Tim Ball
4th of December 2009 (Fri), 11:56
I recently aquired a Hitech 100mm WA filter holder with 67mm WA Adapter ring on ebay.
Comparison with the Lee holder seems to be a frequent requested topic but nothing seems to exist about the Hitech Holder, here or elsewhere, only about their filters. Even Hitech declined to give me any more information than on their site, which is scanty.
My first impression is how well it is made. A 6mm thick aluminium baseplate, with 75mm long, filter rails made of plastic. These are long so they can hold up to two filters, firmly in parallel to each other, like the Lee holder but unlike the Cokin Z or, the even shorter, Cromatek holder, where the filters can be anything but parallel.
The ebay seller used this holder for Lee filters, it's made for Hitech filters and my Cromatek filters fit it , so that answers one common question about it.
My second impression is that it is surprisingly heavy. Holder 83g. Adapter 30g.
I don't have a lee Holder to compare it with, but they are all plastic so I would expect quite a bit lighter. Anyone?
The next main difference is the means of attachment. On the Hitech a fairly large knurled screw holds the holder to the adapter. It doesn't engage the adapter directly but pushes against an inner spring collar. It must be tightened to prevent the holder becoming detached from the adapter, though it isn't at all sloppy before tightening. I believe the Lee holder is held in place by a spring clip.
like the Lee holder, it attaches to the adapter from the front, so the rings can be kept on the lenses and the holder easily changed over as lenses are changed.
I was surprised to see that the threaded portion of the WA adapter is not all one piece with the rest but a glued in insert. It seems solid though.
The outer ends of the filter rails have holes for the Hitech hood. (?)
The adapter ring is 90mm diameter and I am wondering if the Lee adapter caps would fit them? Anyone?
I think this covered everything that I tried to find out before buying.
I had intended to get the Lee Holder (Foundation kit) but when this came up at a very good price I took the chance. I'm pleased I did. The only negative is the weight issue.
The other adapter rings I need are around the same price as Lee's, which for 2X 77mm WA isn't cheap!
I'll try and work out how to add photos of it to this site. So far using URL's to images in my Photobucket site just seems to give access to everything there!
Comparison with the Lee holder seems to be a frequent requested topic but nothing seems to exist about the Hitech Holder, here or elsewhere, only about their filters. Even Hitech declined to give me any more information than on their site, which is scanty.
My first impression is how well it is made. A 6mm thick aluminium baseplate, with 75mm long, filter rails made of plastic. These are long so they can hold up to two filters, firmly in parallel to each other, like the Lee holder but unlike the Cokin Z or, the even shorter, Cromatek holder, where the filters can be anything but parallel.
The ebay seller used this holder for Lee filters, it's made for Hitech filters and my Cromatek filters fit it , so that answers one common question about it.
My second impression is that it is surprisingly heavy. Holder 83g. Adapter 30g.
I don't have a lee Holder to compare it with, but they are all plastic so I would expect quite a bit lighter. Anyone?
The next main difference is the means of attachment. On the Hitech a fairly large knurled screw holds the holder to the adapter. It doesn't engage the adapter directly but pushes against an inner spring collar. It must be tightened to prevent the holder becoming detached from the adapter, though it isn't at all sloppy before tightening. I believe the Lee holder is held in place by a spring clip.
like the Lee holder, it attaches to the adapter from the front, so the rings can be kept on the lenses and the holder easily changed over as lenses are changed.
I was surprised to see that the threaded portion of the WA adapter is not all one piece with the rest but a glued in insert. It seems solid though.
The outer ends of the filter rails have holes for the Hitech hood. (?)
The adapter ring is 90mm diameter and I am wondering if the Lee adapter caps would fit them? Anyone?
I think this covered everything that I tried to find out before buying.
I had intended to get the Lee Holder (Foundation kit) but when this came up at a very good price I took the chance. I'm pleased I did. The only negative is the weight issue.
The other adapter rings I need are around the same price as Lee's, which for 2X 77mm WA isn't cheap!
I'll try and work out how to add photos of it to this site. So far using URL's to images in my Photobucket site just seems to give access to everything there!