Why do most round lens filters still use screw threads instead of bayonet mounts?
Asked 8/3/2012
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Round lens filters are often the fiddliest accessories to attach, especially compared with modern bayonet lens mounts and lens hoods. Why do circular filters still usually use screw threads rather than a bayonet-style mount? What are the practical reasons behind that design choice?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
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There are quite a few possible reasons for this:
Cost. It's cheaper to cut a screw thread on the end of a lens than it would be to retool to make a bayonet mount.
Sealing. Some Canon L series lenses are only weather sealed when a screw on filter is installed. It's easier to make a screw thread watertight, a bayonet would require very tight tolerances or a rubber seal.
Compatibility. This is a biggie. Almost all camera manufacturers have their own line of lenses, thus switching to a propriety bayonet lens mount can reap commercial rewards (in addition to providing a better mechanism for mounting). In contrast lens manufactures don't always have popular filter product ranges, it would be an unpopular move to switch to a proprietary filter mount, as initially there would be very few filters available.
Lens hoods tend to be made by lens manufacturers and often only go on only one lens. Filters are near universal. There's usually an outcry when manufacturers update a lens and use a different filter size, imagine what would happen if an update suddenly rendered all your filters obsolete. Even if a bayonet to screw adaptor was offered, it wouldn't be feasible for all lenses due to vignetting issues.
Stacking. Unlike lenses, filters are often stacked, so all the increased costs of a bayonet mount on the lens and compatibility issues also apply to the filters themselves.
Except in some extreme cases (Hasselblad can do what they like, once you've laid down $80,000 for a camera body, filters are loose change) there are standards which will never change, even when a technically superior solution is offered. Look at the standard accessory shoe. Despite being almost a century old Sony stand alone in offering a different design. Despite the Sony iISO shoe being superior in many ways no other manufacturer has followed suit and their decision is largely unpopular with Sony users.
Originally by user1375. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1375
14y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Screw-in filters persist mostly because they are cheap, durable, easy to standardize, and widely compatible.
A threaded filter mount is simple to manufacture on both the lens and the filter, and it follows long-established size standards. That compatibility matters a lot: unlike camera lens mounts, filters are expected to work across many brands, so a proprietary bayonet system would be unpopular and fragment the market.
Threads are also durable. If not over-tightened, they last a very long time, whereas clip or bayonet mechanisms can wear, weaken, or break. Threads can also help with sealing: on some lenses, fitting a screw-in front filter is part of the weather-sealing design, and that’s generally easier to achieve with threads than with a bayonet unless tolerances and seals are very precise.
Finally, inertia matters. Screw-in filters have been the standard for a long time, and changing systems would make many existing filters and lenses incompatible or require adapters. Since threaded filters already work well enough for most users, there has been little incentive for the industry to replace them.
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