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When I first started, I used to use protective filters as I was paranoid about scratching the front of the lens etc. I've since stopped using them as on some of the cheap ones, you can really notice the deterioration in image quality and can get unwanted ghosting/flare. As mentioned above, why stick an inferior piece of glass in front of precision optics?
I now just rely on the lens hood to protect the front element. Lenses are a lot tougher than people think, and as long as you're careful when cleaning them, you shouldn't have any problem. Use a microfibre cloth and ensure you don't have any grit on either the lens or cloth prior to cleaning. Light scratches and cleaning marks aren't going to make any noticeable difference to a picture. Granted, a filter might protect the front element to some degree if you dropped the lens but, in all likelihood, drop a lens on the ground and you'll most likely mess the thing up internally anyway, rendering it useless.
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