Filters - advice on which type please

Not sure if I have put this thread in the right place - apologies if it's wrong.

I would like some help/advice on what filters to buy for my new lenses. With the lenses I got in my Jessups package deal I also got their own make UV filters (this was their recomendation) - these seem to be fine and dandy but then I don't really know how much my shots would differ by using a different make or different type of filter.
So....my questions are:-
1) should I buy UV filters or something else e.g. polarizing, skylight...??
2) from what I've read on here, I shouldn't be using cheap types so what make(s) should I go for?

I don't really want to go for the most expensive, value for money is what I'm really looking for

Look forward to your comments.

Tina

Well, IMO I think UV filters can be forgotten anyway, would save up for a good Polaroid and may be a couple ND but you will not really need much more and many manage with out any since the advent of digital cameras.

Thanks for that Snapper.

Another reason for wanting filters is to protect my glass

Well I know some people do say that but think about it, if you drop the lens and smash the filter your will bugg*r the lens as well anyway and unless you intend to clean your lens with a Brillo pad I can't see how it could become damaged or scratched, you would be very careless to scratch a lens glass.

You have to remember if you screw anything on your lens you are cutting down the light entering the lens and also the lens manufacture has used the very best of glass to make their lens and you are thinking of sticking a piece of glass in front of it.

However if you think you must I would buy the most expensive clear lens you can afford.

I wouldn't have even thought about those points, thanks so much!

Tina

Opinion is divided over the merits of a UV filter. I think they are worth it because I'd sooner get rain, sea spray, dust, fingermarks on that than the front glass element. Some people have an opinion they can cause some minor degradation of image and more flare. I do indeed take mine off occasionally and I have a couple of lenses that I don't have UV filters for because of the design and/or size (82mm). Your Jessops filter is of a reasonable quality.

Skylight 1A/B filters are pretty much a waste of time on digital. They used to add a slightly warm tinge to film images but you can achieve this in PP anyway.

ND filters can be useful to allow wider aperatures or slow shutter speeds, something you have to do at the time the picture is taken. Graduated filters can be useful for landscape photography.

Polarising filters, not 'polaroid' filters take reflections off of water and accentuate the blue in sky and contrast against white clouds, saturate more colours. It does things that cannot be achieved in PP.

If you are starting out, one consideration would be to buy a filter kits made by Cokin , Lee etc. This has a series of filter holders and adapters to utilise filters on many different filter thread sizes. Jessops filters are a reasonable quality, as are some Hama, Hoya etc. but increased money generally buys thinner mounts and glass, better coatings etc. but whether most of us would see much difference in practical terms is of course a matter of opinion. I can't see the point of buying generally lower end or even mid range lenses and paying for high end filters.

I own two filters for every lens, a medium quality UV filter & a polarizing filter of at least medium grade. The thinner the overall filter the less chance of vignetting every shot. UV filters protect against the elements including pollen, dust, dirt & moisture. I buy Quantaray filters that are half the cost of Nikon filters. A 52mm Quantaray circular polarizer is $50l The same in Nikon is $100.

All my lenses have a UV filter on them to protect the front end, after the first time at the beach, thought I would rather scratch or bin a filter than a lens.

I do have screw on Polarisers for two lenses, but just invested in a set of Cokin ND Grad filters and holder, (wanted Lee, but they were a bit too pricey for me at the moment) haven't really used them that much yet, but they are an investment, so it's fine Polariser is next on the list.

I think you buy the best you can afford, as you spend money on good glass, why put a not so good piece in front of it

Don't think I will ever remember to call it a Polariser and not a Polaroid, think when I first learnt of them I thought it was Polaroid and it stuck, sorry, would not wish to confuse.

Suzi, you don't put your camera on the sand do you, perhaps you are worried about flying grains of sand. Must say have been using cameras since the 1950s and never had a lens scratched but it does not matter if that make you feel comfortable then do buy the best you can afford.

However if you buy a lens for say £80 and then spend a lot on a quality filter, it is , IMO, a waste of money and I would be inclined to buy a better lens in the first place and insure my equipment.

No a windy day, and flying sand,plus sea spray. I have dogs who as soon as they see a camera,pointing at them, feel obliged to run towards you and to put their noses against the lens So seeing as I am a bit of a Klutz and might have kids, dogs or both with me, I like to have a UV filter on.