Canon 100-400 Ghosting problems

[Alfred Forns]

Jay there is no need to use a UV filter I'm sure no one is going to persuade you otherwise so go ahead and use the filters. If you front element gets dirty clean it ... no big deal.

Many years ago I was photographing with a friend and he was a Lecia factory rep. Saw me using a UV filter over the lens and said "why do you think we make lens caps" Took a while to have those expensive (very) bare but never had a problem since !!! Your UV is adding another glass surface and can't say much for that !!!

[Jay Gould]

Jay there is no need to use a UV filter I'm sure no one is going to persuade you otherwise so go ahead and use the filters. If you front element gets dirty clean it ... no big deal.

Many years ago I was photographing with a friend and he was a Lecia factory rep. Saw me using a UV filter over the lens and said "why do you think we make lens caps" Took a while to have those expensive (very) bare but never had a problem since !!! Your UV is adding another glass surface and can't say much for that !!!

Al, I guess everyone has to rely on their interpretation of gathered and personal experiences, and in this particular case I have decided to rely on Roger - a scientist and photographer - who has stated to me:

Regarding the statement that UV filters are not a good idea to put on digital cameras is more BS. If it was a good idea for film, it's not going to hurt digital.If there was a big cost difference between a UV versus a protective filter I would choose the protective, but there is not. Thus I would choose the UV. UV light breaks down organic molecules (e.g. all paints, plastics), so protecting the inside of a lens and camera from UV is a good idea, especially for lenses you intend to keep for decades.

Obviously, if a particular chosen filter is causing a problem that is demonstrated by removing the filter, then you remove the particular filter. The fact that some UV filters cause focusing problems should not be an indictment of all UV filters.

I have finally been cleared by the saw bones to start playing at photography - hopefully I will shortly start posting unprocessed images in the ETL Forum. For comparison purposes I might post some with and without a filter too.

Cheers,