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Stuck Filter - Help !!?

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tom phillips

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Somehow I've managed to cross-thread the Hoya filter on my kit lens. I've tried a filter wrench to move it and can't think of anything else that wouldn't damage the lens.
Anyobdy ou there got any good advice?
--
Thanks...TomP
 
Maybe try warming it up somehow? Running it under hot water might not be the best idea, but putting it in front of a heater or something could help I guess, just don't let it get too hot. Probably won't work unless you live somewhere pretty cold though. In fact even if you do it probably won't work. But it's all I can think of =)
 
The worst thing which could happen to the lens which has that filter on it, is to get water in the lens. You'd think that couldn't happen, but almost no lenses are truly water proof.

Try grasping only the lip of the filter with your fingers, only at one point - finger and thumb grasping that one point - and apply slow but gentle counterclockwise tension. That trick, which I learned from someone on the KM forum, saved the day for me when I had a stuck filter and thought there was no way to get it off.

If the finger-and-thumb trick doesn't work, wait until Monday and take the camera & lens to a good photo shop. They will have a "filter wrench" which is designed to do just what you need - remove stuck filters. I'll bet you won't need to take it to the shop though.

Don't run it under water!! Don't run it under water!! Don't.....

Bill
 
Thanks for the advice (Toby and Bill). I tried both warming the lens (not in water) and the finger/thumb method, but neither worked. Anybody else?
--
TomP
 
Hey Tom, if it's really cross-threaded, you just might want to leave it on,

the damage is already done, so it won't hurt to just leave it where it's at for the time being...... Sorry for your miss-hap...
tom phillips said:
Somehow I've managed to cross-thread the Hoya filter on my kit
lens. I've tried a filter wrench to move it and can't think of
anything else that wouldn't damage the lens.
Anyobdy ou there got any good advice?
--
Thanks...TomP
Click to expand...
--
http://victory.smugmug.com/gallery/404445
 
if you don't need to change filters just leave it. if you want to add filters, screw them on the end.

if you really really need it off...

if you try to twist it, try to only apply rotational forces, don't push it against stuff, that will increase the friction

how expensive is the filter? if you needed to, you could try to break out the filter and cut the ring on the filter to get it out. I would say, use a glass scribe to scratch some lines in the top. all starting at one point a cm from teh edge some where, then try to push. usually you try to break away from the scratch. not sure if this will work.

If it the threads are bunged up you could try to clean them with a file, pick or something sharp (cut a small section of the ruined filter ring and use the aluminum threads to dress the threads on the lens. then take another empty ring and very very carefully turn it in and never take it out again, just consider it the new "threads" on the end of your lens.
 
I actually had this happen many years ago.
HERE is the real solution.
There is a tool which is basically a rubber loop strap in a wrench format.

It looks like an oil filter tool. I found a local camera repair shop to have one.
The shop owner put the strap on and with a twist.....it was done.
He refused any payment but I left a $10 bill on the counter.
Good luck!!!!
 
Lay mouse pad on flat surface first. Put your lens with the filter down on it and try to turn counterclockwise.
--
Eugene

The only time a smaller sensor with the same pixel count is superior to a larger sensor (aka higher pixel density) is when you are focal-length limited.

Lee Jay

 
similar idea to below, but you should be able to find one of these around the house, or maybe at the grocery tore. A couple times I've used one of those short thick, fat elastic bands - stretch it around just the filter ring and you get a much better grip while twisting. if the elastic is too long, wrap it around twice.

or if you've got an old bicycle inner tube around, cut a cross section and use that.
good luck!
csfbphoto said:
I actually had this happen many years ago.
HERE is the real solution.
There is a tool which is basically a rubber loop strap in a wrench
format.
It looks like an oil filter tool. I found a local camera repair
shop to have one.
The shop owner put the strap on and with a twist.....it was done.
He refused any payment but I left a $10 bill on the counter.
Good luck!!!!
Click to expand...
 
Place your palm against the front of the filter such that only the filter rim (not the glass) touches your hand. Try to get as much of the filter rim touching your hand as possible. Apply gentle pressure to the rim with your palm and turn at the same time.

This acts to slightly spread the filter while keeping it round. The problem with the normal two-finger method is that the rim of the filter isn't very stiff. Squeasing it at two points compresses it into an ellipse thereby locking the threads (think about even pressure on an egg versus pressure at two points).

--
Lee Jay
(see profile for equipment)
 
  1. 1 try a drop of WD 40 ,spray the WD 40 on to somthing then put a drop of the oil onto the thread then wait for about a hour then if you can get some lens clamps try that or some plastic wrenches and try to unlosten the filter
  2. 2 leave the filter on and just attack another filter on to it. if you can.
Good luck
 
Similar to this, I simply folded one of those rubber gloves the wife keeps under the kitchen sink over the filter. It grips enough so you can really get some torque on it. If you keep the lens on the camera when you do this, hold everything by the lens barrel so the lens mount doesn't take all the torque. Better to remove the lens, put a rear lens cap on, then twist.

One last caveat, don't use any tools not intended for stuck filter removal. Slip joint pliers will get it off, but it is easy to damage the lens.
 
These are similar to a mouse pad in that they have a gripping bottom that grips the jar lid, in this case the filter. Should be able to find at hardware store, specialty store that sells kitchen items, Wal Mart. Anything warm would cause the plastic to expand and make it harder to remove, so the opposite is cold, may try putting in freezer for awhile then trying(have not tried this so this is my disclaimer)....Good luck, and leaving it on the lens would not be an option for me as others have stated, even though the threads may be damaged, the small angle of the filter on the end of the lens may cause a diffraction of light which could alter your photo, depending on the type of filter that is stuck...robby
 
Hi, Tom,
tom phillips said:
Somehow I've managed to cross-thread the Hoya filter on my kit
lens. I've tried a filter wrench to move it and can't think of
anything else that wouldn't damage the lens.
Click to expand...
If saving the lens (if possible) is the highest priority, then one approach would be to grasp the filter ring with the tip of some fairly wide-tipped pliers and twist. The filter glass will break, the ring will collapse, and you can remove the remains from the lens.

Best regards,

Doug

Visit The Pumpkin, a library of my technical articles on photography, optics, and other topics:

http://doug.kerr.home.att.net/pumpkin

'Make everything as simple as possble, but no simpler.'
 
The best way to remove stuck filters is with the rubber sole of a trainer. Press down on the trainer hard and twist. For step rings stuck together, use both trainers.

Excal
tom phillips said:
Somehow I've managed to cross-thread the Hoya filter on my kit
lens. I've tried a filter wrench to move it and can't think of
anything else that wouldn't damage the lens.
Anyobdy ou there got any good advice?
--
Thanks...TomP
Click to expand...
--
Excal
 
...except WD40 with no luck. I guess I'll have to take up the most common suggestion, do nothing - except to thank everbody for their suggestions
--
TomP
 
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