SLRs and protectors

I love SLR cameras. Whenever I have to use a camera that doesn't give me full "artistic" control, I always - always - end up disappointed ("artistic control" in this control means that I prefer M/Tv/Av modes (as Canon names them) - full manual, manual exposure time or manual aperture). Granted, I have tendency to "tweak" parameters when it not necessarily even needed, but when lighting is difficult those controls are absolutely vital (see recent attempts on LED matrix - granted, it's difficult even with SLR, but completely impossible with usual "point-and-shoot"s).

Some years ago I splurged and bought Canon's EF-S 17-85mm lens with image stabilizer to replace the standard kit lens (18-55mm I think, without stabilizer, I think newer kits come with essentially same lens but stabilizer included but I didn't have one) - the price was about 700-800€. Since then that has become lens I use most of the time.Granted, it's kinda big and heavy, so sometimes it's just easier to use small "point-and-click" type camera -- or even phone.

Since the lens is quite expensive I added "protector" filter on it. If you are not familiar with SLRs let me explain this a bit (I haven't been keeping up with recent progress so it might be that this has come to lower end cameras as well). Lenses typically have threads in front and you can screw in a filter. It can be polarizer (before you ask, no, this really can't be done in post), colorizing filter (this you can do in post so these aren't too popular today), some gradient (say, darkening bright sky, usually quite difficult in post) or whatever. Protectors are kind of filters that are basically just glass - no effect, only very minor loss of light. Most of the the time they are there, doing nothing, but every now and then they will save your day. Say you are receiving end of baseball throw gone awry. Normally ball would shatter your lens and possibly your eye (read: you'll get black eye when camera body hits your face). Protector will take the hit and most likely save your expensive lens, while being destroyed in process. Yay! (you'll still get that black eye from camera body but at least lens is saved!).

They also protect your camera from other unexpected threats. Like toddlers.

This was some time ago when small one was learning to walk. I stupidly had left my camera on (smallish) table and of course he pulled it down. It landed on floor lens-first. Ouch.

The protector took the hit. Glass shattered and metal frame was slightly bent at the point of contact - just enough that I couldn't just screw it off (random scratches you see on that are from pliers, trust me, I tried) but eventually I had to dremel (cut) it off. Very very carefully, of course.

So this is why you want use a lens protector. That 20€ piece of metal and glass took the hit so my 700€ lens could live on. I of course had to get new protector which is screwed on that lens even now, waiting for it's time to shine. I just hope that moment never comes, but you just never know.