UV filters on recessed lenses

Hi everyone,

 

I usually use a hood and UV filter on all my lenses with the exception of a Micro-Nikkor 55mm 1:2.8 and a newly arrived Contax-mount Jupiter 12, both of which have recessed frontal elements. I would like to use filters on both, however I've been concerned that doing so will increase the risk of flare given that the filter is positioned at the front of the recess. And that the addition of a hood may cause vignetting.

 

Does anyone here have experience with using filters on such lenses? What are your thoughts?

 

Thanks,

I would like to use filters on both

Which ones? - UV?!?

In a nutshell: The discussion about using protective filters has been going on for quite a while. - I recommend reading up on lensrentals.com 's blog, since Roger has the means to measure how bad those buggers really are.

A good UV filter will cost you way more than I paid for my Jupiter 12 (LTM version). A bargain bin cheapo should go off, whenever you plan to take a quality shot.

 

Get hoods! - problem with the Nikkor will be hood shadow on your macro subject. As long as you use it as your killer lens around infinity it should be fine with hood.

I haven't tested hoods on my Jupiters; I am honestly not overly fond of them, since I am a low light guy shooting wide open. Images from Hexanon looked crisper to me. - I am sure the Jupiter might do well enough shooting landscapes stopped down.

 

Filters: When you need them (Polarizer is maybe no great example on a RF. - Orange? - Red?... ND in the studio or from a tripod?) you do(!) need them and have to work with them. Try to get good ones or work with what you have.

 

I don't own UVs for my Jupiter or (besides maybe some bargain bin spares) for my recessed macros. As soon as I made a bag holding my 70-200 with mounted (not reversed!) hood, the cheapo UV will come off.

 

I have expensive UVs in front off my Leica soft coatings and UV / IR in front of my typical M8 lenses. I'm skipping UVs on the cheapo glass now. - Why bother to spend 50€ on one when a "new" used DSLR with another kit lens is just 200€? I suppose the kit lenses are hard coated and can be cleaned, if needed. Same about your recessed ones.

To protect lenses buying a bunch of Chinese Hoods is the cheapest approach.

No clue where you are shooting are they spraying oil or solvents around there? Ordinary dust can be blown off. - No need for a filter. Rain could be kept off with a hood. Reason to desire UV filters would be fingertips hitting front element by accident or caps coming loose during transportation. Hoods help in those cases too.

Thanks. Yes, UV or skylight. Given that I am a very clumsy person and that it gets very dusty in this region for half the year, I prefer to use a filter. Also, using 35mm film exclusively, i don't think I'm going to notice any critical difference.

 

I have several Chinese vented 40.5mm hoods, that I use on 50mm lenses. These fit the Jupiter 12, however do you know if they will cause vignetting on this 35mm lens?

 

This type here: 40.5mm Black Metal Vented Lens Hood for Canon Nikon | eBay

 

I bought a HN-1 copy recently for a Nikkor-N.C Auto 24mm f/2.8 and that vignetted very badly...

 

Those blog posts you mentioned can be found here:

 

Lens Rentals | Blog

Edited May 23, 2019 by Xícara de Café

Dunno. Isn't a "blow bomb" enough to battle dust on our front elements?

Hoods: If your camera is empty and has a removable / opening back: Put your shutter on B & open and try to look through your lens from all 4 corners of the frame? or move the back of the open camera over some weak LED that you try to see from the (imagined frame) corners of your hood? / Try to judge the slope of the funnel in front of the recessed lens and figure out if your hood is way tighter? - One test shot should give clear results. - I tried the eyeballing with a 50mm Voigtländer hood and am not sure about the result. Oh and my Zorki 4K's shutter got stuck open on B

Dunno. Isn't a "blow bomb" enough to battle dust on our front elements?

Hoods: If your camera is empty and has a removable / opening back: Put your shutter on B & open and try to look through your lens from all 4 corners of the frame? or move the back of the open camera over some weak LED that you try to see from the (imagined frame) corners of your hood? / Try to judge the slope of the funnel in front of the recessed lens and figure out if your hood is way tighter? - One test shot should give clear results. - I tried the eyeballing with a 50mm Voigtländer hood and am not sure about the result. Oh and my Zorki 4K's shutter got stuck open on B

 

Yes, I'll do a test with the hood, with and without a filter! That's a good idea about removing the back. I have a removable focus screen from a nikon F2, i can try placing that over the negative window (whatever it's called) too, to get a better view.

 

Still in defence of filters, a professional photographer friend gave me an old Nikkor 35-70mm AF lens recently. She never used filters and the front element is covered with small chips and scratches....

