UV Filter on Pro Glass... Well, Do You?

[Garbz]

I'm the other side of that. Why buy a $2000 lens and then put a cheap piece of glass in front of it?

Who said cheap glass? UV filters come with pristine multicoated optical glass too. It just doesn't cost $2000 because it's one element and flat thus far easier to form.

As for the question. Especially on Pro glass I put UV filters. However I'm sure most of you have seen the comparison I posed, there's glass and then there's glass!. I am definitely never using a cheap UV filter again. And the filters only come off the pro glass to be cleaned, or when shooting into a light where ghosting can be an issue.

 

[Ben-71]

[Iron Flatline]
I'm the other side of that. Why buy a $2000 lens
and then put a cheap piece of glass in front of it?
​

Indeed.
That's why I put good quality filters on good lenses.

Multi-coating takes care of the glare.
Only when the sun is (or nearly is) in the frame, I take
the filter off.

As dust does collect on the surface, I'd rather clean a
filter than an objective.

 

[Alpha]

For me it's not a question of whether there's a compelling need to take it off but rather to put it on. Unless there's a clear danger of something happening to my lens, I never use one, even the good filters.

 

[shorty6049]

i used to use a UV filter, and i bought them for a couple of the lenses i owned. This was because the a-holes (seriously, some of them are just snobby and will do anything to sell you stuff) at the camera store told me that i neeeded them, because "would you rather have to replace a lens or a 15 dollar UV filter?" well that sounded good at first. Then i talked to wedding photographer friend of mine who kind of helped me realize that although the protection aspect makes sense, its also like putting a 15 dollar piece of glass in front of a 500 dollar piece. if the lens is made out of all the best glass and is precision ground, why would you want to shoot through a cheap , low quality piece? So now, i dont use filters. Every once in a while i'll put one on if its a little wet out or something, but 99% of the time, I take my chances

 

[Mav]

Always.

Just the other week I was on the floor playing with my daughter and turned my head for a second. During that second her arm which was holding a plastic toy came down hard and knocked the filter glass at the front of my $1200 Nikkor 17-55DX. It put a minor nick in the filter, but luckily my lens was well protected. In this case a hood would have protected just as well, but the hood for that lens is big stupid and clumsy, and also scares my daughter since it makes the thing look like a friggin cannon, so I'd rather use the filter since I've never seen a loss of image quality.

 

[Joves]

I have mine on when it is in the bag. Face it the lens caps dont keep the fine dust and, particales off the glass. I live in Az so we have alot of that here. I take it off when Im shooting though. I have clear Nikon filters for some of my lenses which I dont take off.

 

[BigRich]

I find this is a frustrating issue. Some claim it is better to have a filter on to keep dust off the lens, otherwise you risk wearing down the lens coating with constant cleaning. Others seem to think the possible image degradation isn't worth it. And then there are those who think that a high quality multi coated filter gives you protection and minimizes possible image degradation. I find it so hard to make a choice, especially with the amount of money the high quality filters cost. Which there was a definitive answer, but I doubt that is possible at this point. :scratch:

Rich

 

[Bifurcator]

I voted "Under certain conditions, but usually not" with "certain conditions" being the obvious ones. I try never to use cheap filters though. I try to always go with the highest grade.

As far as "wearing down the lens coating with constant cleaning" it just doesn't happen unless you use paint thiner to clean your lenses or "scrub" it with common tissue paper regularly. I have lenses 30, and 40 years old and the glass and coatings look brand new. I clean the front of my lenses before and after every use - unless I just whip it out for one or two quick snaps or something.

They do indeed cause image degradation but it's not often noticeable. There is always extra scattering and reflection - plus whatever CA properties that filter adds. It depends allot on the conditions. If you're working around BRIGHT light sources (Sun, Studio Strobes, etc) remove the filter if it's only on there for "protection".

 

[Garbz]

I find it so hard to make a choice, especially with the amount of money the high quality filters cost. Which there was a definitive answer, but I doubt that is possible at this point. :scratch:

There's high quality and then there's high quality. Sure we all want a hand made German filter, and we all have heard bad stories of the Chinese made Hoya filters. But even consumer oriented companies like Hoya have an high quality line: http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=100830 <- Comparisons of Hoya standard, SHMC, Pro1D. Each filter is under $100AU