Filter for protection…?

BrianOdell wrote:

I have a “carry-everywhere” m200 that I’ve been using a lot lately with the 22 & 32mm lenses. Should I be using protective UV filters, or skip them? If yes, which brands are decent that won’t degrade image quality, and that won’t break the bank?

Thanks!

Super cheap filters are typically "get what you pay for" disappointments. Lensrentals did testing of UV filters awhile back and found a somewhat pricey Hoya model to be best-in-class, truly excellent. (Hoya UV filters are available in cheap, medium and pricey models, so if you're a purist search for Lensrentals and UV filter test to learn which one scored so well.)

I've found mid-priced Waka and K&F UV filters to be well made, multicoated and very good at cutting through haze, rendering skies with some clouds nicely and not degrading images. I have a couple of Hoya and Amazon Basic filters that are decent, as well. Protection-wise, use of a lens hood is an excellent idea. Having a filter in front of the lens provides some additional protection.

If you really, really want the ne plus ultra of image quality, get yourself a top-rated medium-format camera with a collection of lenses whose total price outweighs the annual budget of a few third-world countries, and go for it. Anything less is just fooling around, OK?

If you plan on having many of your images made into highest-quality, giant-sized prints, no sense compromising IQ with with a UV filter -- or for that matter shooting with a dinky APS-C camera. The way to uncompromising IQ perfection is clear. If your photographic aspirations are more down to Earth, use of a decent-grade UV filter is unlikely to cause you or others to turn away from your images in disgust over how icky they look. At least, that's been my experience.