M43 filters - which size is right?!

Andy Into The Wild

Andy Into The Wild

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First of all hello :)

My name is Andy and I've been taking photos seriously since Feb this year & absolutely loving it to the point of becoming a little obsessed with gear and learning new techniques etc.

I started with a D3300 but very quickly starting being limited by the camera, and after discovering the amazing Olympus OM-D E-M1 and realising how much camera you could get for your money, I decided to switch systems before I bought too much gear, so I'm in the process of selling my Nikon gear and investing into the M43 system.

The thing I haven't pinned down yet is filters. I know I want square filters so I only need 1 set for all on my lenses but I have a real dilemma after scouring literally every post I could find on the subject (including a few here) and have not found a definitive answer.

Right now I only own Panasonic lenses with the 46mm thread but I want to futureproof myself should I move to the PRO 12-40 Olympus in the future.

My options:

1) Nisi M1 70mm filter system
+ cheap
+ small
+ polariser can be used independent of filter holder

- very small range of filters available (only 3 stop grads, only 10 or 6 stop NDs etc)
- may vignette on Oly 12-40

2) Nisi v5 Pro 100mm system
+ will not vignette on any M43 lens
+ polariser can be used independent of filter holder
+ huge range of filters

- much more expensive
- 100mm grads may not be effective on smaller M43 lenses
- overkill for smaller M43 lenses if it's only 'needed' on 1 or 2 of them

3) Formatt-Hitech 67 or 85 system
+ cheaper than 100mm
+ less likely to vignette on 12-40 (?)
+ smaller than 100mm system
+ huge range of filters

- polariser ring looks a pain & cannot be used independent of holder

I think I would be completely sold on the Nisi M1 system if a) people think that not having 2 stop grads is an issue b) I knew exactly what kind of Vignette to expect on the 12-40. The Lee Seven5 is not an option because the polariser is horrendously expensive for what it is.

If anyone has these systems and any thoughts on whether the 100 system is overkill for smaller M43 lenses or any of the other systems I've mentioned I'd love to hear your opinions :)

Oh and look forward to becoming a member of your community!

Thanks!
Andy
 
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I have 2 sizes of filters -
75mm square that i use rarely - only really used when doing slow and deliberate landscape photography in tripod.
68mm round filters - IR, polarised and clear protection filters

I have a step down (or is it step up?) rings that allow me to use the 75mm square filter adapter and 68mm filters on most of my lenses.

I also had a small polariser (37mm) that fitted my smaller lenses without adapter, but the 'nub' that allowed you to rotate broke so that filter is no more....
 
Forget the 100mm systems, they would be totally unsuitable for the size of lenses you are going to be using, even the 85mm ones are probably overkill and the graduated filters wouldn't be very effective.
One of the 67mm - 70mm systems would be much more suitable.
You seem to be concerned about the 12-40mm, but it's not really that wide an angle, having an equivalent field of view of a 24mm at it's widest. Not speaking from experience but I would be very surprised if it had serious vignetting problems with the smaller filter systems. Hopefully somebody with experience of one will chip in to confirm one way or the other.
 
Hi Andy,

I’m a m4/3 user, and I’m currently using the Formatt HiTech 67mm filter system. I also have the Olympus 12-40mm f2.8 lens. While I have very, very little complaint about the IQ of the filters themselves (other than the Firecrest ND filters are the ones to go for), I do wish I’d gone for a larger filter size. With the standard 2 slot holder fitted and then a polariser added, there’s quite a bit of vignetting at 12mm using the 12-40mm, that doesn’t really disappear until you’re zoomed in a good 2 or 3mm. I’m sure the larger Lee Seven5 System would perform better in this regard. However, if you ever want to use something like the Oly 7-14mm UWA, then the minimum filter size you need is 100mm. With hindsight, if I was starting again I’d go with a 100mm System from either Lee or NiSi.

Hope this helps.

Simon.
 
Thanks for your help both.

