Poll: Do you use UV filters/protectors on your lenses?

I realize that the lens is only as good as the glass in front of it but I thought one could buy excellent UV lenses that would not degrade the lens behind it. How about a B+W filter? If this is not a good choice what is?

Nick_C wrote:
No thats rubbish, or at least thats what I have found, I dont use the real cheapest UV filters like the ones from Kood, but I dont use the best ones either, on my Sigma 17-70 I have a Hoya G Series, its coated but probably only a thin layer.

When I did some tests I locked the focus & had the camera on a tripod, mirror lockup too, although it was a sunny day so the shutter speed was high enough to avoid tripod & mirror lockup, but what the hell, I did it anyway, when I examined the 2 photos side by side there was no differences at all, both the same contrast, both the same sharpness.

Im actually quite suprised (even alarmed) at how many people own really expensive lenses & dont have any protection on the end, a hood provides very little.

On my old P&S camera which didnt take filters, I went to the beach & one time I remember seeing lots of spots on the lens, it was only sea spray but it was so greasy! sea water is also very corrosive due to the salt content, it cleaned off but being as most front elements on lenses are curved it was hard to get in the very corners, a UV on the other hand is flat & dead easy to clean.

My old UV filter even has slight scratches, now I look after my gear & always replace the lens cap, I even have a cap that goes over the UV filter to protect THAT! & still its showing little faint scratches, that would have been the front element!! where as when I remove the UV for cleaning the actual lens is the same as the day I got it, not a mark or spec of dust.

Nick

I'm with all the folks who use a UV for protection. I use a Hoya HMC SuperUV (0). I would'nt want anything to happen to my only lens. Glad to hear "the story" about UV filters making your pics soft is rubbish
THANKS Nick.

lens hood here, too. why put glass in between good lens element and the subject - softy or not...

I always forget about the hood, Doh!!

When I got my first lenses and camera, I used UV filters on all of them. I was taking pictures of sunsets in Maui and found a lot of flare problems.

After reading all the posts about this 2 years ago, I dropped the filters and added hoods full time.

What's the point. Your adding more glass to the lens to introduce unwanted effects. It already has a lens hood which protects the lens. I do use CP's or ND's when I feel they will add to the image other then that they are off. I do have lenses that are 25+ years old, have some scratches and you cannot tell they were there on the print. If I scratch a lens that bad then it's time for a new lens by making a claim to the insurance company.

well i use skyights filters on my lenses for protection

well at least when im shoting rally i dont want a lil rock from the road hit my lens and scratch it

I've gotten now to where I put the filter on if I think there's a chance something bad will happen - dog noses, kids, a branch from a tree in the woods. If there's a little less chance of that (landscape shots), I use the hood and skip the filter altogether.

I answered no. I haven't completed any controlled tests or anything, but my feeling is that somehow the UV filter I was using was causing poorer AF for my 20D. Also, I feel that the protection a filter offers is over-rated. I've had an SLR for 30 years and never damaged the front element or of any of my lenses or a filter.

I use a hood instead, unless I'm using my circ pol and constantly switching from landscape to portrait and back.

I've got kids with dirty hands...

Dito

It's just another piece of glass between my subject and my recording medium...

If one is good, would two be better? Three? Real protection with four?

I do for simple protection. I am clumbsy sometimes. I also get close to the ground when I shot cars and I had rather let a filter touch the ground than a lens.

In the summer I shoot softball and I live in windy Iowa. since we rarely have no sand, dirt, dust, dogs, cats, or small children etc.. blowing around, I always use a filter, but only the highest quality. In the winter I shoot indoor sports and do not use filters.

I use it only when necessary: near the sea, in dusty environment and so on.
But the hood is *always* on, in *every* lens!