Do you standardize your screw-on filters by thread size?

[Heroique]

Please share your screw-on filter strategy!

Even if you also use a different system, such as the Lee system, and complement it with screw-on filters. This is, of course, also a story about step-up and step-down rings. Smart tips for those graduating to the LF game and whose funds aren’t kingly are especially welcome.

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I have three LF lenses, plus several Nikon 35mm lenses.

But I have only two groups of screw-on filters, 52mm and 77mm.

The 52mm group works with my classic Nikon 35mm AIS lenses, most of which are 52mm. This group also works with my Fuji A 240mm, which is of course 52mm. Quite convenient.

My LF lens smaller than 52mm steps-up to 52mm:
Schneider 150mm g-claron is 35.5mm!

My LF lens larger than 52mm steps-up to 77mm:
Schneider 110mm XL is 67mm.

I would have more 67mm filters except that a few of my Nikon 35mm lenses are 62mm, 72mm, and 77mm.

Please tell us how you figured out your kit. :D

[rfesk]

I use 40.5mm, 52mm, & 67mm filters only and adapters to use those filters.

[Vaughn]

I gathered lenses too haphazardly to plan that. Ah, the days of one lens, one filter (yellow) kept on the lens, and removed with the lenscap if not needed. Now it is, "Yellow? (which yellow?), orange?, nah, I'll go with 25A, dang, only yellow has the right thread. Glad that was what I wanted."

Then there are the times I grab a filter only to find that I have seen cleaner petri dishes.

86mm filter size -- silly size! Sillier to watch one roll down the rocks, over the edge and onto the road.

[Mark Woods]

I use step up rings on all of the lenses to get to my standard Series 9 filters. I use the series 9s on all of my lenses, including my 6x7. It keeps things simple. I bought a series of step up rings on eBay for about $20 and they have served me well.

[Drew Wiley]

I have a compact set of lenses for long distance treks or airline carry-on 4x5 usage standardized to 52mm filters with step ring adapters, and a 67mm set for sake of 8x10 lenses (often used on my 4x5 Sinar system too) and for most of my MF lenses. But I need a few 82's for a couple of my 6x7 lenses, and just a few 72's for Nikon. Then there are all kinds of odd ones from decades past.

[Havoc]

I got 2 with 67mm by accident (meaning I never tought of that). Now I just keep in the CM-W series so I don't need more filters. They have more sizes of lenses than I need so No worry.

[MIke Sherck]

Purely by chance I have only two filter sizes between my four lenses: three use 67mm filters and one uses 55mm. I only use four filters: red, yellow, orange and a polarizer so I just have eight filters.

[Vaughn]

I got 2 with 67mm by accident (meaning I never tought of that). Now I just keep in the CM-W series so I don't need more filters. They have more sizes of lenses than I need so No worry.

Its the Fuji W 360mm that has the 86mm filter size...

[neil poulsen]

Yep. I had a Mamiya RB67 system for a long time. So, that prompted me to standardize on 77mm, multicoated, Schott glass filters. All my 4x5 lenses are 77mm or smaller, so I have step up adapters, where needed, for each.

I have one 8x10 lens that's 82mm, my Repro Claron 610mm. So, I use a Lee lens shade for 8x10, and it can accommodate 4"x4" gels. I also have an 82mm B&W circular polarizer. So, I'm set for that lens.

I'd thought of standardizing on 82mm, now that I've sold all my RB67 equipment. But as filter size goes up, prices go up exponentially. I think that I'll probably stick with what I have.

[Huub]

For 35 i have to many lenses in to many different filter sizes to standardize. The original idea was to stick to the 49mm my first Pentax lenses take, but then i got lenses that take 58mm and 67mm and 77mm. So i have a decent set of 49mm filters and a few in bigger sizes for the other lenses. I don't use step-up rings in 35mm as the get in the way with the steel lenshoods i use.

