The UV filter or protective filter for your lens: a sales staple of every camera store for decades, but are those filters worth the money? Everyone who advances in photography will eventually ask, so let’s take a look.

Since working at a camera store, I’ve refreshed my perspective on the topic, but I haven’t changed my personal preference. As a photographer, I choose not use any filters unless the conditions or photographs demand it, which sometimes they do.

As a sales specialist, I can’t impose my personal preference on you. Many photographers are so adamant about using protective filters that you wouldn’t be able to take one away from them, even if there’s a hair difference in quality. Some have come into the store with broken filters and are eager to replace them, perhaps rightly so.

What I prefer to do is ask one or two simple questions. One, how comfortable are you personally leaving the front element of your lens exposed? Two, do you ensure your equipment, and how thoroughly?

First let’s get a couple of things clear: protective filters don’t enhance or make your photos better in any way.  They’re just windshields for your lens. Good ones are ground to precision from high optical quality glass and have special coatings that minimize additional flare and repel dirt. However, your lens is also specially — and better — designed to reduce flare, and many lenses include dirt repelling coatings.

UV filters — a different category of filter which were sold as protective filters in the early years of digital — offer virtually no benefits in digital photography. Digital sensors have UV filters built in, and UV filters themselves are often not made as well as filters dedicated to protection.

Should I get one?

There are several reasons, usually combined, one wouldn’t use a protective filter. One example is professionals are used to handling expensive glass somewhat carefully. Also, they insure their equipment as a necessity of business.

Another reason is filters can reduce optical quality slightly, which you wouldn’t want if you were selling full-res files or large prints. If none of those things describe you, a protective filter is a decent inexpensive insurance policy.

Also, any additional glass on your lens may cause flare when shooting toward a light source that your lens by itself would otherwise eliminate, hence why, if you’re getting a filter, I’d recommend the expensive ones with better anti-reflective coatings, and especially not plain old UV filters. Remember, protective filters can’t enhance your photos, but good ones can virtually neutralize degredation.

Ansel Adams, the guy who made us crazy about photography and utterly mastered the art and equipment, recommends in his book “The Negative” not using UV filters, due to a reduction in optical quality, unless you’re in a severe environment (dusty, dirty, etc). Adams was a stickler for the best quality. I don’t know about you, but his assessment is good enough for me.

However, I get it. Some of you plan to shoot in rough conditions, not looking to make a National Geographic cover and just want something to keep the heavy dirt off your lens. Great. Get a protective filter. As I said earlier, I would use a protective filter if conditions or photographs demanded it, and sometimes they do.

There are some instances where customers have brought in cracked filters and the lens was untouched. Did the filter help? It appears so. In one instance, a customer had been photographing a dirt bike race and one of the bikes kicked a stone into the lens and cracked the filter but not the lens.

However, some of the pictures and stories of cracked filters on the Internet are probably far fetched. You can take a picture of a cracked filter and write any story you want about it.

One thing few people know and therefore consider is that not much on the front element of a lens actually shows up on pictures, even scratches. The camera is focusing so far beyond that element, nothing there is usually in focus. Even specks on the sensor itself are often too soft and blended in with the rest of the picture to be noticed.

Conclusion

My suggestion is don’t make your filter decision just because someone else does or says something. It should fit your photography.

A protective filter is only one part of lens care. It’s not bad to combine it with insurance, proper handling, and our next topic — proper cleaning.

Cleaning Lenses

As long as we’re on the topic of protecting lenses, I might as well answer the question of how to clean them. Everyone wants to sell you a special combination of proprietary cloths, wipes and goops. You guessed it: You don’t need it.

For everyday light cleaning, one of the most safe and effective methods is microfiber and optical cleaning fluid. Lens glass is tough stuff. It’s hard ground and coated glass from one of the best glass makers in the world. Put microfiber cloth spritzed with optical cleaning fluid on it, and you can’t scratch it.

When cleaning camera equipment, start from least aggressive to most aggressive. First use a small air blower to knock off loose dirt and dust that could create a sandpaper effect. If necessary, then use a brush, like the one built into the Lens Cleaning Pen.

For the lens, simply spritz a section of the microfiber cloth with the optical cleaning fluid, and then rub the lens in a circular motion from the center out. Then use a dry part of the cloth to wipe off any residue.

Distilled water is a great substitute to optical cleaning fluid in a pinch and is much less expensive — 99 cents a gallon vs. up to $4.99 or more for 2 oz. of optical cleaning fluid. For me, distilled water works just as well, but it doesn’t have the detergents or evaporative agents of optical cleaning fluid, so use it carefully, with only a lightly dampened cloth.

There are other good ways to clean a lens, but they cost more and this is my favorite method of the ones I’ve tried. Some of them might be more effective if your lens is super dirty, but for general repeated cleaning I haven’t used anything better than microfiber and distilled water/optical cleaning fluid.

Microfiber isn’t just a good lens cloth. It’s exceptional for lifting dirt and water from other gear.

For the camera itself, I would use only microfiber and distilled water, since I don’t want any detergents or alcohols eroding the finish or labeling on the camera body. The microfiber is designed to lift dirt by itself, so you don’t need a detergent on the camera.

In choosing a microfiber, I prefer the larger towels or cloths vs. the smaller ones that come in those leather wallet-sized pouches. This is because the larger ones give me more cleaning surface area, seem to be more durable, and may hold up to laundering better — although hand washing is gentler.

You can find microfiber cloth packs on sale anywhere — grocery, auto and hardware stores — for around $5 to $10, and they’re washable; just don’t throw them in the dryer or add fabric softener (or dryer sheets). Brand isn’t really important as many probably come from the same or similar factories.

Distilled water is free of minerals and chemicals that come in tap water and is about 99 cents a gallon at most stores. You can easily find a small plastic spray bottle, also around 99 cents, to pour the distilled water in and carry with you.

The only drawback to microfiber, and it’s a small one, is that sometimes you’ll leave little fibers on the lens. You can easily use a little air blower to clean them off, but they won’t affect image quality or damage the glass.

Keep a spray bottle and a microfiber or two in your bag and another set back at home, and you probably won’t spend another dime on fancy goops and wipes.