Filter holders for wide-angle lenses

Whether you’ve been following this blog from the beginning or discovered it while researching photography gear online, you probably know by now that I’m a big fan of camera equipment, and especially camera lens filters. Even with digital technology, increasingly powerful editing software, and tools like DxO, Lightroom, or Photoshop, I still much prefer spending time outdoors with my DSLR, filters, and tripod rather than moving sliders behind a computer. Some will say it’s a matter of taste, but that’s definitely my preference!

I should have written this article a long time ago. I had been thinking about it for quite a while, especially after buying a new wide-angle lens for my 6D: the Canon 16-35mm f/4 L IS. It took me a lot of research to make the right choice, balancing what I wanted, my budget, and the filter systems available. That is what brings us to today’s topic: the different filter systems you can use. Most people who buy wide-angle or ultra-wide-angle lenses do so for landscape photography, and if there is one area where filters feel essential to me, it is landscape photography. Anyway, let’s get to it.

Today, I want to talk about filters, but not just any filters. Most lenses sold in stores allow you to use simple screw-in filters. Photographers who want to use graduated neutral density filters, or GND filters, usually turn to classic 100mm filter holder systems. That is not what I’m focusing on here. This article is dedicated to special filter systems, meaning systems other than standard screw-in filters and classic 100mm filter holders. This mainly concerns wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle lenses with a bulbous front element and/or, very often, a fixed lens hood, which prevents you from using classic screw-in systems. Good to know before investing in a lens, right?

After a few reminders about traditional filter systems, I’ll go through the main gear references needed for these special filter systems, mainly for DSLR lenses, but also for mirrorless cameras, which I’ll continue adding to over time. As soon as you start searching online, you realize that finding the right references for adapter rings, adapters, filter holders, and compatible filters is not always straightforward. This article should help you get a clearer picture.

One final clarification: this article required a lot of compilation and research. I won’t pretend that everything here is perfect. There may be inaccuracies, omissions, or mistakes. If you notice something, or if you have specific information to add or correct about the references, filter holders, filters, adapter rings, or how they are used, feel free to leave a comment. It will help me improve the article, and it’s always useful to get precise feedback from people who actually use these lenses.

Let’s keep things simple, because I already cover this topic in the article on camera lens filters. I consider three filters especially useful for landscape photography. I’ll add links to the three dedicated articles on the blog if you want to learn more about each type of filter.

• The ND filter / neutral density filter: mainly used for long exposures by the sea, rivers, waterfalls, and similar scenes.
• The polarizing filter: increases saturation and contrast in the image.
• The GND filter / graduated neutral density filter: helps compensate for brightness differences in a scene, often between the sky and the foreground, by reducing the amount of light on part of the image.

Generally speaking, there are two main types of filters. Screw-in filters are the easiest to use. These include polarizing filters and screw-in ND filters. Filter holder systems allow you to stack several filters at once, usually square or rectangular ones. They are often used for GND filters, but they can also be combined with a polarizing filter and/or an ND filter. With standard systems, GND filters are usually 100x150mm, while ND and polarizing filters can be square 150x150mm filters or circular filters that screw onto the front of the lens. These systems work perfectly on most lenses that do not have a bulbous front element.

In this article, the focus is on filter holder systems for special lenses with a bulbous front element, whether they are DSLR or mirrorless lenses. In principle, the system is fairly simple: you buy an adapter ring that attaches to the front of the lens, then clip the filter holder onto that adapter ring and slide the filters in as needed.

Let’s get to the heart of the matter: special filter systems. This article is for anyone interested in filters who owns, or is thinking of buying, one of these lenses with a bulbous front element. These lenses are often expensive, so it is better to understand the filter options before choosing one.

To my knowledge, several brands offer this type of special filter system. The two best-known are probably LEE and NiSi, but Haida, Rollei, Benro, Kase, and others also offer systems depending on the lens. Very often, each brand has a dedicated system for each type of lens. After a lot of research, here is a summary of what I found.

