Nikon HN-12 Polariser Lens Hood Question

I've acquired an HN-12 two part lens hood and 52mm Polar filter. The filter screws on to any Nikon lens with the typical 52mm thread. The hood then screws on to the filter via a 60mm thread. By turning the hood, the filter is rotated to the desired angle. The front section of the hood unscrews for wide angle lenses.

The question - why is the hood is marked not with angles as I expected, but with lens focal lengths, with the longer ones marked in green?

Here it is, thanks in advance for any enlightenment:

I have the old Amphoto / EPOI Nikon Nikkormat guide. Apparently the filter and mount were only usable with the listed lenses. The instructions are not the clearest. "The hood consists of two components for different focal length groupings. For 35-55mm, screw the white dot component to the filter. With lenses in the 85-300mm including the zoom 43-86 and 80-200, first attach the white dot, then the green dot ring. To rotate the filter, hold the milled section of thew white dot ring."

And that is all there is!

I'm not sure why Nikon abandoned that old oversized glass design for their polarising filters. However, it would have made much more sense to make the front thread a standard size. Like, would it really have hurt to put a 62mm thread on the front?

Anyhow, it's pretty simple to emulate the design by using a stepping ring and a filter a couple of sizes bigger than the lens thread. Especially since cheap hoods of all shapes and sizes are available online nowadays.

Compendium bellows hoods - remember those? I think clip-on petal hoods pretty much nailed their coffin shut. That, and modern AR coatings that you have to try really hard to induce flare into.

I have one of those hoods, and the original filter which unfortunately has gone a little wrinkly inside. I always regretted that the hood is useless for anything else, and even contemplated smashing out the glass in the filter, just so I could use the hood, but couldn't bring myself to vandalize it. I suppose the design made more sense long ago when just about every Nikon lens had a 52 mm. thread, so you could buy the one filter and hood set for everything. I don't know whether it was supplied or an extra, but my filter came in a lovely little Nikon leather case.

I did find, at some point, a similar two-piece hood from some one of those old places like Spiratone. Unfortunately it was a 49 mm., a size I don't think Nikon ever used, so it's on a Minolta in some cupboard.

I have one of those hoods, and the original filter which unfortunately has gone a little wrinkly inside. I always regretted that the hood is useless for anything else, and even contemplated smashing out the glass in the filter, just so I could use the hood, but couldn't bring myself to vandalize it. I suppose the design made more sense long ago when just about every Nikon lens had a 52 mm. thread, so you could buy the one filter and hood set for everything. I don't know whether it was supplied or an extra, but my filter came in a lovely little Nikon leather case.

 

I did find, at some point, a similar two-piece hood from some one of those old places like Spiratone. Unfortunately it was a 49 mm., a size I don't think Nikon ever used, so it's on a Minolta in some cupboard.

Don't know about your Nikon set, in mine, the filter is completely separate from the hood. The hood could be used separately.

Can't recall the point in time, but many Nikon lens accessories came in neat little leather / leatherette cases - might have stopped some time in the late '60's / early '70's.

Note: When I dug up the hood, I discovered that I still had a large, very detailed Nikon filter instruction sheet. If anyone wants one, I can scan it to a PDF.

Somewhere, I still have a nameless but very nicely made metal lenshood about 35mm deep. It would be very useful if it didn't have a 64mm diameter thread! What strain of lunacy causes manufacturers to create such Frankenstein's monsters?

I still have it, because I don't want to unleash such an aberration on an unsuspecting world, and yet I can't bring myself to throw it away.

Somewhere, I still have a nameless but very nicely made metal lenshood about 35mm deep. It would be very useful if it didn't have a 64mm diameter thread! What strain of lunacy causes manufacturers to create such Frankenstein's monsters?

 

I still have it, because I don't want to unleash such an aberration on an unsuspecting world, and yet I can't bring myself to throw it away.

That's impressive. I was curious, and Tiffen have a database of lens filter sizes... and out of 1790 lenses, none of them take a 64mm thread. :-) The best I could do was find an ebay listing showing a 64mm filter for a Sony 16-50, but that lens doesn't take 64mm filters. If you find something it fits on, I'll be entertained.

Sandy, you say the hood could be used separately. But I never found any lens with a thread that matched. Was there an adapter or step up ring for it?

You are correct - I misremembered / misspoke It is a strange size. I have a hood for every lens I own, so had never used it without the Polarized filter. Went through my various filters and some lenses, nothing fit. Your solution, preferably with an already damaged filter, might be the only viable one. Cheaper and easier to get a hood. Sorry for my error!

Ah, OK.

I think Hasselblad had an odd 60mm filter thread.

Something called the .. Series 60 (Bay 60) filter size

Ah, OK.

 

I think Hasselblad had an odd 60mm filter thread.

 

Something called the .. Series 60 (Bay 60) filter size

Bay 60 = Bayonet mount, not threaded

I think I have a Bay60 to 67mm adapter. 67mm filters are easier to find and cheaper than Bay 60 filters.

Ah, my mistake. Wrong name.

B+W make a 60mm Hasselblad (screw) filter..

B+W 60mm/ Hasselblad (Screw Thread) KR1.5 1.1X Skylight Filter (3492BL) | eBay

B+W 60mm 60E KR1.5 Skylight 1A Filter Made In Germany old stock New | eBay

Heliopan 60mm Close-Up +1 Lens

Guess 60mm for filters is a very uncommon thread!

But is it the same as the weird Nikon one?

I was not able to determine if the B+W 60mm 60E filter is a bayonet or threaded filter.

My Hasselblad lenses have a bayonet filter mount, not threaded. So that "Hasselblad" reference on those eBay listings does not make sense to me. Though it could be for a different series of lenses than what I have.

When you have a captive market, you can do almost anything you want.

As for the Nikon Pola filter

As I remember, and trying to remember 40 years back is pretty hard, the Nikon polarizer is big, to accomodate the coverage angle of a 24mm lens, without vignetting.

Back then, the 24 was the widest lens that still used a 52mm filter.

A "normal" 52mm polarizer would vignette.

Think of the Nikon polarizer like a combination of a 52mm to 60mm step up ring + 60mm pola filter.

The filter+hood set would be used as follows:

• 24 = just use the polarizer, without the hood.
  
• 35-55 = filter + rear/white hood section
   
  
• 85-200 = filter + both rear/white+front/green hood sections
  

I don't remember how it worked on a 28. It may have been the same as the 24.