Tuesday, 5 July 2016

What is the difference between UV and Skylight filters?


I was used to put a Skylight filter to protect my lens, but last time the shop assistant recommended me to use a UV filter instead for Digital SLR.


I though they were the same, only different in "strength" but he told me no, Skylight would introduce false colors in digital sensors.


Is it true?



What's the exact difference between them?



Answer



The difference is that a skylight filter is a basic colour correction filter with a slight magenta tint which has a similar effect on skies as a UV filter (which cuts out part of the spectrum), which is neutral coloured. The effect of a skylight filter is slightly warming, overcoming the blue tinge that you get in shadows from the light from a clear blue sky.


The person is the shop is right that a skylight will affect colours but the effect is subtle, can be beneficial and can be largely reversed on the computer. However skylight filters are less common with digital given the ease with which you can apply colour correction in post production.


A more important question is why you are buying a filter. The common advice for protecting a lens doesn't make sense to me, given that filters can exacerbate lens flare and reduce contrast in certain circumstances. The price if a good UV filter can be about the same as a lens repair anyway...


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