chgo51
New member
Hi Steve, Any recommendations for the above topic. A (B + W) UV 95mm filter is at or above $100.? Do you use any protection on the variety of long lenses that I see in your informative vids?
UV/Haze filter for the Nikon 500mm PF
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chgo51
New member
WOW! Thanks for the info. I somehow missed this video from Steve. Very informative.
Check out an Australian company named Gobe, they get excellent reviews and are reasonably priced, I’m looking at a 95mm UV filter for my 200-500mm Nikkor, they are out of stock right now but will be available sometime this month
Was going to say the same thing as @DRwyoming I never own one before and Steve's Video just cemented it for me...
Warren D
Well-known member
For the last few years I've switched to Breakthrough. Great quality and very color neutral, especially their CPOLs and ND's.
Sometimes the overall message of that video gets lost within the carnage. UV filters offer little protection against impact damage, however, they can be good in situations where you're trying to avoid excess dust, contaminates, sea spray, finger prints, etc. Still, I don't have one for any of my long glass and have no intentions of getting one (can't for the really big stuff anyway 
).
Also, I'd be concerned about excess flare with a 95mm flat piece of glass on front of the lens, so I'd only use it in situations where it was really necessary. Usually a lens hood is enough protection.
).Also, I'd be concerned about excess flare with a 95mm flat piece of glass on front of the lens, so I'd only use it in situations where it was really necessary. Usually a lens hood is enough protection.
Warren D
Well-known member
Thought I recalled reading somewhere that the front element of Nikon's exotics (400,500,600, 800) was designed to be easily changed as it also served as protection.
Agreed. I've shared this video or the info (with credit to Steve) in it, a lot!
dklimek1
New member
I would like to point out a few reasons why I use a UV filter on my lenses. A UV filter is designed to filter UV and not the visible wavelengths, therefore, color balance will not be affected. On the issue of protection, I agree with Steve that there is no significant increase in protection from impact damage. It’s the scratch protection that I am interested in. Then there are the more common issues of dust and finger prints and how to clean them off. In my previous life, I was a laser physicist / experimentalist, and spent a lot of time in the lab cleaning optical surfaces. With high power lasers, any lingering dust or organic material (fingerprints, solvent residue, dandruff etc.) will result in damage of very expensive optics. My experience is that it is always easier to clean flat surfaces compared to either concave or convex surfaces. Especially when it comes to those last few residual streaks. That, coupled with the reduction of the nervous making concern of whether or not I’m going to damage the coating, leads me to using the “protective” filter on my lenses.
On the issue of coatings, it is the quality of the coating that impacts the prevalence of flare. A good quality antireflection coating is important in eliminating / reducing flare. Also, the quality of the glass is important in terms of image distortion. When I got my Tamron 150-600 lens, I purchased an inexpensive UV filter. I did some testing of focus sharpness using test targets and found a significant reduction image sharpness with the cheap filter. I sent it back and got a B+W filter, and could no long measure any significant difference in the sharpness.
On the issue of coatings, it is the quality of the coating that impacts the prevalence of flare. A good quality antireflection coating is important in eliminating / reducing flare. Also, the quality of the glass is important in terms of image distortion. When I got my Tamron 150-600 lens, I purchased an inexpensive UV filter. I did some testing of focus sharpness using test targets and found a significant reduction image sharpness with the cheap filter. I sent it back and got a B+W filter, and could no long measure any significant difference in the sharpness.
I live within 4 miles of the Atlantic Ocean beaches and use UV filters to protect my lenses from sand and salt spray - including my 500 PF.