And whatever you do, take the hit yourself before your camera....I had a bit of an accident the other day with my Tamron lens when the plastic tabs on the lens that screw into the camera broke...$135...arrrggghhh
I always have a skylight filter on my lens, it really doesn't affect the photo, but since I seem to be taking photos in many a silly position at the race track, it is a great piece of sacrificial protection.
I seem to always have the lens hoods on my zoom lenses fitted if it is sunny...if nothing else, it makes it look like you've got a bigger lens than what you really have
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