When i got into 4x5 i pretty much standardized on 67mm - which i also use on some of my 35mm lenses - and got myself step-up rings for those lenses that use smaller filters. The step-up rings stay attached to the lenses.

[Bernice Loui]

All of the non-LF lenses get a lens protector-UV filter as the way these lenses and cameras are used is different than a view camera.
That said, It remains a good idea to leave a lens protector-UV filter on a modern LF lens that can accept a threaded on filter.

Don't use much if any filters for LF these days. The only ones that have stood the test of time is a polarizer, ND and UV-lens protector. For these on view camera, they tend to be either Series 9 or 75mm square on a Sinar filter holder with either a series 9 or 75mm square filter holder. This is not likely going to work for a photographer wanting the lowest weight field folder due to bulk, weight and...

The better solution would be to collect the filters needed to fit the largest lens filter diameter, then apply filter step rings as needed. It is extremely important to very, very lightly lubricate these filter step rings before installing them on to the lens and filter and do NOT over tighten them. A tiny snug is more than enough. They have a great tendency to get stuck on to the lens or filter on to the lens.

There are really BIG filters for lenses like the Angeniuex which takes a 110mm filter size or the 480mm f4.5 Xenar which is 122mm.


Bernice

[Heroique]

It is extremely important to very, very lightly lubricate these filter step rings before installing them on to the lens and filter and do NOT over tighten them.

I’ve always relied on under-tightening, never lubrication, to prevent filter sticking.

Aluminum in the cold seems high risk, brass lower risk. I like the B+W filters and stepping rings that are brass.

I’m curious about anybody’s choice of lubricant. No matter how sparing the application, is it safe for the glass? Might it still get on your fingers for spreading everywhere?

[Bernice Loui]

Aluminum has a fond tendency to gall. Add to this problem, the common anodized aluminum is porous with a hard-rough surface that is also fond of seizing onto what it is threaded on. Adding more to these problems, the step ring or filter ring deforms under the force created by threading them together. This results in essentially a big spring that works well to hold all the parts together preventing dis-assembly.

Brass filters and filter step rings are better, but still prone to these problems.

Word to the wise, under-tighten any threaded on filter or be well prepared for the filter to be stuck on GOOD.

As for thread lubricant, synthetic watch oil. Apply by using an about 50% un-wound Q-tip swap (reduces the amount of oil retained in the cotton Q-tip) then very lightly make one round with the oily Q-tip around the threads and seating surface. Goal is a very light and thin film of oil, any more will cause the oil to travel into places it should never go.


Bernice

(auto-spell needs to be disciplined..)

[Heroique]

Nice tips, Bernice.

("Synthetic watch oil" ... maybe a good choice for dark slides that seize in the cold.)

[Tin Can]

Good plan

I will

Bernice

[Drew Wiley]

An excellent "strap wrench" for seized filters in the field is simply a length of plastic Zip Tie. Useful to have in any pack for all kinds of unexpected repairs too, especially snowshoes.

[Bernice Loui]

Yes, if the filter or step ring is stuck. Device like a tie-wrap when used properly can work as a strap wrench applying aprox equal force on the circular filter/step ring to aid in removal. Adding a friction enhancer like a strip of rubber equal or close to equal the circumference of the filter or step ring with the tie-wrap can make this device more effective by increasing the friction between the effective strap and circular item to be removed. If a two points of force tool (like pliers :eek:) is used, the essentially two points of force will ovalize deform the filter or step ring causing more friction within the threads making separation THAT much more difficult and the risk of serious damage to the filter or step ring is extremely real.


Bernice


An excellent "strap wrench" for seized filters in the field is simply a length of plastic Zip Tie. Useful to have in any pack for all kinds of unexpected repairs too, especially snowshoes.

[Doremus Scudder]

Like Drew, I have two sets of filters, one 52mm and one 67mm. I don't have any lenses that take filters larger than this - on purpose. I started years ago with Nikon Fs, so had a bunch of 52mm filters to start with (still have the Nikon stuff - haven't used in in 25 years or more...).

