Best value "protective" filter

[andy tims]

What would you guys recommend to protect your lenses?

UV or Skylight or something else & is it worth going for Pro grade at slightly higher cost?

[sdb123]

Cough *Lens Hood* Cough...

[commjo]

Depends on the quality of the lens you are trying to protect.

The Pro grade filters can easily cost more than the lens !!!

Personally I tend to go for Marumi filters.

Remember the filter will always "degrade" the optics - its just a question of how much.

Apparently skylight filters are slightly warmer than UV, but someone else would need to confirm that

[Carl V]

Apparently skylight filters are slightly warmer than UV, but someone else would need to confirm that

Yes this is true. A skylight has a very slight pink colour to it, and when shooting with film, it would help to 'warm up' the image when shooting on a cloudy day.

[squizza]

All I can say is that I use Hoya Pro UV filters which are quite pricy.

But saying that.... theres no point in putting a £10 filter on a lens that costs £1000 +
:shrug:

[commjo]

All I can say is that I use Hoya Pro UV filters which are quite pricy.

But saying that.... theres no point in putting a £10 filter on a lens that costs £1000 +
:shrug:

Agreed. Is it worth putting a £150 filter on a £100 kit lens :bonk:

[Ajophotog]

I tend to use the hood to protect my lenses unless I'm shooting in dirty areas like windy seaside or dusty scramble tracks then I use a Kood UV. I would rather not use the filter if possible.

[squizza]

Agreed. Is it worth putting a £150 filter on a £100 kit lens :bonk:

Lol no I don't think so. My cheaper lenses have the original Hoya filters on. My L lenses have the pro filters on.

[andy tims]

Hmmmm pretty mixed views so far.

Any more?

[commjo]

Hmmmm pretty mixed views so far.

Any more?

I wouldn't say so.

Some people use a hood to protect their lens. If you dont want to use a hood choose a filter as follows.

Those choosing a filter will use a "basic" one if they have a cheap lens such as a kit lens.

Those with a pro lens will use a pro filter.

And the only other choice is if you want a slightly warmer look to your photographs, choose skylight over uv.

BTW - what lens are you looking to protect?

[neil_g]

ive got a hoya UV (whatever the pro version is) on my 70-200 mainly for grit and dust at rallys. i dont have one on the 18-50 as its never really goes in harms way and i cant afford one for the 120-300 (lol) but then you could park a bus in the hood.

[Paul Philpott]

This is a question I also asked recently-I think you may find this thread useful:

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=162597

My decision is to stay well away from filters for "protective" use!!

[coldpenguin]

I have to admit to having UV/skylight 'protective' filters on all of my lenses. However, when I know that there is going to be no issue with damage, then I remove them. If nothing else, should a lens cap fall off in my bag, it can stop a fingerprint getting on the lens, thus one less clean that the lens requires. This is probably the more likely thing to cause damage to the lens, a bit of grit getting on a cloth and then wiped on the lens.
Dropping the camera/lens? I don't think that a filter is going to provide much of a crumple zone, then again, with a hood, I don't think they are going to be stiff enough to absorb that much of the impact anyway.

So, if on the beach, then I would keep the filter on. If out of the wind on a hill/landscape, then I could remove the filter (but would probably replace it with a PL anyway).

As to which is best, skylight or UV.
I believe that UV is more neutral. Skylight might cause a tint to appear.
On my more expensive lenses, then I would put Pro Digital filters. Some people on here have produced many examples of flare, mirror images etc. caused by cheap filters

[cowasaki]

All the filters I owned until about 3-4 months ago were quite cheap ones and I didn't see what the fuss was about. Then I got the D700 and bought a Sigma 20mm f1.8 with a Heliopan CPL filter. Wow..... The filter is a serious pro filter and you can tell the picture is crisper and less degraded whilst the effect is more dramatic from one extreme to the other. When I bought my Nikon 24-70 f2.8 a few weeks ago I also bought a pro grade UV and CPL filter for that and again wow.....

With this in mind I want pro grade filters for all my lenses now but they are all different sizes!! I have a 52,62,72,77 & 82 lens !! So I am now looking at a Lee filter system when funds will permit but I still have several things on my wish list yet :) - I still don't have ANY ND filters at all !!