Mounting filters on wide-angle lenses

[Larry Huppert]

Is there any good solution to mounting square filters to a 47mm Schneider SA-XL? The considerations are to mount with and without a center filter in place. My filter investment is in the Lee 100mm system. My camera is a Canham DLC 45 w/ Technika mount. Lee makes a 67mm wide angle adapter for their holder which migh t cover the situation if your working without a center filter. Will the filter holder vignette the image? I believe the accessory thread on the center filters are 86mm. Lee doesn't make any adapter for this size, and even if they did, I still wonder if vignetting would be a major issue.

[Bob Salomon]

Heliopan makes a 3x3" holder for glass, gels and acrylics as well as 77mm screw in filters. They also make a 4x4" one that is based on 105mm. The 4x4" mounted on your lens with a center filter will not vignette. And it will take square lee filters.

Heliopan also makes a rotating holder for these sizes for rectangular ND filters that will also work but will NOT take Lee filters. Only Heliopan glass rectangular g

[Charles Matter]

Suggest you mount your filters on the rear element. Calumet sells a holder for this which permanently mounts to the back of the lensboard (so, yes, you need a holder for each lens...marketing) I personally use a metal spring clip holder which one of the accessory companies sells (forget the name). Spring clip has felt on it so as not to scratch the lens barrel. Remove the foldingflap shades and you're all set. 3" filters work for all my lenses except my Nikor 120, which I just got..so I'll have to eventually change over to all 4". Since the holder clips on behind the lens, you're only adding the thickness of the gel, or resin filter to the depth of the rear element..so you won't have problems with hitting the film or ground glass..AND you can still use center filters and graduated ND's on the front

[Larry Huppert]

I don't believe rear mounting of filters with a SA47-XL on a Linhof Tecknica recessed lens board is workable. I doubt a 4in square filter will fit through the opening. Even if it did, setting a rear mounted polarizer would be a pain in the a__.

[Ellis Vener]

Larry, you could rear mount the filters by putting the lens on the camera and th en after removing the ground glass, bring the two standards together and taping your filter on.</> A better solution I think would be to use wratten gels cut to size to fit behind the ceneter filter. This approach has worked well for me in the past with other lenses.

But neither technique addresses the polarizer pr oblem and while using a polarizer on a lens this wide is going to have its own s et of problems (uneven density due to narrowness of polarization band vs. angula r coverage of lens) you may still want to try it. More importantly it doesn't ad dress how you might use a graduated n.d. filter. maybe someone like Steve Grimes can make you an adapter ring?

What did you find out from Linhof about the r ecessed Technika board?

[Alan Gibson]

I made cardboard filter holders for this lens, and others. The filter holder is essentially a sheet of card 120mm square, with a circular hole for the lens. Attached to the back of this is a cardboard collar which fits snugly on the lens. There are cardboard catches on the front to hold Lee 100x100 polyester filters, and I also use bulldog clips in windy weather.

I painted the card with acrylic paint for a degree of weather- proofing.

[Charles Matter]

Larry...check out p 401 of the B&H Source Book..(they're marketing this under their name) B&H Gel Filter Holder #BGFH433. They only show 3"...but I've seen them under different name in 4". The flaps unscrew and come off. Also check out the KALT Technical holders on p 402. These work well, too..but the screw in..so you may need adapter rings. They will projcet back beyond the rear element..do they may hit the groundglass with youe 47

[Jim Blecha]

If you decide to use the Calumet rear element filter holder, you'll only need to buy one if you apply sticky velcro to the holder's feet and the back of each lensboard. You can then move the holder from lens to lens as needed. It's also out of the way when not being used.

[Larry Huppert]

I ended up having Steve Grimes make a "Lee compatible" filter holder which slides over my Schneider center filter. Grimes has an interesting circular filter adapter he developed (see his web page). He basically did an adaptation of this product to come up with something which would work with 4" filters.

With the 47mm SA-XL, I can get one Lee filter in front of the center filter without vignetting (and even have some movement as well). With the 75mm SA, I can fit atleast two filters in front without any problems.

[Ellis Vener]

Larry what is the URL for Steve Grimes? (or am I being unusually dense?)