Another Newbie Question Re: Filters

[DebbyS]

When I bought my camera last month, the salesman said I should always keep a UV filter on the lens, and on every lens I buy. He also said I need a circular polarizing filter for each lens.

The instructions that came with my lens states to use only one filter. What do most of you do.

I certainly do not want to damage a lens and I also don't really understand what these filters do other than protect the lens?

Thanks for your input!

[Krusty79]

This has been debated to death on this site already. Get the circular polarizer. You can get step-down rings so you don't need one for every lens. Don't get cheap ones. Polarizers can produce gradients in the sky when using wide angle lenses, so be aware of that. You can decide on the UV filter after reading these threads. I just use a lens cap.

Canon Nifty Fifty UV filter vs lens hood?

Basic explination about filters?

UV filters

UV lens covers vs Regular lense caps?

[Jim Bryant]

I always take off the UV filter to either attach the polarizer or graduated neutral density filter.
Even through they are high quality B + W glass filters, I'd rather have one on at a time.

[autofocus]

Originally Posted by DebbyS

When I bought my camera last month, the salesman said I should always keep a UV filter on the lens, and on every lens I buy. He also said I need a circular polarizing filter for each lens.

The instructions that came with my lens states to use only one filter. What do most of you do.

I certainly do not want to damage a lens and I also don't really understand what these filters do other than protect the lens?

Thanks for your input!

UV filters, supposedly, block some of the unwanted UV haze in your images. That said, although I am a proponent of using filters to protect your glass, inexpensive cheap copies can cause some unwanted flare and reflections. There's probably an equal number of folks that will never use them because of this possibility. And a polarizer is not necessary for all your lenses..he's just trying to sweeten up his sale to you. Polarizers serve a particular purpose, and you may only find a need to use one 5-10% of the times. Layering multiple filters on your lens will increase the chance of vignetting, especially when shooting at the widest end of your zoom range.

[doctorjames]

you have to remember what the margins are for the salesman.....

I actually do use UV filters on my lenses that see significant outdoor use, but I also usually pick them up second hand for not much money, making sure that they are of good quality and are not damaged of course.

The sky is the limit (no pun intended) on how much you pay for even a UV filter.

What is usually a certainty is that you can get significant reductions in buying online, and personally I dont think that I am going to get amazing advice on which UV filter to buy from my camera store, so I am not willing to pay a premium.

I have some polarising filters, but I often forget to take them with me/fit them. Polarising filters are not suitable for general use IMO, they shut out too much light and the polarised effect can be a little tedious if not used to good effect.

[brianxlt]

It is of course your choices to use filters or not, there are clear glass filters you can get if you just want something in front of the lens to protect it. Bear in mind though if you put a peace of thin glass in front of your lens and it breaks now you have the shards hitting your lens glass. If you are out at a motocross or in a very wet/dry dusty area and shooting a UV or sky filter will do little to the image, but will keep the dust, water and mud off your lens glass. Can't shoot through a cap.

As for PL and ND filters they have their uses and are almost needed in some situations. If you will be shooting in bright sun light they help to slow things down and take the glare off of others. I use the PL and ND filters whenever needed. UV filter lens covers are a use if you want to.

[Biomech]

I use UV filters too. However, it's best to only have one on at a time as Jim said, but also because the more you stack the filters the more vignetting you get in the corners - particularly when shooting wide

[inkista]

Originally Posted by DebbyS

When I bought my camera last month, the salesman said I should always keep a UV filter on the lens, and on every lens I buy.

This is up to you and how careful you are with your gear, and whether you think another layer of glass is protection. I put UVs on the front of all my lenses, because I shoot outside in dusty or beach conditions more often than not, I'm careless, I wipe off my lenses with my shirt tail, and I continually lose lens caps. For me, I use them not to keep from smashing my front element (that's what I use hoods for), but to keep me from scratching the coatings on the front element and to keep crap off the front of my lens.

For someone who shoots mainly in-studio, or who's super-careful (not super-cavalier) with their gear, a UV filter may just be another layer of glass that gets between them and the light. You have to figure out where you sit in the spectrum. There's no one right answer for everyone. The salesguy may want you to buy as much as possible, because he could be on commission.

If you do buy a UV filter, make sure to get a multi-coated one. Generally, you get what you pay for, and anything that's supercheap is probably going to affect the image quality enough to be not worthwhile.

He also said I need a circular polarizing filter for each lens.

This is crap advice. A circular polarizer is a good tool to have, but you could simply buy one for the largest filter size lens you own (say, a 77mm), and then get step-up rings for each size of filter you're liable to use (step-down rings are for putting smaller filters on larger lenses, but you may end up with vignetting). With the ring, you can use the single filter on all your lenses. Each lens has its filter diameter size printed on its front, following the symbol ∅ (e.g., ∅58mm means the lens takes a 58mm filter).

Polarizers are good because the majority of reflected light is polarized. If you use a polarizing filter that's perpendicular to it, you can eliminate that reflected light. That's why sunglasses are often polarized: to cut down glare. This can help with reflections off shiny objects, off the surface of water or glass, and for darkening skies. Because you can rotate the direction of the polarization, you can also "dial in" the amount of darkening you want.

Whether you need it or not depends on whether cutting back on reflected light in an image would be useful to you.

The instructions that came with my lens states to use only one filter. What do most of you do.

I only rare stack filters. I usually replace the protective UV filter with an effect filter if I'm going to use one. I only have three types of effect filters: circular polarizer, infrared, and neutral density.