I have to admit that I went through all this information several times while writing the article, mainly to find a way to avoid repeating myself. In the end, with special filters for wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle lenses, the same possibilities come up again and again. What really changes are the filter holders and adapter rings, which are often specific to each lens.

So I decided to structure the article as follows. For each lens, I list the filter holder systems mentioned in this article. The links are clickable and take you directly to the filter holder system you want to learn more about.

For each wide-angle or ultra-wide-angle lens listed below, I indicate the filter holder system to use, as well as the adapter ring you need if one is required. When I managed to collect and confirm the information, I also added details about filter stacking, vignetting, and other practical points.

For the filters themselves, I remind you in each filter holder section which filters you can use, such as polarizers, ND filters, and GND filters, usually in the form of a summary table. I couldn’t always find every reference online, so feel free to tell me if you find others.

The two tables below summarize the main information in the article:

• Table 1: lenses and their required filter holders.
• Table 2: the different filter holders and the sizes of polarizing, GND, and ND filters to use.

You can click directly on the lens you are looking for to get detailed information about the filter holder options for that lens.

Table 1: Wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle lenses and associated filter holder systems by brand

Please note that, in the table above, the last two mirrorless lenses, the Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN FE and the Rokinon AF 14mm f/2.8 FE, are listed for Sony FE mount. I don’t yet know whether the filter holders associated with these lenses can also be adapted to other mounts, for example the Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN L for Panasonic full-frame mirrorless cameras.

You can click on the filter holder system you want to see its compatible filters directly.

Table 2: Filter holder systems and associated filters (GND, ND, CPL)

The NiSi 180mm system is a very specific system, since it applies, to my knowledge, only two ultra-wide-angle lenses, the Canon EF 11-24mm f/4 L and the Sigma 12-24mm f/4 (with a special adapter). A special filter holder for the Irix 11mm f/4 lens was also produced by NiSi for this 180mm system. The filter holder contains 2 slots. The brand confirms no vignetting, even at 11mm with two filters installed.

For the filters of this system, there are:

• Square ND and polarizing filters in the size 180x180mm,
• GND filters size 180x210mm.

The table below summarizes all the filters I found that fit this NiSi 180mm system. The choice is limited for the moment.

Please note that there is a special 180mm filter holder that lets you adapt your 180mm system to any NiSi S5/S6 system. Concretely, this saves you from buying a whole set of filters + filter holder to shoot on a Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 or a Sigma 14mm f/1.8 (standard filter holder in 150mm).

In addition, NiSi offers adapter rings that allow to adapt this 180mm system also to lenses with a smaller diameter. They are available in 77mm and 82mm.

This NiSi 150mm system allows square and rectangular filters to be mounted on wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle lenses. You cannot use a circular polarizing filter with this system. Each filter holder is unique to its dedicated lens. Depending on the focal length of the lens, the filter holder can be used with 2 or three filters (2 or 3 slots available).

Concerning the filters, they are much more available and varied than for the 180mm system. The ones that exist are referred to in the following:

• Polarizing and square ND filters of 150x150mm size
• Rectangular GND filters size 150x170mm

The table below summarizes all the filters that can be attached to this system.

According to the brand, all NiSi filter holders would be compatible with NiSi, Lee, Hitech, Cokin and Singh-Ray filters.

The main drawback of this system is that you cannot use a polarizing filter independently from other square (ND) or rectangular (GND) filters. All the filters mentioned in the table above are compatible with the new NiSi 150mm S6 system (mentioned below).

Note also that there are adapter rings for this NiSi 150mm system to be able to mount it on lenses with smaller diameters, in particular for 95mm diameters (for Hasselblad lenses – 35-90mm HCD/ 300mm HC / 35mm HC / 50-150mm HC and the Irix 15mm f/2.4 lens) and for 105mm diameters (for the Sigma 120-300 f/2.8 DG OS).

