UV Filter Function

Is UV filter in front of the lens really improves sharpness, exposure & contrast of the image?

Maybe in very specific circumstances. It can also reduce IQ in other specific circumstances. I don't use 'em.

if i dont have a hood.. ill put on a uv or cp depending on the lens

Tip: Buy a hood

mukund2 wrote in post #2025437
Is UV filter in front of the lens really improves sharpness, exposure & contrast of the image?

My understanding is that the glass in today's lenses is designed to filter out UV, and for sure there is a filter in front of digital sensors that does that. Adding a UV filter to the front of a lens is not likely to noticeably reduce the UV getting to the digital sensor any more than the built-in filtering does. Thus you are not likely to see any improvement in image quality by adding a UV filter.

A lot of folks have been convinced that they need to add a filter to the lens for "protection" of the lens. Adding glass surfaces in front of a lens will definitely add to the risk of image degradation, depending on the light sources that can impinge on the filter. Read this article for more information: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/columns/​sm-feb-05.shtml

What will definitely tend to help image quality is to use a properly designed lens hood on every lens you have. They block stray sources of light that would tend to degrade the image.

Properly designed lens hoods (rigid as opposed to collapsible rubber types) also offer quite a bit of physical protection for the lens. They will help you keep your fingers off the glass, and they provide a lot of crash protection as well.

If you do choose to use a UV filter all the time, make sure it is the highest quality multicoated filter that you can buy to reduce the liklihood of image degradation.

mukund2 wrote in post #2025437
Is UV filter in front of the lens really improves sharpness, exposure & contrast of the image?

A UV filter does two things;

1) Attenuates light in the ultraviolet range of the spectrum. This occurs typically at high altitudes, at the beach and far off under hazy conditions. While the UV filter helps, it's not a magic bullet.

2) It protects the front of your lens (arguably).

It doesn't really improve sharpness and contrast except in case #1 above and in a limited way. It doesn't do anything for exposure.

It's a lens condom