Mortified Noob (Just a silly story)

Cork Boy

Attn: Fellow Noobs who buy or borrow second hand gear

Background: I have a Nikon D80 and 18-135mm DX Lens that I got all secondhand.

So anyway, I was reading up on lenses as part of trying to get to know my camera and as I looked atop my lens what did I see out of the corner of my eye but the word 'Canon' sitting there bould as you like! So it turns out (after some googling*) it's a protection filter...

So, ahem, I may have been shooting this whole time with a (clear) lens filter on :pac:

Anyways, not sure of this belongs in off-topic or whatever so mods feel free to move, I just thought it was a funny story!


*If I can sneak in a sneaky question now that I've proven my googling capabilities, should I only take the cap off when conditions are completely threat fee or is the hood the great protector Teh Internet makes it out to be?

**Oh christ this gets even better, I now know what a lens hood is and I now know i've being wearing it backwards all this time too.

EDIT: My original post I called the protect filter a cap.

dirtyghettokid

when you bought the D80, it came with a canon lens cap
or am i missing something..............

Cork Boy

Purchased second hand after 2-3 months of watching adverts.ie like a hawk!

Effects

If it's a Canon hood on a Nikon lens I'd make sure it isn't casting any shadows on the frame as hoods come in different shapes and sizes to suit different lenses.

frozenfrozen

Cap or hood? Cap covers the glass and hood is like what a cat or dog gets at the vet

Cork Boy

I discovered both simultaneously! The cap is the canon, the hood is nikon. My point was that I'd been shooting all this (short) time with the cap on and the hood on backwards... woops!

humberklog

Now I'm lost here, how did you look out the viewfinder?

ronanc15

Are you sure youre not talking about a filter? Just to clarify a cap would cover your lens completely i.e. you couldnt take a pic at all

Kenny Logins

Lens hood, reversed.

?

Cork Boy

My apologies - it seems to be a filter that does nothing as far as I can see but act as a protector. It's a Canon 67mm Protect

humberklog

My opologies.

Btw, your grand- the pics will come out and put that thing back on.

Effects

Kenny Logins wrote: »

Lens hood, reversed.

?

Most of them screw on in reverse to store them.

Cork Boy

Kenny Logins wrote: »

Lens hood, reversed.

?

When the hood sits on the lens but not in use, in storage mode, like the below:



Only picture i could find - for clarification i now realise that the yoke on front is the cap and what i was trying to initially describe was the canon protect filter

Cork Boy

humberklog wrote: »

My opologies.

Btw, your grand- the pics will come out and put that thing back on.

Don't apologise! I'm the one going around calling a filter a cap! So you reckon i should just leave the protection filter on - even whilst shooting?

humberklog

Cork Boy wrote: »

Don't apologise! I'm the one going around calling a filter a cap! So you reckon i should just leave the protection filter on - even whilst shooting?

On a borrowed camera? Definitely. Even on one's own too (if you have them).

Cork Boy

humberklog wrote: »

On a borrowed camera? Definitely. Even on one's own too (if you have them).

It's my camera now after parting with some hard earned cash but a cracker of a deal all the same

Sorry for the confusion everyone, not sure if i should have edited the original post or not.

In summary - just discovered i have a protection cap (that was in use) and a hood lens (that was in storage/non-use position).

pullandbang

Always use protection, no matter what position.........

Kenny Logins

Effects wrote: »

Most of them screw on in reverse to store them.

Yeah, I know. I was just trying to figure out what this thread was about..

Cork Boy

Cork Boy wrote: »

It's my camera now after parting with some hard earned cash but a cracker of a deal all the same

Sorry for the confusion everyone, not sure if i should have edited the original post or not.

In summary - just discovered i have a protection cap (that was in use) and a hood lens (that was in storage/non-use position).

The filter (piece of glass you can screw on and off) will act as a shield to the actual lens glass in the event of anything hitting your lens. It's also wise to have it on when around beaches and the likes as sand blowing through the air isn't good for the glass (and why damage the lens when you can damage the filter instead).

Hood is used to help prevent glare in certain situations. Personally I find it's generally useless for this purpose, but it does take the brunt of any collisions (ie; if you have the camera hanging on a strap and it hits into a door frame you're walking through, or someone hits into you, etc. it's better the hood takes the impact than the lens itself).

The cap (black plastic) is used when the camera is in storage or not being used (obviously you can't take photos with it on).


The only time the UV filter (piece of glass you screw on/off) should really be taken off, or will have a notable impact on your images, is when there are lots of lights around. If you're in a music venue for example, or even out in the street and there are lots of street lights or car lights, you can get blobs of glare on your image that are caused by the additional screen of glass that the light has to go through.


Here's a photo which displays glare caused by the UV Filter;

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fensterbme/2601802168/


So general rule of thumb is to leave it on and remove it when you notice it causing issues.

My post isn't entirely accurate (these accessories have other good/bad points, but as I'm writing in a rush I'm trying to keep it simple as Im sure other users will continue to help out anyway) but I hope that's some help.