D200 plus AF-S Nikkor ED 300mm f/2.8 DII IF

Hi experts,

My wife just got this lens (a used one) for her D200.

In the docs I read that it is recommended to always use a filter (that
is to be inserted in a filter pocket).

Why is this recommended ?

What filter should be used for general and low light sports shots ?

Thanks,

-Michael

Many people keep a UV or "Skylight" filter on their lenses to protect them
from accidental damage. It's much cheaper to replace a filter than a lens,
should something come in contact with, and scratch it. As an added bonus,
these filters sometimes improve the photos you take, but be careful that the
changes are what you want.

"Michael Schnell" wrote in message
...
Hi experts,

My wife just got this lens (a used one) for her D200.

In the docs I read that it is recommended to always use a filter (that is
to be inserted in a filter pocket).

Why is this recommended ?

What filter should be used for general and low light sports shots ?

Thanks,

-Michael

According to Michael Schnell :
Hi experts,

My wife just got this lens (a used one) for her D200.

In the docs I read that it is recommended to always use a filter (that
is to be inserted in a filter pocket).

Why is this recommended ?

Since this filter appears to be in the optical path within the
lens, probably between elements, the thickness of the glass is included
in the optical computation to form the lens element shapes, and having
no filter present would render the lens somewhat less sharp.

What filter should be used for general and low light sports shots ?

Looking at the PDF data sheet for the lens, I find the following
line:

================================================== ====================
Attachment size of filter holder: 52mm NC filter provided
================================================== ====================

So -- it presumably comes with a filter which does nothing
except provide the needed thickness of glass, and I don't think that you
would need to replace that with any other filter for your intended
usage. Only if this filter has been lost (possible with a used lens) do
you need to find a filter to replace it -- something along the lines of
a skylight filter or something similar which will have essentially no
effect on your digital images.

Enjoy,
DoN.
--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

It would be very expensive to buy a filter for the front of this lens
because of the diameter.
For this reason Nikon places a filter slot further back in the lens
barrel requring a smaller diameter filter and they provide a filter
holder to place this fitler into the light path.

The lens is designed to work properly with the correct thickness of
glass in the light path.
That's why they suggest that a filter is installed. Images won't be as
sharp without this filter.The filter size is 52mm.

There should already be a filter installed as original equipment in the
lens. If not you can find an inexpensive replacement from just about
any phtoo store.
A daylight or haze filter is the best bet, but for different purposes
you can install whatever fitler you want.

I'm assuming you received the lens holder with the lens.

Hope this helps

Don Harper
The Edge Photography Studio
Leesburg, Va. 20176


Michael Schnell wrote:
Hi experts,

My wife just got this lens (a used one) for her D200.

In the docs I read that it is recommended to always use a filter (that
is to be inserted in a filter pocket).

Why is this recommended ?

What filter should be used for general and low light sports shots ?

Thanks,

-Michael

wrote:
It would be very expensive to buy a filter for the front of this lens
because of the diameter.
For this reason Nikon places a filter slot further back in the lens
barrel requring a smaller diameter filter and they provide a filter
holder to place this fitler into the light path.

The lens is designed to work properly with the correct thickness of
glass in the light path.
That's why they suggest that a filter is installed. Images won't be as
sharp without this filter.The filter size is 52mm.

There should already be a filter installed as original equipment in the
lens. If not you can find an inexpensive replacement from just about
any phtoo store.
A daylight or haze filter is the best bet, but for different purposes
you can install whatever fitler you want.

I'm assuming you received the lens holder with the lens.

Hope this helps

Don Harper
The Edge Photography Studio
Leesburg, Va. 20176

This is all correct (along with DoN. Nichols post).
But be aware that the placement in the optical system
could mean increased reflections if you use any filter.
It is best to use multicoated filters.
On my canon 500 f/4 L IS lens, which has a similar filter
holder, the filter that came with the lens is so well coated
that at first I couldn't even tell there was a piece
of glass there at all!
Most (all?) super telephotos from at least Canon and Nikon use the
small filter in the lens. For a polarizer, I had to buy
canon's special polarizer which has a thumb wheel on the outside
in order to turn the polarizer in the tube.

Roger

In article .com,
wrote:
The lens is designed to work properly with the correct thickness of
glass in the light path.
That's why they suggest that a filter is installed. Images won't be as
sharp without this filter.The filter size is 52mm.

Interesting. My 300/2.8 AIS came without a filter when I bought it 2nd hand.
Even without a filter, it is very sharp wide open. (Of course designs
may differ).


--
That was it. Done. The faulty Monk was turned out into the desert where it
could believe what it liked, including the idea that it had been hard done
by. It was allowed to keep its horse, since horses were so cheap to make.
-- Douglas Adams in Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

jhthurman wrote:

Many people keep a UV or "Skylight" filter on their lenses to protect them
from accidental damage. It's much cheaper to replace a filter than a lens,
should something come in contact with, and scratch it. As an added bonus,
these filters sometimes improve the photos you take, but be careful that
the changes are what you want.

Read what he wrote. The filter goes inside the lens, not on the front, so
it is not going to protect anything. Further, it's the docs for the lens
that say that it was designed to have a filter installed, i.e. the optical
calculations were performed with the assumption that there would be an
optically flat piece of glass in that location, so it's not a matter of
what "many people" do but of what the lens designers intended.

"Michael Schnell" wrote in message
...
Hi experts,

My wife just got this lens (a used one) for her D200.

In the docs I read that it is recommended to always use a filter (that is
to be inserted in a filter pocket).

Why is this recommended ?

What filter should be used for general and low light sports shots ?

Thanks,

-Michael

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

I assume the recommendation to always have a filter in the lens (in the
slot) is to make sure it's not left open as to prevent dust from entering
the camera.

Tnx,
Guido

"J. Clarke" wrote in message
...
jhthurman wrote:

Many people keep a UV or "Skylight" filter on their lenses to protect
them
from accidental damage. It's much cheaper to replace a filter than a
lens,
should something come in contact with, and scratch it. As an added
bonus,
these filters sometimes improve the photos you take, but be careful that
the changes are what you want.

Read what he wrote. The filter goes inside the lens, not on the front, so
it is not going to protect anything. Further, it's the docs for the lens
that say that it was designed to have a filter installed, i.e. the optical
calculations were performed with the assumption that there would be an
optically flat piece of glass in that location, so it's not a matter of
what "many people" do but of what the lens designers intended.

"Michael Schnell" wrote in message
...
Hi experts,

My wife just got this lens (a used one) for her D200.

In the docs I read that it is recommended to always use a filter (that
is
to be inserted in a filter pocket).

Why is this recommended ?

What filter should be used for general and low light sports shots ?

Thanks,

-Michael

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

I can only guess they mean as protection for the front element. In which
case you want to get a decent multicoated UV filter to leave on the
front of the lense.
That is what we do with the other lenses. But according to the docs,
this one has a built-in protection front glass, supposedly a "cheap"
glass that is easily replaced.
-Michael

It does shut close without the filter glass. So the glass thickness
seems to be important.

-Michael