Short problem-solving week

Fell sick on Tuesday and stayed home, and spent the last three working days of the week trying to make up for it. There's so much stuff to be done that it's scary to contemplate. So I try to put it out of my mind, and get on with things one step at a time. Managed to crank out a working version of a deceptively complicated tool while learning PHP in the process. Whee.

With guidance from some ClubSnap people, I finally realized that a "smudging" problem I was having with my 50mm lens was in fact caused by the screw-on UV filter, and not due to the dust particles within the lens itself.

50mm f/1.8 with cheap filter		G's 50mm f/1.8 with multicoated filter

Notice the green smudge in the photo on the left, at the girl's shoulder. On closer inspection, it's more like an 180-degree after-image of the bright highlights on the left side of the shot. G's lens, which I swapped with to take the second test photo on the right, didn't exhibit this behaviour. And now, after more testing with the filter on and without, I know that it's due to the cheapo filter on my lens.

I was going to pick up a new multicoated filter to replace the old one, but Stanley brought up a good point - why spend on an expensive filter that basically serves to protect a cheap lens? Instead, said he, I should just remove the filter before shooting, and replace it when I'm done. Excellent suggestion; I kicked myself for not thinking about it.