Update: 10/07/2021: added the new S6 system. It is a bit like the Rolls-Royce of filter holder systems and a major improvement over the older 150mm system. This newer system lets you insert a circular polarizing filter (CPL), in front of which two 150mm filters can be mounted, either ND or GND filters. This makes it possible to use your polarizing filter independently from your ND or GND filters, which is very convenient. The principle is simple: you have a lens-specific adapter ring that screws onto the lens, then a circular polarizing filter that screws into it. On top of that, you place a filter holder with two slots.

For the filters, you use a circular polarizing filter, either standard or “Landscape,” generally sold as part of the kit, with a 150mm diameter. For the other filters, ND and GND, use the same references listed in the table above for the basic 150mm system. Here it is as a reminder.

You can also place a circular screw-in ND filter instead of the circular polarizer usually used with this system. It can be found in ND8 (3 stops), ND1000 (10 stops), ND3200 (15 stops), but also as ND64 + CPL. This is an interesting option for people who do not wish to use a polarizing filter or GND filter with this system. Below is a small summary of the 150mm circular CPL + ND filters for this S6 NiSi system.

We have just tested the new NiSi S7 filter holder system that has just been released (standard 100mm system)! We made a detailed article about it !

At the time of writing, this new system does not yet cover all wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle DSLR lenses. However, it does cover the very famous Nikon 14-24mm F/2.8, Tamron 15-30mm F/2.8, Sigma 14mm F/1.8, Sigma 14-24mm F/2.8 – Sigma 20mm F/1.4 DG Art and two special tilt shift lenses, the Canon TS-E 17mm F/4L and the PC Nikkor 19mm F/4E ED.

Two other important points to acknowledge:

• NiSi offers adapter rings for several of these lenses (several diameters often available) allowing to use the whole S6 system on smaller diameters, often in 77mm and 82mm,
• Finally, NiSi also offers a kit including the S6 150mm filter holder, a 105mm main adapter ring (to place the CPL) and two adapter rings 95mm – 105mm and 82mm – 95mm). Unlike conventional S6 kits which require a special adapter for a specific lens, this kit allows you to use the S6 system on any lens with 82mm, 95mm and 105mm diameter.

It is the brand’s dedicated system for almost all the lenses mentioned in this article. The system works as follows. The filter holder is identical for all lenses that are compatible. Only the adapter rings are unique and dedicated to each lens. So, you need to buy a filter holder + an adapter ring. Note that the filter holder is sold with a rear sun shield (“Lee Lightshiled”) which allows to limit the effects of flare or light leakage on the images (even if there are many photographers still grumbling about it saying that it clearly doesn’t work that much).

As far as I know, you can’t place a circular filter (like on the NiSi 150mm S6) meaning you have to use the polarizing filter separately from your ND and GND filters, which is a shame. This is one of the limitations of this system, the other main one being that you have to remove the lens from the camera to add the whole system every time you want to use it (not very practical). It’s again a pity. However, as specified by Lee, you can use the SW150 square polarizing filter in the filter holder and rotate it to get the desired polarization. Once a GND is installed, you won’t be able to rotate the polarizing filter without rotating the GND.

For the filters, here is what you should use:

• A circular effect polarizing filter (square) of 150x150mm size,
• Square ND filters size 150x150mm,
• Rectangular GND filters of size 150x170mm.

The table below lists all the filters that can be installed on the Lee SW150 Mark II system.

For long exposure fans, as mentioned in the table, Lee offers a range of ND filters that are well suited to long exposures, including ND64 and ND1000 filters. For very long daytime exposures, there is also the Lee Super Stopper, with 15 stops (ND32000). Please note that Lee’s ND filters are known for producing a strong blue color cast. Of course, this can be corrected in post-processing, but most users agree that the rendering is not very close to what you see through the viewfinder. I can confirm this myself, since I use a Big Stopper.

