Best UV/Protective Filter for the money

[chuasam]

What are your favourites?
Some loooove B+W.
I quite like Sigma but lately I tried out (and really like) this new brand from Australia called MyGobe.
They're using a Magnesium/Aluminum alloy instead of the traditional brass.

I've found Tiffen to be quite crappy. Hoya is okay.

 

[Rick50]

A while back I used UV filters but not any more. For protection I now prefer the lens hood. It causes zero degradation of the image unlike a UV filter. And the bonus is you don't have to clean it. But if you have to, I would use B+W.

 

[petrochemist]

A while back I used UV filters but not any more. For protection I now prefer the lens hood. It causes zero degradation of the image unlike a UV filter. And the bonus is you don't have to clean it. But if you have to, I would use B+W.

Quite. The best UV filter for a modern camera is the lens & the internal cut filter.

It's only in locations like the sea side where a protective filter makes any sense. The filter can then be removed & rinsed under the tap to remove sand/salt spray. A final rinse with de-ionised water might be worthwhile if the tap water leaves any residue.

 

[KmH]

Even the best clear or UV 'protection' filters can degrade image quality.

A former member here, Buckster, discovered his 'best' protection filters were causing Newton's Rings in all the photos he made with the filters on his lenses.
He quit using them.

 

[Derrel]

I used Nikon L37C multi-coated for about 10 years, alomng with Hoya HMC (stands for Hoya Messy Coating; smearrrrrrrs when you clean it with any medium: Kodak Lens Cleaning Tissue, T-shirt,Flannel Shirt, microfiber cloth, whatever, just smeaaaaaaars the gunk around); Tiffen makes a great hairspray filter / black spraypaint droplet when you want to make a fog or diffusion filter. Uggghhhhh!

B+W 010 is the best filter I've used, on 70-200/2.8 and 300/4 AF-S.

But, realistically, I just QUIT using UV filters for almost all uses. However, when trees are dropping a lot of fine, fine sap droplets or mist during the spring budding-out time, I WILL and DO slap on a UV filter on any lens that will be carried uncapped outdoors. As petrochemist mentioned, sea-spray at the shore is one reason where a filter might be used.

In the years since 2001 when I stopped using filters on a regular basis, there HAVE been some advances in filter (and lens) coatings, designed to repel water, to alleviate water drop rings, and to make filters wipe clean much easier. I have only read about those. Hoya made a hugggge deal out of this. Their coating was so awful compared to Nikon's L37C coating, it was just unreal.

I actually let the 300/2.8 and 400/3.5 and 200/2 VR and 70-200 and 80-200 go "naked" almost their entire lives....still...perfect front elements after up to 14 years on a couple, 12 on the other, 11 on the other...so...

I have seen tests of Marumi (?) filters...seemed good compared to other big brands, esp. in circular polarizers.

 

[480sparky]

The absolutely positively BEST filter used for lens protection is call a 'hood'.

 

[zombiesniper]

What are your favourites?

Not using one. For protection it has never been proven to protect but I can imagine how it could wreck the coating on your lens.

Most cameras today have UV covered and the only thing a filter will do is put one more piece of glass between you and the shot.

 

[table1349]

Not using one = FREE = Best Bang For Your Buck!
With the money you save you can go to Starbucks and order a: Double Ristretto Venti Half-Soy Nonfat Decaf Organic Chocolate Brownie Iced Vanilla Double-Shot Gingerbread Frappuccino Extra Hot With Foam Whipped Cream Upside Down Double Blended, One Sweet'N Low and One Nutrasweet, and Ice.

 

[chuasam]

Many Nikon lenses have that fragile thin plastic ring. The filters are great for protecting that ring

 

[table1349]

If that is your worry, buy any cheap filter, knock the damn useless glass out and put the ring in. Problems solved. With the cost of a cheap filter you could still have the above Starbucks, just leave out the Nutrasweet.

 

[Derrel]

Many Nikon lenses have that fragile thin plastic ring. The filters are great for protecting that ring

And today's externally-attaching bayonet-on lens hoods typcially mean the filter ring is secure and protected inside the hood. But if you really must protect that ring, a glass-less filter, or a step-ring threaded in, will do a good job.

 

[adamhiram]

I use B+W MRC 010 filters on all of my lenses. I haven't noticed any significant image degradation, and only see added glare or ghosting with strong point light sources at night or with long exposures. I find the protection pretty useful around young kids with dirty fingers, crayons, or want to lick everything. I had a Tiffen filter a few years back that came free with a lens I bought, and it was garbage.

 

[zombiesniper]

I find the protection pretty useful around young kids with dirty fingers, crayons, or want to lick everything.

I find after you shoot the first one......the rest fall inline.

 

[greybeard]

For the money, I think Hoya makes the best (for the money). I prefer to shoot without a filter and a rigid lens hood.

 

[fmw]

Since a UV filter is nothing more than a piece of flat optical glass, the brand or price is not important. I suppose it is possible to buy one that is not flat but I've never encountered one.