UV filters with digital camera?

[Jon Warwick]

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Leaving aside possible protection of the front of the lens .....is there any benefit to the final image from using a UV filter with a digital camera?

I am thinking here whether a UV filter is still of benefit to (say) reduce haze in places like the mountains?

The reason I'm asking because I've read here and there that the the UV sensitivity of a digital sensor is so low (unlike for film) that it's simply superfluous these days to use a UV filter, or is that nonsense?

 

[Robert Blanko]

IMHO, almost any consumer camera is equipped with a filter on top of the sensor for cutting off IR and UV spectrum parts. Thus, a UV filter on the lens would likely not add much in said respect.

Moreover, conventional lenses and their coatings might block UV or signifikant Parts thereof as well.

UV photography usually requires modification of the sensor glass, cf. for instance https://kolarivision.com/getting-started-uv-photography/ .

 

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[jaapv]

AFAIK the UV blocking is done by the lens, not by the IR filter on the sensor, at least not with Leica. 

[jaapv]

45 minutes ago, Jon Warwick said:

Leaving aside possible protection of the front of the lens .....is there any benefit to the final image from using a UV filter with a digital camera?

I am thinking here whether a UV filter is still of benefit to (say) reduce haze in places like the mountains?

The reason I'm asking because I've read here and there that the the UV sensitivity of a digital sensor is so low (unlike for film) that it's simply superfluous these days to use a UV filter, or is that nonsense?

 

A UV filter is useful over 3000 meters to reduce haze.

[pgk]

16 hours ago, jaapv said:

A UV filter is useful over 3000 meters to reduce haze.

Do you think so? If I remember correctly the 'Skylight' filter was a very slight pinkish colour and was intended to do this. I would have thought that a UV filter should now make no discernible difference to a modern UV blocking lens even at altitude although with very intense UV around it might add an extra block I suppose.

[jaapv]

That is precisely it. The filter gives a bit of additional UV blocking with very high levels of UV. The pinkish skylight can be simulated in post, but the dehaze slider does a better job.