Re: Do you use filters?

[Godfrey DiGiorgi <ramarren@bayarea.net>]

>What are the groups habits/thoughts on using filters on Leica lenses.  Any
>special do's or dont's?

I tend to shoot B&W most of the time. I use Skylight 1a and UV filters 
most of the time to reduce ultraviolet haze, I use orange, green, yellow 
and red filters occasionally to alter the grayscale balance of various 
scenes. When using color, I normally use Skylight 1a/1b to warm up shadow 
tones which are bluish. 

A poor filter ruins a good lens. I now use only Nikon, B+W and Heliopan 
filters as my negatives have demonstrated to me that they do not degrade 
a lens' quality if they're kept clean and not scratched. 

Shooting without a filter you might get just a miniscule bit sharper 
image (just one more set of glass surfaces to deal with, with inevitable 
scatter results) but with good filters it's undetectable. Such 
considerations are of little consequence for much of the photography I 
do. 

I also always use a lens hood. I find that has a much greater influence 
in flare control and apparent sharpness than a good filter.

Godfrey