It is essential that you keep your filters clean as any piece of glass in front of the lens could possibly reduce image quality. This most commonly occurs when shooting in wet conditions such as waterfalls, in the rain or seascapes. Direct water droplets followed by smears by attempted cleaning can all reduce image quality. The other way filters can reduce image quality is if they develop scratches. These are some ways to protect your filters
Storage
Make sure that after you have used your filters, you stow them away securely. My preference for rectangular and square filters is to use a hard case. NiSi has such an option that keeps filters away from any contact barring the slots into which they slide. The hard case also allows me to place filters in checked baggage with confidence. Soft storage options such as filter pouches are also effective, however, make sure that you keep them dry or filters may well come out of the pouch with smears!
NiSi 100mm System Filter Pouch Plus
NiSi 150mm System Filter Pouch
NiSi 100mm Filter Case II
Lens caps
If you decide to leave an adapter ring and CPL filter on your lens while stowing, I would strongly advise using a lens cap to prevent the filters from being scratched. The same applies if you use a UV or circular polariser. My practice is to have spare lens caps in case I happen to lose one in the field.
NiSi V6 Lens Cap
Cleaning options during shoots
My #1 option is to use disposable ‘Kim wipes’. These pieces of thin paper are used for cleaning medical equipment and do not leave smear marks or residual lint. Other options such as microfibre cloths also do the job but I have found that they do leave smears.
Cleaning options between shoots
At the end of a shoot or series of shoots, I will often clean by filters by rinsing them and leaving them to dry on a drying rack. Every once in a while a thorough clean like this is helpful to inspect whether there is any permanent damage to the filters.
NiSi Clever Cleaner
NiSi Cleaning Kit
by Dylan Toh
