[ray]

Where will i get a 82mm u/v filter from at a reasonable price, there £17-99 at 7dayshop, but they havn't got any in stock thanks...Ray

[silkstone]

Ray - if you're going to leave this on the lens for protection, it's worth buying a good quality filter. Otherwise all the money you've spent on a decent lens will be wasted by putting a bit of cheap glass on the front.

There is a school of thought that you shouldn't use UV protection filters at all because they can introduce flare, but if you prefer to do so I'd get a Hoya Pro1...

Hoya 82mm Super HMC Pro 1 UV (O) Filter

£32 but it will be a lot better than the 7dayshop one which is probably Hama.

[ray]

So this one will be no good will it not Paul

Here

[silkstone]

Well, having paid good money for the lens, I would pay a little more and get a good filter.

Hoya filters come in three grades - green box, blue box and Pro 1.

(There's slso now a Pro 1 DMC which may or may not be better for digital cameras, or it could be just the rantings of a deranged marketing department. Just joking, Hoya - no need to set your legal hyenas on me. )

Anyway, the main difference between these is the quality of coating. The green ones are, I believe, uncoated or single coated, the blue ones are multicoated, and the Pro 1 are wrapped up in so many coats that you don't need the heating on. The Pro 1 are also slightly thinner, although that matters mainly for wide-angle lenses as it reduces the risk of vignetting. BTW the coating quality affects the risk of flare - quite important.

So you pays your money and takes your choice, but I would avoid the green-box one which is in your link.

[ray]

Ok Paul thank you

[P-E]

As Silky says Ray if you have spent good money on a decent lens don't put a cheap filter on the end (some people prefer not to stick one on at all). I used to use the Hoya Pro one's but now prefer B+W filters

[AQ]

I use filters on all my lenses. Having once scratched a filter quite badly I am happy to trade some very slight loss of image quality (if any) from a filter for the protection it offers to an expensive lens.

[ray]

Just one more question before i decide please, should i go for the u/v or the skylight, is there a great deal of difference, bearing in mind my main aim is protection thank you

[silkstone]

The ordinary UV one will be fine as a protection filter. The skylight filters are similar but can have a slight pinkish tint.

[ray]

Originally Posted by silkstone

The ordinary UV one will be fine as a protection filter. The skylight filters are similar but can have a slight pinkish tint.

Ok thank you Paul