Review: Expert Shield Screen Protectors

A few months ago I was approached by Expert Shield and asked if I would field test their screen protectors, I was upfront with them and told them I’ve really not been a fan of screen protectors in the past as they tend to bubble, haze, collect dirt and peel off. They suggested I give their screen protectors a try and see what I think.

I was sent a collection of screen protectors for my Canon 5dmk3, Canon 7D, my iPad and even some for a possible future purchase of a Sony A7R. The protectors were very simple to apply, I had zero bubbles in them on my cameras right from the start, a few bubbles appeared on my iPad as I was applying it, but they soon were easily removed with a little massaging. My biggest complaints in the past about screen protectors have been the way they affect the image quality, or they start to peel and collect dirt underneath them, the Expert Shield protectors are crystal clear, so much so that I completely forgot I had them on there, which is a huge compliment from me, as I really don’t want to know they are there.

 

During the field testing I have been to Kununurra for a commercial shoot which involved going from quite warm temperatures, to very cold temperatures in a fairly short amount of time. I was photographing some new branding on a plane over the Bungle Bungles, the climb to altitude with the rear door of the plane off made the temperatures plummet, not something you’d expect in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. I had my 5Dmk3 hanging out of the plane (tethered to my body of course) in high winds, during the shoot the screen protectors did not even once look like they were going to peel off or collect dirt.

 

The iPad protector is not even noticeable, it doesn’t affect the use or feel of the iPad at all whereas some of the screen protectors I’ve used in the past have dulled the touch and multi-touch gestures of the iPad. I took the iPad with me on this trip, just loose in my laptop bag, at some point I put the iPad in the laptop case the wrong way and a quite sharp pen was hard up against the screen of the iPad. While on the flight home I took the iPad out to do some writing and discovered what I thought was a huge scratch on the screen, I was more than a bit annoyed as this iPad is only a couple of weeks old, replacing my very well used older iPad. When I got home I removed the screen protector and discovered that the scratch hadn’t penetrated through the protector. I replaced the protector immediately and was suddenly convinced on their value.

 

 

As if that wasn’t enough, I was on a night shoot a few nights ago when my Canon 5Dmk3 blew off  a look out and managed to really do some damage to it, a huge crack in the top of the casing and some large scratches on the rear of the camera. The scratches go right across the screen, although the screen protector did it’s job there too and saved my LCD from needing to be replaced as well. The 5Dmk3 will need to be sent into for repairs to the body, but the screen is fine!

 

Like I said, I’m not a huge fan of screen protectors because of the usual problems of bubbling, peeling, collecting dirt and getting hazy over use, so far (3 months now) the Expert Shields have displayed none of those problems and have managed to be completely invisible to me, which is exactly what I want from a screen protector. They have a lifetime guarantee on their screen protectors and state that if it scratches or bubbles to send it back to them and they’ll replace it. I’d recommend looking into these protectors if you are in the market for replacing your current ones, or if you want to have a little extra peace of mind about your LCD screens! They are available on their website.

 

While Expert Shield have sent me their products for free, this has not been a paid review, if they were rubbish, my review would have said that. I have a spare Canon 5Dmk3 and Canon 7D Expert Shield to give away, I’ll work out how I’m going to organise that and do a give away soon!