Thanks Bill :)

I guess one would only want to use it in hazardous situations.

Back in the day.... on stills cameras..... folks liked to tout the uv filter on the front of a lens as standard procedure.

I really wonder how much you would see this "extra glass" on the EX1?

I suspect a UV filter would do very little harm, a telephoto attachment, different matter.
Steve

Bill puts it neatly. And Jonathan, in still camera days UV filters were covering (say) 50 mm lenses. The same field of view in our digital video comes from using something like a 6 mm focal length. You can immediately see the d o f diffference and appreciate the damage adding two extra 'unclean' surfaces bring to the party.

tom.

Thanks Tom.

So guys the question is:

Yes or no? Would you use it on the EX1 for protection?

I'm very diligent on checking my lens for dust.

Will a Letus degrade the image also?
 

So if using any add-on telephoto adaptor will visibly degrade the image quality, what happens when you use something like a Letus Extreme?

Everyone seems to rave about them but I can't see how they too would not cause significant image degradation.

They do cause image degradation. And loss of light. Seemingly the benefits make it worthwhile for some applications.
And I wouldn't use UV filters on lens, just one more piece of glass to cause flare and optical problems.
Steve

Yes Jonathan - use a UV for protection. Protection from sticky-fingered children at parties, from sand-storms on your local beach, if you want low shots from Juda Ben Hur's chariot and from pollution in a chemical factory.

If you're a wedding filmmaker, shoot stage plays or film a million more common things you simply don't need UV 'protection' in my view - I feel it does a lot more harm than good, and I regularly prove it to students.

John, 'significant image degradation' is done all the time, and it's all in the name of art. It's mainly done in post (think grads), but simply using a long lens and shooting through Chinese smog degrades the image, where a shorter lens used up close will give a 'cleaner image' but maybe not the image you're trying to promote.

tom.

I use this as per recommendation from Ryan Avery at Schneider
http://www.schneideroptics.com/ecomm...D=681&IID=5714

It's not a UV filter. Clear and so far I haven't seen any issues.

Right-o....... clear it is.

I see that Rycote make the Softie in both a normal and a short hair version. They recommend both for camera-mounted applications although they seem to suggest that the short hair is the preferred option.

Does anyone have any experience with either type? Specifically, does the long hair version cause any problems with the lens?

this filter is hard to find and both adorama and b&H did not have one in stock when i went shopping for a filter for my EX1.
i ended up getting this one with the thinnest brass ring at under 2.5mm thick.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...#goto_itemInfo

paul

I got it at Adorama a few months back. None of the DVInfo sponsors seem to carry it. Surprised you didn't find it at the above though.

i went to adorama last thursday and they were out. they did have a piece that didn't look pristine. i asked if they made a thinner filter; afraid of everything discussed over here with the large zoom range, and my favorite salesguy there showed me that b+w slim uv. comparing the 2 on a white sheet of zerox paper, the "whiteness" looked identical. i tried looking at the filters at weird angles and i saw no difference in color shifts from the store overhead lights. the slim b+w actually uses the same glass as the schneider, namely schott, think zeiss still own them or the other way around.
lastly, i bought the uv as the brass ring was the thinnest.

then i went uptown to b&h and they too didn't have that clear filter as well.

hoya used to make a thin clear in their Pro1 digital series that claimed to have nearly 99.97% transmission. hoya said that schott glass used by b+w, schneider, and heliopan only goes up to 99%. not sure if any neutral lab did that test. sounds like marketing.

one thing though on the filters with the mrc or as other brand calls it, multi coating. they make cleaning the filter very difficult.

paul

Any thoughts on the 77mm Tiffen Clear?

It's about to be sent.....

jonathan,

if you have the time, just put the EX1 on a tripod and take some shots of things with blacks, whites, and reds.
put the tiffen on and do the same.
if you cannot tell the difference on a rather large hdtv, then you fujinon is protected and nothing is lost.

i know that tiffen used to be a new york company based in long island, but i am pretty sure the silica for the glass is from asia. it could very well be hoya glass.

see if the lens itself is thin, as thick rings may introduce vignette and flare at wide angles.

paul