UV filters are the most typical filters bought with each lens buy. You’ve got most likely heard {that a} UV lens filter protects your lens from getting scratched. It’s actually true, however are you aware how to decide on the finest safety lens filter to guard your digital camera lens?
The finest safety lens filter to guard your digital camera lens is UV Safety Filter (Ultraviolet Filter). The standard UV filters shield your costly lens from bodily injury (scratches, bumps) and have minimal or no impact on picture high quality.
What Is а UV Filter?
Initially UV filters (Ultraviolet Filter) had been developed in movie pictures days. A UV filter was crucial for the reason that filters blocked undesirable ultraviolet gentle from hitting the movie. The picture suffered haziness and fogginess and not using a UV filter, particularly in blue hues.
Since trendy digital cameras have built-in UV filters on the sensor stage, the necessity for UV filters is minimal right this moment.
It’s a widespread perception that UV filters scale back chromatic aberration or shade fringing, however I’ve by no means seen any proof of that with my eyes. Based mostly on my expertise, if a lens is poorly constructed, no filter can appropriate the colour fringing it produces. And if UV filters do scale back chromatic aberration, the discount is just too insignificant to make a distinction in picture high quality.
At present, the one operate that UV filters provide is safety. There’s little or no distinction between clear or UV safety filters.
Utilizing UV Safety Lens Filter in Fashionable Images
That is usually a subject of debate within the pictures group as a result of there is no such thing as a clear consensus about utilizing UV filters for defense functions in digital pictures.
Totally different photographers strategy UV protecting filters in another way.
We are able to separate most photographers into three teams relying on how they use UV filters.
- Group 1. Some photographers by no means use protecting or UV filters as a result of they imagine that including an additional layer of glass in entrance of an costly, state-of-the-art lens can doubtlessly degrade the standard of the picture. We name these photographers “the perfectionists.”
- Group 2. Photographers within the second group use UV protecting filters solely when crucial. For instance, in the event you attend the Burning Man pageant within the desert, you’ll usually clear the entrance factor of your lens round 100 instances every day. The sand and mud can doubtlessly injury your lens.
- Group 3. The ultimate group of photographers is those that instantly connect a UV safety filter once they buy a lens and by no means take away it. The logic right here is that the chance of damaging the lens far outweighs the minimal degradation within the high quality of photos and, because of this, is value it in the long term.
How I Use UV Safety Lens Filter
For a very long time, I belonged to the primary group of “perfectionists” and refused to make use of the protecting filter. I assumed utilizing the lens hood was higher to guard my lens from any potential bodily injury.
What modified my thoughts was my frequent travels to the West Coast of the USA. As a result of robust winds alongside the coast, saltwater mist is all the time current within the air, even when it isn’t raining. Consistently wiping the entrance factor of any lens can simply trigger injury to its coating, particularly when salt residue is current.
At this level, I’ve UV safety filters for all my lenses, however they principally keep in my bag. I solely use them when crucial. Earlier than mountain climbing alongside the coast, I all the time connect the filters to my lenses the night time earlier than. And earlier than driving by way of Loss of life Valley, I additionally guarantee all my lenses are protected with filters.
What are the Negatives of Utilizing UV Safety Lens Filter?
To reply the query in regards to the damaging uncomfortable side effects of utilizing protecting UV filters, we have to perceive the properties of glass in optics. They’re gentle transmission and lightweight reflection. They point out the ratio of sunshine that comes by way of glass versus the sunshine mirrored by the glass.
As a basic rule, the optical flat glass transmits 95% of sunshine, and 5% is mirrored.
It implies that in the event you shoot by way of the optical glass, you lose 5% of sunshine and are at the next threat of undesirable lighting results resembling lens flare and ghosting.
In sensible phrases, it’s best to use UV protecting filters with the highest transmission and the bottom stage of reflection.
What to Search for When Buying UV Safety Lens Filters
Filter Materials
You most likely observed that you might purchase a UV filter for as little as $2-3. The explanation for that’s they’re fabricated from plastic. The reflection charge of plastic is way increased than even common glass and could be increased than 15%. Steer clear of plastic filters.
Even in the event you discover a low-cost ($10-15) UV filter fabricated from glass, it’s nearly assured it isn’t fabricated from optical glass. It’s extremely doubtless made out of low-coast building glass.
It might be finest to search for UV safety filters fabricated from optical glass. And to maximise the safety stage of your lens, the filter must be geared up with tempered glass.