Reverse filters are also available for sunrise and sunset, although some users point out that the transitions between the graduated zones are too abrupt and not progressive enough.

Finally, Lee also offers, like NiSi, adapter rings that allow you to use the SW150 Mk II system on other lenses. They are available in 72mm, 77mm, 82mm, 86mm, 95mm, and 105mm.

Haida is one of the lesser-known brands, but it often offers a more affordable alternative to the classic Lee and NiSi systems. As with Lee, the filter holder system is based on a shared filter holder for all lenses and specific adapter rings for each lens. From the information I managed to find, the M15 system seems to work with a large number of current wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle lenses.

The M15 filter holder is designed to hold up to two square or rectangular filters, such as ND or GND filters, as well as a circular magnetic filter, either CPL, ND, or CPL + ND. The advantage of this system, like the NiSi 150mm S6, is that the circular magnetic polarizing filter can be used independently from the ND/GND filters placed in front of it. That is a real advantage. For Haida filters, the choice is more limited, and you need to look at the “Red Diamond” series with:

• ND filters in 150x150mm.
• GND filters in 150x170mm, available in Soft, Hard, Medium, Reverse, and Horizon versions.

In addition, Haida offers four usable circular magnetic filters: ND, CPL, Clear-Night and CPL+ND. The table below summarizes available filters, but I have to admit that it seems difficult to find filters in Europe at the common online retailers. From what I found, the system should be compatible with filters of other brands such as Lee, NiSi, ICE, Kase, etc.

It is worth mentioning that there is also an older version of the Haida 150mm filter holder that is still available online for most of the lenses mentioned in the article, which are compatible with the brand’s new M15 system. The important difference is that this system does not allow the use of circular polarizing filter (CPL) unlike the new M15 (the same thing for the old 150mm from NiSi compared to the new S6). Moreover, with the old system, you have to remove the lens each time to install the system, which is not practical at all. The M15 solved this problem, so I wouldn’t recommend choosing the old system.

This German brand also offers special filter holder systems for specific wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle lenses. Its filter holders are known to be compatible with filters from brands such as Lee, Formatt, Hitech, NiSi, Haida, and Cokin. For these lenses with a very wide angle of view, you need to choose between a 150mm or 180mm filter holder. These two systems do not allow you to use a circular polarizing filter (CPL). However, you can use up to three square or rectangular filters with the 150mm system and up to two filters with the 180mm system. Each filter holder is dedicated to a specific lens. For the filters listed above, availability is often better on Amazon.de, which makes sense for a German brand.

Like all other brands of filter holders, Rollei offers step-up rings that allow you to use the 150/180mm system on lenses with smaller diameters.

Benro also offers two filter holder systems with adapter rings for wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle lenses. The best-known system, and the one best suited to most of these lenses, is the FH150, while the FH170 filter holder is designed only for the Canon 11-24mm f/4.

With the FH150 filter holder, the front part of the holder always stays the same. The rear part changes depending on the lens you want to use; in practice, it is an adapter ring that screws in from the back. According to Benro, the FH150 system accepts all 150mm-wide filters with a 2mm thickness, whether glass or resin. The advantage of the Benro FH150 system is that it allows you to use a circular polarizing filter (CPL) independently from the ND or GND filters placed in front, much like the NiSi S6 or Haida M15 systems.

According to the information provided by the brand, it is possible to use two square (150x150mm) or rectangular (150x170mm) filters in addition to the CPL. Without the CPL, three square or rectangular filters can be placed in the FH150 holder. However, it seems that whenever you want to use the 150mm CPL, you need to remove all the slots and install special slots to accommodate the CPL, which is not very practical (see this video).

Although the Benro filter holder accepts filters from other brands, Benro offers filters from the brand itself. Here is a summary of what the brand offers. For the moment, I haven’t really found many online retailers offering Benro filters. Additionally, it is not possible to buy on their website at the time of writing this article.

