Dear fellow Zuikophiles,
I am confused about something on which many experienced
photographers seem to have strong but conflicting opinions, that
is, the wisdom of using UV filters.
I understood that such filters were designed to reduce flare
from non-image forming UV light, especially in circumstances
where there is a lot of UV (e.g. seascapes, mountains). There is
a hell of a lot of glass already in a camer's lens and that
glass is supposedly impervious to UV: try getting a sun-tan
indoors through a picture window, what difference can the
additional very thin pane of glass in a screw-on UV filter
possibly make? If UV is that much of a problem, don't modern
lenses already provide the necessary protection?
Conventional wisdom concerning UV filters seems to fall into 2
opposing camps, namely:
1) Use UV filters to protect your valuable lenses; replacing a
scratched filter is cheap. Take the filter off for back-lit
scenes to prevent unwanted glare from internal reflections.
2) UV filters are superfluous, degrade the optical quality of
your lens and detract from picture quality.
Nobody seems to think that screening out UV is at all relevant -
lens protection is the only benefit mentioned from these
filters!
The following quotes are taken from websites of people whose
opinions I respect:
* from Philip Greenspun's article on Filters for photo.net:
"I don't think a beginner should buy any filters, except
possibly a UV filter to protect an expensive lens."
* from Philip Greenspun's Building a 35mm SLR System for
photo.net: "Do not get a filter. A 50/1.8 is cheap enough
that you don't need a filter to protect the lens and filters
are generally only useful in unusual circumstances."
* from Stephen Gandy's Building Your First SLR Outfit:
"Don't buy the infamous UV filters for "lens protection"--
they are just a camera store profit builder."
What do you guys think about this? Is the issue of lens
protection the only issue or can these filters genuinely reduce
UV flare? I've been using UV filters for years but have never
done any comparisons of pictures taken with naked lens vs.
filtered lens. Maybe I'm missing out on the true capabilities on
my Zuiko lenses, by 'polluting' them with unnecessary filters?
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