[TIPS] Removing a stuck lens filter with the Super Lens Filter Wrench
The filter that will not come off
A thin polarising filter screwed onto another filter, or a filter that has been on the lens for years, can be impossible to turn with bare fingers. Squeezing harder only makes a thin ring bind. The Super Lens Filter Wrench is made of rubberised steel, so it is stiff enough to grip the whole circumference evenly and soft enough not to scratch the filter ring.
Which size do you need?
- X-Small pair: 31-37 mm and 42-46 mm
- Small pair: 48-55 mm and 58-62 mm
- Large pair: 67-72 mm and 77-82 mm
Each pair covers two ranges, so one set handles filters from 31 mm up to 82 mm.
Step by step
- Choose the wrench whose range includes your filter diameter (printed on the filter ring, for example 58 mm).
- Grip only the filter with the wrench, not the lens barrel, and turn counter-clockwise.
- As soon as the filter loosens, put the wrench down and unscrew the rest by hand.
- If two filters are stuck together, use the two wrenches of the pair, one on each filter, and turn them in opposite directions.
The wrench is designed for firmly stacked filters on cameras and video cameras, and works especially well on thin filters such as polarisers.