bmikep Posted October 7, 2009 Share #1 Posted October 7, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) What will you be putting on the end of your M9 lenses, UV filters or nothing at all? It's been said that no glass can equal a Leica lens and filters should not be used. What do you think? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted October 7, 2009 Posted October 7, 2009 Hi bmikep, Take a look here Leica M9 with filter or au naturel ?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
noah_addis Posted October 7, 2009 Share #2 Posted October 7, 2009 I always use protective filters. A good, multicoated filter (I use the B+W brand MRC filters) will do very little to degrade image quality but will provide a lot of protection for the front element and also some protection for the lens barrel itself. I've had lots of filters either scratched or had the rings dented. Without the filter the expensive front element or lens barrel might have been damaged instead. The Leica UV/IR filters for the M8 did introduce some strange reflections, but I've never really had a problem with that when using multicoated UV filters. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wattsy Posted October 7, 2009 Share #3 Posted October 7, 2009 What will you be putting on the end of your M9 lenses Nowt. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
michali Posted October 7, 2009 Share #4 Posted October 7, 2009 No filters at all on lenses fitted to M9. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModernMan Posted October 7, 2009 Share #5 Posted October 7, 2009 I always use protective filters. A good, multicoated filter (I use the B+W brand MRC filters) will do very little to degrade image quality but will provide a lot of protection for the front element and also some protection for the lens barrel itself. I've had lots of filters either scratched or had the rings dented. Without the filter the expensive front element or lens barrel might have been damaged instead. The Leica UV/IR filters for the M8 did introduce some strange reflections, but I've never really had a problem with that when using multicoated UV filters. +1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pointcolville Posted October 7, 2009 Share #6 Posted October 7, 2009 The front element of both lenses survived. I also have been known to wipe salt water, sand, sawdust and other substances off the front of a lens with a shirt sleeve or whatever else is at hand. More refined users may not require filters. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noah_addis Posted October 8, 2009 Share #7 Posted October 8, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) More refined users may not require filters. Sorry but I'm not sure what you mean by 'refined users'. I'm just a working pro using Leica gear in some pretty tough environments. Filters are cheap insurance, and I'd challenge anyone to tell the difference between photos taken with and without them. In my book refinement has nothing to do with the gear you use or the filters on your lens and everything to do with the work you produce. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BerndReini Posted October 8, 2009 Share #8 Posted October 8, 2009 No filters, just be careful. A filter, no matter of what quality, will always be a cause of increased flare when shooting specular or very bright highlights or in backlit situations. This is not even so much caused by the extra layer of glass, but by the space between that glass and the lens. If you're out in the rain or drizzle or at the beach, by all means, add a protective multi-coated UV filter, but for critical work, take it off. Filters are like condoms. They make things safer, but they degrade the quality somewhat. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Posted October 8, 2009 Share #9 Posted October 8, 2009 Nothing at all and loving it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
glenerrolrd Posted October 8, 2009 Share #10 Posted October 8, 2009 I always use protective filters. A good, multicoated filter (I use the B+W brand MRC filters) will do very little to degrade image quality but will provide a lot of protection for the front element and also some protection for the lens barrel itself. I've had lots of filters either scratched or had the rings dented. Without the filter the expensive front element or lens barrel might have been damaged instead. The Leica UV/IR filters for the M8 did introduce some strange reflections, but I've never really had a problem with that when using multicoated UV filters. My exact POV..although I will probably go without for certain night shooting situations. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lars_bergquist Posted October 8, 2009 Share #11 Posted October 8, 2009 Ernst Leitz hammered into the heads of generations of Leica users that filters do degrade the optical performance. So generations of Leica users did not use filters. And I have seen the lenses those generations used pass in front of me, with scratches, dents and cleaning marks. All those splendid optics ruined by fools who thought that lens cleaning by rubbing it with a shirt sleeve degrades the image LESS than a good UVa filter does ... I do think that UVa filters create fewer and less obnoxious reflexes from light sources etc. than UV/IR filters do. I may however use lenses with fronts well protected by non-collapsible hoods, and often used indoors like the 28mm Summicron ASPH or the 35mm Summilux-ASPH, without filters (but I will use the front caps religiously). Lenses with exposed fronts however, like the 50mm Summilux ASPH or the 90mm Elmarit, will wear protective filters. The old man from the Age of the Yellow Filter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Ash Posted October 8, 2009 Share #12 Posted October 8, 2009 Does anybody have an idea what repair cost are to be expected for exchanging the front element? Regards Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danyves Posted October 8, 2009 Share #13 Posted October 8, 2009 UVa filters on all my lenses, as dust and scratches protection. Have always done before when using films leica(s) M3 or M4 or M6. Will do with the M9. