Neglected dirt on your lens surface can ruin all the work behind your shots, making your final image awfully spotted or affecting its sharpness and beauty. Regular cleaning and correct maintaining of your lens is a good habit any photographer should have and get used to. However, unlike mere window glasses, the optical glass lenses are made of is a more delicate material. Therefore, the best solution will always be to choose a "lens protection filter (PROTECTOR, UV filter, etc.)" to attach on your lens.
The advantages are numerous: by cleaning the filter's surface instead, no cleaning product will ever make contact with your lens. Also, with the filter attached, the lens will be protected by accidental scratches, impacts or damages, and by simply replacing the filter with a new one, you can always shoot in the most desired and best conditions.
Filters, whatever type is used, need a correct cleaning and maintenance to preserve their good conditions over time. Here find some useful tips and easy-to-follow indications:
These simple steps can be also applied for a correct cleaning of your lenses as well.
Each interchangeable camera lens has its own minimum focusing distance, which is the distance from the lens to the shooting subject. Its range value generally varies from 25cm to 50cm minimum.
In close-up photography, you can close up on the subject by simply moving closer to it, as by doing so the size of the subject projected onto the image sensor will appear larger.
When you cannot move closer, or when you would like to close up more on the subject, you need to further shorten the minimum focusing distance. This can be done by installing a close-up filter (also known as close-up lens) on the lens.
Close-up filters usually come in different magnifications. Choosing the appropriate magnification is fundamental and can be easily done by considering the minimum focusing distance value of the lens.
For example, if the minimum focusing distance value is more than 1m, you will need a +1 or +2 close-up filter. If it ranges from 30cm to 50 cm, you will need a +3 or +4 close-up filters, and so on.
HOYA close-up filters come in +1, +2, +3, +4 and +10 magnification powers.
When installing close-up filters, the longest focusing distance of the lens at ∞ (infinity) will be reduced, its focusing range will change accordingly.
Focusing distance reference table when using close-up lens*
Close-up filter magnification | Shortest focusing distance | Longest focusing distance |
---|---|---|
Without close-up filter | 50cm | ∞ (infinity) |
+1 | 30cm | 100cm |
+2 | 24cm | 50cm |
+3 | 20cm | 33cm |
+4 | 17cm | 25cm |
+10 | 8cm | 10cm |
* The above calculation is based on master lens with the shortest focusing distance 50cm. The shortest focusing distance shows the distance between the object and the front part of the lens.
Follow the article "The best filters for winter season".