Filter stuck
 

Hi all,

i did search but did not find relevent info. MAybe i m too dumb. 6 months ago i put uv filter on my gl2. Now i got a scratch on it and wanna change it.....but i cannot unscrew it....untill i have almost blood on my hands trying to unscrew it........its really stuck.what technique should i use.....i m afraid of damaging the threads on the cam.

Shame on me...any help appreciated.

Pierre

stuck?
 

try putting your camera in a plastic bag in the fridge. Make it a large plastic bag. In preparation you might want to put a thick rubber band around the filter. Freeze the camera. try unswrewing it after it is frozen but don't open the plastic bag regardless of whether it comes off or not, for an hour or two to let it warm up so it does not condense on the inside of the camera.

just a rubber band on the filter often helps.

if you have liquid nitrogen in the closet you can apply it carefully to the filter ring and it will shrink right-nicely fer ya. :O)

Eh, I don't think i'd freeze my GL2....hehhee....

Get a pair of vice grips...that should do the trick.

If you squeeze a filter it distorts to an oval shape and grips the lens threads like brake shoes on a brake drum. Try putting your hand flat across the front of the lens/filter, push in toward the camera while twisting you rhand. (Do not squeeze the filter ring.) That should work.

Alternatively, get an appropraite size filter wrench from a good photo shop.

Is this the cheap aluminium filter 'welding' problem? I thought one reason why the more expensive filters use brass is that it doesn't 'weld' to the cam.

use a rubber bottle opener
 

Brass filter rings get stuck just like any other. To remove a stuck filter, just use a rubber bottle opener, it's a square flat piece of rubber, available at any kitchen store for about $1. Grip the filter and gently rotate it off. You may also apply slight pressure against the lens while turning, but more than likely not. Do not use vice grips or freeze your camera. If you use filters, it pays to have a rubber bottle opener in your bag, alternatively, you could buy a filter wrench, which is a cheap plastic filter gripper at any decent camera store.....

Channel lock pliers.

Worked for me.

Put it in plastic and run warm water over the filter until it is warm then just screw it off.

Thanks all
 

The rubber did the trick.
Now its one more thing i have to always keep in my camera bag!

Thanks again everyone,

Pierre

How to avoid this problem
 

Aside from not over-tightening a filter, photographers have used simple lead pencils to prevent stickage for a long time. Just take a soft lead pencil (B, 2B, et.al.) and run it in / around the filter's threads several times. The graphite ("lead") acts as a good dry lubricant. Repeat periodically.

The rubber jar opener and the pencil lead are two great ideas and I'll now keep those in my case.

Now that other post - "Top Five Items in Your Bag" is up to Seven!

If you don't have a "soft" jar opener (and still want a safer way)just take some tape and an extra filter( or a short piece of tube aproximately matching the outer diameter of yr filter), hold both the part together and wrap a piece of tape around both. You get enough grip to lose the filter by hand without any dammage and it allways perfectly worked for me.

Three Words:
 

Playtex rubber glove.

I use the bottom of my Tennis Shoe... It is rubber... It works very well... and there is nothing else to buy or carry.

Hope this helps,