Quote:
Originally Posted by suzzer99
Don't they cut out like 10% of visible light? I know mine does. I forgot to take mine off for some night shots and regretted it later when I was processing.
No. A good UV(0) filter - the sort you use as a lens protector - will not cut 10% of visible light. It might reduce transmission in the visible spectrum by 3-5%. Maybe your UV filter is not very good.
You will note that I didn't advocate "a UV filter" but rather "a good UV(0) filter".
A UV filter cuts way more than 10% of light waves in the UV range and next to nothing in the visible range. They will often result in a slight warming effect. With a UV(0) less is filtered out than a filter with a higher number.
The bigger problems are aberration and flare. With a high quality filter, aberrations are minimised. Every layer of glass increases the risk of flare, but with the number of elements in a typical lens these days, the increased risk is not very high.
Rather than loss of light transmission, a more important reason to consider removing a UV filter at night is that night shooting is done in an environment with extreme contrast, so flare is more likely to occur, and the large amount of dark background makes flare more noticeable.
If you don't have a protective filter attached, please use a lens hood.
One of the advantages of using a protective filter is that you don't have to clean your lens as often. Nearly every time you clean your lens you degrade it a litle bit, and risk signficant damage.