Nanocoating vs Multicoating vs Non-Coated Filters
As I discussed above, even high-quality optical glass could have a mirrored image charge of round 5% or increased. To scale back the reflection, filter producers use varied varieties of coating.
Proper now, yow will discover three primary varieties of filter coating.
Non-Coated Filters
The sort of coating is simple; it merely doesn’t exist. If the filter is provided with high-quality optical glass, you’ll get a mirrored image charge of about 5%. With a non-coated filter, will probably be extra affected by lens flares and ghosting.
Multicoating Filters
Many of the medium and high-quality filters right this moment use multicoating. The mixture of high quality optical glass and multicoating can scale back the reflection charge by as much as 1%.
Nanocoating Filter
Nanocoating is the late expertise used to cut back and even eradicate the reflection charge for good. You can find new nanocoating expertise in some costly high-end filters.
Counterfeit UV Filters
Watch out the place you purchase protecting filters. If you happen to discover a high-end filter at a fraction of the retail value, it’s assured to be a counterfeit from China. Ensure you purchase your optics from respected retailers. Steer clear of eBay and AliExpress, the place most counterfeit optics are bought.
How A lot Ought to You Spend On UV Safety Lens Filters
The easy reply is as a lot as doable to buy a UV Safety Filter with high-quality tempered glass with multicoating or multicoating.
On the identical time, shopping for a $100 UV Filter to guard a $150 equipment lens wouldn’t be sensible. As a result of cheap lenses are usually not constructed utilizing the best high quality glass and coating, the lens’s gentle transmission is already low. The costly protecting UV filter gained’t have the ability to appropriate lens flaws and imperfections.
Fortunately for us, there’s a easy rule of thumb in pictures. It states that, on common, that you must spend on a UV safety filter 10% of the price of the lens.
It implies that in the event you shoot with a $1000 high quality lens, you have to to spend round $100 to match lens high quality.
I discover that the rule works fairly nicely for me. For instance, once I was trying to match my finest lens Fujinon 10-24mm, with the protecting UV filter, I discovered a couple of fashions with excessive gentle transmission charges at round $90-100.
And in the event you shoot with a $300-400 lens, the $40 Tiffen UV safety filter might be adequate.
The Greatest UV Safety Lens Filters
1. Tiffen UV Safety Filter (Greatest Finances Mannequin)
- Materials: Optical glass
- Ring materials: Aluminium
- Water resistant: None
- Coating: Multicoated
- Guarantee: Restricted 1-12 months Guarantee
A Tiffen UV Safety Filter is a vital filter you possibly can personal in your digital digital camera lens. It presents an reasonably priced answer for safeguarding your digital camera lens towards scratches, filth, and mud. This filter is important for out of doors pictures and is ideal for maintaining your digital camera lens in good situation.
2. Breakthrough Images X4 UV Safety Filter (Editor’s Selection)
- Materials: Colour-neutral optical glass
- Ring materials: Aluminium
- Water resistant: Climate-sealing
- Coating: Nano Coating / Low Reflection
- Guarantee: Restricted 1-12 months Guarantee
The X4 UV Filter is the world’s sharpest and most superior UV filter. This filter ensures superior picture high quality and readability by that includes a SCHOTT Superwhite B270 optical glass made in Germany.
Moreover, the X4 UV Filter options nanocoatings and weather-sealing to supply extra safety in your lens. Extremely-slim and light-weight, this filter is ideal for any photographer searching for one of the best in UV safety.
3. B+W UV-Haze Safety Filter (High Rated)
- Materials: Colour-neutral clear optical glass
- Ring materials: Titanium
- Water resistant: Sure
- Coating: Nano Coating / Low Reflection
- Guarantee: Restricted 1-12 months Guarantee
The B+W UV-Haze Safety Filter reduces the adhesion tendency of filth particles and water droplets. The hydrophobic coating is an especially skinny, clear layer that covers your entire filter floor. This layer causes water droplets to bead up and roll off, making it harder for filth particles to stick to the glass.
With its MRC nanocoating, the filter has an especially low reflection, guaranteeing that your pictures might be unaffected by glare and reflections. This filter is right for nature, panorama, and journey pictures.
4. Gobe UV Safety Lens Filter
- Materials: Optical glass
- Ring materials: Magnalium
- Water resistant: None
- Coating: Multicoating
- Guarantee: Restricted 1-12 months Guarantee
Gobe UV Filter’s high-quality magnalium-alloy ring ensures sturdiness whereas remaining light-weight. The metallic filter case is ideal for storage and transportation, making it the perfect addition to your pictures equipment.
