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UV Filters for Contax G Lenses

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Guest

I am accustomed to using a UV protective filter on my lenses, and when I bought a Contax G2 this year I ordered Contax filters for the 28mm, 45mm and 90mm lenses. I have read recently that some Zeiss afficionados are willing to forgo the use of a protective filter (even a contax or B&W filter) to avoid possibly degrading the image quality of these lenses. While I have not noticed any degradation of sharpness or color shifts in my pictures, I have not seen any hard information about this either. Wondering if anyone has experience or thoughts about this?
 
G

Guest

Hi David,

I almost always use filters (Contax UV) on my Zeiss lenses, mainly for protection. I never saw a negative influence with it in shots made parallel with and without Contax UV filter. But I would not use any other brand, except maybe B&W.

The protection is important, especially if you travel a lot or in sandy/salty environments. As long as you shoot handheld, I doubt whether a human beeing could see any difference, even if there would be one...

dirk
 
G

Guest

I have a similar question to David. I recently purchased a contax RX. On my f1.4 50mm I put on a B&W UV filter. On top of this I would like to stack just one other filter - a 67mm circular pola via stepup ring. It just seems so cumbersome to always have to remove and put back on the UV filter whenever I want to use a polarizing filter. Anyway, would this compromise the performance of my Zeiss lens.
 
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Guest

Every piece of glass that is not part of the integral design of the lens degrades the image to some extent. It is simply a question of degree of degredation and its acceptability to you. Personally I do not stack filters (even high quality B&W or Heliopan). I have paid for the best glass in the world, why not take advantage of what the lens designers have given us. If there is a need for a filter I use one, but a metal lens hood is much better protection in most cases than a UV filter.

Darin
 
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Guest

BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN CLEANING CONTAX FILTERS, EVER WITH THE HIGH TECH CLOTHS. THE COATING IS VERY THIN AND CAN EASLY BE DAMAGED. IT IS NOT A HARD COATING LIKE SOME FILTERS. STEVE.
 
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Guest

Does anyone know if there are titanium coloured filters available other than Contax? Steve Fischer's comment worries me. I have 3 uv and don't particularly take too much care how I clean Them!
Tom
 
G

Guest

Tom,

there are B+W "pro digital" filters which have the same titanium colour.

Till
 
G

Guest

Thanks Till... Schneider Optics ( B+W parent) have emailed me info. They say colour is 'chromium'.
rgds
Tom
 
G

Guest

Tom,

whatever they call it, I have some b&w filters of this line (red, yellow etc.). The B+W 'chromium' may be very slightly off compared to Contax 'titanium', but I think it is near enough.

Till
 
G

Guest

As far as colors go, the G2 lenses and body colors don't even match perfectly so as long as they are similar it would work fine. Btw - I just use light soap and water to wash my filters and air dry for a day - takes a little bit of skill not to leave spots on but if done correctly it makes the filters like new again.
 
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omega45

I have a G1 & just received some Heliopan UV filters for my 45mm & 90mm. The lens hood for the 45 does not seem to fit the new filter. The size is OK, but the hood runs out of thread before it is tight. The hood & filter seem to only have a small area that is threaded & the filter threads pass this point & then gets loose. It may stay on, but it rattles (not acceptable). Is there a work-around or am I stuck?
 
P

photo3

Can a linear polarizer be used with a G2? I am a new user and am not clear yet on how the focus system works.

Never mind....I just saw the thread about polarizers.
 
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omega45

Yes, I switched to Contax filters. For the UV anyway. The guy at Jacks Camera that sold me the filters didn't know about the issue, but another person did so they are exchanging them. I guess that it's just one of those things that only experience teaches us. Heliopan doesn't mention this thread thing as a feature or anything, so I don't know why their filters are different.
cheers
 
M

malcg1uk

Member
> On the subject of filters, I remember reading somewhere (one of Roger > Hick's books, I think), that it's better if the glass is not too > tighty held in place by the mount. Apparently, this can apply pressure > unevenly, and cause distortion, degrading your photos. So slightly > loose may be better than too tight, certainly I've never noticed any > degrading of the image from loosely held glass filters, and I have a > couple that move slightly if you wiggle 'em. Maybe you're worrying > unnecessarily. Hope this helps, Malcolm >
 
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redseca2

Member
I keep Contax UV or Skylight filters on my lenses at all times, unless I'm using a B/W filter or perhaps a polarizer (I never stack filters). The only time the front glass of the lens is exposed at home it is under a constant wash of compressed air.

But after taking such nice care of my lens glass, I play rough with the filters. I will wash them in a motel 6 sink if I need to, or wipe them with a shirt sleeve. "Head and Shoulders" is a great filter cleaner. Tough luck, they have a job to do -- protect my Zeis lens. They have a hard, fast life with me and then I buy a new set of filters for my 4 G lenses every 12-18 months or so...
 
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doug101

New Member
Speaking of filters, I recently purchased a Black G2 and would love to know if contax makes the filters with the black finish? any thoughts would be appreciated!
 
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derekstanton

Well-Known Member
I was just considering this, as i'm about to get back into a G2 system and still have some 46mm filters from a Leica kit i'm selling.... But, as i thought about it, i've decided NOT to use any protective filters on the G2 lenses. I'll primarily be using the 45mm lens, and as it's priced so inexpensively, i'm just not going to worry about it. I do use filters on all of my other glass (Hassy, Canon, ContaxN), but i don't think i'm going to be concerned with protecting a $200 lens, especially since i've never damaged a lens (or filter) in the past. My philosophy about insurance/protective measures is "always protect what you cannot afford to replace." I suppose that with some of the more pricey lenses one might want to take extra precautions, but i'm likely to only use a 35+50 and possibly 90mm kit, and i'm just going to throw caution to the wind.

In a general sense, though, i think one would be hard-pressed to ever discern the difference in imagery made with versus without a high-quality filter. I would, though, only buy the best glass, and multi-coated where possible. B+W, Heliopan, or Contax Multicoated. Contax does make 46mm UV filters, "glass" and "multicoated" versions, but i haven't found images of them, so i don't know what the finish is.
 
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robert_cudlipp

On the subject of filters, I am about to purchase a number of B& W and Heliopan filters for the 2 G2 kits that I own.
I have never read a simple explanation of the effect of the Skylight 1.5 filter with its "pink salmon" affect.
I have not purchased high quality lens glass to have the images "distorted" by a Sklight filter.
Would some posters be good enough to comment on what Skylight ( as opposed to straight UV ) filters actually do and how they would affect pictures taken with them,
Thanks,
Robert Cudlipp
Melbourne Australia
 
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