Over the past years I've mainly shot with some sort of filter on most of my
lens, mostly to prevent the front element from getting scratched. I learned the hard way once, when a lens that
had no filter on, my Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6, made solid contact with a door
handle on the front element as I was rushing out of our hotel room in Spain. This incident left a permanent mark, more of
a coating mark than a scratch, and while it didn't at all affect lens
performance, it did affect its resale.
However, much has been made about the reduced sharpness and
performance of lenses with filters fitted, so lately I have been shooting my
new Sigma lenses without filters, but instead regularly fitting the lens
hood. These lenses have taken some of my
best photos in a while, with excellent sharpness, so there maybe something is
to be said. It also could be suggested that lens manufacturers don't
design their lenses with filters in mind, and extra optics, ie the filter, may
cause a deterioration n quality.
On the negative side to that argument, I had been using a
crappy filter on my Tamron 24-135mm f3.5-5.6 zoom lens, yet it can still out
resolve the D600 sensor at f8. The same can be said about both the Sigma lenses on the NEX5n.
Weird. The jury is still out, but
I have decided that it I can get away with not using a filter and still offer some protection for the front lens element, then I probably
will.
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| Fuji X100 with old, crappy Toshiba 49mm UV filter fitted |
As a rule, I don't use UV filters on my lens, even the most expensive ones. I always use a hood when there is one available and I have never had a scratch on the elements.
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