A decent UV or clear filter will minimize actual lens cleaning, protect it from abrasive airborne particles hitting or attaching themselves to the front element, and in some cases take the brunt of an impact - sometimes saving you $100s in lens repair.

And you don't need to spend a fortune to get a good filter. A midrange Hoya is optically better than the B&Ws, Heliopans, Schneider and other esoteric (and expensive) filters.

https://www.lenstip.com/113.1-article-UV_filters_test.html

My experience over the past 51 yrs with this has more than proven that using a filter can help.

Jay,

Why did you have a UV filter on your lens? Was it to "protect" the front element of your lens? Using a UV filter to protect your lens is a fallacy that has been promoted by filter manufacturers and camera stores for years to sell a high profit product. Many photographers have bought into this disinformation because it has been repeated so many times over the years.

The fact is that UV filters on a digital camera add nothing to the photographs you are taking while cheap filters especially, can increase reflections and reduce contrast. The use of lens caps and a lens hood will protect your lens better than any filter. You should almost always use a lens hood to reduce side light from affecting pictures and protect your lens from the damage that can occur when your lens hits a hard object. It can also minimize damage if your lens is dropped. Although you will hear about a very few case where a UV filter broke and thus protected the front element, you will also here stories about lenses damaged by broken chars of glass from a filter that was struck by a hard object. There are far more stories of lenses being saved by the lens hood or lens caps.

My advice is to ditch UV filters, keep your lens clean all the time, use lens caps, and when possible, always use a lens hood when taking pictures.

a few days ago I asked about my old nikon 28-70 f2.8 lens which lacked snap. Frankly I am old, stupid, dumb, and did not know how to download the image. I will try now. Both pics were just made. the first looks like someone with a mild cataract and made with the 28-70f. the second made a few seconds later was with a 70-200 f.2 latest version. everything else including hand held is the same. Both were at 70mm focal distance. The 70-200 has the snap i was referring too not present on the other lens. Any ideas. I hope the pics get downloaded.

Bill,

I just phoned Nikon and according to Nikon, none of their lenses come with a clear glass filter; although, they do sell clear glass filters. As I said, they are a large profit item.

Also, I stand by my statement that UV and glass filters should be avoided; assuming you take care of your lenses and clean them promptly when needed. As far as small pits and scratches on the front element, they have to be quite bad to even slightly affect picture quality. Lens caps and hoods provide the best protection.