Filtering Protruding Front Element Lenses
November 1st, 2009 Posted in Third Party Lenses
Eureka!
I am told that there is a high end filter company working on a solution to the issue of filtering protruding front elements on select lenses. The 2 lenses in most need of filters are Nikon’s 14-24 and Canon’s 17mm TS-E. The solution should be available sometime in 2010.
It sounds easy enough to do, but the issue is flare, cost and most importantly; ease of use.
The source couldn’t say which company at the moment, but it’s coming soon.
cr
November 1st, 2009 at 4:44 pm
What kind of “solution” ? Spherical filters by any chance ? :D
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kubelik Reply:
November 1st, 2009 at 5:28 pm
that would be pretty wild … and very cool. makes you wonder what sort of optical compromises will come into play with something like that
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November 1st, 2009 at 5:56 pm
My guess is, a lens cap with the filter in front.
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Ciprian Trofin Reply:
November 2nd, 2009 at 2:25 am
Not likely: could cause severe vignetting.
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afrank99 Reply:
November 2nd, 2009 at 4:33 am
Not if the diameter is large enough.
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November 1st, 2009 at 7:01 pm
Sounds too expensive to be worth it, really, except for specialists who cannot make do without, which would make this a very low volume (and did I say expensive?) item.
Curved glass is not cheap, and of course the filter would become flare prone, bulky, and probably heavy and/or vulnerable to easy breakage. And that is just one filter –depending on how many filters you need
Straight glass would have to be really large diameter with a step-out adapter to avoid vignetting, again adding bulk and expense, although much less than the curved glass alternative. Still, better have a sizable camera bag and a golden filter budget if you want to carry more than one.
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November 1st, 2009 at 7:25 pm
“It sounds easy enough to do”? Really? I don’t think so. If you make a filter that isn’t flat, it’s a lens, meaning that it will not just filter the light, but bend it as well. On the other hand, if you make a flat filter in a frame think enough to hold the filter beyond the end of the protruding lens, then you get serious vignetting. I’ll be interested to see what solution is being developed, but if it were all that easy to do, it would have been done long before this.
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Canon Rumors Reply:
November 1st, 2009 at 8:04 pm
“It sounds easy enough to do, but the issue is flare, cost and most importantly; ease of use.”
I never said it was actually easy. Some have commented in the past that it should be.
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afrank99 Reply:
November 2nd, 2009 at 4:34 am
No, a non-flat glass is not a lens as long as it’s thickness is nearly zero.
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November 1st, 2009 at 7:52 pm
what about rear filters? why doesnt canon/nikon adapt to this problem, most fisheyes have a filter wheel in the back, why cant the 14-24mm / 17mmTS-E?
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frankchn Reply:
November 1st, 2009 at 10:37 pm
I think it is because the rear element of the 14-24 and the 17TSE is right up to the edge of the mount (sort of like the 85/1.2L) so there isn’t any space to put any sort of filter holder.
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DeeWee Reply:
November 1st, 2009 at 10:38 pm
Mainly because two most important filters for a landscape photographer (polarizers and graduated ND) do not fit well in the back filter slot/wheel of a lens.
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November 2nd, 2009 at 1:14 am
CR GUY FIX THIS PROBLEM:
“You Are Banned. The Ban Will Be Lifted in 24 Hours. If You Continue To Do The Same Thing, The Ban Will Be Permanent.”
IT HAS BEEN WEEKS!!!
Sorry to shout but this is dumb, the whole “J.Sw@n” thing was over a long time ago and I still need to go through a proxy thing to get here.
SORRY FOR SHOUTING BUT I NEED TO GET YOUR ATTENTION!
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Paul Reply:
November 2nd, 2009 at 5:18 pm
Maybe this triggered conditional number two?
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Me, and only me Reply:
November 3rd, 2009 at 3:08 pm
Doubt it. OP is not the only one. I also suspect that CRG doesn’t really understand the web technologies he’s playing with. For example, the effect of NAT on IP banning.
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November 2nd, 2009 at 1:24 am
I’d have to assume it works with some sort of step out ring.
For the solution of super wide lenses why couldn’t they create a new system that involves both inner and outer threads on the filter mount area? The outer threads would require inner threaded filters.. and would make for an interesting polarizer but for something like a grad nd square filter mount.. it wouldn’t seem to be too difficult.
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November 2nd, 2009 at 3:22 am
good idea but wont work
why?
a polarizer of good brand for example B+W circ slim pol mrc… costs about 150€ for 82mm diameter
and consists of a polymer film in between 2 sheets of glas
you get that polarizer films as sheets for lightning
ever tried bending one? wont work
and the process of building a perfect sphere of glass where every point is exactly as thick as the other cant be cheap
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November 2nd, 2009 at 4:35 am
Um, Lee Filters *already* has a “solution” to this problem and have had for several years. You want their Push-on Filter Holder together with an approriately sized “doughnut” adapter ring to adjust it to the size of the barrel. The holder goes around the hood and the standard 100mm filter fits as close to the lens as you can get it.
Naturally there are no guarantees that it won’t cause some vignetting, especially if you use multiple filters, but it’s better than nothing and you can always remove the vignette in Photoshop.
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Me, and only me Reply:
November 3rd, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Yes, I was wondering why Lee wasn’t being considered. There are other filter makers also. So I’m not exactly sure what the beef is here.
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November 2nd, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Yes! Good news for all… finally Nikon and Canon owners can agree on something…… :D
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November 2nd, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Why not try a (light- anddust proof) filter system between camera and lens?
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Richard Reply:
November 2nd, 2009 at 12:36 pm
for graduated (rectangular) filters that can move up and down in a slim/thin dust proof system
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November 2nd, 2009 at 2:06 pm
What about this quite old idea: http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/index.php/cat/c135_Astrofoto—-Filter—Umbau-DSLR.html
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Torben Reply:
November 9th, 2009 at 9:51 am
Those will unfortunately not work on a FF camera, as most pop-eye type lenses are made for FF.
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November 2nd, 2009 at 8:05 pm
how about just a filter over the eyes of the viewer?
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November 3rd, 2009 at 7:32 am
Sounds good, looking forward to this, canon and nikon hand in hand yeah ^^
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November 3rd, 2009 at 10:53 am
protruding…….hahahahahaha
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November 4th, 2009 at 12:51 am
I’d be wary of buying a lens with a protruding front element for this exact reason.
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November 12th, 2009 at 8:08 am
Using a filter on the rear of a wide lens can easily put the collimation out and your images will be soft because of the shallow depth of focus on a wide lens.
I don’t know why stills guys make such a big deal of this, you just use a matte box or a filter holder that clamps on to the outside of the front of the lens.
You just have a different step-down ring for every diameter lens that you want to use.
Otherwise you can use a rod system to mount the matte box.
If the filter vignettes then you just use a bigger one.
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