Do you need a UV filter on your lens?

The honest answer: probably not. But there are specific situations where one makes sense — and buying the wrong one makes things worse.

Camera shops have sold UV filters as essential accessories for decades. The logic made sense in the film era: UV light fogged film, so a UV-blocking filter protected your shots. Digital sensors are not sensitive to UV. The original reason no longer applies.

So why do people still buy them?

Two reasons. First, inertia — the camera shop says "you need this," and it's a €15 upsell that's hard to argue with in the moment. Second, physical protection — the idea that a cheap piece of glass in front of an expensive lens will take the impact if you bump it.

The protection argument is partially valid. Front element replacement on a modern lens costs €150–400. A B+W UV filter costs €35. If you regularly shoot in environments where a knock to the lens is likely — crowded concerts, hiking through dense bush, travelling with young children — the filter acts as affordable insurance.

When a UV filter actively makes things worse

A cheap UV filter introduces flare, ghosting, and reduced contrast. Every optical surface the light passes through degrades the image slightly. A low-quality filter can turn a sharp €450 lens into something that looks like a €100 lens.

The lens manufacturers spend significant effort correcting for exactly the aberrations that a cheap uncoated piece of glass reintroduces.

The rule: if you buy a UV filter, spend at least €30–50 on one with multicoating from B+W (MRC series), Hoya (HD series), or NiSi. Never buy no-name filters from Amazon for €5–10. The money saved is not worth the image quality loss.

The filter you probably should buy instead

A circular polariser (CPL) is the one filter that does something software cannot easily replicate in post-processing.

A CPL cuts reflections from glass and water, deepens blue skies, and adds contrast to foliage. These effects are physical — the filter only lets through light oscillating in one plane, which eliminates the glare that washes out colours. Lightroom cannot recreate this.

Good CPLs for travel: B+W XS-Pro Käsemann (~€80–120 depending on thread size), Hoya HD (~€60–90). They're slower to use than a fixed filter (you rotate them to find the right angle) but actually useful.

The honest verdict

Skip the UV filter unless you shoot in physically harsh environments (beaches, dusty outdoor work, crowded events with a lot of bumping). If you do buy one, spend €35 minimum on a multicoated version.

Consider a CPL if you shoot landscapes, travel photography, or anything near water or glass. The effect is real and it's the one filter that earns its place in a modern kit.

For beach and dust protection specifically: a quality UV filter as a sacrificial front element is a legitimate choice. See our vacation photography guide for more on protecting gear at the beach.

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