Articles

UV filters test

1. Introduction

Originally posted 2007-09-21 on Optyczne.pl

When we buy a brand new camera we usually get very excited. We take pictures of everything: objects in motion, contemplative still shots, the tiniest of objects and the largest of objects, from far away and close-up. When the initial enthusiasm finally wears off, we start looking closer at our pictures and analyzing them, discovering their bigger and smaller imperfections and start thinking of how to improve our photographic workshop. First, we expand our photographic knowledge by reading specialized books or we look for help on the Internet. When we grow more knowledgeable we often start investing in all kinds of photographic accessories.

One of the most popular first purchases – for both beginners and more advanced photographers – is the UV filter. Choosing the right filter, unfortunately, isn’t very easy since there are so many filters on the market and they can cost anywhere from a few dozen to several hundred Polish zloty.

As far as the cameras and lenses are concerned, we can sometimes see the differences between them at first glance. In the case of filters, it’s just not that easy to differentiate between them. If we pick up the cheapest and the most expensive filter available on the market all we see is a piece of transparent glass mounted in a round ring. Why do they differ so much in price? As you might expect, the answer is long and detailed. Below we have decided to look closely at and test 20 UV filters from such manufacturers as B+W, Hama, Heliopan, Hoya, Kenko, King, Marumi, Sigma and Tiffen.

Before getting directly to the test results we need to present a few general features about UV filter usefulness, as well as describe our testing procedures.

The filters were kindly provided by:

We would also like to thank