UV FILTERS - BAD SCIENCE AND URBAN MYTHS The use of UV filters is an urban myth that deludes most photographers. The myth comes from retailers who at the point of sale suggests to the customer that maybe a UV filter on the front of the lens is a good idea to protect the expensive purchase. Naturally, the customer says yes, and the profit in the transaction for the retailer is with the filter NOT the camera.
A UV filter should only be used to filter out UV light - geddit? Like up a mountain at midday or whatever, NOT to protect the lens. The best thing to protect a lens is a lens-shade which will take the knocks and most of the spray of whatever kind of gunk is in the surrounding air. Get a deep compendium type if needed. Believe it or not, there are several different kinds of UV filter for specific situations, and you are better off using thin polyester gels in suitable holders, NOT cheapo window glass type filters which give a green cast - which of course - punks the colour. If glass is necessary, like at the beach or in a windswept desert, then Schneider crystal optical glass is the best and a must, the expense being well worth it. Everything else is rubbish sold to the gullible. I used to be gullible, I now use a lenshood instead. Use a proper lenshade all the time - especially in overcast light when contrast reducing flare is hitting glass. Most photographers never get to understand how to use filters properly because they do not use lenshoods properly. Digital capture is ruthless in revealing this, and there is a lot to be said for copious amounts of black cardboard and velcro to baffle off the light on the job at the point of making the photograph. For the curious, I use for my own work a narrow cut UV-2C filter that chops out all UV just above visible blue, and is incredible for pulling out ultra-deep shadow detail that is often missing from an otherwise good picture....and I want - and is why I use the UV-2C specifically. I advise to leave the UV filter off. Smacking the front element of a lens while out and about simply does not happen - get over it. It is like poking yourself in the eye - that doesn't happen either. Besides, accidents do happen, and I can't be bothered nannying kit. If a lens gets splatted, deal with it there and then - it is very difficult to damage a lens if it is cleaned properly and immediately. One last thing in this William techno-rant, If you put a glass filter - any glass filter on a lens - any lens, it will throw infinity focus out at full aperture, and especially so on telephoto lenses. This is particularly evident using digital caputure, and most of the time there is no need for any filters to be used at all on a digicam. William Curwen =============================================================== GO TO http://www.prodig.org for ~ GUIDELINES ~ un/SUBSCRIBING ~ ITEMS for SALE
