Sigma 8-16mm review, Filters that works or might work.
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The Lucroit filter holder for HITECH 165mm filters
A custom made filter system for ultra wide lenses like
Sigma 8-16mm and the mighty Nikon 14-24 F2.8
2012-06-11 (This page may be updated anytime a new or updated product will appear!)
Commercially available filter holders usable for the Sigma 8-16mm lens have not been possible to find until I recently discovered the Lucroit filter adapter I will now try to express my thoughts about this product.
This is the boxes that I received from left to right: Lucroit filter holder, The Lucroit/Sigma 8-16mm HSM lens adapter, and the Hitech 165 ND 0.6 Grad filter
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The back of the lens adapter shows how to use the adapter depending of the type of adapter and lens. For the Sigma 8-16mm the left image and description applies. |
When I opened the boxes I found a nicely crafted filter adapter kit with the lens adapter made of aluminum in a quite advanced design compared to the Cokin X-pro adapter that I previously used in my own DIY setup the lens adapter is painted in a flat black slightly structured finish that will reduce light reflections and not anodized like my Cokin adapter ring.
The wide angle filter adapter from Lucroit also looks good and is made of a polymer that probably contains glass filler to improve the mechanical stiffness and to make it strong enough to withstand PRO usage :0)
Lucroit lens adapter to the left vs Modified Sigma X-pro to the right.
You can se the O-ring packing in the Lucroit lens adapter (looks a bit more PRO than my tape!) you can also spot some tabs in the ring, more about them later.
Lucroit filter holder for 165mm filters to the left and the Cokin X-pro holder to the Right. The design of the Lucroit adapter makes it possible to take of the filter holder while leaving the lens adapter still attached to the lens, this is not possible with the slip on design of the Cokin X-pro adapter (Fixed lens hood of the Sigma 8-16mm lens will be in the way).
* Nikon 77mm lens cap for size reference.
Lucroit lens adapter and filter holder from the lens side. Filter holder snaps on and off the lens adapter very easy but still feels secure when in place. Filter adapter can rotate and does so with some friction so it is possible to locate the filter in any desirable position.
*Cokin X-pro kit to the right for reference
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Top left: Another view of the Lucroit filter holder Kit for the Sigma 8-16mm lens Bottom left: Cokin X-Pro + DIY solution for comparison.
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Left:red arrow The Lucroit Sigma 8-16mm lens adapter design contains 4 small tabs that ensure that the lens/filter adapter will be installed in the correct position on the lens. |
The Sigma 8-16mm HSM with the Lucroit lens adapter and filter holder in place and it feels and looks very good and is also really convenient and fast to use thanks to the snap on/off system.
The O-ring that acts as a friction mount between the lens and the lens adapter ring require a bit of moister during installation to reduce the amount of force needed to get it in place, it is enough to use a damp cloth on the lens hood just prior to installation.
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In this image you can clearly se the O-ring and tabs that keep the lens adapter in the correct position on the lens ! This is from the lens side of the lens adapter and the edge closes in the image will rest very close to the focus ring of the Sigma 8-16 lens. |
Yes its a Nikon D7000 behind that HITECH 165 filter and Lucroit filter holder! The Sigma 8-16mm lens adapter can be spotted behind the filter.
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Another view of the Nikon D7000 Sigma 8-16mm lens and Lucroit filter kit combo. Quite impressing look on this kit, you might not be able to be that discrete using this setup :0) |
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Filter holder and lens adapter mounted on the Sigma 8-16mm lens, no filter in place for a better view of the setup. |
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The Lucroit Lens adapter isn't that bulky and can remain on the lens when the filter holder for HITECH 165mm filters is removed. The can type lens cap for the Sigma 8-16mm HSM can still be used with the adapter ring in place. |
My conclution of the Lucroit/HITECH filter system for Sigma 8-16mm
This is the real McCoy no other filter system brand except for Lucroit makes a dedicated lens adapter for the Sigma 8-16mm HSM and the Lucroit system works very well indeed!
