Equipment & Techniques > Cameras, Lenses and Shooting gear

Protective filter or not?

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HCHeyerdahl:
When the D2x launched I decided to upgrade my photogear and bought the body, 70-200 vrI and the 24-70 and decided to put a protective filter (B&W top quality) on both to protect the front element and preserve their second hand value.

I tend to ceep the sun shade on at all times, and from what I can see the filters on my old lenses are almost free of scratches and of course the front element of the lens itself looks more or less like new. Furthermore, when trying to sell them second hand potential buyers tend to be more concerned with other things than the front element.

I have just upgraded to the 70-200 vr III and the 24-70 VR and wonder if a protective filter is a good idea or not? For selling second hand it appears pointless. For the very unfortunate incident it is probably a good idea - but it never happend for the last 7 years. Do they degrade image quality?

What do you do?

Chris

kers:
i always like to protect the front element. I go to rough places.
Also when i sell my gear second hand i can say the front lens has always been protected by a filter and never was touched.
If i buy second hand i like to hear that.

NancyP:
Roger Cicala on his Lens Rental blog has done a test of protective filters. Yes, there can be some image resolution degradation. I use just the lens hood in most cases. If I anticipate dust or particulate-containing splashes, on goes the filter. Also, weather resistance of some lenses only applies if there is a filter on. It all depends on the conditions that you encounter.

Telecaster:
I always use lens hoods. In sandy or dusty conditions I'll pop a filter on. If it's raining or snowing hard enough for a protective sleeve I'll use a filter then too.

-Dave-

pegelli:
My own rule is that I put a filter on in case I can explain to myself why. And "just in case" is not a valid explanation.

so the "why" is either to influence the image (eg with a colour or pola filter) or to protect the front lens from sand, water, ice etc. But it's not always on there, only when the conditions meet the criteria described.

I also do the same as Telecaster, the hood is always on there and turned the right way as soon as the lens leaves the bag. It's a great bump protection and improves IQ and I haven't found any major downside of using one.

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