I must admit that, before writing this article, I only knew the brand by name. During my research, I realized that they offer many filter holder systems and filters adapted for wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle lenses mentioned in the article. Here’s what you need to keep in mind:

• In most cases, the filter holders are unique and made exclusively for one lens,
• For the majority of the lenses in the article, you will need to remove your lens from the camera to be able to install the filter holder system,
• There are generally two classic models of the brand:
  • The WonderPana Holder 145mm
  • The WonderPana XL Holder 186mm

The two systems were created for different focal lengths. For each of the two models, there are two options, so to speak:

• Core option: this is the ideal solution if you only want to use a screw-in circular polarizing filter (or a screw-in ND filter) for your lens (without using GND filters),
• FreeArc Core: This is the required and necessary solution if you want to use a circular polarizing filter independently of ND and GND filters.

The WonderPana Holder 145mm remains the most widely used filter holder system. The basic version allows you to use a 145mm circular ND or polarizing filter (CPL). With the FreeArc Core option, you can also place 168x216mm GND filters.

The WonderPana Holder XL Holder 186mm is a filter holder system reserved for only four lenses with very wide focal lengths on a full-frame camera, all mentioned in this article: the Canon 11-24mm f/4 L USM, the Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG HSM Art, the Sigma 12-24mm f/4 DG HSM Art, and the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art. The brand has therefore created four dedicated filter holders for these lenses.

In its basic version, this filter holder accepts a circular polarizing filter (CPL) or a 186mm ND filter. Yes, 186mm! With the FreeArc Core option, you can use 200x260mm graduated neutral density filters.

Here are the filters I managed to find during my research. Packs are also often available, combining a filter holder with one or more ND and/or GND filters. Another important point is that, for some of the ND filters listed below, you can choose between standard and ultra-slim versions.

Filters suitable for WonderPana 145mm and 186mm filter holder systems

The brand offers (like most of them) step-up adapter rings that will allow you to use their systems on your other lenses with smaller diameters (77mm, 82mm, 95mm and 145mm).

The Kase brand also offers two filter holder systems adapted to specific optics mentioned in this article, the K150mm and the K170mm. The most standard filter holder of the brand is the Kase 150mm. The Kase 170mm can be installed on lenses with larger diameters such as the Sigma 12-24mm f/4, the Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 or Olympus 7-14mm f/2.8.

The Kase 150mm filter holder (K150) is the most widely used. It can hold up to two filters with the possibility of adding a third one. This system does not allow the use of a circular polarizing filter (CPL). The brand has released a K150 II version which can be sold without an adapter ring. You then have the possibility to buy the rings for the desired lenses, for the moment: the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8, the Sony 12-24mm f/2.8 FE, the Fujifilm 8-16mm, the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 and finally the Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8.

The Kase 170mm filter holder (K170) allows on some lenses the independent use of a 150mm circular polarizing filter (for example on the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8).

Regarding filters, the K150 will accept 150x150mm ND/Polarizer filters and 150x170mm GND filters while the K170 filter holder will allow the use of 170x170mm ND filters/Polarizing filter as well as 170x190mm GND filters.

Concerning the filters, here’s what I’ve found so far.

Please note that Kase offers, like many other brands, adapter rings that enable the adaption of their systems on lenses with smaller diameters (from 77mm to 105mm).

To be confirmed but Kase filter holders should of course accept filters of other brands in 150mm.

To my knowledge, there are two Canon lenses with a special filter system, the Canon 11-24mm f/4 L and the Canon 14mm f/2.8 L II, as well as two particular lenses: the Canon 8-15mm f/4 L Fisheye USM, a fisheye lens for which I have not found a filter system, and the Canon 17mm TS-E, a tilt-shift lens. I won’t cover these two specific lenses for now, while waiting for more information.

