Which filter should I buy for a canon 50mm f1.8ll lens?
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Yes do buy, and get a hood too.
Filter = $10 for a basic UV
Hood = $7 some ebay shops.
After buying my 50mm F1.8, I took it out to use, lent it to one of my girl-friends and the filter ended up with quite a few scratches. Partly could be my fault too due to scratches made by my lens cap. Double Coated filter some more =(.
I can't imagine what I'd have felt if my brand new lens had scratches on that day. In anycase, the front element is slightly deep-seated in the lens as well, although this helps prevent scratches, it promotes collection of dust on the grooves, another reason why you might want a filter.
Buy from where? The usual reputable shops, and make sure you know the prices... $10 for a normal UV filter should be fine... can get Hoya too for $10 actually.
Filter = $10 for a basic UV
Hood = $7 some ebay shops.
After buying my 50mm F1.8, I took it out to use, lent it to one of my girl-friends and the filter ended up with quite a few scratches. Partly could be my fault too due to scratches made by my lens cap. Double Coated filter some more =(.
I can't imagine what I'd have felt if my brand new lens had scratches on that day. In anycase, the front element is slightly deep-seated in the lens as well, although this helps prevent scratches, it promotes collection of dust on the grooves, another reason why you might want a filter.
Buy from where? The usual reputable shops, and make sure you know the prices... $10 for a normal UV filter should be fine... can get Hoya too for $10 actually.
Yup Ardnirun is right, its also a good brand to stick with due to reliability, relatively low cost (lower range selections) and a well documented pricelist here in clubsnap. One of the stickies in the consumer corner contains the link to the filter's pricelist. Do check it out before you do any shopping. Lots of shops are out there waiting to sell you one for anywhere between 30 - 100 dollars.
yepp thats right. recently a friend called me up cause the sales person was pushing him to buy a 58mm filter for $25. I told him immediately not to. So just check on the prices before you buy it.
i don't think you should get a filter or the 50 1.8.
because the lens is set so deep in, there will be a large gap inbetween the front element and the filter. as such, you'll get flares and ghostings quite often.
i learned this when i shot a few family shots at home. direct light sources caused many flares in my shots, and in this case, hoods wouldn't have helped.
secondly, because the front element is set so deep in, i think it's really quite difficult for you to scratch it.
lastly, the lens is cheap. if this were a L, i'd advise you to get a filter on from day one. but because the 50 1.8 is so economical a lens, i don't see why you should be THAT worried. anyway, cost is besides the point here. it's the flares and ghostings that make me say no no to your 50 with a filter.
because the lens is set so deep in, there will be a large gap inbetween the front element and the filter. as such, you'll get flares and ghostings quite often.
i learned this when i shot a few family shots at home. direct light sources caused many flares in my shots, and in this case, hoods wouldn't have helped.
secondly, because the front element is set so deep in, i think it's really quite difficult for you to scratch it.
lastly, the lens is cheap. if this were a L, i'd advise you to get a filter on from day one. but because the 50 1.8 is so economical a lens, i don't see why you should be THAT worried. anyway, cost is besides the point here. it's the flares and ghostings that make me say no no to your 50 with a filter.
i think it's better to be safe than sorry.the filter can also be taken out with ease if you're facing direct sunlight. anyway, he alrdy bought it last month. paying 10 bucks for a filter wouldn't hurt to keep the lens in it's best condition.
Just my 2 cents thou
I second that. No point putting a filter on when one has to remove it anyway before shooting to avoid ghosting. A lens cap is cheaper and already included.
A filter as protective element is useful when protection is needed (e.g. at the sea, in dusty areas or when taking pictures of a foam party), otherwise it's redundant or will even cause image degrading.
50mm lens ? don't bother to put a filter.if you buy a cheapo filter , it will degrade the picture quality.
i'm quite sure if the filter wasn't there, the lens won't be scratched as well. It's recessed, hence unless u purposely put something in, hardly have chance to scratch
Hm, well... I mainly thought it might be hard to clean if it got dirty.
Anyway, about the IQ degrade, seriously, does it matter that much? I barely can tell the diff. Care to elaborate where the IQ degrade might come from? I've heard the basic one, but maybe you have a more technical one to share.
I haven't had flaring issues, even without a hood. Now I bought a pretty deep 3rd party screw on hood, since I'm on crop factor, got more room for hood. Never had flare problems even in bright situations.
