Hello. I have read numerous times it's wise to protect your lens. I ignored this advise for some time until I scratched the lens on my Panasonic FZ20 while taking a macro shot of a bush bud. With that cam you can get pretty close up to a subject. Luckily it is a very small scratch.. So I went out and got me some UV Haze filters. Some time later and most recently I picked up some mc skylight 1a filters for my cams as advised by the friendly camera salesman. Does anybody know if these skylight filters affect the picture quality in anyway indoors or out, light or dark or whatever? If you do know will you please tell me ? :-) Depending on your answer I may even send you a Christmas present of some UV filters or skylight filters. To my knowledge the UV is for protection, reducing haze, and absorbs both uv and blue light waves. At least that's what it says on the packaging, except it says rays rather than waves. As far as the uv filter goes I don't really have the slightest idea of how to use it. The picture on the packaging shows before and after photos of a snow-covered mountain under blue sky so maybe I will take a picture of Mt. Rainier some day if it ever stops raining here in Washington. I could have a long wait...The pictures look different...the after looks better. It doesn't say anything on the packaging about affecting the actual picture. It just says for lens protection... As long as I am on the topic of filters I was wondering if the brand name makes any difference. These are Quantaray filters, and I figure they are fine for an amature like me. I don't see how one slab of glass could be more extravegant than another. Please forgive me ignorant filter questions, and I appreciate your taking the time to read this, and your input will be most appreciated. --Jeff p.s. another thing I got is a product called digital camera screen savers for protecting the camera's lcd screen. It's a cut-to-fit clear plastic product similar to those reusable car window decals. Seems to work well...