Filters- UV vs Skylight

[marty123]

I am relatively new to photography and would like to hear some opinions on wether uv or skylight filters are best for keeping on a lens all the time for protection.

[mjs1973]

Welcome to the Forum. This is like the Mac vs PC, Ford vs Chevy etc. debates and has been discussed many times. Some people swear by the use of a protection filter, others don't bother. I don't use them, and encourage others to not use them as well. Filters, especially cheap ones, have a tendency to cause more problems than they solve so I stay away from them. If you feel the need to have a protection filter on your lens, pony up some money and get a really good one.

Check out this thread.

Amazing discovery please read!!!

[Franglais]

Skylight filters are a throwback to the fairly early days of film when the film was over-sensitive to blue light, like on hazy days. This is irrelevant on digital cameras (and on modern film).

I personally have filters on almost all my lenses but I don't even know if they are skylight or UV (UV I think).

[OldClicker]

I have not found an answer to this question either which would seem to indicate that it doesn't matter. The 'protection' filters generally are a little cheaper. Here is an explanation of what they are, but no reasons for choosing one or the other.

http://www.dpfwiw.com/filters.htm#protection

btw – I don’t use either unless it is for a specific environmental reason.

TF

[Frog]

If you want or feel you need a uv/skylight filter on for protecting the lens, take it off when you shoot the picture. Its not quite as bad but it is like smearing vaseline on your glasses.

[ronin2307]

i tried to go the filter route and "invested" in some semi decent hoyas. returned them right away though, because the build quality was not the greatest and i noticed my pics were a bit off. also on my lenses for canon xsi, the front element(s) rotates during focusing, so if you are using CirPL filter you still have to mess with it after you focused. all in all, seemed like more fuss than it was worth it. been using all my lenses without filters since and no issues with lens protection. as long as you are a little bit careful, i dont think you have to worry about it.
Frog and OldClicker had given me the same advice as you have gotten above and i would second their opinion now after my little experiment

[NaturalWoman]

i keep a filter on all of my lenses, but i take them off, 98% of the time when i shoot because they are cheap and my glass is not. i use them mostly for protection and because i've missplaced a lens cap or two. for protection, i use a lens hood with all of my lenses. now when i go out the end of this month to shoot in the sand, i will be leaving my UV filter on the lens.

i can't buy an expensive lens and an expensive filter, just for protection. i'm very careful with my gear, but accidents happen and for $6.99 i'm okay with a cheap filter UV or skylight filter on my lens until i'm ready to shoot.

i also experienced unwanted flare with a filter on once - probably because it was cheap, so i took it off, shot my subject and put it back on for transportation in my bag.

[Greg McCary]

I use to use them but haven't in a long time. A lens hood works well for protection. If I were in a harsh enviroment I might use one. I think you should just save your money for something else. A lens cap works pretty good too.