 

All the best

On my pre-war uncoated 35 mm Biogon for Contax I have a B+W UV filter and a no-name Chinese eBay wide angle hood, with no vignetting problems so far. I rarely use filters on my modern DSLR lenses except for polarizers, but have high quality B+W UV filters on all of my vintage Contax lenses to protect the softer glass/coating that was used on many older lenses. I have bit the bullet and spent more on filters than I would have liked to get decent glass and good quality brass mounts that won't freeze and become difficult to remove when I need to.

I've used Nikon UV filters (the L37c filter) on both the Micro-Nikkor 55mm 2.8 and 55mm 3.5 along with the Nikon HN-3 lens hood for years. I've never noticed vignetting, although I admit I don't look for it.

I use a generic wide-angle hood with my Jupiter-12 (below) and haven't experienced any vignetting (can't remember if I've used it combined with a filter, though). I prefer using slim filters with wide-angle lenses, though they might be harder to find in 40.5mm size. As long as you're using coated filters with the hood, I wouldn't expect flare to be a problem.

 

Edited May 23, 2019 by m42dave

Why not just use a lens cap to protect from dust? Personally, although I rarely use filters for protection, much preferring lens hoods or caps, you can easily check to see whether a hood vignettes.If you're shooting film, when the camera is empty put it on a tripod, aim at the sky (not the sun),fully open the diaphragm and place the shutter on bulb with a cable release. Open the back and place a piece of ground glass across the film plane...open the shutter and inspect the image with a loupe. If using a DSLR just take a sample shot with the diaphragm wide open when aimed at a uniformly colored surface or the sky.

Another problem with the deep recess lens is that the filter might be far enough away, and with

enough depth of field at small aperture, dust could be close to in focus.

 

I once had a video camera with a UV filter on it, and zoomed to wide.

At one point, the auto-focus managed to focus on dust on the front

of the filter. (It isn't recessed, but it has a lot of DoF at full

wide zoom.)

Why not just use a lens cap to protect from dust? Personally, although I rarely use filters for protection, much preferring lens hoods or caps, you can easily check to see whether a hood vignettes.If you're shooting film, when the camera is empty put it on a tripod, aim at the sky (not the sun),fully open the diaphragm and place the shutter on bulb with a cable release. Open the back and place a piece of ground glass across the film plane...open the shutter and inspect the image with a loupe. If using a DSLR just take a sample shot with the diaphragm wide open when aimed at a uniformly colored surface or the sky.

Actually, if you want to check for vignetting you should stop the lens down to the smallest aperture not the widest. At full aperture the lens hood vignetting may not be visible as it will likely be way out of focus.

Actually, if you want to check for vignetting you should stop the lens down to the smallest aperture not the widest. At full aperture the lens hood vignetting may not be visible as it will likely be way out of focus.

Widest aperture is where most lenses show vignetting, which diminishes as one stops down.

But if you want to see if the lens hood or filter is causing vignetting then you need to do that through a stopped down lens. I learned the hard way with the compendium hood on my 4x5 that at full aperture you couldn't always see where the hood would would impinge on the image. When stopped down to shooting aperture this problem would be visible. You're correct that most lenses have more problems with vignetting at full aperture than stopped down, but the OP was asking about filters and lens hoods.

My experience is with J-12, I have never used hoods or filters with the Nikkor.

 

You do not really need a hood (most of the time) in a J-12. In this lens, I have used yellow and red filters (slim) without vignetting, but it is a PITA because the aperture adjustment gets difficult. Not really worth it unless you need the filter effect.

 

+1 on the lens cap recommendation as protection device. Filters are for filtering IMHO.

When a small child pushes their iced milk onto your lens, then the father insists that you replace the cone, you will find a protection filter of some value.

 

also useful some times when fumble fingers come to pass.

 

Here is an Actina SUPER-SCRU filter (Yes, truly) that protected a Canon lens in an Exakta mount:

and a Hoya filter that protected my !00-400mm telephoto:

In the latter case, the lens hood shattered as well, but the lens was intact and works fine to this day.

Edited May 25, 2019 by JDMvW

I'm trying to think. In all my years of photography, I can't remember ever using a UV filter. But I do have a 95mm skylight that came with my 500mm lens. I've never used that either.

 

Hoods? Always unless I want flair.

I've used a Arsenal yellow filter on my Jupiter 12 typically closed down f8 or more. I haven't noticed any problems. I rarely use or have any hoods but sometimes I try to reduce the possibility by holding my hand above or to the side in an effort to deflect any rays that might be causing flare.