Slip-CRUNCH-Shatter... &#$&%@*!!!
Tampa, Fl - Every lens I've ever owned for an every camera that would accept one has either a "Zero Filter" or a skylight or UV filter on the business end. These "do almost nothing" filters serve only one purpose in life. That is to protect the lens.
Pat Cochran, a racing photographer from Denver, taught me that you always put some "do nothing" filter over your lens face for protection. As I was shooting helicopters taking of and landing, fires with lots of high pressure fire hoses and all kinds of other things that make for flying debris, I took his advice from that day forward.
Over that time I've seen a couple of reasons to continue the practice. A medical chopper picked up a pebble and took a chip out of a TV news camera lens. A rodeo photographer lost a filter to a stone kicked up by a bucking horse behind the chutes. I'm sure there are more examples in life, but those are two I know about.
Sunday that practice paid off. Through pure stupidity on my part, my long lens hit the concrete floor on a dock, landing on the edge of the lens cap. The cap popped loose and shattered the skylight filter, damaging the ring that held the filter glass in place. The remains of the ring were removed only to discover glass particles on the face of the lens. This is bad because the glass dust will damage the lens with just the lightest of touches. Compressed air was used to blow the glass dust off the lens without touching it.
Talk about about lucking out! The lens seems to have survived intact. There is a new filter on it and test shots show it to be as good as ever.
Moral of the story, protect your lens.
-30-
Which would you rather replace? The $450 lens or the $9.95 filter?
- Pat Cochran
Pat Cochran, a racing photographer from Denver, taught me that you always put some "do nothing" filter over your lens face for protection. As I was shooting helicopters taking of and landing, fires with lots of high pressure fire hoses and all kinds of other things that make for flying debris, I took his advice from that day forward.
Over that time I've seen a couple of reasons to continue the practice. A medical chopper picked up a pebble and took a chip out of a TV news camera lens. A rodeo photographer lost a filter to a stone kicked up by a bucking horse behind the chutes. I'm sure there are more examples in life, but those are two I know about.
Sunday that practice paid off. Through pure stupidity on my part, my long lens hit the concrete floor on a dock, landing on the edge of the lens cap. The cap popped loose and shattered the skylight filter, damaging the ring that held the filter glass in place. The remains of the ring were removed only to discover glass particles on the face of the lens. This is bad because the glass dust will damage the lens with just the lightest of touches. Compressed air was used to blow the glass dust off the lens without touching it.
Talk about about lucking out! The lens seems to have survived intact. There is a new filter on it and test shots show it to be as good as ever.
Moral of the story, protect your lens.
-30-
Which would you rather replace? The $450 lens or the $9.95 filter?
- Pat Cochran
Labels: Life Lessons, Photograhy
posted by Uplinktruck | 12:34 AM
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