Ernie Aubert
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I'll condense the results of many past questions on this.
There are two schools of thought: one contends that having a UV filter offers some protection for the front element of the lens; the other contends that using a lens hood offers better protection and avoids two more air/glass surfaces through which light will have to pass, and therefore avoids a small amount of image degradation.
Then there is the matter of circular polarizing filters, which are unarguably useful in some conditions: they reduce or eliminate glare from non-metallic surfaces, and they can make the blue of the sky appear darker and richer, that effect being at its maximum when oriented at 90 degrees to the direction of the sunlight.
There is general agreement all around, though, that lower quality filters will visibly degrade image quality, and that one should use only the best if one is going to use one. The brands generally regarded as the best are B+W, Heliopan, Singh-Ray, and Hoya.
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