[sjwaldron]

I always use a filter these days. Most of my reasoning is due to the additional practicality.

I prefer Hoya HMC UV filters, but I do have a S-HMC on my 31mm Limited. I'll never buy a clear filter again as they are rubbish.

1. Keep the front element in pristine condition as I never have to touch it. I also don't need special (expensive) cleaning tools.
2. When I clean the filter I can just do a quick job and not worry about damaging relatively cheap item.
3. Blocking extra UV light is beneficial in some situations. The negative would be a higher chance of having those green colored bits of flare that can occur.
4. One more barrier to water entry from the front. I go fishing a lot with friends on the river, so splashes are also something to keep in mind.
5. additional drop protection if the filter material is a softer material like aluminum.
6. Flying dust/rock/dirt/debris protection.
7. Avoid getting fingerprints on the lens.

This actually sounds like a great article for my blog as I have quite a few 58mm filters I could compare.

[reeftool]

I no longer leave a filter permanently on my lenses. I have noticed a difference in IQ between shots with and without. Most of the filters I was using fall into the cheaper category. Mostly, I was using the Quantaray filters I bought at Ritz when they were still open. They are made by Tiffen. There are conditions where a protective filter has it's place. I am replacing my cheap filters with better ones for those times where I need one. From what I have read, blocking UV light isn't necessary with digital cameras as it was with film. From my own experience, I found I was getting far more of that green flare with the filter.

My biggest bad experience with a filter involved a 58mm Tiffen I got for a Sigma 70-300 lens. The lens came with the deal I got with my K10D. I had always used a skylight or UV filter on my lenses in the film days because I was told long ago it was necessary. I quickly came to the opinion that the Sigma was a crappy lens. Most of the images were slightly soft no matter what f stop I used. I was looking for another lens. On advice I got from a thread here in the forum a couple of years ago, I took the filter off. It was like I had a brand new lens! While I admit it's not in the quality of more expensive zooms, the Tiffen filter I was using made the lens worse, almost to the point of being unusable. That day, I took the filter off every lens I owned. I do on occasion use a filter for protection, such as the motorcycle ice racing I shot recently where I was constantly being hit with ice and other debris when the wind kicked up.

[Schraubstock]

Melbourne is obviosly less windy than Perth then! i will guess its less sandy too... i even get sand in my camera bag when its on my back.. its a lowepro slingshot300... you dont want to know what it does to the skin!

but hey thats just Perth! and of course my opinion too.. hehe...

again.. no right or wrong just opinions and experiences!

Steve

Really? Steve, if I was you I would move to Melbourne, no people with sand damaged skin here.

I have been in Perth many many times, in fact I lived there at one stage for two months and I cannot recall ever having been sandblasted.

So you must replace your protection UVs every two weeks or so because if this is factual what you are saying the must be pretty well opaque by then every time. (I don't think so)

No offense, but I think you are massively exaggerating.

Greetings from sunny Melbourne

[5teve]

Really? Steve, if I was you I would move to Melbourne, no people with sand damaged skin here.

I have been in Perth many many times, in fact I lived there at one stage for two months and I cannot recall ever having been sandblasted.

So you must replace your protection UVs every two weeks or so because if this is factual what you are saying the must be pretty well opaque by then every time. (I don't think so)

No offense, but I think you are massively exaggerating.

Greetings from sunny Melbourne

no offence taken

i'm not exaggerating just stating my reasons for using filters, and just giving an alternate reason why..

as for being sandblasted you must have been lucky! skin is a bit more sensitive than glass.. but i know when we are in jurien, kalbarri or rotto or down south.. the wind can be cruel... and i would rather not risk getting 1 grain on the front element... but thats just me

Anyway we digress....

Steve

[cats_five]

I am in the UV filter as protection camp and for the first time have got bitten (not literally!) by a bad one. Or possibly a dirty one - I've washed it and will do some more test shots. I was getting horrible ghosting in one area of the sensor, did some test shots without it and the quality is fine. Based on the Lenstip test I've ordered a Hoya HMC - or I will have when Paypal plays ball, it was hanging when I tried to log on earlier this morning.