Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/02/11

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Subject: [Leica] UVa Filter Leica vs Cheap Shit....
From: "Peter Zak" <pzak@desidero.com.au>
Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2000 20:40:17 +1100

Okey, now I started it, now I'll steer it.

My opinion of filer v no-filter is dependent of where I'm at.

At the beach at dawn - maybe, elsewhere, I'll think about it.

I'll restate my original question:

why would a Leica filter generate this problem, shot on a clear night so
higher contrast, tripod, cable release f2 and around 2s, product this
"effect" and no cheap-shit hoya/arrow/other filter ever give me such a
result?

Any guidance welcome.....and once again, I'll happy post jepg's of what I'm
on about...

Regards,

PZ.


- ----------
>From: Jim Brick <jim@brick.org>
>To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
>Subject: [Leica] Re:  UVa Filter, Thomas Kachadurian.
>Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2000 5:33 PM
>

> Hi Tom,
>
> I've mentioned this very fact many times on the LUG and got poo pooed. Last
> summer when I taught a Leica Workshop in San Francisco, I was asked by the
> sponsoring store (Adolph Gasser) not to tell people that they should not
> use "protection" UV filters because this was a source of revenue over and
> above the meager margin on lenses. Since in all honesty, I could not do
> this, what I did instead, was to show the class all of the various filters
> that I do use. Polarizer, KR3, KR6, KB3, ND 4x, ND Grad's, 25A, YG, etc. I
> told them that whenever you put a filter over your lens, it should be for
> the purpose of "enhancing" the resulting photograph. Then I showed some
> slides using the filters that I do use. This generated lots of filter sales
> for the store. Expensive filters. But no UV filters. The store was happy.
>
> So thank you Tom, for reminding me of this again. And thanks for
> corroborating my knowledge about lenses and filters.
>
> By the way, I bought your book "Views from the Sleeping Bear". Great book.
> Great great photographs.
>
> Jim
>
> At 09:14 PM 2/10/00 -0500, Thomas Kachadurian wrote:
>>Jim:
>>
>>I won't add more to the points you have made except to let you in on
>>the dirty business of filter.
>>
>>It's all about profit. The mark up on cameras is so slim, that
>>dealers learned they could double their profit by selling some high
>>mark up add ons, Everyready cases and filters. The whole "protection"
>>angle was a sales pitch that became truth with frequent repeating. I
>>worked in a camera store for several years while I was in college. In
>>all those year I only saw one lens with a damaged front element; it
>>was scratched by a piece of glass from the filter which broke when
>>the lens was dropped.
>>
>>I have seen filters that saved the filter threads on the lens, but
>>you can achieve that with a good lens hood.
>>
>>I don't use filters except to intentionally alter the image I'm
>>making. I really don't care if others do or don't. What bothers me is
>>the perpetuation of myths.
>>
>>Tom
>>
>