Ask Matthew...

Our resident Nikon expert Matthew Richards answers your questions and solves your problems. If you have a Nikon-related question, email it to [e-mail]

Q. I took some holiday shots recently with my Nikon D80 and 18-55mm kit lens, but there’s severe vignetting in some of them. What’s the cause and can they be corrected?
Andy Cutting

A. Such problems are always a pain with the kind of shots that can’t be retaken easily! One possible cause is using a non-genuine round-shaped rather than petal-shaped hood. That said, earlier versions of the 18-55mm had a roundshaped hood, sold as an optional extra, but it didn’t cause vignetting.

The other main possibility is filter stacking, for example using a circular polarizing filter in addition to a UV filter, the latter of which you might have fixed on the lens permanently to protect the front element. Especially at wide-angle zoom settings, like the shot you supplied which was taken at the 18mm setting, the circumference of stacked filters can cut into the corners of the image frame. It’s therefore best to remove a UV or protector filter before fitting another filter to the lens. The only real fix for your holiday shots is to crop them slightly, to remove the darkened corners.

Q. After 40-plus years of using film, I’d like to digitize a collection of slides and negatives. Does the ES-2 work well with the D850 or Z 7II?
Mick Wharton