It seems like if I have any ambitions to get a 12-40 or 7-14 or something then the 100mm is the system to go for. I also noticed that for Lee filters they have a 'very hard' and a 'medium' grad which they advise can be used on an M43 system as a 'hard' and 'soft' grad respectively (because the gradient is softened on the smaller sensors). So the Nisi v5 seems to be the correct system to go for to give me the most options & expanadability, I just have to deal with it looking a little silly on 46mm lens threads haha.

I will post back here with how I get on in case anyone else finds this thread useful :)

Thanks!
Andy
 
I said I'd drop in and let you all know what I bought - I ended up going with the Haida 75 PRO system + Polariser. This is the same setup as Nisi (i.e. the polariser is the closest filter to the lens and can be used independent of the rest of the holder) and has the added benefit of fitting Lee Seven5 filters which the smaller Nisi kit does not. The build quality is also decent!

So all in all I've been very happy, although I haven't tried it with a 12-40 Pro lens yet to see if there's vignetting - I highly doubt there will be as people can use the full Lee Seven5 system without problems and this should be smaller.

Hope that helps :)
 
My view, especially with m43 is that the only filters you need is a polariser and ND filters and for those screw in filters work best, so a large screw in filter and step down rings is the best option.

For everything else, the EM1 allows you to bracket numerous shots handheld (unthinkable on other cameras) then the need for grads is negated.
 
where did you get your Haida kit from, the recomended uk supplier doesnt have any of the 75 kit listed?
 
I have a EM5MK2 and the 12-40mm lens in question.

I still have a Formatt-Hitech Firecrest 100mm filter holder and 100mm filters from when I had the full frame gear and can say I get no vignetting with the filter holder (and I Use a 62-77mm AND a 77-82mm step up ring together)

If you're thinking of going for the 7-14 I'd go for the 100mm system.

Oh and I use ND soft grads quite happily with M43.
 
I used 85mm Koods on m4/3 back in the day, worked great. I'd advise Lee though as you have more options for graduation transitions (v.hard, hard, medium and soft) which will make it much easier to tailor to your needs. I don't now how well it will get on with your specific wide angles, but you could use the Seven5 system with the Fuji 10-24mm (APSC) as long as you held it in front of the lens not using the filter holder.
 
I have a Hitech 85mm filter kit which I picked up for a bargain a while back off Amazon. With it set up to hold two filters and the circular polariser on the front I don't seem to get an vignetting at 12mm on my G80 with 12-60 f3.5-5.6 lens.
 
ian-83 said:
I have a Hitech 85mm filter kit which I picked up for a bargain a while back off Amazon. With it set up to hold two filters and the circular polariser on the front I don't seem to get an vignetting at 12mm on my G80 with 12-60 f3.5-5.6 lens.
Click to expand...
The Olympus 12-40mm is a much physically wider lens. The filter size on the panny 12-60mm is 58mm, its 82mm on the Oly 12-40. Im guessing that would make a difference?
 
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jakeblu said:
The Olympus 12-40mm is a much physically wider lens. The filter size on the panny 12-60mm is 58mm, its 82mm on the Oly 12-40. Im guessing that would make a difference?
Click to expand...

I have seen somewhere on here another member has the same Hitech set up and was getting vignetting with the Olympus 12-40 lens at the 12mm setting. I guess the 4mm difference is an issue.
 
Nawty said:
My view, especially with m43 is that the only filters you need is a polariser and ND filters and for those screw in filters work best, so a large screw in filter and step down rings is the best option.

For everything else, the EM1 allows you to bracket numerous shots handheld (unthinkable on other cameras) then the need for grads is negated.
Click to expand...

unless you have the 7-14mm
 
I have the Formatt HiTech 67mm filters, but am moving over to Haida 100mm ones. The quality of the Formatt HiTech ones was great, but with a 12mm focal length, using two filters plus a CP gave vignetting. I've since acquired a PL8-18mm lens, so it was a no brainer to move to the bigger filters.

Cheers,

Simon.
 
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