Comments on: Protect Your SLR Photo Lens with a UV Filter

By: Manny OTS

Manny OTS — Thu, 20 May 2010 17:05:09 +0000

so lately i have put down my sony alpha 350 and started using my canon ae1, to get in touch with what true photography used to be. kinda annoys me the that anyone can pic up a dslr now a days and be a said photographer. anyone can take a picture not everyone knows how to compose a frame. with film you have to be wise a really shoot something in context because you only have a bout said number of shoots per roll. older photographer required you to be involved in the whole image making process. you hade to actually study and remember calculations and so much more that go behind making a shot. im not saying i hate digital photograph, dont get me wrong i love digital photography. just people should know what their talking about and what they are doing when they pick up photograph. so back to the topic lol
i just found a uv filter that i slapped on my slr and now im not afraid of smashing or scratching my lens when i go on a hike. i put my cameras through their toughest conditions. i love to use my cameras even if it means accidentally dropping it down a dirt hill side. thats why you get insurance lmao some people are so, pardon my french but anal, about their camera getting a little nick. i say it give it character. uv filter in a dlsr is someone pointless but all the reason to have when wanting to have some extra protection.

By: Frank Rob

Frank Rob — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:39:33 +0000

I attempted to subscribe to all your rss, but had a problem adding it to google reader. Could you please look at this webpage.

By: S.K.Bhattacharya

S.K.Bhattacharya — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:13:41 +0000

Hi,
I have purchases Nikon D90 camera. I tried UV filter first time for night picture of a marriage anneversary function with flush SB600 mounting with the camera. When I saw the photos in computer I just cried due to colour distortion. Can you suggest for Nikon D90 with 18-105mm lense which filter/ lense protector I can use so that I need not take it out always.Thanks,

By: Frank

Frank — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:31:55 +0000

Hi,
I am new to the SLR world, just got tired of the point and shoot cameras. I just purchased a Nikon D3000, reading up on it I thought this was best for me since I am new to SLR’s, sorry to be repetitive. I am trying to absorb as much information as I possibly can by reading through sites such as this. Now I read to leave the UV filter off, when other places I have read it is a necessity. Any information you guys can give me will be greatly appreciated. I’m trying to learn what filter I can use to protect my lense, though it is not an expensive one, but as I get more involved I’m sure I will be experimenting with other lenses, i already want to get a telephoto/zoom lens and I do want to make sure they are protected.
Thanks again,
Frank

By: Richard Bender

Richard Bender — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 21:35:06 +0000

UV filters are a “no, no” for another reason. They push your K temperature into the blue zone and that’s not great for skin tones. Back in the days of slide photography, the filter pair of choice was an 81A + a polarizer when using Ektachrome film. That combination, plus an altering of the exposure, yielded extraordinary results. In fact, those results looked very much like today’s HDR. I have not yet tried that with digital but I intend to experiment with the combination to see the reaction with the digital photo sensor.

If you must use a lens “protector” (totally unnecessary in my view) try a good quality 1A which will give you a slight push into the warm K temperature zone. That will be a lot more appealing to your eye.

By: Markus

Markus — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 02:05:38 +0000

Thanks for your advice, Ken. I might have to test some shots with and without the filter to see how much of a difference it makes.

By: Ken Elliott

Ken Elliott — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 01:21:33 +0000

I used to believe that a UV filter was a must-have accessory. But I discovered that they seriously degrade image quality on digital cameras. The sensor is covered with a highly reflective piece of flat glass. Light hits it and bounces back to the filter. Since the filter is flat, it reflects back. The lower quality the filter, the worse the effect. Good B+W filters get real expensive in the larger sizes. I paid nearly $100 each for my filters. But my tests clearly show that my image quality is lower with a UV filter. I’ve started leaveing them off my lenses. I’ve got Nikon pro glass, so I’m quite motivated to protect it. But when you put a $20 filter on a $1800 lens, you end up with a $20 lens. Your photos above show this same effect. Dump the UV lens for digital.