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I use the term flare to mean an overall veiling of the image (or parts of the image) due to stray light, while ghost images are secondary images of very bright light sources, usually badly out of focus and sometimes showing extreme coma, astigmatism and chromatic aberration as well.īoth flare and ghost images are caused by unwanted reflections or scattering from the various exposed surfaces within the lens and camera body. In trying to answer this, there are several different aspects of image quality that need to be considered: Flare and ghost images However, the loss of image quality is likely to be very small in practice and so the real question becomes: Is the loss of image quality significant to me?
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This is true in theory (except possibly in those rare cases of lenses that have been specially designed for use with a filter). The filter causes a loss of image quality On the other hand, many photographers argue that lenses do not need cleaning very often and the chances of scratching the lens are very low, so it is better to save your money and go without the filter. Also, if it does get scratched, or gets so dirty that it is too difficult to clean thoroughly, then it typically costs much less to replace than the lens. The filter is flat and easily removed, which makes it much easier to clean. Secondly, protection against dust, dirt, smears and scratches on the front element of the lens - The presence of a filter on the lens certainly protects the front element, as the dust, dirt, smears and scratches get on the filter instead. I have seen no good evidence that the presence of a filter significantly reduces the chances of seriously damaging the lens. I doubt if anyone has done a proper scientific study of this, but personal experience suggests that a mishap that damages the filter will probably also damage the lens. There are two types of protection to consider.įirstly, protection against damage caused by rough handling or dropping the lens/camera. The filter provides protection for the lens My personal view is that these effects are almost always insignificant and do not provide a good enough reason for using UV filters on a regular basis with digital cameras. The purple fringing of longitudinal chromatic aberration only occurs in particular circumstances and is not to be confused with the much more common coloured fringing caused by lateral chromatic aberration (most noticeable in the corners of the frame). Having said that, I have seen some evidence that for certain lenses a UV filter can reduce the purple fringing caused by longitudinal chromatic aberration. However, digital sensors are generally rather insensitive to UV, so the problem doesn't arise to anything like the same extent. With old film cameras it was often necessary to use a UV filter because film is extremely sensitive to UV light. This argument is almost completely spurious for modern digital cameras. The filter blocks UV light and removes the blue cast from images taken in very bright sunny conditions This is generally true for the best multi-coated filters from good manufacturers, but may not be true for the cheaper filters. I assume that the UV filter being used is of similar optical quality to the lens elements themselves. Most of these arguments apply equally to clear protective filters. In this article, I will attempt to explain my own point of view and discuss the main arguments for and against using UV filters. The only thing we can say for sure is that there is no definitive right answer. This question is highly controversial amongst photographers and the forums of DPREVIEW have seen many long discussions/arguments on the subject. Who is right? Should you buy UV filters (or clear protective filters) for all your lenses? Many photographers leave UV filters on their lenses more-or-less permanently.