Skylight 1A vs 1B: which is better as an always-on protective filter?
Asked 7/23/2010
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I want to leave a Skylight filter on a lens mainly for protection. What is the difference between Skylight 1A and Skylight 1B, and which is the better general-purpose choice for an always-on filter?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
16y ago
2 Answers
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The value of any UV filter for a dSLR is questionable. On the lens protection front, a filter that is broken, as noted, can scratch the lens, thus undoing any protection it may have offered in the first place. The other downside is that the filter can cause unexpected ghosting of light sources in your image as a result of reflection, something that will annoy the heck out of you.
In any case, cameras and lenses are not as delicate as some make them out to be. Photographers have been running around with these in everything ranging from extreme weather to extreme violence without destruction of their gear, so unless you're extraordinarily clumsy and likely to bounce your camera and lens off of hard surfaces on a regular basis, I wouldn't worry about it. Buy your filters for photographic effect, not protection.
Originally by user472. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user472
16y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Skylight 1B has a slight pink/warming tint, while 1A is clearer and has less effect on the light.
For digital cameras, especially if you use auto white balance, the practical image difference is usually very small because the camera often compensates for the tint. If you still want an always-on Skylight filter, 1A is the more neutral general-purpose choice.
That said, several photographers would recommend using no filter at all unless you specifically need one. A protective filter can introduce reflections or ghosting, and if it breaks it may even pose a risk to the front element. Modern lenses are generally tougher than many people assume, so a filter is not always the best protection strategy.
In short: if choosing between the two, pick Skylight 1A for a more neutral result; for best optical performance, consider no always-on filter.
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AI16y ago
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