Nikon and Kenko Filters

Hi Everyone,

 

Thank you for any answers that shall be greatly appreciated.

 

Set up:

Nikon F5,

AF-S 17-35 F2.8D,

AF-S 35-70 F2.8D,

AF-S 80-200 F2.8D,

Old (but excellent) 85mm F1.4S manual Focus

135mm F2S manual Focus

 

I need a polirizer filter only for the zooms which are all 77mm in

diameter.

I have 3 skylight:

Kenko L37 SuperPRO (2)

Nikon L37c (1)

 

 

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Problem 1.

 

My question is simple, having spent a fortune for my lens, I do not

want to go and ruin everything with poor filters.

I ma having problems with one of the lenses using a Kenko filter, the

17-35 zoom has some slight (veeeeeeery slight) distortion on the

edges at maximum wide(17mm) with that filter.

I then tested the otehr filters (Nikon AND the other Kenko) under the

same conditions (even same film) and there was no distortion.

The Kenko filter that gives problems with the wide zoom, performs

perfectly well with the other 2 zooms under all conditions.

Help! What is going on?

Should I replace the Kenko with a Nikon L37c?

 

 

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Problem 2.

 

I need a polarizer, and I would prefer to buy only one for all 3

zooms. But I have been told that Nikon's polarizer will not work with

the wide zoom... I need a specific wide angle polarizer filter.

Any advice as to which to buy that will preserve the lens quality?

 

 

Thank you in advance for any help!

 

Tommaso.

The problem (No. 2 above) is not which filter, but the area covered by the lens (20mm or wider) is not going to get the effect you want from a circular polarizer filter. The sky will be (usually) uneven in the darkening effects produced by the polarizer filter. There is no easy work-around. [i've used a AF Sigma 14mm on a F5 body, the sky does its thing -- looks like a polarizer was used, but just the glass in the lens: no filter at all.]

Is it really "distortion" you're seeing or vignetting? Any standard mount filter is going to vignette on the 17 & 18mm range and occasionally on the 19mm range of that lens. An optically good filter shouldn't "distort" anything.

 

I think you're going to need to buy a slim mount polarizer. There are several manufacturers of these. I'd stick with either B+H, Tiffen multicoated or Hoya multicoated.

--evan

I for one am a big fan of Nikon filters because they are already quite slim. Unlike most slim filters, they also have threads in the front. All my lenses have Nikon UV filters attached. I also carry a Nikon A2 warming filter, a Nikon polarizer, and for B&W a Nikon medium yellow filter.

 

The Nikon polarizers use larger glass than the filter diameter which minimizes vignetting (none at 24mm on my system) but force you to use a dedicated polarizer lens hood. Finding a cap to fit the polarizer is also problematic. The good thing is that you can rotate the polarizer with the hood on. I don't know if any screw in polarizer will work at <20mm focal length. Maybe a gel polarizer?

I find the Nikon 62mm circular polarizer and HN-26 very convenient with the 35~70/2.8. You can turn the Nikon filter with the hood in place because it�s a screw on. The with the HB-1 and a smaller polarizer adjusting the filter is a pain. Your hand is in front of the lens so you can�t see what you are doing. Taking the HB-1 hood off and on is no solution either.

 

I don�t know the Nikon 77mm circular polarizer but if it doesn�t fit inside the "tulip" style hood for the AF-S 80~200/2.8D ED-IF I don�t think I�d go with it. Nikon polarizers have larger threads in front than the attachment size for the lens. This makes a Nikon polarizing filter something like a filter on a step up ring. I don�t have the AF-S but I understand you can reach a smaller standard type filter with the hood in place.

 

I wouldn�t bother with a polarizer for the 17~35. If you want the polarizer for darkening skies you will likely have problems with the lens at 24mm and even 28mm.

 

Hope this helps,

Thank you to all who contributed answers to try to help me. I appreciated it. In the end I went with a Kenko PL (W) filter and made a few tests.

Apparently I have been lucky, no vignetting down to the 20mm mark, below that... Well I found problems on the edges. The people at Yodobashi Camera (the store where I bought the filter and who recommended it as usable with my lenses) are willing to take it back (incredible Japanese service to the customers!) but I am not really sure it will do me any good to give it back as I do not know of anyother polarizer that will work on my lenses under 20mm.

So I'm thinking of staying with this one that offers me greater angle than the dedicated Nikon one (which starts vignetting at 28mm).

Any further advice?

 

TT