THIN UV(and other) Filters

I picked up an 18mm AI-s Nikkor lens not too long ago, and the standard advice with this particular lens is to only use a single Nikon brand filter on the front of it. Nikon brand is specified due to the fact that they are very thin. In actuality, the lens probably should have been made with a 77mm thread, but anyway that's what it is.

 

I'd like to at a minimum pick up UV filter for it. I've tested my current collection of 72mm filters, and all of them vignette. So with that in mind, I'd also like to get at least a basic set of B&W filters for it(yellow, orange, red).

 

Can anyone advise on alternatives to the Nikon brand filters that are equally thin?

"I picked up an 18mm AI-s Nikkor lens not too long ago.."

-Nice!

 

Get a step up ring to 77 or 82 mm, then you can use any old filters on the lens.

 

"Old" might be the operative word if you're looking for yellow, orange and red filters. I think the demand for those is so low these days that hardly anyone stocks them.

 

Not sure that Nikon filters are any slimmer than other brands. I have Marumi and Sigma filters with possibly the slimmest rims I've yet come across.

Edited June 28, 2017 by rodeo_joe|1

Nikon filters are made oversized, so that the filter is large than the threaded ring. "Thin" filters lack an external thread for stacking filters - never a good idea with extreme wide angles. A step-up adapter adds considerable thickness, which may cause vignetting on the 18.

"Nikon filters are made oversized, so that the filter is large than the threaded ring."

 

- That used to be the case with Nikon's polarising filters, but no longer. And it was only the polarizers that were oversized. All other types of Nikon filter were/are the same as any other make of filter. It's only recently, in the digital era, that Nikon have started making slim filters.

 

The stepping rings I have add less height at their small diameter end than any filter I've ever seen. Yes, they can be quite thick, but they open out to a larger diameter, and most of that thickness is the female thread for the adapted filter to seat into.

 

FWIW, here's what the old Nikon polar filters used to look like (left) - side by side with a filter with a stepping ring attached. As you can see, the overall thickness is very slightly less on the adapted "normal" filter.

 

Nikon stopped making those oversize polar filters sometime in the last millenium!

Edited June 29, 2017 by rodeo_joe|1

 

Nikon filters are the thinnest I've come across, compared to Tiffen, Hoya, and B&W filters. All my Nikon filters allow one to stack more filters on it.

 

One important note - if you use a step up ring on the Nikkor 18mm AIS manual lens, you can't attach the Nikon lens hood.

"One important note - if you use a step up ring on the Nikkor 18mm AIS manual lens, you can't attach the Nikon lens hood."

 

- That might be no bad thing. The old screw-in or snap-in circular wideangle Nikon hoods were about as useful as a chocolate teapot!

A petal (tulip) hood is much more efficient, and in any case, screw-in or clip-on hoods can be bought in all shapes and sizes. There should be no problem finding something suitable in a 77 or 82mm size.

 

FWIW, Nikon no longer lists any B&W contrast filters. No Y48, O56, nothing. It looks as if the used market or 3rd party is the only option.

"One important note - if you use a step up ring on the Nikkor 18mm AIS manual lens, you can't attach the Nikon lens hood."

 

- That might be no bad thing. The old screw-in or snap-in circular wideangle Nikon hoods were about as useful as a chocolate teapot!...

 

Mmmm, chocolate!

Sorry, Nikon doesn't win the "Thinnest Filter Award".

 

While older Hoyas and the like are indeed quite chunky, more modern ones are a lot slimmer.

 

I calipered a few of my filters, and here's my brief league table:

 

Kenko Digital Lens Protect - 5.6 mm

Hoya HMC UV (new) - 6.1 mm

Nikon L37c - 6.3 mm

Marumi DHG UV - 6.3 mm

 

That's total thickness. The division between thread and filter body varies quite a bit across filter makes, but the body of the Kenko and Hoya were still visibly slimmer than Nikon's.

 

All my old Nikon filters for B&W film are a lot thicker than the above, and I see no difference between those and Hoya filters of the same era.