When I need to go really light, I carry small lenses and only the 52mm set, which is six filters in a home-made filter wallet; #8, #11, #15, #25, an 80A and a polarizer. I usually have a couple of random 52mm filters stuck in a pocket or pouch as well, usually a #44 gel mounted between glass and sometimes a #58. These fit my ultra-light lens kit: 100mm WF Ektar, 135mm Plasmat, 203mm Ektar, 300mm Nikkor M (or a 240mm Fuji A).

All my lenses smaller than 52mm are stepped up so they take 52mm filters (I had to machine my own adapter for the 203mm Ektar), plus one WF Ektar 135mm that's stepped down Series VII to 52mm since it is only about a mm smaller diameter. Stepping rings live on the lenses permanently. I've sourced other lens caps for a few lenses just so I can leave the step-up rings on.

But, I've got a few lenses that take 67mm filters (90mm, 75mm) that I love to use, so I've got an identical set of 67mm filters in a filter wallet along with a 52-67mm adapter ring, and a 9-stop ND filter. If I need to, I can take just the larger filters with me and use them on all my lenses, but the 52mm set is so light, I'll often carry both.

Almost all my filters now are B+W or Helipan brass-ringed and coated filters. I've got a few Tiffen filters in aluminum rings (e.g., #58) because they aren't available from other manufacturers.

Typical field kit for me is 90mm Nikkor SW f/8, 135mm Plasmat of some kind, 203mm Ektar, (240mm Fuji A), and 300mm Nikkor M.
In the city or close quarters its 75mm Fuji SW, Nikkor 90mm SW, WF Ektar 135mm, 180mm Fuji A and 240 Fuji A.

I've got a 150mm Plasmat, a 210mm Fuji L (Plasmats are too big for me in that focal lenght) and a Nikkor M 450mm as well that I use less often. I mention all the lenses because the smaller ones can all take 52mm filters and the larger ones, 67mm, in case anyone is interested.

Oh, BTW, lubricant for filter rings = nose grease. I spent my youth fly fishing the Rogue River in Oregon; nose grease was the lubricant of choice for the rod ferrules. Works great for lots of things.

Best,

Doremus

[Havoc]

Oh, BTW, lubricant for filter rings = nose grease. I spent my youth fly fishing the Rogue River in Oregon; nose grease was the lubricant of choice for the rod ferrules. Works great for lots of things.

Best,

Doremus

I had a neighbourgh that swore by it for locks.

[tgtaylor]

Back when I was a noob shooting 35mm I bought screw-on filters. But when I moved to MF and then LF I switched to a Cokin Z-Pro filter system and bought 4' – 100mm rectangular filters. The largest adapter ring for the Z-Pro is 95mm which is big enough for all my lens save for the 14” Veritar and 400mm Pentax 67 f4. The Pentax takes rear mounted filters which I never bothered with so far and I hand-hold a 100mm 3-stop ND in front of the Veritar when using soft focus. (A few years ago Nikon sold a universal filter holder that would fit the barrel of all lens. It was expensive but apparently didn't sell well and was discontinued. I first saw it when B&H held a fire sale on them but I didn't have a use for it at the time. Anybody have one of these that can comment?) The only screw-on filters that I currently use are 3-stop ND glass filters that I keep attached to a 85mm Pentax soft focus lens (35mm) and a Pentax 120mm soft focus 67 lens which saves set-up time when shooting with those lenses. For the rest of the lens I carry the Z-Pro in a soft case with all the step-up rings attached that fit the smallest of my lenses (49mm) to 95mm – the size of the adapter ring.

[Drew Wiley]

Nothing but real glass filters would survive where I go. And a good multicoating is important for resisting condensation and other forms of smudging. Flare is less an issue in compendium-shaded view camera work than with wide-angle MF cameras per se. But I have a few uncoated Tiffen filters simply because nobody else had what I needed. Most are MC Hoyas or B&W's. A black and white backpacking set might be as simple as 25 red and 22 deep orange, with X1 med green added for desert scenes. Color photography is fussier with respect to specific filters, especially with Ektar.

