I had a Sigma 28-80 3.5 go down a lava cliff about 7 years ago fell tumbling bouncing it was horible for about 400 feet almost split the housing rite open and beat all edges down you could see where the rocks had hit the lens several times later i had cleand the lens off all but one nick in the lens cleaned up i was totaly shocked that was it

 

[Village Idiot]

B+W FTW

 

[Dubious Drewski]

I recently learned the harm of having a cheap filter on the end of your lens.
For this shot here. I was getting this strange artifacting.

When I mentioned this, she (Also an avid photographer) suggested I take off
the cheap Tiffen UV I had on the end of my lens. That did it! Lesson learned.

 

[Garbz]

That is ghosting not a strange artifact. The very bright light source is flipped vertically and horizontally through the optical axis of the lens. All flat pieces of glass attached to the front of a lens cause this, but only when shooting into the light.

So yeah protection is good, but as soon as I do anything involving light sources which appear within my frame I take mine off.