Edited July 7, 2017 by rodeo_joe|1

I have an 18 mm lens, albiet Zeiss, which I use with a B+W UV filter to protect the bulging front element. The hood attaches to an external bayonet, which is not affected by the filter. I have no vignetting beyond that attributable to the lens itself. The filter has a front thread, which allows use of the original lens cap. I have "thin" filters which omit the front thread, but can only be used with a slip on cap (or bareback). Thin B+W filters come with a slip on cap, which usually slips off in the camera bag.

Slip on, slip off, slip on, slip off...... when you can walk softly enough to keep this lenscap on the camera Grasshopper, then it will be time for you to leave.

I use UV/Clear/Haze filters so that I don't have to use a lens cap :)

 

In any case, I appreciate the discussion. It goes against all my fundamental principles to buy new filters, but none the less I've done it before(most recently a 72mm Hoya R72-not a cheap filter). I'm spoiled by my local camera shop with an old card catalog filled with nothing but filters that are officially $5 each but unofficially when I pick out a bunch and am buying something else usually just an extra $10 or so on what I'm buying.

 

In any case, I'll scour Ebay for some of the suggested filters-including a Nikon-and see what I can come up with. It sounds like I'll need to look at a different brand for the B&W filters. At a minimum I want a #25 and a Y2 that will not vignette on this lens, but of course the more the merrier. A mild warming filter for Velvia in the shade would be welcome also, but there again I'll have to see what I can find.

 

As I said, it would have been great if Nikon had made this lens 77mm, or otherwise used the rear bayonets like the 15mm and some other UWs. I know that an older "standard thickness" will vignette-it's readily visible through a 100% viewfinder.

The reason for the choice of 72mm is that at one time Nikon tried to rationalise their filter threads to 52, 62 and 72mm. Many of their smaller lenses - up to 200mm f/4 - managed with a 52mm filter thread. This was part of Nilon's design philosophy in those days of keeping filter diameters as small as possible. So using a 77mm filter would have been out of step with this.

 

For the above reason I think it's unlikely you'll find a genuine Nikon contrast filter in a diameter larger than 72mm. I'm pretty sure that Nikon stopped making filters for B&W before they relented on their limited filter size policy.

 

...In any case, I'll scour Ebay for some of the suggested filters-including a Nikon-and see what I can come up with. It sounds like I'll need to look at a different brand for the B&W filters. At a minimum I want a #25 and a Y2 that will not vignette on this lens, but of course the more the merrier. A mild warming filter for Velvia in the shade would be welcome also, but there again I'll have to see what I can find.

 

Here is a Nikon A2 72mm filter:

 

Nikon 72mm A2 Filter w/case/box

 

Dirt cheap! If you don't buy it, I might...

Here is a Nikon A2 72mm filter:

 

Nikon 72mm A2 Filter w/case/box

 

Dirt cheap! If you don't buy it, I might...

 

Thanks-got it!

Thanks-got it!

 

Glad to help.

I hope you can find a use for that A2 Ben. I've had one for years and never used it! I might put mine on auction, along with the B2 I have. They're only 52mm though.

 

The A2 gives about a 20 mired shift for converting 3400K photofloods to 3200K studio tungsten. Could be used for uncoated electronic flash to daylight I suppose, or warming open shade. As a filter for B&W I don't think there'll be much effect.

I hope you can find a use for that A2 Ben. I've had one for years and never used it! I might put mine on auction, along with the B2 I have. They're only 52mm though.

 

The A2 gives about a 20 mired shift for converting 3400K photofloods to 3200K studio tungsten. Could be used for uncoated electronic flash to daylight I suppose, or warming open shade. As a filter for B&W I don't think there'll be much effect.

 

If I'm not mistaken, the A2 is about the same as what other makers would call an 81A.

 

If so, I frequently use an 81A with Velvia in mid-day sun to warm up the light a bit. In fact, with color film I'd venture to say that I use an 81A more often than a polarizer(although I've also been known to stack the two).

I can see the A2's usefulness for colour film Ben. I thought you were only after contrast filters for B&W photography though.

 

Just pointing out that it's a very pale amber, and maybe saving someone from seeking one out only to find it didn't suit their needs.

As they say, jack of all trades, master of none :)

 

I do definitely want the yellow/orange/red series for B&W(as if I don't already have enough of those), but this will at least give me something to work with on color for the time being.