(This has become one of the most-read articles at this site. For some reason, the question of whether or not it makes sense to add these little filters to your lenses generates a lot of interest… and sometimes a lot of lively debate. Portions are now a bit dated — the article comes from 2007 — but the general concepts discussed here still hold. From time to time I make small updates based on new information or questions that have come up. Note that there are links to a couple of related posts listed near the end of the article.)

Sellers sell, and some buyers buy, ultraviolet (UV) filters for their cameras. The main advantages are said to be twofold: some reduction of haze that is invisible to the human eye but which the camera purportedly might register, and some protection for the front element of your lens.

On the other hand many photographers wouldn’t think of putting an extra layer of unnecessary glass in front of their lenses. They would rather accept the (rather small) possibility of a scratch on the front element of a lens than possibly reduce the quality of their images, and/or they prefer to protect the lens by using a lens cap and lens hood.

I’m in the latter camp. I no longer use any UV filters* and I can think of darned few situations in which I’d want to use one. (One possible exception being the use of fully-sealed lenses on which the seal is completed by adding a front filter – and here only if I were to use the lens in an extremely hostile environment and with a fully environmentally sealed camera body.) My preference is to handle my camera and equipment relatively carefully, keep the gear protected when not actually using it, use a lens cap, and to almost always use a rigid lens hood.