Rear Mount Filters
Has any one on the forum used rear mount filters and if so, how well do / did you like them?
Yes, for a Nikon 500mm F8 Cat, and ED Nikkor 600mm 5.6. Don't seem different, other than the method of installation, from any other filter usage. Obviously, no way to use a Polarizing filter in that mount method. Other than protective filters, a Grad ND or once in a while a Polarizing filter, I use them much less than in film days.
The only system that has them that I know of is the Canon EOS-R EF to RF adapter. I have the adaptor with the customizable ring but not the CP one...yet. I plan on getting one soon though. I am curious to here from someone that has used them.
From what I've read from DPreview reviews is that they work really well and they are easier to manipulate than the front mounted CP's.
Rear mount filters are not very common. The only ones I've seen were used on mirror lenses & telescopes that had a slot for them. They were mostly used in black & white photography.
Thanks, FYI, there is a few new companies making a mount and filters magnetically attach. The question mark in my mind is how the mount is attached and how could a cpl would work if at all.
Depending on the lens, rear-mounted filters are integral to the lens design. Lenses sometime won't focus properly without them. As "NICKSR1125" noted, they're mostly used for B&W film on mirror lenses.
The long Nikons have a filter drawer which allows for changing filters. On the Nikons, there's one drawer which allows for using a polarizer, and the intensity can be adjusted. The instructions with the Nikkors usually state that a filter needs to be installed (UV, Skylight, etc.) for best performance.
For my own usage, I have 3 mirror lenses which require them, but I've yet to notice any difference in focusing when I removed them for testing. However, I may have had a small focusing error.
They're terribly "unhandy". Remove the lens to change a filter?
from my experience, dusty rear filters tend to show more image degregation than dust on a front filter.
I have them on my 500 f4 and my 400 f4. There is the option for using a screw in filter mount that allows the use of regular filters, or a mount to cut your own from gels. I would rather have these then to pay what they would charge for filters that would fit on the end of these lenses.
There is a slot the filter holder goes in, to change the filter you take out the holder, change the filter, and replace the holder. I think that is a better option than removing the lens hood with these lenses in order to change a filter.
ORpilot wrote:
from my experience, dusty rear filters tend to show more image degregation than dust on a front filter.
If you have dust on a rear filter, that is bad practice on the photographer. Dust must have been there when it was installed onto the lens, and the lens attached to the camera.
Gene51
Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)
ricosha wrote:
Has any one on the forum used rear mount filters and if so, how well do / did you like them?
Some lenses have the ability to accept a gelatin filter over the rear element. In the case of the Tamron SP 15-30mm F/2.8 Di VC USD G2, the rear holder will take a 29x34mm piece of gelatin.
I don't have first hand experience, but a friend who has that lens on a Canon has used this as a much less expensive alternative to the front mounted filter holders. She is satisfied with the compromise of cost vs convenience.
billnikon
Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont
ricosha wrote:
Has any one on the forum used rear mount filters and if so, how well do / did you like them?
Rear mount filters are used primarily on a long lens like a 400 2.8, 500 4, 600 4, 800 5.6. Personally I do not use filters on my long lenses. I want speed out of my glass, anything that would slow me down I stay away from.
I do use filters on my shorter lenses.
My Nikkor 300mm f/2.8 lens has a slot near the rear-end, where filters mounted on a holder, can be dropped into the slot, and locked in. Does not need the lens to be detached from the camera for changing the filter. A special polarizing filter has the facility for rotating, to set for best polarizing effect without the need for removal from the lens.
Yes. A couple of my lenses use them. In fact, they are mandatory. They work just fine. They are made by the lens manufacturer.
--Bob
ricosha wrote:
Has any one on the forum used rear mount filters and if so, how well do / did you like them?
I have several lenses that use rear mounted filters. Apart from my mirror lenses, I also have a couple of Sigmas (300/2.8 and 500/5.6) as well as a couple of Minoltas (400/4.5 and 600 /4) that use them. There are circular polarizer filters for each of these lenses. There is a thumb driven wheel that allows you to rotate the filter in the holder to get the desired results. It is much easier than removing the lens hood to rotate a front mounted filter. While I don't use them often, they do come in handy for reducing glare when shooting things on the water.
The 52mm drop in filter holder for a canon f2/8 400mm lens is about the only way a filter can be mounted. A filter the size of its objective lens would most likely be very expensive and hard to protect and handle off camera.
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