Using UV Filters for Protection

When you buy expensive lens, the first concern you may have is to protect its front glass element from scratches and accidents. Most likely, a photo dealer would suggest you to buy a UV (ultraviolet) protection filter to screw on your lens. Question is, once you have this on, will it have a negative effect on your image quality?

There can be a long debate on whether one really needs a UV filter to protect the lens. However, here are some pros and cons:

Pros

• UV filter will get dirty instead of the lens, so you would not have to clean the lens that often, just the UV filter. This protects your lens coating.
•  While shooting on the beach, during a sandstorm, or in any condition where tiny particles in the air are present that can eventually land on your lens, you are most likely to scratch your lens when cleaning. This is not the case when you have a UV filter installed.
• If you accidentally drop your lens, or bump it into something, the UV filter will take the blow, saving your lens.

Watch out on the next issue for the Cons of using UV Filters.

By: Glenn Wesley Dulay www.glenndulay.com