[Heroique]

But I have a few uncoated Tiffen filters simply because nobody else had what I needed.

These are both cheap and desirable (an unlikely combo in LF work!) in the most hostile of environments. Spraying ocean water, mature forests with that occasional airborne hurricane of invisible, sappy particulates. I think I have this filter for all my lenses in all their proper filter sizes – it lives outside my strict 52mm + 77mm filter group rule; it’s the maverick of my accessories who lives dangerously.

[Drew Wiley]

The problem with Tiffens is they have to be cleaned prior to almost every use. Due to the lack of coating, the glass attracts smudges like a magnet, much like the inside of a car windshield above outgassing vinyl upholstery. But there are a handful of special color film filters they are now using coated glass for (these still involve a sandwich mfg process), obvious by the dramatically higher price. And I'm glad I own several Tiffen glass filters that even they don't make anymore.

[Gord Robinson]

An excellent "strap wrench" for seized filters in the field is simply a length of plastic Zip Tie. Useful to have in any pack for all kinds of unexpected repairs too, especially snowshoes.

Zip ties are common in all of my camera bags/cases for the same reasons. I also carry a piece of the rubber non-slip router pad about 5" in diameter to remove filters from lenses. It allows for a good grip in the lens barrel if needed and it good in the darkroom or kitchen for removing lids and caps that have been over tightened.

Filter wise unfortunately I have a a variety of lenses of different sizes so I have a lot of filter sets up to 105mm and in series 8 and 9. I always have a stack of step up rings with me as well as wratten filter sets.

[Alan Klein]

Zip ties are common in all of my camera bags/cases for the same reasons. I also carry a piece of the rubber non-slip router pad about 5" in diameter to remove filters from lenses. It allows for a good grip in the lens barrel if needed and it good in the darkroom or kitchen for removing lids and caps that have been over tightened.

Filter wise unfortunately I have a a variety of lenses of different sizes so I have a lot of filter sets up to 105mm and in series 8 and 9. I always have a stack of step up rings with me as well as wratten filter sets.

How do you handle filters with your 105mm? Which filters and what do you do? I have a 90mm Nikkor but the Schneider center filter is 105mm.

[Gord Robinson]

The lens is a Mamiya Sekor 250mm f5.0 on a Mamiya Super 23 and I have a 105mm glass UV filter that screws in to protect the lens. My next biggest lens is a Grandagon 90 f4.5 and that takes a 82 mm filter and I have screw in ones for that lens as well. As the filters for other large and medium format lenses drop in sizes, if I don't have a filter to fit the lens I will use step up/down rings to adapt the filters. I also have a large selection of Wratten Filters that I can use with a series 8 filter frame holder. I have a Pentax 95mm red filter for the Pentax 67 that I would like to use but it has the bayonet mount on it and I haven't found a way to adapt it to the Grandagon yet. I have a box of 4x5 Kodak Infrared I would like to use it with..

[Drew Bedo]

My 4x5 lens kit consists of a 90mm, a 150mm and a 210mm. All are from different manufacturers. Filters are all 72m. Each lens has whatever combination of step-up rings necessary to get up to that 72mm thread.

[roscoetuff-Skip Mersereau]

Thanks to Ken Lee's blog - one of the most practical sites out there btw, I converted from collecting filters one lens at a time to becoming a convinced user of step-up rings so I can use one set of filters (67mm) for all but one of my lenses in all formats (Rolleiflex 3F excepted) - so I guess that's just 35mm and 4X5. Also use a Lee 100x100 set fitted to the same 67mm size though I wish it were one of their or Cokin's smaller squares. For graduated ND's these squares get the job done.