Even if the Cokin X-Pro D.I.Y route further down this page is usable it still isn't cheap (In fact almost as expensive as the Lucroit/HITECH combo). So my advice is, unless you are a hard core D.I.Y fan and can live with the less than perfect result of a gear hack like that, just take your time to save up money enough to get the Lucroit that you want It will keep you happy for a long time,or just accept the limitations of not having a filterable lens.
Look at this as an investment since when you have the filter holder and a set of filters you will be able to use them with many other lenses that you own or might own in the future by just getting a suitable lens adapter ring!
For creative photography and ambitious outdoor photography, we all know how useful a filter system can be and even those days deep in to the digital age it still is a powerful toll that is hard to replace or simulate by the computer it is as usual always better to get it right at the first time!
Why filters? An example of the gain of using filters in photography.
Above: The Sigma 8-16mm @8mm without filter a view from my balcony. Not my best shot but it works as an example for using ND grad filter vs not being using a filter :0)
Above: Same shot Sigma 8-16mm @8mm now with the HITECH ND 0.6 Graduated filter in place in the Lucroit filter holder kit and filter positioned at about the middle of the filter holder like in the image above, the sky is now looking the way I se it and the details in the trees as well. What about vignetting or other disturbances? not a chance no such drawbacks can be spotted!
Further information and resources.
A special thank´s goes to Lucas Olmedo at Lucroit and Lawrence Wiles teamwork photo in London for the loan of the Lucroit filter kit that made this review possible.
Aprox prices for the Lucroit system in this review is (28 may 2012)
Lens adapter: 115 Euro
Filter Holder: 175 Euro
Hitech ND 0.6 Grad :100 Euro
O or the Hitech filter Kit with 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 ND Grads for 170 Euro!
Hitech Standard Neutral Density 70-105 Euro depending of density.
Pro grade filters are about 50-100 Euro more depending of type.Get teh latest prices here: The lucroit online shop
REF:lucroit.com
REF:teamworkphoto.com
Lucroit also makes lens adapters for Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Pentax, Tokina, Samyang and Peleng unfilterable wide angle lenses like the Nikon 14-24mm, Canon 14mm, Peleng 8mm fish eye etc as well as lenses that have proper filter threads!
Tweaks and mods on commercial available filter adapters that can
be
or might can be possible to modify to fit the Sigma 8-16mm
Plus D.I.Y options.
(Now updated with a good working DIY solution!)
Due to the fact that the Sigma 8-16mm lens have about the same
angle of view on a APS sized sensor as the Nikon 14-24mm has on a FF sensor 114.5deg vs 114deg, we should also be able to use the same size of filters.
As far as I know there are tree different options for filters that might be possible to adapt on the Sigma 8-16mm lens, However all of them
require some modification.
The options are: Lee Filters SW-150 Filter Holder that has been designed specifically to fit the Nikon 14-24mm lens it uses 150mm wide filters.The Cokin X-Pro Series Filters
that also have been discussed on the
"net" and rumored to be usable with the Nikon 14-24mm lens.
The X-Pro series Filter holder paired with the P499/X499 universal
adaptor ring suitable for 84-118mm barrels does fit the Nikon 98mm
diameter but will need some work to be adaptable to the Sigma 8-16mm lens that have a 73,5mm outer diameter (Find out how at the bottom of this page!).
however the Cokin X-Pro system uses 130mm wide filters compared
to the 150mm of Lee filter system, this will limits the Nikon 14-24
users in a way that they will not be able to stack filters if the lens is
used in its widest setting !
The most promising and probably most bang for the buck is the
most recent solution by 2012-02-01 is the Fotodiox Pro Filter Adapter for Nikon 14-24
A studio of the Fotodiox Pro filter adapter + Sigma 8-16mm lens
Above: A proximate image of how the Fotodiox Pro filter adapter
would look if adapted to the Sigma 8-16mm lens to the right in
the image the Nikon 14-24mm lens that the filter kit is specially
designed for!
The solution that I opted for, a Cokin X-Pro filter holder + 86mm filter adapter ring.
