Blog about Digital Cameras
[09/11/2010] What is The Best UV Filter?
The UV filters are used in photography in order to reduce the amount of UV light that reaches the camera media. The films are far more sensitive to UV light than the digital camera’s image sensors, which is why the latter would almost never need an external UV filter.
In order to explain the effect of the UV light, let us define it first: the UV light is the light with shorter wavelength than the visible light. It can be emitted by natural sources like the sun or by manmade UV fluorescent lamps, LEDs, and lasers. The traditional cameras use films as the recording media and since these films are sensitive to the UV light, if and UV filter is not used, the photos might come out hazy. The UV filters should in theory result in better quality of the taken photos, but they come with their shortcomings as well as can introduce lens flair and might also lower the image’s contrast.
If you are likely to be using an UV filter constantly, then you should probably invest in a higher-end one such as the filters sold by B+W, Heliopan, Hoya, and Kenko. Most of them come with special multi-coated surface that not only reduces lens flair and prevents the filter from making an impact on the image contrast, but also allows the filters to be cleaned easily. However, some authors argue that the cheaper UV filters are suitable for most photographers, as the negative impact that they might make on the photos could not be seen even when these photos are enlarged to poster size prints.










