GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

Yes, they do repairs!
Had them replace a sensor in a Canon 5D.
Less than Canon would have charged.

Brent Rowlett Loc: Atlanta, GA

We have plenty of professional camera stores here in Atlanta. PPR (Professional Photo Resource) not only sells but rents the best of equipment to professionals. They are located on 11th Street, very close to GA Tech. I have been dealing with them and renting equipment for 25 years. And all of the imaging labs are located in that area.

jaycoffsky

Mister, I was just trying to find out with something was wrong with my lens. I just carefully cleaned the filter, put it back on and the pics look the same like a beginning cataract. Took it off and pic are overtly clean.

jaycoffsky

Good to know, when Showcase and Wolf went out of business did not know there were any left in Atlanta.

Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

Wolf was a joke... they were more interested in the point and shoot crowd and their “help”, at least at the two I went to, needed to be better informed of photographic principles.

jaycoffsky

Still, i dont think you can walk into KEH and get photo info like you could with retail stores. Someone said there were lots of stores still in Atlanta. I was not aware. The location they named is in the heart of downtown and depending on when you go, it could take a while to get there and park, etc. I miss showcase and even Wold where often there were knowledgeable people at times.
KEH is not set up for walk in info, no showcases etc. Basically a office front. Nice people however.

Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

For your reading pleasure about the meniscus lenses on the front of certain Nikkor lenses. Not exactly designed for damage protection..... "ML- Meniscus Protective Lens
An arched meniscus protecting glass element is placed in the front end of the optical lens to diminish ghosting by diffusing illumination re-reflected back from the sensor or film plane and the protection glass. By employing a meniscus protecting lens make certain of a bright image with minimum ghosting Nikon has customarily integrated their optical and mechanical lenses and carefully put into practice to thwart internal reflections, and the meniscus elements succeed in curtailing ghosting that can happen when reflected illumination off a camera’s digital image sensor travels back up the barrel of a lens and reflects off a flat plain protective glass element."

Ched49 Loc: Pittsburgh, Pa.

The second photo is a perfect example of my eyesight after I had my cataract surgery.

LWW Loc: Banana Republic of America

I remember some similar verbiage in the papers that came with my NIKKOR 300 f4 AF-D.

Brent Rowlett Loc: Atlanta, GA

PPR is high end professional. They have ex-pro photographers on staff—huge difference in service and knowledge. Wolf was more low end point and shoot business.

LWW Loc: Banana Republic of America

A meniscus filter means that it is curved on one side and flat on the other unlike a flat on both sides, PLANO, filter.

It is still a filter, just a more useful one, and it is clearly protective as well as optical.

I don’t use cheap filters, but I do use filters.

They do have a life cycle.

No matter how fine your lens cleaning cloth may be, it is abrasive.

No matter how gentle your lens cleaning motion may be, it is abrasive.

No matter how mild your lens cleaning solution may be, it is a solvent.

No matter how gently your blower moves dirt, it still blows grit across the surface.

No matter how lightly you clean the front element of a lens, you are doing damage however slight it may be.

I have lenses that I have owned for decades without cleaning the front element. They, to this day, look like new.

When I remove a filter I immediately place a lens cap on the front of the lens.

As soon as I see the most minute damage on a filter I bin it.

The reflection argument IMHO doesn’t hold up as long as one uses s lens hood.

I also always use a lenshood.

I protect my gear fanatically.

If someone sold a junkyard dog filter to keep danger away from my gear, I would buy it.

My $0.02. YMMV.

Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

They call it a lens, not a filter...

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

Since the filter subject has been raised I'll add my penny.

There is no reason to use a UV filter. Glass absorbs UV light. So you might consider your lens to have a built-in UV filter.

There is usually no reason to use a clear glass filter to protect your lens. IMHO, the exception comes where the environment you are working in is nasty. I worked on a farm and used a clear filter occasionally to protect my lens against blowing sand, salt spray, and other noxious materials frequently found on a farm. When I was on the farm and there was no wind I took the filter off. That was the condition most of the time.

The lens hood is a good protector which you can leave on the lens all the time. The only time I took off my lens hood is when I was using a lens that didn't fit in my bag with the hood. I would take it off to put it in the bag, then put it back on when I took the lens out of the bag. The only time my camera has hit the ground was when it was on a tripod and the wind blew it over. It landed lens down. The hood dug into the dirt, but nothing reached the lens.

There is a video showing just how little a UV filter does and how little a filter will protect a lens against impacts. It's 20 minutes, but it's worth it.
https://petapixel.com/2015/08/31/photo-mythbusters-how-much-do-uv-filters-actually-protect-your-lenses/

LWW Loc: Banana Republic of America

Not really.

The test essentially mimics hitting the lens with a ball pien hammer, which I wouldn’t expect a filter or front element to survive.

Had the test simulated a swinging bush limb, which I wouldn’t expect to break either a lens or filter element, I feel it would definitely show how a filter protects from scratches and abrasions.

A hood will help against this also, but the new petal hoods appear woefully ineffective for such protection.

Jackrealtor

Hey I've got a Nikon D7100 with both my old standard lens, the 18-200VR but being a Realtor I've migrated to my "leave it on the camera to keep any potential dust out" lens is a Tokina 12-28mm f/4.0 AT-X Pro DX Lens for Nikon. I have NOT put my usual "IMMEDIATE" lens filter to protect the lens from any possible contamination, what do you guys recommend?