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Old 04-10-2009, 11:28 AM
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hotspur (Chris)
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RE UV Filters,advice sort

HI

I just bought 400mm prime L lens for bird photograhy,i have used

this lens without UV filter,the results a very good and sharp,the shop

forgot to send the Hoya Pro1 UV filter,they have sent it,and its arrived.

It cost $130,i am told its good quality one,

I am told there are two camps re filters some for and some not fussed on them.

I thought it would be good to help protect lens-being out in the bush like

i am.I have done some quick testing with it on,an i am finding results not as sharp,and also camera takes lomger to aquire target and focus,is this
my imagination?I have taken some test with on and off of a bird,so can post them into this thread.

So far,i feel not too keen on it,what are other peoples thoughts?

I think works better,with camera at high speed,in very bright sunlight,

when doing aircraft photography.The results that i posted of blackl-shuldered kite,and kingfisher in general pics,didnt have UV filter on and
i was very happy with them.

Hope to hear your views
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Old 04-10-2009, 11:44 AM
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troypiggo (Troy)
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G'day Chris. I know there are 2 schools of thought on it. When I started out the initial advice I was given, or at least that I took on-board, to always use the UV filter.

Not sure when, but some time along the way I decided to try without the filters. Primary reason I felt comfortable doing this is that I always[1] use a hood. So the hood acts at the lens-protector from bumps etc. Plus I thought it a bit redundant having a UV filter on when the camera has one over the sensor anyway. It just adds more glass between subject and sensor, that's always gotta degrade the image quality, no?

Big benefit of using a hood all the time is it helps keep stray light out, much better contrast in shots, saturation too IMO, and you don't get glare/reflections unless you are pointing directly into the Sun.

So whether or not you feel you need the security of keeping the UV filter on or not, I'd highly recommend always using the hood. Especially for your birding shots.

BTW I do use filters still, but not the UV one. I have a neutral density filter to kill light so that I can still get exposure with slower shutter speeds for those milky flowing waterfall type shots, or to give the impression of motion. Also have a circular polariser as well. I had looked long and hard into getting graduated filters for landscapes etc, but decided that I can achieve, or at least sufficiently mimic, the effects of those by taking a couple of different exposures and blending them in post processing. You can't mimic the effects of ND or CPL filters in PP.

[1] Except when I'm shooting macro, because the hood just takes up valuable real estate between the front of lens and subject.
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Old 04-10-2009, 01:02 PM
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hotspur (Chris)
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re filters

Thanks troy

Yes,this 400mm L prime has built in hood.twist action slides down

body,like on The WO telescopes,i allways use it,it gives me alot

more confidance out in bush,at the moment i feel the results i am getting

are better without UV filter.

Look forward to others input,when i get time to reduce and up load

test pics i will do so

Chris
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Old 04-10-2009, 01:40 PM
dpastern (Dave Pastern)
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Well, I have a UV filter on most of my lenses. It's saved a few lenses too. Whilst there might be a slight optical degradation, it's so tiny that I challenge anyone photographer to be able to pick it in a blind test.

Dave

PS A lens hood will bugger sweet all to protect the front element when it comes to stuff like sand.
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Old 04-10-2009, 01:55 PM
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hotspur (Chris)
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re uv filter

Here are two pics both taken very close together,speed 640

iso 400 f 5.6 one with filter one without filter,see if you can tell which

is which.

lookk forward to feed back

cheers C
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