UV Filter Effect on IQ Test: A7II, 85mm f1.8, 55mm f1.8

davidstock said:

I use good quality filters on all my lenses, except when shooting against bright light. My own informal tests show no difference in sharpness, and minimal difference in flare in most situations. That's just me. For a more expert opinion, here's what Roger at Lenrentals has written:

https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2016/12/front-element-lens-protection-revisited/

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davidstock said:

Just an anecdote:

About 25 years ago, an experienced photographer friend with machinist inspection tools decided to test the glass flatness of a bunch of filters. (He worked in a camera store, so he had access to lot of them.) At that time, Hoya was considered a budget brand, and a lot of us prized our expensive Leica, B+W and Heliopan filters. He found that the "cheap" Hoyas were the flattest. (Of course there's also the issue of coatings....)

Sometimes it seems like we're at the mercy of the marketers, the advertisers, and out own hopeful narratives. I think the OP is doing the right thing: test your own gear in the situations where you use it. Thanks for reminding me to do that--I've gotten lazy!

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JT26 said:

I am not so convinced. I have seen a few tests and I couldnt tell the difference on them... This is the first that looks a lot worse. Maybe UV is harsher than clear or maybe it was a dirty filter?

--
https://500px.com/candidchris

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JT26 said:

Sorry I didn't follow. What did you mean?

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terryreid said:

JT26 said:

I am not so convinced. I have seen a few tests and I couldnt tell the difference on them... This is the first that looks a lot worse. Maybe UV is harsher than clear or maybe it was a dirty filter?

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davidstock said:

I use good quality filters on all my lenses, except when shooting against bright light. My own informal tests show no difference in sharpness, and minimal difference in flare in most situations. That's just me. For a more expert opinion, here's what Roger at Lenrentals has written:

https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2016/12/front-element-lens-protection-revisited/

Click to expand...

landshark said:

davidstock said:

I use good quality filters on all my lenses, except when shooting against bright light. My own informal tests show no difference in sharpness, and minimal difference in flare in most situations. That's just me. For a more expert opinion, here's what Roger at Lenrentals has written:

https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2016/12/front-element-lens-protection-revisited/

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For me whatever small degradation I get by using the B+W Clear or UV it is more than made up for, by the protection the filter provides to the front element. Many claim that the hood and careful use of lens caps is all you need to protect the front element. That may be true with normal to longer lenses in terms of impact, but if you shoot with any regularity, the lens cap is most likely in your pocket and the hood does very little to stop dirt and dust. The more times you clean that front element the more you wear it down with cleaning marks. that eventually alter the image quality far more than any filter will. If the filter is old and over cleaned it is an easy fix by a new one. If you are concerned about the times that the filter will make the flare worse, take it off then and put it back on when you are done.

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JimKasson said:

landshark said:

davidstock said:

I use good quality filters on all my lenses, except when shooting against bright light. My own informal tests show no difference in sharpness, and minimal difference in flare in most situations. That's just me. For a more expert opinion, here's what Roger at Lenrentals has written:

https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2016/12/front-element-lens-protection-revisited/

Click to expand...

For me whatever small degradation I get by using the B+W Clear or UV it is more than made up for, by the protection the filter provides to the front element. Many claim that the hood and careful use of lens caps is all you need to protect the front element. That may be true with normal to longer lenses in terms of impact, but if you shoot with any regularity, the lens cap is most likely in your pocket and the hood does very little to stop dirt and dust. The more times you clean that front element the more you wear it down with cleaning marks. that eventually alter the image quality far more than any filter will. If the filter is old and over cleaned it is an easy fix by a new one. If you are concerned about the times that the filter will make the flare worse, take it off then and put it back on when you are done.

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In sixty years of photography, the only time I've damaged a front element is when removing a filter.

Jim

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terryreid said:

JT26 said:

Sorry I didn't follow. What did you mean?

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PVCdroid said:

OlyPent said:

AkshajN said:

I have been hearing not so good comments about B+W filters recently from other photographers. It seems Marumi Exus or Marumi SHG or the filters from companies like Breakthrough Photography are better (in terms of optical quality). Hoya top of the line filters are good. But I always had troubles in cleaning the Hoya filters and stopped using them.

-AkshajN

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Hoya's old multicoatings were hard to clean. Don't know about new ones.

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The HD series are very easy clean. Oddly, I think the HD2 is easier than the HD3 to keep clean but the HD3 is more durable and less prone to tiny micro scratches.

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