Lens Hood

I understand all the above and respect your views on all you have stated. But:

Filters: Filter light
Lens caps: cap the lens to protect it
Lens hoods: hood the lens to stop unwanted or unwelcome light from entering.

They do exactly what they say on the tin.

I've never lost a lens cap, its removed from camera, photo taken and cap replaced...pretty simple and basic, and when lens caps is removed, fingers dirt or anything else that may damage the front coating of the lens is kept well away from it, any wind blown dirt or pollen is easily removed with a rocket blower.

Now I have never lost a lens cap but I have had a camera drop from my bag that I thought was secured. The camera dropped to the floor and I heard the shatter of glass. The camera and lens needed replacing, the fitted filter shattered and scratched the coating of the lens. The lens glass was otherwise unaffected.

Use filters if you must to protect your lens, but its not its primary roll and nothing will protect the lens more than a careful photographer treating his/her gear like the holy grail and also utilising the lens cap.

Most pro togs will actually use a filter holder attached to the lens, and slide in flat filters as opposed to screw on types.

Steve...

 

I just don't see the point...spend hundreds of pounds on a quality lens to give the best clarity and sharpness you can afford, then you bung a cheap (£10) piece of glass in front of it...that's madness. But whatever floats your boat I guess, it was all the rage 6 or 7 years ago to put these filters on to "protect the lens", and that mantra was then picked up by the filter producers themselves.

Here's what can happen with a UV filter permanently fitted to a lens can do, because it is permanently fitted, you forget it's there until you download the shot to your pc.



I was photographing light trails from car brake lights and due to the filter, the headlights where reversed and turned upside down as the light was bounced around the cavity between filter and lens.

Use filters to protect your lens if you wish, but I would not put a cheap piece of glass in front of mine now.

Steve...

 

Oh I do like a good debate!
Got to agree with Steve regarding protection... and lens cap. But.. for some togs who like to snapshot, removing a lens cap can mean the loss of a shot. I've got filters on most of my lenses as I'd rather have to replace a scratched filter than a lens and on the few occasions when I've sold a lens I can say that it's been protected for all its life. In general if I'm out and about the lens cap is on, but if I'm out on a walk and looking for wildlife the cap is off and I'm ready to shoot.
My first lens hood almost five decades ago was a Blue Peter type. It was the top of a Fairy Liquid bottle sprayed black that fitted neatly onto the lens of the folding Zeis (Ikonta?) I'd bought at a jumble sale. I thought it was the bees's knees!

 

Same theory as the printable lens hoods Dave...it worked, and that's what matters!

Steve...

 

That's fair enough and I recognise that many togs do use uv filters to so called protect their lens (for me it did the opposite), but a filter is a filter a lens cap is designed to protect the lens.

If you wish to use a filter to protect your lens, then that's great and I wish you well with it as I have said all along. But the best protection is the lens cap and a careful photographer. But by saying that I do not take away your choice to do as you wish with your camera, lens, filters or lens caps. Your shooting style is yours and yours alone and I would never impinge on that. I'm merely stating my own point of view and experience.

I used a UV filter to protect my lens, it did not work for me and actually damaged one, the permanent fixing of the filter ruined some shots and so I never replaced it. I've used the lens cap ever since and two cameras later have not damaged either lens or camera or lost a lens cap...I'm just careful with my gear now, perhaps as a direct result of having damaged gear in the past.

There is no right or wrong way here, just the way that the tog who is holding the camera employs. That's the only and correct way.

Steve...

 

You'll look like a pap waving that thing around Woo! And you'll need a good tripod to hold it still or lots of practice to hand hold.

Steve...

 

I think your doing it about right Woo, half auto as you are setup is probably best to capture them, the rest I'm afraid is just practice. I would be tempted to try shutter priority though.

I don't really use my 70-300 much anymore but when I was using it for the same purpose as you, I found a reasonable grip with my right hand, finger on shutter and the left hand, upturned, flat and supporting the end of the extended lens...helped enormously.

I did find then that the camera jerked a little when pressing the shutter due to the one handed camera hold approach, but a softer press sorted that out, the rest was just practice.

Another thing I tried and had some reasonable success with was resting the camera on top of a bean bag, that was draped across the top of a tripod...this gave me a steady pivot point as opposed to it being fixed to a tripod itself.

But I'm not a dedicated wildlife tog, so others may be able to help more.

Steve...

 

I've always said what I think and feel regardless of how others may view it, a failing maybe in some cases (and definitely in some peoples eyes) but I have to remain honest to me firstly and foremost.

I've always stuck by my views regardless of the type of forum I am using, photography forums being one of them. Had one or two squabbles over them over the years but photography is a very relaxed hobby/pastime and does not include squabbling.

However, there where one or two forums notorious for it, I guess you have found yourself on one of those. I quickly moved on from them and found more settled spaces to reside. I generally don't visit photography forums anymore due to the pressure on all members to comment on others photos, where your expected to comment on every single offering and where if that comment is not positive your slammed for it. From this came the notorious "Nice pic" comment, you'll see in so many places.

Steve...