Now if I can just figure out what to do with all the others randomly collected in my prior photo years!

[Renato Tonelli]

I havemore filter systems than I can shake a stick at. Each and every lens has a UV filter for protection. Every system has the common Yellow, Red, Green, Polarizer, ND3, ND6.
For your amusement:

Rollei 35 cameras have step-up rings for the more commonly available 37mm filter thread (the usual suspects plus 81A, 81B)
Leica Lenses in 43 and 46mm (they wanted to be different).
Lenses that take 49mm have a step-up to 52mm.
Rollei SL66 has a Bay VI to 67mm step-up.
Most of my large format lenses are threaded for 67mm - a complete set for them.
Some lenses take 86mm and 112mm; for these I have a Yellow and a Polarizer only.

Cokin A and Cokin P Systems for those thread sizes where a step-up or a step-down ring is too big of a jump.
Years ago I invested in the larger Cokin X-Pro for those lenses between 77mm and up - I did not take to this system and it may be culled.

Clearly, this is a cry for help. :)

[tgtaylor]

As I mentioned earlier I started off with screw-in filters for 35mm camera but switched to a Cokin-P system when I moved to medium format and then to a Cokin Z-Pro system when I added LF (4x5 and 8x10). My current set-up is shown below:


212870

Step-up rings corresponding to each of my lenses are attached to the Z-Pro's 95mm adapter ring which is kept packed in the case as shown. So for example, if I want to use a lens with a 67mm thread, I simply unscrew the appropriate section of step-rings and attached to the lens. If I add a new lens then I simply add the appropriate step-up ring to the set-up. It's a simple system which is both fail proof (you always have the appropriate step-up ring regardless of the lens are camera being used and its quite compact as you can see.

Originally I was using 4x4/4x5 resin filters but am gradually replacing them with glass filters with a 4x4 Tiffen Deep Yellow 15 filter added within the past 30 days. Glass filters are thicker than resin but the Z-Pro has a slot that will accommodate 1 glass filter but by loosening the width adjusting/tightening screws you can install a 2d glass filter in the holder which will accommodate 3 resin filters in addition to the one glass. I chose the Z-Pro over the similar looking Lee system because you didn't need to carry a small screwdriver with you to adjust the widths. Shown next to the system is a Schneider 4x4 True Circular Polarizer which works with the Z-Pro.

This set-up works for all of my lenses for each format excepting the 14" Veritar and the 400mm Pentax 67. I can hand-hold a 4x4 filter over the front lens element of the Veritar and use a rear mounted filter on the Pentax.

[AdamD]

When I researched the world of LF, it was suggested by this bunch of folks on this forum to think through the different types of lenses I was going to want and then figure out what the largest filter size was going to be. Then get all the filters in that size as they become available.

In my case I found that 67mm filters were the magic number. Then, a few days later a fellow forum member was selling a set of 67mm filters including a red, yellow, orange, polarizer and a 2-stop ND. Pretty good. I use them a to this day. I’ve also added a Formatt Hitech filter system.

My first lens was a Fuji 150mm with 55mm threads. Added the step up ring to 67.
My second lens was the Rodenstock 90mm with 67mm thread. This lens was the one that determined the grand design.
I’ve since replaced the Fuji 150 with a Rodenstock 150. The threads are different and I just needed a different step up ring.
My next lens will probably be a 240mm Ronar with 49mm threads, still good.....

So, planning ahead is great advice. I took it to heart. But if you don’t want to plan ahead, and just get what you want when you want but NOT have to get a lot of different filters...easy...just get a full set of 82mm filters and get step down rings.

Good luck!!!

[Robert Opheim]

I standardized on 67mm with step up rings for most of my newer lenses. I did buy a series 9 set for a couple of larger lenses. I also have a series 6 set for older small lenses. It seems one size doesn't fit all. I do have a really large orange filter for my 12 inch Wollensak Velostigmat series II lens - which is 90mm or 3 1/2 inches wide.