RobertG

Hi I'm new to Ugly Hedgehog, and starting to get deep into photography.

I have a Canon t6i and bought a Sigma 18- 35 for it. I put a filter (Platinum Multi-coated UVF). on it from Best Buy supposedly to protect the lense

Is this going to defeat the purpose of having spent a ton of cash on a great lense?

Thanks for your comments,
RobertG

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

The only protection the filter will provide is accidental finger prints and dust. Any forceful impact may or may not affect the lens regardless of the filter being there.

It's better to clean the filter frequently than the lens surface itself. You'll get a varying number of replies to this one, so enjoy the ride.
--Bob

tradio Loc: Oxford, Ohio

You will get plenty promoting the use and plenty scorning the use. It's a personal preference. For every story you hear of the filter saving the lens from damage, you will hear another how it caused damage.
I personally do not use one unless it is required. I feel that putting a $50 filter in front of a $ 1500 lens makes no sense. All but two filters can be simulated in post production that being the CPL and the ND"s including the grad ND's. So, I keep the lens cover on when not in use and use a bare naked lens when shooting.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

Yes. But a $50 filter is a POC and you shouldn't use it. A decent UV coated filter will be around $95. And yes, it is cheap insurance for a $1500 lens.

jim quist Loc: Missouri

Which would you rather replace, a broken filter or a broken lens? My equipment takes a beating sometimes. I would rather have rain, sand, snow, the ground, mud, etc hitting my filter than my lens. I dropped a lens and when it hit the blacktop the filter broke, but the lens was still worked.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Had one that looked very similar. The lens was just fine. Almost all of mine are B+W filters. A bit more money, but they are part of a very expensive optical system.
--Bob

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Take off the "Platinum" filter until you buy a clear B+W ... Always replace your lens cap onto the lens when not actively shooting. Always use your lens shade. If the lens didn't come with a shade, add the shade to the shopping cart when you purchase the B+W filter ...

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

I think it comes down to personal choices. It will protect the lense but not perfectly from severe impact. It will degrade the image but most times negligibly. Most of the time a lense hood will protect better but not like a filter against flying objects. It will filter out UV but most digital sensors are already somewhat insensitive to UV to begin with. It is alway a trade-off.

For me, I only have a polarizer and also rely on heavily on the lense hood to protect the lense. I don't like the lost of light from the polarizer so I don't use it as a lenses protector very often.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

This is a controversial topic, but I have clear filters on my lenses. I use a Xume magnetic adapter, so I can have them on and off in less than a second. It's debatable how much actual protection filters offer, but I like to play it safe. Look up Tony Northrup. He does a detailed test of lenses and filters and how tough they all are.

Lots of references here.

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=tony%20northrup%20on%20filters

Fotomacher Loc: Toronto

There are as many opinions about this as starfish in the sea. I have been shooting with "good" equipment since 1976. Always used UV protection filters, either B+W or Heliopan. Took them off all my lenses 2 years ago unless I am shooting in mist, rain or blowing sand. Caps, hoods and careful handling do not degrade image quality. This is MY opinion and yes, I have dropped lenses. The front element is only one part of a lens that can break........

kymarto Loc: Portland OR and Milan Italy

I absolutely advocate the use of protective filters. You will certainly, in the course of daily shooting, need to clean the front element, and eventually repeated cleanings will give you cleaning marks no matter how careful you are--unless you shoot only in the studio. Yes, you can be careful, but I'll bet that you will come across time-critical situations in which if you don't clean a smudge immediately you will lose a shot. I always use good lens tissues, but still after some years of use in the field, my filters show fine scratches.

I have done extensive tests with filters--not even expensive ones--on many different lenses, and I have yet to find any case where a side-by-side comparison with and without shows any noticeable difference. The one exception is in shooting extremely bright point sources of light, which have shown a very slight increase in flare just around the light, Shooting directly into the sun you might get one extra sun flare--but in such rare situations it is easy to remove the filter for a moment.

Most of the "anti-filter" crowd seem to be going by some untested gut feeling, probably thinking about the difference in the view through a window or with the window open. It is a totally different case.

I urge everyone who thinks that a 30 dollar filter degrades the image of a 1000 dollar lens to do the simple test of mounting the camera on a tripod, taking images with and without the filter, and comparing them side by side.

At minimum, you should buy a filter and use it in adverse conditions--in smoky or greasy or dusty environments. After a couple of years, looking at all the hairline scratches, you will be glad it's not the front element of your lens.

And don't buy the scam about expensive filters. You don't need heliopans or B&W. A good middle-of-the-road Kenko or Tiffen or Marumi or Hoya, multicoated--not even their "pro" series--will be fine.

johnst1001a Loc: West Chester, Ohio

I don't use one, but wouldn't a lens hood do the same if not better job at protecting the lens? Other than a straight in impact, the lens hood should do a fine job.

Jim Bob

Jim Bob

Hoya's are better.

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

I do not use UV filter on my lenses just lens hoods Only filters that I use when need are polarizing and ND. I also have an IR filter and a Hoya Red intensifying Filter for Night Photography