Originally posted by baro-nite Poor little thread. OP simply wanted a recommendation for a high-quality UV filter. Maybe he was concerned about sunburn. Reminds me of the joke about why intradepartmental battles in academe are so fierce -- because the stakes are so low. There will never be a last word on the tradeoffs between UV filter as lens protection vs. IQ loss, in large part because we are talking about small effects either way.
I think you're probably right about the small effects, provided you test to make sure that the effects of a given filter on a given lens are in fact minor. Ultimately, that is what the OP ought to do.
Personally, I tend to lean on hoods rather than filters for protection. I know that there is no risk of image quality degradation with hoods. With filters, I would find it necessary to test lens/filter combinations to ensure that there is no degradation. Not such a big deal with digital, but I'm lazy.
The only time I've left a UV filter on a lens in the last 30 years was on an M 400 that came with an extremely expensive filter. I had already stopped using UV filters but thought I'd be safe with this particular one, given the rep of the maker. I was very disappointed in the lens until, after being reminded by a magazine article about effects of filters on long lenses, I pulled the filter off Problem solved. That was in the mid-nineties so I can't reference the article.
The reason I stopped using UV filters in the first place was testing I conducted in about 1981 that showed issues with reflections, flare and loss of sharpness. I decided to become more disciplined about my lens cleaning methods and obtained hoods for as may lenses as possible. Parked the filters. I still have several lenses from that period. The glass remains pristine despite use in some pretty nasty conditions. (I do keep some UV filters around and have used them the odd time in blowing sand/salt spray situations.)
I've had a couple of lenses saved by hoods absorbing impact when dropped. Hood destroyed, lens fine.
(I find it entertaining to step into a filter debate every ten years or so. They haven't changed much!)
John