Lee Filter Holder and Tokina 17-35mm f4

Sorry I haven't posted anything to this blog in a while.  I have moved most of my blog postings over to Tumblr.  I thought this would be a good item to post on my official blog.

I purchased a Lee Filters Foundation kit along with Lee Lens Adapter Ring (Ultra Wide) for the 82mm thread of the Tokina 17-35mm f4 lens.  I quickly learned that the adapter ring could not be directly attached to the lens because of the position of the lens hood bayonet mount.  The filter adapter ring just can't clear the bayonet mount on the lens.

To work around the problem, I attached my 82mm UV filter to the lens and then attached the Lee 82mm UW lens adapter to the UV filter. I have not yet had a chance to this in real life.  I am hoping it doesn't cause a lot of vignetting or other problems. I will know for sure when I get to try in a few days. If you have had success with this configuration, I would love to hear about it.

Update: At 17mm, the vignetting is horrible and pretty much unusable with just the filter ring attached. At 22mm, everything is happy. I still need to try in between. Still need to try with the filter holder and a filter.

Update 2: I have learned that the UW Filter ring wraps around the lens, while the standard ring does not.  I have ordered the standard filter ring.  Using the UV filter along with the Black Glass, I get a reflection when the light hits the lens. Not a good combo.

Time for an upgrade

I think I have finally made the decision. Time to upgrade to a Nikon D600.  I don't see a D7100 coming any time soon and I don't want to wait. 

One of my challenges was how to deal with a full frame camera and an Ultra Wide Angle lens on a budget. With some more research I found the Tokina 17-35MM F4 FX AF for Nikon which appears to really well liked.

So for now I am looking for a buyer for my D5100 and waiting to see if any special deals come along for the Xmas holiday which could give me a lower D600 price or some type of bundle. 

D600 upgrade rambling

Now that I have seen photos of the future Nikon D600, I am wanting it even more. I am now realizing that the lens I use the most is a DX Tamron 10-24 lens and it can not take full advantage of the D600 sensor.

If I decide to upgrade to a D600 I need to figure out what Ultra Wide Angle lens will give me the same field of view that I get with the DX camera.  My research shows that many Ultra Wide FX compatible lenses do not allow you to screw on a filter. So not only do I need an equivalent  viewpoint, I also need something that will support my 77mm filters.

I am still new to the FX vs DX world, so it is hard for me to figure out which lens I should consider buying (without breaking the bank).  It looks like Nikon has a very good Wide lens but I am not sure if it is wide enough or equal to the Tamron.

If you have any thoughts, I would love to hear your feedback.