Compendium Shades

[alec4444]

Hey Guys,

So I'm looking at the compendium shades as both a shade and as a single size filter holder solution. I liked how the Shen Hao operates: The hood is set up to swing away from the lens easily so you can cock the shutter or set the aperature or whatever. However, from what I can tell the filters are a PITA to find.

If I were to get a different shade + filter holder, is there any hardware out there that can attach the shade to the front standard like the Shen Hao model? I'm attaching a photo of it so you can see what I'm talking about. Maybe I can make something, but I'm not really that "handy". =)

Thanks!
--A

[Doug Howk]

I have a Shen Hao compendium hood, and they are nice. However, the filter holder front & back are spec'ed I believe for a Toyo. I just use a regular size gelatin filter & put it in home-made holder (stiff paper folded in half with rubber cement). Works fine.

[Eric Leppanen]

How about the Lee filter system? The Lee compendium shade attaches to the last slot of the filter holder and not the front standard, but it is still a very nice system. Lots of Lee-compatible filters are available from a variety of sources (Lee, Tiffen, Hitech, Singh-Ray).

[alec4444]

I have a Shen Hao compendium hood, and they are nice. However, the filter holder front & back are spec'ed I believe for a Toyo. I just use a regular size gelatin filter & put it in home-made holder (stiff paper folded in half with rubber cement). Works fine.

Hey Doug. So you're saying the Toyo filters that this unit is supposed to take are larger than standard filter holders? Say 4x4? If they are, yeah, I can make a filter holder to fit. If they're smaller, that's a bit harder to solve. Rubber bands?

I should also mention that this is to be used with an 11x14 field camera. Another thread somewhere suggested it was too small, and that the Lee Compendium Shade was more appropriate. I looked at that on B&H's site, and couldn't figure out how it mounted....looks like it's supposed to mount to the lens, which I'd imagine is awkward to use. Also big $.

--A

[Eric Leppanen]

Another thread somewhere suggested...that the Lee Compendium Shade was more appropriate. I looked at that on B&H's site, and couldn't figure out how it mounted....looks like it's supposed to mount to the lens, which I'd imagine is awkward to use. Also big $.

A Lee adapter ring screws into the lens filter thread, and the Lee compendium shade (with filter slots) attaches to the adapter ring. It requires little more effort than applying a conventional circular filter.

A nice aspect of the Lee system is that used components show up frequently on Ebay. A compendium shade with two filter slots recently sold for $75, and a shade plus adapter ring recently sold for $110. With a little patience you can accumulate an entire filter system and save quite a bit of money in the process.

[Ralph Barker]

The Shen Hao shade appears to be constructed about the same as the Toyo model. It might even be a copy of the Toyo, considering the same "odd" filter size. The slots on my Toyo shade (for the AII, not the larger one for the monorails) measures about 113mm. The easy solution would be 6"x6" gel filters cut to size, or 100mm filters in a paper sleave, depending on the size of the lenses you use. B&H has the 6" filters, and I'm sure they are available from other sources, as well.

[roteague]

A Lee adapter ring screws into the lens filter thread, and the Lee compendium shade (with filter slots) attaches to the adapter ring. It requires little more effort than applying a conventional circular filter.

There are two of Lee shades. The one you described and another shade that will slide into the last slot on the Lee holder. I have both of them. I prefer the former, since it has one or two Lee slots built in.

[Paul Moshay]

From the picture you submitted it looks just like the Toyo shade. I made a filter holder from mount board and cut out for 3x3 filters that cover the front of the lens. Perhaps you could use the 4x4 filters if the lens has a larger front element but the 3x3 works well for me for the 210mm f5.6 Sironar I use. Paul