dougjk wrote:
You are supposed to put a UV filter on your lenses (particularly the ones with large diameter filter threads) so that your local camera dealer can turn an extra profit.
In the case of digital.... they do nothing because sensors are not UV sensitive, unlike film. Nothing, except protect the front element of lenses and help as a dust seal for some lenses (most famously the 17-55 EF-S).
There are lovers and there are haters of UV filters. I use them because I want the added security a filter provides to the lens... if I bump the front or drop a lens, I\'d rather have to pay for a new filter than a new front element (hoods do indeed provide some protection but I often don\'t use a hood).
The only optical downside to filters (good multicoated ones) is they can increase flare in bright sunlight at certain angles. Other than that I\'ve yet to see proof that cutting out 1% of visible spectrum light has any detrimental effect on IQ.
Are UV filters a rip off? Hell yes! I don\'t care how involved the multi-coating process is, paying $70+ for about 4 square inches of glass is ludicrous. I tend to use Hoya S-HMC or HMC, which are generally the cheapest multi-coated filters available.
May 20, 2009 at 01:47 PM
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