Lee Filter System on the 150 Super Symmar XL

[Scott Rosenberg]

hey guys, i know some of you are using the center filter and 115 slip on lee filter holder on your 150-XL. i'm not planning on using a CF, and wat to be able to use the lee holder on all my lenses, so i was planning on buying the normal holder and adaptor rings.

my question is has anyone done this with the 150-XL? the front element is 95mm... the filters are 100mm... that doesn't leave a lot of excess coverage, especially if the filters are out in front of the lens any distance. is vignetting going to be a problem? would the cokin or hitech 125mm systems be better choices?

thanks,
scott

[paul owen]

Hi Scott. I encountered a similar problem with the 72 XL. I tried the 95mm adapter ring for the normal holder and although I didn't test it, I was 99.9% sure there was the potential for vignetting once any movements were applied. I opted for the slip-on 100mm holder and this does the trick! It allows the filter holder to be positioned flush with the front of the lens barrel and does the trick. Unfortunately I think it is wishful thinking to imagine a single holder to cover all lenses! I decided it was worth shelling out on a normal holder for the 110XL, 150 and 210 lenses and use the 100mm holder for the 72XL. The other systems you mention offer larger filters but I personally am happy with the results that the Lee system offers.

[Eric Leppanen]

I agree with Paul, buying a second Lee filter holder (FK100, the 100mm press-on holder) is your best bet. The standard Lee holder will definitely vignette, and it's not necessary to purchase an entire secondary filter system (Colin X-Pro or similar) just for this one lens. The SS150XL's front barrel diameter is 100mm, so the FK100 will fit.

The other alternative is to tape your filters to your SS150XL. I actually used to do this with several of my lenses before purchasing the press-on holders, so it can work. But obviously it's a pain, doesn't work with ND grad or stacked filters, and you always have to be careful not to drop the filter when affixing it to the lens.

[Scott Rosenberg]

paul and eric... thanks for relating your experiences. i think i'll start with the 95mm ring and standard holder and see how much of a problem vignetting is. if it's minimal on 8x10, i'll go that route. i know the sip on holder is small, but i'm really trying to slim down my field kit!

[Lars Åke Vinberg]

This configuration does not vignette, although the margin when shooting 8x10 horizontals is small:

Super-Symmar XL 5.5/150, Center filter 4b (or is it a?), Lee 115 mm push-on holder with one filter slot.

I think the 100 mm push-on holder should give even more margins, as it can be slid back over the lens so the filter is close to the lens. You might even get away with using two filters.