Are the Nikon filters L37C and L1BC multicoated, monocoated (or uncoated)? Or do they exist in several versions each? I could not find any reliable information about Nikon filters anywhere, be it on the net or by phone with Nikon customer service (always busy line). Thank you for any contribution.

-- Tomas Roztocil (rozto@itsa.ucsf.edu), December 08, 1999

Answers

The L27c and L1bc are NIC ("Nikon Integrated Coating") multi-coated. The older versions of these filters (L37, L39, L1b) are not multi-coated.

-- John Kuraoka (kuraoka@home.com), December 09, 1999.

Bad fingers --- of course that was supposed to be "L37c," not "L27c." Nikon made an L37, an L39, and an L37c, but never an "L27c."

-- John Kuraoka (kuraoka@home.com), December 09, 1999.

Early Nikkor filters for their (and other's) rangerfinders were NOT coated. Later they were marked with a C to show that they were multicoated. By the time the Nikon F came out (1959), everything was coated, so the C was dropped. Years later the C came back to show multi-coating.

I'm don't know how to identify all rangefinder filters. I've seen pictures of some that have the filter designation actually etched into the glass, but I'm not sure when that practice was stopped.

-- Geoffrey S. Kane (grendel@pgh.nauticom.net), December 09, 1999.