What are the rear filters for on a mirror lens, and how do I use them?

Asked 3/19/2015

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My mirror (catadioptric) lens came with three small rear-mounted filters that screw in near the camera mount instead of on the front. The markings are:

  • KM-500 30.5 SKYLIGHT 1A
  • KM-500 30.5 ND2X
  • KM-500 30.5 ND4X

Why does this lens use rear filters, and what does each one do? Do I need to keep one installed all the time?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

11y ago

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The second two filters you have listed are not UV filters but neutral density filters. They are used to reduce the amount of light reaching the sensor by a set number of stops, to allow for use of slower shutter speeds than would otherwise be possible. The names ND2X and ND4X stand for 'Neutral Density 2x' and 'Neutral Density 4x' - indicating that they will halve and quarter the light respectively (i.e. darken by 1 and 2 stops respectively).

The Skylight filter will reduce the amount of UV light hitting the sensor, however it is of more use with film photography where the blue-sensitive part of the film was also sensitive to some wavelengths of UV light. Modern digital cameras are calibrated not to respond to UV so it won't have an effect on your images. A skylight filter is also slightly pink tinted to remove the colour cast caused by shooting under a blue sky; this is because film has a fixed white balance which can result in a slight blue cast under these conditions. Software white balance correction means this is not an issue for digital cameras.

The reason the filters fix to the rear of the lens is because your mirror lens probably (you don't state which model) has a very large diameter front, which would make filters that attach to it bulky and expensive. Filters that attach to the rear could also feasibly be used on more than one lens, whereas if you had different lenses with different front element diameters, you'd need one filter of each type per lens.

Originally by user456. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user456

11y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

On many mirror lenses, the small rear filter is used because the front element is large, so front-mounted filters would be much bigger and more expensive. Also, mirror lenses usually have a fixed aperture, so filters are one of the few ways to reduce light.

Your filters are:

  • skylight 1a: essentially a clear/slightly warming filter. On digital cameras it usually has little to no UV effect, but it may serve as the “normal” filter.
  • nd2x: neutral density filter that cuts light by 1 stop (to half).
  • nd4x: neutral density filter that cuts light by 2 stops (to one quarter).

A key point: on some mirror lenses, a rear filter or plain glass element is part of the optical design. That means you should normally keep one installed; if none is fitted, image quality or focus may be affected. If your kit didn’t include a plain glass filter, the skylight filter is likely intended to fill that role when you don’t want any light reduction.

UV light does not damage the lens; filters affect the image, not lens safety.

UniqueBot

AI

11y ago

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