Gobe UV filters are made out of optical glass, characteristic 16-layer multi-coating, and forestall inside ghosting and reflections whereas selling readability.
5. Hoya HD3 Multi-Coated UV Filter
- Materials: Optical glass
- Ring materials: Aluminium
- Water resistant: None
- Coating: Multicoating
- Guarantee: Restricted 1-12 months Guarantee
Hoya HD3 UV Filter is the most recent and one of the vital superior filters in the marketplace right this moment. It reduces mud, moisture, and scratches from reaching your lens components. Plus, it doesn’t add any extra coloration or distinction to your photos to be able to obtain natural-looking pictures each time.
This light-weight and aircraft-grade aluminum filter body is ideal for any photographer to characteristic entrance filter threads that settle for lens caps and different filters for stacking.
6. Okay&F Idea UV Lens Filter
- Materials: Optical glass
- Ring materials: Aluminium
- Water resistant: Sure
- Coating: Multicoating
- Guarantee: Restricted 1-12 months Guarantee
This Okay&F Idea UV Lens Filter is the proper solution to preserve your digital camera lens protected against scratches and different injury. The ultra-slim aluminum filter ring is designed to suit most lenses, and the tempered optical glass offers superior safety. The scratch-resistant multicoated nano resistance coating additionally helps preserve your lens trying new.
7. Marumi EXUS UV Filter
- Materials: Optical glass
- Ring materials: Aluminium
- Water resistant: None
- Coating: Multicoating
- Guarantee: Restricted 1-12 months Guarantee
This Marumi EXUS UV Filter has a novel oil and water repellent coating that makes it immune to fingerprints and grease.
The anti-static and stain-resistant coating helps to guard the filter floor from mud, filth, water, and oils whereas additionally aiding in maintaining your pictures clear and clear.
The Marumi EXUS UV Filter has a thin-profile filter ring that reduces the probability of vignetting when used with wide-angle lenses.
8. Hoya NXT HMC UV Filter
- Materials: Optical glass
- Ring materials: Aluminium
- Water resistant: None
- Coating: Multicoating
- Guarantee: Restricted 1-12 months Guarantee
The Hoya NXT HMC UV Filter is a high-quality basic protecting filter with a 3-layer HMC multi-coating to protect towards scratches, filth, and flares. The low-profile aluminum body makes it best to be used with wide-angle lenses, and the high-transparency optical glass ensures wonderful picture high quality.
9. Zeiss T* UV Filter
- Materials: Optical glass
- Ring materials: Aluminium
- Water resistant: Waterproof
- Coating: Multicoating
- Guarantee: Restricted 1-12 months Guarantee
The high-quality glass contains a ZEISS T anti-reflective coating that helps to forestall reflections. By decreasing floor reflections, you’ll get extra gentle transmission for sharper, clearer pictures. It’s good for panorama and out of doors pictures. The excessive match accuracy ensures a quick filter change, so you possibly can spend extra time capturing and fewer time fiddling along with your gear.
10. AmazonBasics UV Safety Lens Filter
- Materials: Plastic
- Ring materials: Aluminium
- Water resistant: No
- Coating: No coating
- Guarantee: Restricted 1-12 months Guarantee
The AmazonBasics UV Safety Filter is an entry-level price range mannequin for basic use. It’s fabricated from plastic and has no coating, however it would shield your lens from mud, filth, and scratches. It’s possible you’ll contemplate it as an possibility for on a regular basis use when capturing with an affordable equipment lens.
The Greatest Safety Lens Filter: Conclusion
Do you have to use UV filters?
There isn’t a proper or improper reply right here. Every photographer should determine for themselves whether or not or to not use a filter. Ask your self this query: Is sacrificing picture high quality definitely worth the threat of probably damaging the entrance factor of your lens? In case your reply is sure, then apply the filter.
In the long term, it doesn’t matter whether or not or not you select to make use of UV filters or not; what issues is the standard of the filter you select. When you’ve got a high-quality lens that prices you round $1,000, it is senseless to stay a $10 filter on the entrance of it. You possibly can all the time apply the 10% filter rule, which states that your protecting filter ought to value roughly 10% of what you paid in your lens.
I’m curious… Do you utilize UV filters? Share your solutions within the feedback beneath.