UV Filter & Polarizer Filter Pictures

[Keith B]

On a dSLR, the UV filter is entirely about protection, not IQ improvement. While a UV filter (or a clear filter, for that matter) does have an effect on light transmission, with high-quality multicoated filters the light attenuation is of neutral density (no color shift) and is less than 3%, effectively unnoticeable. A polarizer reduces light transmission by ~2 stops - that's not something I want to leave on my lens all the time.

I understand that folks love to protect there lenses with UV, but while there is a polarizer on there, isn't it providing the protection. Is this a question of laziness or the fear of the 30 seconds the lens will be unprotected? No one suggested keeping the polarizer on all the time.

[neuroanatomist]

Sure, the polarizer will protect just as well (if not better - there are two layers of glass in a CPL). For those who do stack, it's either laziness (not that I'm accusing anyone here of that!), or simple lack of time (needing to get the CPL or ND on quickly to avoid missing a shot in the time it would take to remove the UV filter). In some cases, it might be "the fear of the 30 seconds the lens will be unprotected" - if I was shooting on a beach with crashing breakers and lots of salt spray, and wanted a CPL to cut the glare or an ND to blur the water with a long exposure, I would just screw on the second filter, rather than removing he UV filter and needing to clean off the front element later. Then, if I needed to keepshooting with that lens once I left the beach, before I got a chance to properly clean the UV filter, I could just remove it and keep shooting.

[Ralph]

if I was shooting on a beach with crashing breakers and lots of salt spray, and wanted a CPL to cut the glare or an ND to blur the water with a long exposure, I would just screw on the second filter, rather than removing he UV filter and needing to clean off the front element later. Then, if I needed to keepshooting with that lens once I left the beach, before I got a chance to properly clean the UV filter, I could just remove it and keep shooting.
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Exactly! Here's a sample:





Canon 50D + Canon 10-22 + Kenko slim UV + Hoya Pro1D slim CIR POL


You don't want me to remove my UV and replace it with CPL on THAT location would you? [:P] And oh, I'm well aware of the vignette (atleast after I learned to stop at 12mm instead of 10)