Q&A: Should you use protective/UV lens filters?

<img src="http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/w541/dismantlerepair_storage3/web-caption__J4B8745_zps341054ef.jpg" width="690" /><br /><br />After a bit of drama that happened two weekends ago, I can now answer this question in the above photographic form. Don't worry - the lens in question has since been repaired and was only broken for a grand total of about 4 days!<br /><br />From a little bit of googling it looks as if there is a bit of a heated debate around this topic, but I figure that I'd share my view (and now, personal experience) on it all.<br /><br /><b>USE THEM!</b><br /><br />Having a UV filter on my 135mm lens has saved me a huge amount of hassle and expense.<br /><br />My camera bag wasn't closed tightly enough and my lens fell out of it from a height of around a metre onto a concrete paving slab. As I am sure you can imagine it was one of those heart-stopping moments.. an <i>"I need to look and see what has happened but I am not sure if I want to!"</i> moment.<br /><br />To my relief, the lens cap and filter absorbed the impact entirely. I quickly tested it by focusing on things at different distances and it appeared to be in full working order. Using a UV filter has saved me from having to shell out for an entire new lens, or the cost of having the front element repaired by Canon.<br /><br />There are many, many tutorials online on how to remove bent and broken filters from lenses, but as I wanted to be 100% sure that my lens was in working order internally and not likely to fail on a client shoot, I did send it into Canon for a check up, and whilst it was there, have the broken filter removed. This came through at a fixed price repair (under £100!) and was most likely significantly cheaper than having it repaired had the front element smashed to bits instead.<br /><br />There is a lot of debate online with regard to whether photographers should use filters or not to protect their lenses. The main argument is as follows: adding filters to lenses can slightly affect image quality. By investing in good quality filters (I use, and have always used Hoya PRO-1 filters), you can minimise this but there may still be a slight reduction in quality.<br /><br />However, in my situation, it's more important to me that my lenses sustain less damage upon impact and be cheaper to repair, than having them filter-free and have images that are maybe possibly potentially slightly minutely sharper. Just my two cents!<br /><br /><b>What are your views on this topic? Do you use protective filters on your lenses?</b><br /><br /><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="//www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fdismantlerepair-photo.blogspot.com%2F2014%2F09%2Fshould-you-use-protective-or-uv-lens-filters.html&width&layout=standard&action=like&show_faces=false&share=true&height=35&appId=112365025537572" style="border: none; height: 35px; overflow: hidden;"></iframe>

Q&A: Should you use protective/UV lens filters?

After a bit of drama that happened two weekends ago, I can now answer this question in the above photographic form. Don't worry - the le...

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