> Having said that, next week I'll probably smash the front > glass of a favorite lens.
I did just that in May. Dropped my istD and my Sigma 28-105mm face down and shattered my UV filter. I've also had salt spray from the sea get on the filter, which doesn't hurt the filter at all but would have been a pain to clean off the lens. I'd much rather lose a $10 piece of glass than lose an expensive lens...