Anyway, about the IQ degrade, seriously, does it matter that much? I barely can tell the diff. Care to elaborate where the IQ degrade might come from? I've heard the basic one, but maybe you have a more technical one to share.
I haven't had flaring issues, even without a hood. Now I bought a pretty deep 3rd party screw on hood, since I'm on crop factor, got more room for hood. Never had flare problems even in bright situations.
Read more here: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/columns/sm-feb-05.shtml
If you can borrow a cheap filter from somebody (EF 50 1.8 has 52mm thread) then go out and shot with lights directly in the frame (sunlight, street lamps etc.) with filter on and off. Very impressive and doesn't need much explanations.
Also check these pictures, nothing more to add: http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=442114
If you can borrow a cheap filter from somebody (EF 50 1.8 has 52mm thread) then go out and shot with lights directly in the frame (sunlight, street lamps etc.) with filter on and off. Very impressive and doesn't need much explanations.
Also check these pictures, nothing more to add: http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=442114
i think it matters when IQ drops due to flares, ghostings, blurred edges. don't you look for sharpness in your shots? if you want optical flaws, shoot holgas or toy cams which give you such lovely characteristics. when i shoot with a slr or dslr, i expect nothing but sharpness and 100% control over the output, not leaving anything to chance or equipment 'failure'.
also, we're talking about shooting with direct light sources not side lights hoods block off. so even with or without a hood, you'll get flares when you shoot directly.
hmmm, i'm not too sure if the price or quality of the filter actually affects the flaring and ghostings in this scenario. i'm thinking that it's due solely to the fact that the front element is sooooo far a way from the filter. entering light diffracts too much (beyond the tolerance of how the filter should work with a 'normal' lens to filter distance)
i think it's better to be safe than sorry.the filter can also be taken out with ease if you're facing direct sunlight. anyway, he alrdy bought it last month. paying 10 bucks for a filter wouldn't hurt to keep the lens in it's best condition.
Just my 2 cents thou
yah, better safe than sorry when the lens costs like 1.5k. but when the lens is less than 150, i think you can be sorry a little more often for the sake of convenience and IQ. HAHAHAHA.
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Hi Octarine, yes I've read this one time and time again. =X
But still... hm, contraversial issue, for me is probably because I can't see the IQ degrade, or I've never shot directly into the lights (don't see any reason to either). If I do, I'll probably use a star filter anyway haha.
Ok, some personal experience. I used to have a Hoya Pro series UV filter on my Tamron 17-50. Got a few splashes of water on it and also accidentally touched it with fingers. Cleaning was hell. I don't know what coating Hoya uses but it's a nightmare to clean it properly. After removing the filter I had the same with 'naked lens': droplets and dust. Cleaning was a piece of cake. The front element coating is really well done and if you read other articles about it then the issue of scratching the coating while cleaning seems to be gone. Now I use the hood (comes with the lens anyway) and the filter is only there for really touch conditions.
In addition I have tried B+W filters (uses the same glass as mentioned in the article) and it's great. But it comes with a price tag. If you want to increase the value of the 50mm f/1.8 lens by 50% just by adding a filter then go for B+W. Otherwise just be careful and use the hood.
In addition I have tried B+W filters (uses the same glass as mentioned in the article) and it's great. But it comes with a price tag. If you want to increase the value of the 50mm f/1.8 lens by 50% just by adding a filter then go for B+W. Otherwise just be careful and use the hood.
Ah yes, I had a fingerprint smudge on it too, took like 2 servings of lens cleaning solution + lens tissues to clean out, I kind of agree with the coating issue. Seems like the coating is easily cleaned off too (filter that is)... I'm not sure, any experiences to confirm? My scratches don't seem to be scratches but just "coating scratches".
So anyway, now that i already have a filter, whats your advice, remove or keep? haha.
OT:
Anyway is a B+W filter seriously that much better than a Hoya filter, ie. worth the price? I'm considering getting a B+W for my 55-250mm, do you think its worth it?
I'm not sure if I actually see any IQ degrade, but I have a strong feeling I'm just catching BBB from all these persuasion. :cry:
I did a test earlier anyway, just a simple comparison... besides a SLIGHT change of color tones, sharpness difference wasn't that obvious at all.
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