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonoslack Posted October 8, 2009 Share #14 Posted October 8, 2009 Does anybody have an idea what repair cost are to be expected for exchanging the front element? Regards Steve I dread to think . . . . I'm sure it'd pay for a lot of UV filters . . . although possibly not quite as many as the ones I haven't bought for lenses over the years! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EarlBurrellPhoto Posted October 8, 2009 Share #15 Posted October 8, 2009 I would need to keep an IR filter. I know three pros I respect who have M9s now and they all say there is still enough IR magenta to make necessary using the filters. I shoot a lot of black-tie events and for me until Leica incorporates cyan-drift correction in firmware so I can use an IR filter without going through additional postprocessing, the M9 is a no-go. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonoslack Posted October 8, 2009 Share #16 Posted October 8, 2009 I would need to keep an IR filter. I know three pros I respect who have M9s now and they all say there is still enough IR magenta to make necessary using the filters. I shoot a lot of black-tie events and for me until Leica incorporates cyan-drift correction in firmware so I can use an IR filter without going through additional postprocessing, the M9 is a no-go. Well, you can safely use the filters at 35mm and above, without any changes in the firmware. As I understand it, at 28mm and below the extra sensor size makes it really difficult to correct cyan drift for IR filters in the firmware. I think you'll be very lucky to get this. I'm also certain that it's very easy to correct any IR as a batch in such black tie events. I've shot 3 weddings with the M8 without trouble. The only time I've seen it in 'real life' was an evening event at dusk where a tee-shirt was affected, dropping the magenta luminance in Aperture sorted it quite satisfactorily without adversely affecting other colours, so it was a simple to add the adjustment as a batch to all the photos. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_tribble Posted October 8, 2009 Share #17 Posted October 8, 2009 I would need to keep an IR filter. I know three pros I respect who have M9s now and they all say there is still enough IR magenta to make necessary using the filters. I shoot a lot of black-tie events and for me until Leica incorporates cyan-drift correction in firmware so I can use an IR filter without going through additional postprocessing, the M9 is a no-go. Earl - this is potentially very important for me as I've given my IR filters to RG Lewis to sell on and I'd feel really stupid if I had to start buying them in again! Do you or your contacts who are currently using M9's with IR filters have any comments? I use 18/21/28/35 wides + 50/90/135 standard to long... I had IR filters for all these - it begins to sound as if I might want to get them back for artificially lit formal events... Jono - I know that you've considered this and decided it's not a problem with minor corrections in post. Are you able to post some examples? Thanks -- not panicking yet! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean_reid Posted October 8, 2009 Share #18 Posted October 8, 2009 Well, you can safely use the filters at 35mm and above, without any changes in the firmware. As I understand it, at 28mm and below the extra sensor size makes it really difficult to correct cyan drift for IR filters in the firmware. Hi Jono, I would put the cut off at 75 mm rather than 35 mm. I think Leica's spec on this is too liberal. Cheers, Sean Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean_reid Posted October 8, 2009 Share #19 Posted October 8, 2009 Earl - this is potentially very important for me as I've given my IR filters to RG Lewis to sell on and I'd feel really stupid if I had to start buying them in again! Do you or your contacts who are currently using M9's with IR filters have any comments? I use 18/21/28/35 wides + 50/90/135 standard to long... I had IR filters for all these - it begins to sound as if I might want to get them back for artificially lit formal events... Jono - I know that you've considered this and decided it's not a problem with minor corrections in post. Are you able to post some examples? Thanks -- not panicking yet! Chris, I'd suggest you hold on to them until you start shooting with an M9 and see for yourself if filters seem necessary (and if yes then under what conditions). Cheers, Sean Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EarlBurrellPhoto Posted October 8, 2009 Share #20 Posted October 8, 2009 I'm also certain that it's very easy to correct any IR as a batch in such black tie events. I've shot 3 weddings with the M8 without trouble. The only time I've seen it in 'real life' was an evening event at dusk where a tee-shirt was affected, dropping the magenta luminance in Aperture sorted it quite satisfactorily without adversely affecting other colours, so it was a simple to add the adjustment as a batch to all the photos. I've never found any way with the M8 to correct the magenta in post without adversely affecting other colours, however I realise that not everyone defines 'adversely' the same. In addition, I've found many times that I'm shooting in and out of differing mixtures of light, therefore the amount of IR reflectance is not the same throughout hundreds of shots, making batching next to impossible. The IR filters do work, although I've always considered it the supreme idiocy on a US$5000 camera. But now we've got a US$7000 camera which only partially solves the problem and at the same time complicates the use of IR filters when they are needed. For me that's a much more serious issue than the crop factor, which I'm quite used to by now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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