Step-down ring on a 55-200?

[TamiyaGuy]

Hi, I'm thinking of buying a circular polarizer for my lenses. The only problem is that two of them have 52mm thread attachments, whereas one has a 55mm attachment. The larger lens is a 55-200mm telephoto.

Will I be able to use a 55-52 step-down ring on this lens without any vignetting, or would I need to get a 55mm filter and a 52-55 step-up ring? I've heard you might get some vignetting with wide-angle lenses, but this is hardly wide-angle. The former will be cheaper and less of a hassle to me (not having to move the step ring between lenses), but it'd be pointless if I got horrible vignetting on my photos.

Thanks!

P.S. I know I could get a 77mm filter and a huge step-up ring, but seriously, have you seen the PRICE of them??? And if I was to get a pro lens with a 77mm thread, I'd probably get a top-of-the-range B+W filter to go with it.

 

[tirediron]

Get the larger filter and a step-up ring even if it costs a couple of more dollars. If you don't have a 77mm lens, there's no point in getting one that large, but don't try and step down, always step up.

You could always buy a step-up ring for each lens and leave them on; they're inexpensive.

 

[Montana]

^ Correct! Buy the largest filters you need and use step up rings on your other lenses. I bought filters as I went. I first bought 62mm, then 72mm and now I am buying for the Bigma...86mm. I could have saved a small fortune! I could have bought one set of the best filters out there for about half the price of my complete filter set. Not to mention, taken up less room in the camera bag.

Derrick

 

[Mav]

Don't bother with filters on the one with 55mm threads, lol

 

[TamiyaGuy]

Thanks for the answers, guys! The idea of buying 2 step-up rings is a good one, though, the most annoying thing I thought I'd have to deal with is swapping rings.

Mav, why don't you recommend a filter on my Sigma 55-200? I mean, I know it's a telephoto, but better to have the option of using the filter and not, than not having the option and needing it!

 

[Mav]

If you get a step-down ring you have to get a new front lens cap as well. If you get a step-up ring for the 18-55 then you have to get another new front lens cap, unless you remove the rings all the time which is a pain in the you-know-what. Another option is to just trade-off the Sigma for all of the hassle it'll cause because of its oddball filter size and just get the Nikkor 55-200 which has 52mm threads to begin with. A lot of Nikon's primes use 52mm threads as well, like your 50/1.8. Or forget it and just hold the smaller 52mm filters in front of your Sigma if you need to, lol.

 

[TamiyaGuy]

Aaahh, thanks Mav. Well, I decided to bite the bullet and get the 55mm filter and a 52-55 step-up ring. I'll take the rings off when not in use. Yeah, it's annoying, but I don't mind that much, and I really love my Sigma 55-200, for the price I got it, the image quality is superb. The filter & ring should arrive tomorrow, and I'm already shaking with excitement.

 

[TamiyaGuy]

OK, I've just recieved the polariser and ring, and they're both fantastic! I haven't had that much time to test them out, though, so I'll probably take a trip out sometime.

Just another quick question: I know a CPL can reduce reflections in glass, water etc, and that it can also make skies a deep blue, but when I try to make a sky blue, the polariser is rotated "upwards" (the way the little white mark is), whereas when I try to cut out reflections, it's 90 degrees to the lens. Is this normal?