If you buy a new DSLR at the camera store, the snarky salesman is assuredly going to try and sell you a UV filter for your lens. He will adamantly state that this filter will protect your camera's sensor from the evil yellow orb known as the sun and it will also protect your lens from unidentified objects being thrown at you (most likely to happen only if you are paparazzi).
DO NOT BUY IT You might want to think twice!! Here is why:
All Digital SLR cameras have a UV filter built onto the sensor already, it is part of every sensor design for any new camera you will buy and most used ones you would find on Ebay. Also, almost every lens comes with a lens hood these days. A lens hood
is ALL you need to protect your lens from damage will do a fabulous job protecting your lens because most objects that are going to hit your lens will be from the side of your lens or camera; a lens hood is designed to prevent this. In my experience and the experience of many other photographers, objects rarely come straight at the lens (rain, sleet and sand being a good exception to this). The other good thing about a lens hood is that will protect your shots from lens flares which you may not see in your picture clearly but can reduce the contrast and quality of your photo.
Now, there are times when a UV filter might be a wise thing to have. A case in point would be if you are shooting in the rain or in other situations where your lens may get wet. A filter will help keep water form seeping into the element from the front. Sand is another attacker of lenses, so a situation on the beach might be a good reason for a filter as well to protect your lens from that element.
A final point: If you pay $200 or $500 or more for a new lens you have paid for really good glass that is designed to give you the best picture optically. Are you really going to screw a $40 filter in front of all that expensive glass?? Really? Like all things in photography, there are compromises, UV filter are no exception to this rule.
Ummm. I don't want the glass of my lens to be the the first thing the world hits coming at it. (My hood isn't on that often - and doesn't prevent a straight hit.)
ReplyDeleteAND - my filter is Not plastic - It is glass, it comes from Japan just like my lens, and degrades my pictures nada.
provides nice protection for when you drop your lens.
ReplyDeleteAll points noted.
ReplyDeleteI believe you should have your lens hood on at most times. You can protect your images from lens flare with a lens hood. And, as I stated above, it provides protection. Even if you drop your lens, the lens hood is going to help reduce the impact.
In addition, the front element of your lens is the cheapest element to replace, sometimes only costing $100. If you drop your lens hard and damage internal elements, a filter is not going to prevent that.
I will make some edits to this post to help clarify a bit. It is...in the end all about compromise...like most things in photography.