What Is Light Transmission?

Shopping for a lens filter is way too confusing. Brands only make the process hazier by competing on buzzwords.

So how do you choose the right filter?

The surprising truth is that the optical integrity of a lens filter can be distilled to a single value.

The problem: Most brands report this value inaccuarately or ignore it completely

It's called light transmission.

Here’s what it means.

Light will pass through your filter. If you care about image quality, you want the filter to transmit that light as purely as possible. Otherwise the image entering your expensive camera lens can be degraded by unwanted effects such as flare, distortion, and decreased contrast.

The very best UV and clear filters transmit at 99% while protecting your lens.

But wait–what about all of those optical "features" like multi-coating?

It's simple: they serve solely to help achieve a higher light transmission.

That means you can safely ignore all the marketing jargon. As long as you know the light transmission percentage, those other "features" are irrelevant to your purchasing decision.

Chiaro puts light transmission front and center,
making it perfectly clear what you're getting for your money.

To eliminate the guesswork, we also commissioned ISO-certified labs to run tests on our filters as well as a wide range of the most popular filters on the market.