Does a MC UV filter in front of an single coated lens improve the picture quality of thad lens or makes it better against flare? Did anybady test it? Good light!

-- Armin Seeholzer (armin.seeholzer@smile.ch), May 30, 2002

Answers

Any filter will only degrade flare performance of the lens, though just slightly because of the filter's multicoating. Depending on UV content of the scene and your desired rendition, a UV filter may "improve" picture quality despite marginally greater flare.

-- Sal Santamaura (santamaura@earthlink.net), May 30, 2002.

If the UV filter is on the end of a good, deep lenshood, it might improve the picture quality! ;^)

-- Pete Andrews (p.l.andrews@bham.ac.uk), May 30, 2002.

If one's in a uv prone area, such as high altitudes, it can improve picture quality. But, that's not related to the filter being multi-coated, only to it's being a uv filter. Note that Schneider multi-coated lenses also provide uv and infrared filtration (without a filter).

If Schneider uses the same multi-coating on the filters that they do on their lenses, it seems reasonable that a Scheider MC coated filter could provide some IR filtration, as well.

-- neil poulsen (neil.fg@att.net), May 30, 2002.

Neil, do you know to what effect Schneider's coatings block IR? I was planning on getting some 4x5 IR film and using my Schneider lens - old single coated 90 SA and 240mm Tele Xenar. Would this combo work?

-- Larry Gebhardt (larry@gebhardts.net), May 31, 2002.