To filter or not to filter, that is the question. Photographers will argue until they’re blue in the face about the issue of using protective filters. Luckily, Lens Rentals is here with science to tell you exactly how good a slew of options are. 

Many photographers swear they’ll never put protective filters on their lenses, while many others claim a nice filter can save you from a much costlier repair should something go awry. To examine the quality of such filters, Roger Cicala and the team at Lens Rentals tested a wide-ranging set of them for their light transmission and surface flatness. While we all know the importance of light transmission, the inverse property, reflection, is equally important: the less transmission, the more reflection, and the more reflection, the more ghosting, glare, and loss of contrast you can expect. In addition, the team also examined the surface flatness of the filters: the less flat an optical surface is, the more the light that passes through it can be distorted, causing image quality issues. And while most of the more expensive filters performed well, you’ll be pleased to hear that there are some more affordable options that performed admirably, so check out the full post for more and grab a protective filter if you feel so inclined.