What are people using to protect the camera's lens?
IR?
UV?

Need to grab something quick :)

Lens cap. And reasonable care when it's removed.

If you are in a hazardous are when the lens might get hit with liquid spray or dust/grit, the best thing is an optical flat or clear glass filter, preferably with a coating to reduce internal reflections.

I don't use one, but I saw this:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=NavBar&A=getItemDetail&Q=&sku=121298&is=REG&si=feat#goto_itemInfo

A UV filter by a good manufacturer is essentially the same. Schneider, for example.

Big thanks Eric.
I guess I'm wondering if there are people who use an IR filter permanently to deal with the cameras IR beam as well as acting as a lens protector?

Will a filter fit under the lens hood the camera comes with? It's looks as though it will.

Anyone else?

I've seen this discussion in another thread, and two things I remember from it were - (1) An argument that professional video lenses are very durable and on film sets they are cleaned several times a day with no ill effect to the front coating of the lens.

And (2) Some people were having problems getting the stock matte box to fit (and I believe some aftermarket adapters) back on with a regular filter and the solution was to use a "slim fit" filter.

You might look around for the thread. If I find it I'll post a link.

I use a slim fit filter and or a slim fit polarizer both from B+W...with the stock sun shade... all good so far.

Cool guys.
Thanks :)

Anyone know if they make this guy in a "slim"?

Schneider 77E CLEAR UV HAZE (010)

http://www.schneideroptics.com/Ecommerce/CatalogItemDetail.aspx?CID=681&IID=3234

Here is one:

B+W 77mm UV Haze 010 Glass Filter Slim

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/132948-REG/B_W_65026901_77mm_UV_Haze_010.html

Thoughts?

If you only ONE standard filter it doesn't have to be slim. Just the standard type will fit under the sunshade

Thanks Oyvind :)

found out this weekend that a polarized won't fit under the hood.

This camera screams for a mattebox.

I tried to use the one from my Z1 but the mounting block is off center. I called Century Optics and they said that they changed the mount last year and now they have a "universal one" that fits both the Z1 and EX1. It will cost me $400 bucks just to change the block!!! That sucks when the mattebox was already $1600.

Sorry for going off topic!!

Daniel Weber

hi daniel,

tell me..... would you really want to be packing your matte box around the world with you? size wise?

do you sometimes feel that your camera is already a little imposing in developing countries?

it matters where I go. some places it is not a problem. others I want to be as low profile as possible.

The thing I find myself wanting more than a mattebox is a follow focus.

but I have to work within the limits of trying not to standout.

I think that it would be hard where you are going to use a mattebox and not stand out.

It's funny that that thing that draws the most attention is an off camera mic. That has gotten me into more trouble with security guards and police!!!

In fact I am just using the internal mic on the EX1 so far and it has worked great.

Daniel Weber

Ok......

The new 77mm B&W UV (MRC) filter arrived........

Has anyone else noticed that this filter seems to look as though it is covered with a salty film that will not wipe off?

Maybe it is just the the way this filter is manufactured...... or could it be that I got someone's old returned one that has been put through a major sand/ salt storm?

Can someone please take a good close look at theirs :)

Ok......
The new 77mm B&W UV (MRC) filter arrived........

Has anyone else noticed that this filter seems to look as though it is covered with a salty film that will not wipe off?


Something is wrong. I bought the high end B+W MRC filter, and I could barely see the glass. Do you have the UV Haze 010 MRC?

Yes I have the same one as you.

I wouldn't say anything is wrong...... I just think that this is the UV & MRC coating that is on the glass.

Hoping for someone to confirm...... Any takers?

http://www.adorama.com/BW77CM.html

I am using the B+W clear glass filter on my EX1. UV filter will reduce about 10% light entering your lens. This info was from a photographer friend

Perhaps our friend Ryan Avary would care to comment on the 10% light loss.....?

pretty certain that 10% number is way off.
even 1% for a schott glass filter is high.

as of which filter, jonathan, i was down this road last month as i did not want a filter on mine either.
so i bought 3 of the more expensive schott glass filters available, mounted each on a sturdy tripod and did some indoor and outdoor testing. spent some hours testing it and decided to stay with this one.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/132978-REG/B_W_66026942_77mm_UV_Haze_010.html

mostly because of the slimness of this model. solid brass ring and thinner than even the thinnest pro hoya mount. the visible difference between this model and the clear scheider model even at 200% under photoshop was minor. for samples both outdoors and indoors.

i grabbed some un-edited videos i took recently for you to examine.
one was with side light and normal to short telephoto
one was with the sun in the back and to the side
one was indoors

1st 2 grabs using quicktime and mac os' "grab" function
last boy grab using vlc screen capture, a much smaller file.

handheld with steadyshot on.



all 3 with the slim b+w uv i noted above.

paul




Perhaps our friend Ryan Avary would care to comment on the 10% light loss.....?

Very nice work Paul. I always appreciate the level of your findings :)
Gotta run now.......

Perhaps our friend Ryan Avary would care to comment on the 10% light loss.....?

B+W 77mm UV Haze 010 Glass Filter Slim

Can anyone of you please tell me what does the 010 in the above filter definition means?

B+W 77mm UV Haze 010 Glass Filter Slim

Can anyone of you please tell me what does the 010 in the above filter definition means?

I think it's the width in millimeters.

hey J,

the entire video portion of my recent sample using DIVX 1080HD compression.
very nice, down to 421mb for 9.5 minutes.
perfect to place onto VIMEO.com

http://www.vimeo.com/1248363

if you have the time, download the 421mb file and the resolution is amazing even with the DIVX.

and N.B. B+W slim MRC coated UV filter used on this shoot......

paul






Very nice work Paul. I always appreciate the level of your findings :)
Gotta run now.......

Ok......

The new 77mm B&W UV (MRC) filter arrived........

Has anyone else noticed that this filter seems to look as though it is covered with a salty film that will not wipe off?

Maybe it is just the the way this filter is manufactured...... or could it be that I got someone's old returned one that has been put through a major sand/ salt storm?

Can someone please take a good close look at theirs :)

I would return the filter to whoever you bought it from. Sometimes there is a slight "film" from the manufacturing process but that should clean right off with some good quality lens cleaning solution and a microfiber cloth.

Ryan Avery
Schneider Optics

B+W 77mm UV Haze 010 Glass Filter Slim

Can anyone of you please tell me what does the 010 in the above filter definition means?

The 010 refers to the level of UV filtration. Different UV filters cut off different amounts of UV light. 017 UV filters were once popular for aircraft or high altitude shooting because they cut much more UV light that film was sensitive to. We don't use much film anymore so the standard 010 is just fine because digital sensors aren't sensitive to UV light like film is.

Ryan Avery
Schneider Optics

http://www.adorama.com/BW77CM.html

I am using the B+W clear glass filter on my EX1. UV filter will reduce about 10% light entering your lens. This info was from a photographer friend

Your friend is mistaken. Optics seem to be one of the more difficult subjects to get your head around so I don't blame him.

Having said that, the amount of light reflected can be up to 10% with certain low-cost UV filters. 10% light reflectance is roughly equivalent to 1/5 of an f-stop. We refer to the light transmission number as the other side of the equation; 90% light transmission in this case.

B+W MRC filters feature 99.8% light transmission. This means that the amount of light reflected is about 2/100 of an f-stop.

Basically, no matter which way you go, you will be losing a neglible amount of light that should have no noticeable net effect on your exposure. What a poor quality filter will do is have a very negative effect on the quality of your image in terms of resolution, flare, and chromatic abberation.

Ryan Avery
Schneider Optics