Rinky... To re-iterate what Xorand states; Unless you're really in harsh elements that will blow debris and such on your lens (like the beach or a windy day in Chicago), you normally would not need a UV filter... A "flower-shaped" hood lens will be sufficient enough to block out unwanted stray light coming into your camera

Now, if you are going to get one for "protective" purposes, stick with the top manufacturers like Hoya (Pro Line Series), B+W, and Heliopan... Don't you EVER buy the ones made by Quantaray (ie. Buy 3 get 1 free at Ritz Camera Stores)... Quantaray uses cheap plastics/glass with the results of losing about 15-20% of image quality... If you're gonna buy one, ante up the $$$ and get one from the manufacturers I mentioned above...

As for microdrives, IMHO, I wouldn't take that route... To many moving parts in there which increases "wear-and-tear" on it... On top of which, they don't write as fast (when shooting in "burst" mode) as a highspeed CF card... Just stick with the CF cards... I purchased two Transcend 8GB 120x CF cards from Fry's @ $139/each... If you don't have a Fry's store near you, go online and search for "Transcend"... It should be there... If you're gonna go in the 2GB/4GB capacity range, check your local electronic stores... They usually have weekly sales on them... That storage range is creeping up to the "standard" size capacity range for most of todays high megapixel digital cameras (SLR's and P&S)...

- Air B