Well I have been giving very different advice in the past regarding the use of filters. Some say it is worth it other say that you only waste money and degrade image quality.
The Canon EF 24-70L has a huge hood as you mentioned in your previous post and the design is really ingenious because it reverse extends and becomes longest at 24mm and at 70mm the front element is deep inside the hood so it really provides protection unlike that pathetically tiny hood on the Sigma 10-20
I think you should get a Hoya Pro1 filter and use it when you are outside and take it off when you are shooting indoors. Don's photo often has sale on Hoya filters so I got mine for like 80 bucks.

Yes. The lens is only as good as the weakest link. No matter how many UD and flourite elements there are, it's capped by lowest quality glass there is, most of the cases, it's the filter itself.

Responsible? haha I take mine through the trenches. You should see the condition of one of my 5d bodies, looks like it's been through war. I treat my gear with respect, but I also don't worship it. It's only a tool and I know the only things that affect my images is the sensor and glass. So they always need protection.



Mainly the top points on the AF which I use often. Even helped the corner points! This is because of the shit IQ of the 5d I

This post was edited by lithfkn on Aug 5 2010 05:59pm

Shitty! I guess I should just be extra careful not to scratch it or anything Over all... I've been way too lazy to even bother buying a filter for my 50mm and it seems good.

This post was edited by Chantal7 on Aug 5 2010 10:17pm

meh, I believe all the xxD and higher end Canon cameras are well built the only thing that really worries me whenever I accidentally bump into something with my cameras is their resale value lol

I also use the top and bottom sets of AF points the most. In fact I don't really remember when was the last time I actually used the center point which is kinda stupid because the center point is more sensitive especially with the fast lenses I have




lol who is using laziness as a bad excuse now?
I think you should just get a filter and use it for awhile and see how you like it. It's "only" 80 bucks and can be used on other lenses too like your Sigma 10-20.
The 50mm is a cheap lens and the chances are that you would break it before you scratch the front element so there is no point in getting a filter for it.

Well, I guess it's not that I'm lazy, I just don't have any reason to buy the filter... that means spending more money, going to the shitty camera store here and chances are they wouldn't even have it in stock. I hate the camera store here, they're all about selling you stuff they could care less about actually helping you, unlike don's photo, much much different atmosphere when I go there.

Yeah, I gotta admit that the salespersons at Don's are very friendly and some even gives their honest opinions which I really appreciate but I can not say the same about their online custom support because I have wrote them emails asking without getting any replies in that area theCameraStore is so much better but the most important is their prices are usually lower than anywhere else at least inside Canada. It seems that you guys have some crappy small stores over there with grumpy and unhelpful employees/owners because I still remember the visit to that small computer store over there. Man! That guy is probably the grumpiest looking computer salesperson I have ever seen! lol
Well if you like Don's then you should go there before or right after Xmas to get some cheap filters. They usually have like 20% off on all Hoya filters around that time.

The 5d body is pretty tough, don't get me wrong. But I don't worry about the resale value too much, especially now that they are old bodies and no one wants them. They've made back what they were worth new many many times over now so what ever I get for them when I sell them is just a little bonus.

The centre point is rarely used because it is rare you have to shoot a subject on centre haha

Same here at least now that I actually try to get good composition lol.
Though I do really get frustrated sometimes when the AF keeps haunting and unable to focus on an object that has the similar as the background like a green katydid among green grass. Is it normal? I mean it was in broad day light too

Hey, who said no one wants them. I'm looking to get a 5D classic



I guess there is just not enough contrast. You shoot with a 50D right? I have my 50D setup so it wouldn't even attempt auto-focus if it knows it's impossible. Cuts down the time for me. If i hit the AF button and it doesn't respond, i either change position of just MF.