The Truth About UV Filters

[Justintoxicated]

I'm looking for a filter for my new 50-200mm olympus lens.

I have tried Sigma, Hoya and B+W.

From what I see the B+W is the worst of the 3. It seems to reflect the most light, and it is heavier and I have gotten other filters stuck to it.

The Hoya I have is a super HMC. It seems to not reflect as much light, but attract alot more dust and particles and can be a pain to clean.

The Sigma seems to reflect hardly any light at all, It appears almost invisable, but it is also the smallest filter I own which could somewhat contribute to this.

So what makes B+W so nice? The one I have seems to be alot worse than my other 2 filters as far as reflecting light off it. The Sigma seems the best. Every review I read says Hoya is ok but B+W is ALOT better. However I'm not finding this to be the case? I can say that after a day of shooting at the races the B+W did have alot less dust on it, and the ring is nicer, but I still think sigma has the nicest glass?

I'll probably go with another sigma 67mm for my 50-200 but I wanted to hear more about other users experiences with these 3 filters since im a novice.

[Atomic2]

Does it really matter? A UV filter is really just for protection, I have just gone with Hoyas on all my UV filters and never really thought twice about it.


Also, in the reviews I've seen in magazines, Hoya was winning in most categories, which is why I picked them. But if it turns out theyre not the best, the differences honestly cant be significant.

[Frog]

After reading much discussion here, I've put all my uv filters away and never use them

[Didache]

I don't use them any more either. Oh I know the arguments about protecting the front element, but in over 30 years of SLR photography I've never once bumped my front element on anything. Maybe I'd use them if I were out in a sandstorm or something.

Mike

[Atomic2]

Thats why I keep mine on, all those sandstorms in Chicago.... right

:-P

[Justintoxicated]

Well I'd tell you how much crap gets on my lenses at the desert (haven't been yet with my SLR but season is around the corner), or at the races last weekend... I was very thankful to have a UV filter on the lens. I have also accidentally touched the lens twice while grabbing my camera on a boat or in a crowd etc with it slung around my neck, pull off the filter and keep shooting or clean it off without worrying too much. But thats not the argument I'm looking to get into here. I simply wanna find out what others think are the best filters and why.

I really like the idea of having some protective glass over my $1000 lens... err uhh $650...

Anyways the difference may be significant in that I would imagine the more light you see reflecting off the filter the more light that is not going into the lens? In this case it seems to me I'm favoring Sigma out of the 3 brands I have purchased.

I like the Hoya Super HMC and Sigma the best so far, not so much the B+W's. That's just by observing the filters and how light hits/reflects off of them. I wanted to see what experience others have had, and I will continue to use filters for my lenses....Every time I turn around there is someone bashing the Hoya filters stating how much better their German B+W filters are. But I was kind of shocked to find the B+W more reflective and thicker than my other 2 filters. I don't really like my B+W but they cost twice as much as other filters. Anyone else finding the same results or can someone else explain WHY B+W filters are better?

[Justintoxicated]

Well I'm thinking about getting another sigma but its also the most expensive UV filter, like $40 shipped for the UV EX DG filter. I can get a Kenko Pro1 (same as hoya) for about $30 shipped, and I don't like my B+W as it seems to have the most reflections of all my lenses.

I want teh most unobtrusive peice of glass in front of my lense just for protection. I guess I just feel better about rubbing (cleaning) the filter rather than the lens element....Ans swapping my 67mm from my 15-54 to 50-200 every time is kind of a pain.

[Greg McCary]

I must admit I use to always use a UV, but almost never anymore. This after I dropped my camera and busted one.LOL. But I have always liked Hoya and Tiffen filters. I have never used a B+W.

[Justintoxicated]

I got my sigma DG filter I have to say it is just as transparent as the smaller one. I like it better than my B+W. It is harder to clean but seems to reflect less light.

The filter kept lots of sand from blowing or sticking to my lens, I will definately continue to use these filters in the desert. It was quite windy and I would not have even taken the camera out if it did not have a filter on the lens. Unfortunately I don't tink my fish-eye lens can use a filter, so my shots with it were more limited.

[A.M.D.A.]

When I first got my camera (FZ7K), I did not use a UV/Skylight filter on it for until about a year later. Now I regret this:

The motor-zooming lens is a dust-vaccum! With a clear filter attached onto the supplied hood adapter, the entire lens is encased – which prevents any air/debris from getting inside.

I do however, temporarily remove the UV Haze-1 when using conversion lenses or other filters, since this considerably improves the sharpness of the resultant images.:thumbsup: