Ah, the great filter debate... Most here will tell you they don't use filters because filters degrade image quality. I have quality multicoated UV filters on all my high end glass and can't see the degradation (even when pixel peeping), whereas the peace of mind of that protection is huge. I tend to bushwack around in the mountains a lot, and climb up and down steep banks of dirt, rock cliffs, jump from rock to rock crossing streams, crawl on my hands and knees under brushfields etc., so perhaps it's a different environment which has me convinced of the need for protection (it could also be the scratch I put on the front element of a lens once). I've also pulled lenses out of my pack to find that the cap had jostled loose of it's grip on the front of the lens and been riding around loose mere millimeters from the front element (actually a filter
) I feel like a lens cap could scratch a front element over the course of say an average trip through airport security and stowage under the seat as carry-on luggage. The most common thing my filter protects my lens from is sticky one-year-old fingers as the camera is obviously the most fun toy around - that's why daddy's always playing with it.
If I am shooting at night where point light sources might cause internal reflections to be an issue I take off the filter.
To quote myself from an earlier discussion of this issue...
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