A rubber grommet was used to cover the gap between the 86mm filter adapter ring that I had on hand and the outer lens barrel.
The inside diameter of my 86mm adapter is 83mm and the outer diameter of the lens at the location where the filter ring should be fit is 73.5mm.
I have now ordered another adapter ring with a 77mm thread that should measure 74mm inside which should leave just enough room for some tape to protect the lens barrel from scratches when the filter adapter is fitted to the Sigma 8-16mm lens.
Above the Cokin X-Pro filter holder + Sigma 8-16mm lens on a Nikon D7000.
The filter has to be used in the outer position when lens is at the widest settings otherwise heavy lens vignetting will occur!
The filter in this test setup is a home made red/brownish color filter mad from a polycarbonate sheet just to find out if the filter holder/adapter should work with the Sigma 8-16mm lens I didn't want to buy an expensive gradient ND filter just to find out that I can't use it. However now that I know it will work I will also get the filter that I want to use with this lens :0)
The filter holder must be fitted to the lens in a way that there will only be about one millimeter space between the fixed flower shaped sun shade of the Sigma 8-16mm lens and the filter when fitted to the outer slot of the X-pro holder.
In this image you can clearly see the rubber gromet that I used to make the 86mm filter holder adapter ring to fitt the 73.5mm diameter lens barrel.
I have now ordered a 77mm lens/filter adapter ring that hopefully fill fitt better, I will update this page and report about the new 77mm ring when I get it. Se below.
Uppdate!
Cokin X-pro filter holder + 77mm adapter ring = Almost perfect fit for the Sigma 8-16mm DC HSM lens
I finally got the new Cokin X-pro 77mm adapter ring that I ordered.
I´m happy to say that the 77mm ring fits perfect! (Unless you compare to the Lucroit system above!)
The 77mm Cokin filter ring have just enough freeplay to allow me to put some tape on it to protect the Sigma 8-16mm lens from scratches.
One turn of Permacel P421 tape and 4 small tape tabs of the same tape made the ring fit with some friction to keep it steady on the lens.
This tape is a6.5 Mil (0.17mm) thick PTFE tape and it is rather expensive so look for something similar in case you can't find it at a overstock bargain price (Take a look at eBay here->).
With the adapter ring prepared with tape and already mounted on the Cokin X-pro filter holder now just slip it on over the front part of the lens. You need to push it almost all the way to the focus ring to avoid corner light fall off (Vignetting) just leave a few tens of a millimeter space to the filter when it is installed in the outermost slot of the filter holder.
The Cokin X-pro filter holder is huge, It makes the Sigma 8-16mm DC HSM and the Nikon D7000 to look like a pocket camera!
Above a photo of my wall at home to show corner light fall off of the Sigma 8-16mm @8mm (Without filter or filter holder on the lens).
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| Corner vignetting on the Sigma 8-16mm with the Cokin X-pro filter holder in place, just look at the corners and try to ignore the shadows in the middle that is produced by the camera stand and my own presence! Looks like no further light fall off have been introduced by the filter holder compared to the image #1. |
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Same wall same situation except for the fact that I now have put a filter in to the X-Pro holder (A home made filter AKA tinted Plexi glass).
You can clearly se the dark corners but it isn't any worse than in pic #1 above.
The falloff is just a ultra wide lens trademark and doesn't get worse with the Cokin X-Pro filter kit in place!
A view from my balcony Nikon D7000, Sigma 8-16mm @ 8mm No filter or filter holder on lens.
Same as image #4 but now with the Cokin X-Pro filter holder now installed on the Sigma 8-16mm lens and with the DIY color filter*.
*(A home made filter AKA tinted Plexi glass).
A few more words on the subject!
I will update this review/DIY as soon as I get a ND Grad to tryout!
I will add to this page when I come up with something that will be useful. in the meantime please let me know if you found a better option to this problem or just want to share your DIY project with stockholmviews.com readers.
Some links on the Sigma 8-16mm Filter subject!
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