I've recently purchased a Schneider Super Symmar 4.5/80 XL and am using it for 4x5. Under certain situations I want to use the center filter AND my existing Sing Ray graduated neutral density filters at the same time. The Sing Ray filters use Cokin P-system mounts. The problem is that the center filter has 86mm threads but the P-system supports thread sizes only up to 82mm.

In the end I may have to invest to larger GND filters (perhaps the Cokin XPRO system), but that's expensive and bulky. I've got an investment in the P-size Sing Ray filters and would like to try to make them work, even if it means living with a slightly smaller image circle due to vinetting.

The obvious solution is to use an 86mm -> 82mm step down ring, but so far I haven't been able to find such a beast. Another possibility might be some sort of gizmo that allows one to use a Cokin P-sized filter inside a Coking XPRO-sized mount (which easily supports 86mm filter threads), however I have been unable to find this kind of thing either.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Most of the Schneider center filters have accessory threads that are 86mm or larger, so surely I'm not the first person to encounter this problem?

Thanks.

-- David Bradley (david@davidbradley.com), August 02, 2001

Answers

Heliopan makes brass step down as well as step up rings.

An 82 to 86 would be a special order and would not be recommended as you will probably have a problem with vignetting.

-- Bob Salomon (bobsalomon@mindspring.com), August 02, 2001.

Besides the Cokin X-pro series which have filters that seem really thick to me, look at Lee or Hi-Tech 100mm width filter systems. The 100mm width is much more popular (i.e, easier to find) than the X-Pro series

-- Ellis Vener Photography (evphoto@heartstone.com), August 02, 2001.

I had a "reality check" and realized that if I'm going to be shooting wide and ultrawide 4x5 then my current P-system-sized GND filters are simply not big enough. Thanks to your suggestions I started researching alternatives and discovered that Sing Ray now makes larger versions of their GND filters that fit the Lee system. I'll give them a try and see how it goes.

Thanks for the suggestions!

-- David Bradley (david@davidbradley.com), August 04, 2001.