Recently I purchased a UV filter from eBay for 99p including postage. I bought it for the ring, not the actual filter glass, but before I removed the glass I thought it would be interesting to see just how good (or should that be bad?) a 99p filter would be.
Where can you buy it from?
The exact title of the item on eBay is Photo studio 58mm Ultra-Violet UV lens Filter Protect dust steam for camera
, and I bought it from the eBay seller Meking
. According to the auction details the item ships from Guangdong, though the item was posted airmail from Hong Kong. It took the longest time to arrive I have ever experienced for something sent airmail - 5 weeks and 3 days.
What you get
The item arrived packaged in a Jiffy bag. The UV filter was in a plain white box that just has '58mm' 'UV' and a barcode printed on it. Inside the box is a circular plastic case that contains a piece of foam and the UV filter.
Build quality
I don't really like the case that the filter comes in. It is quite stiff to open. You don't really want to apply too much force when trying to open it, lest it opens suddenly and the filter falls out. I find the standard flip style cases much better. But for 99p it's a bonus that a case is included at all.
I'm not sure what metal the filter ring is constructed of, but it seems pretty standard. The ring is painted black, with 'UV' and '58mm' printed once on the outside of the ring in white. There are no other markings on the filter.
The filter threads work correctly. I can screw the filter onto my lens / stepping rings that have a 58mm without problems. And I can screw a 58mm stepping ring onto the front of the the filter without problems too.
Cheap UV filter's effect on image quality
I took a few test shots to see how the 99p UV filter compared to my B+W 010 MRC UV-Haze filter, and the bare lens with no filter attached. I tested using my Canon 450D with the 18-55mm IS kit lens at 18mm and 55mm, and my Nikon 70-300mm VR lens at 300mm.
With the 18-55mm lens, the 58mm threaded Meking UV filter mounted straight on the lens, while I had to use a 58-67mm step-up ring for the 67mm threaded B+W filter. For the 70-300mm lens the B+W filter mounted straight on the lens, while the Meking filter was mounted via a 67-77mm step-up and 77-58mm step-down ring.
18mm
This first test shot was taken shooting towards the sun, which gives a test of flare resistance as well as any image quality degradation.
B+W 010 MRC UV-Haze filter
Meking Photo Studio 99p eBay UV filter
As you can see, the cheap UV filter introduces lens flare not found in the image taken with the much more expensive B+W filter. (The B+W filter was the same as the bare lens in terms of flare).
100% crops:
No filter
B+W 010 MRC UV-Haze filter
Meking Photo Studio 99p eBay UV filter
Looking at crops of the images, there does not appear to be any difference in image quality between using the lens with no filter, the B+W UV filter, or the eBay 99p filter. (It appears the lens wasn't fully zoomed out to 18mm in the 99p filter photo, but this doesn't really make any difference to the comparison).
55mm
At 55mm the flare from the cheap UV filter is pretty problematic.
B+W 010 MRC UV-Haze filter
Meking Photo Studio 99p eBay UV filter
B+W 010 MRC UV-Haze filter
Meking Photo Studio 99p eBay UV filter
Looking at the crops, the contrast is less on the Meking UV filter shot due to veiling flare. Resolution also appears to be slightly worse.
300mm
Testing at 300mm is a good way to really test the filter quality. Similarly, using a high crop sensor camera (such as most non-interchangeable lens cameras) will really test the filter as it is only taking a high resolution sample from the centre of the filter.
100% crops:
No filter
B+W 010 MRC UV-Haze filter
Meking Photo Studio 99p eBay UV filter
These photos weren't taken towards the sun, so there is no problem with flare. However, the image quality is quite visibly less with the 99p UV filter than it is with the B+W filter. The B+W UV filter doesn't degrade image quality compared to the bare lens.
Conclusion
For 99p including shipping I am very impressed with this filter. I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't actually block UV at all, but does anyone actually buy a UV filter to cut UV?
The main (only?) reason people buy UV filters is to act as a protective filter for their lens. If you need a protective filter for one-time use only, and you are using a wide-angle or normal focal length, and won't be shooting into the sun, then the Meking 99p UV filter might be a sensible choice.
For everyone else that intends to keep a protective filter on their lens most of the time, then I would suggest buying the best UV filter you can afford. There's no point spending money on a good camera / lens, then degrading the image quality with a cheap filter. Most of the time I don't use any filters on my lenses.
Leave a Reply