> Yep. It was a real leap of faith to remove that 77mm UV filter > from my SMC-A* 200mm f2.8...at the time it was the most expensive > item that I had ever owned, and the idea of scratching that giant > front element scared me a bit.
"Been there, done that", and it ~is~ indeed scary - <g>. Quite a few of my lenses do go about "naked" - <grimace>. However, I won't "go cold turkey" and remove all of my filters. Certain lenses of mine routinely are used in marginal conditions (drizzle, salt spray, etc.), and I just simply am not happy with ~frequent~ cleaning of lens front elements - I'd rather frequently clean a filter in front of a lens. Also, there is nothing preventing one from temporarily removing a filter when the photo has to be as "perfect" as possible, and putting the filter back on for "routine" photos. My most expensive front glass is the 112mm jewel on the exposed end of the A* 600/5.6. I carry the lens around with a Tamron MC 112mm filter on it, but I will take the filter off when it is opportune to do so (and immediately put it back on). I didn't opt for the very expensive Pentax SMC 112mm protection filter instead of the "cheap" (<g>) Tamron, since I do try to take the filter off when actually setting up to use the lens (although, admittedly, I do sometimes have to shoot through the filter). And, I use a hood quite often simply as front element protection (impact as well as precipitation and dust). Depending on the particular hood involved, the extent of this protection varies, but using a hood is one way to help protect the front of a lens without hurting image quality at all (and even helping it under some lighting conditions, of course). Fred - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