• Check out the lens in detail on: Amazon

This is a very well-known Canon lens for landscape photography. According to my research, there are several special filter systems for this lens. Here is a summary of the different filter possibilities for the Canon 11-24mm f/4 L USM.

• From what I have found in my research, the system that NiSi offers is the one that works best from this lens. Their system allows no vignetting even at 11mm with two filters. Note that NiSi offers a ring to adapt this NiSi 180mm system to the Sigma 12-24mm f/4 HSM Art. Moreover, if you wish, you can use NiSi’s adapter rings to adapt this 180mm system to other smaller lenses (77mm and 82mm),
• Confirmed by several users and by Lee, on this lens, this system however is vignetting up to about 12.5mm with the use of a filter. Count vignetting up to 14mm with two filters. As a reminder, like NiSi, Lee offers step-up rings to be able to use their system on smaller diameters (see the references for the step-up ring in the table above),
• Concerning the WonderPana system (186mm), the brand guarantees no vignetting with a screw filter (CPL or ND) and two GND filters, even at 11mm (see the presentation video here). It is also possible to screw two 186mm filters on top of each other CPL+ND but vignetting will appear,
• I also saw that there was a possibility at LucrOit, the 165mm Pro L, but the system seems very limiting since it is necessary to use brand filters (size 165mm) and they are the only ones to offer this size,
• Finally, it is important to note that several brands offer gelatin ND filters that can be placed on the rear of certain lenses (Aurora, Haida or Kase),
• Here is a video of Kase installing their K170 on this lens (which is done without removing the lens from the camera body).

• View the lens in detail on: Amazon

This ultra-wide-angle Canon lens also has a curved front lens, let’s see together which filter systems are possible.

Observations:

• Kase confirms that its K170 can be used with two square or rectangular filters without vignetting if the filter holder remains straight. If it is turned to 45°, vignetting appears in the images. There is no possibility of using a CPL with this system on this lens.
• NiSi confirms that three stacked filters can be used without vignetting.
• With WonderPana, the filter holder system must first be installed on the lens, then the lens mounted on the camera.

As with Canon DSLR lenses, only two Nikon lenses commonly used for landscape photography have a special filter system, the famous Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G and 14mm f/2.8D, which are almost the equivalent of Canon’s. Two particular lenses will not be mentioned in this article for the moment, the Fish Eye 8-15mm f/3.5-4.5E FE and the Nikon 19mm f/4 E Ed, a tilt shift lens.

Considered one of Nikon’s best landscape lenses for a very long time, the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G has a bulbous front element that requires the use of a special filter system.

• See the lens on: Amazon

The table below summarizes all the possibilities for placing filters on the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G:

Observations:

To my knowledge, there are two renowned systems, Lee and NiSi’s, that seem to be commonly used by landscape photographers.

• From NiSi, this system allows the use of two square (ND) or GND (rectangular in size) filters as well as a circular polarizing filter, all without vignetting. For this lens, NiSi offers two adapter rings in 77mm and 82mm, which allows the whole system to be used on lenses with smaller diameters. There is also a 150mm version of the filter holder that does not allow the use of CPL,
• Lee’s system would allow, according to the information I could find on the web, to use three square filters without vignetting at 14mm, as long as the filter holder remains straight. You can’t use a CPL with this system,
• With Haida, it is generally provided as a kit including the filter holder + adapter ring as well as the magnetic circular filter, as here or for the old 150mm system of the brand, here,
• The Kase 170 system is in my opinion a very good alternative since it allows the use of a 150mm CPL and two square/rectangular filters without vignetting (see this video for installation). Note that the Kase 150mm version also exists for this lens but only allows the use of 2 square/rectangular filters (without CPL). According to the brand, vignetting is visible as soon as the filter holder is shifted at 36° (on the K150),
• Other people according to my research also use the Progrey G-150Z system (Amazon US) or the Lucroit filter holder and Hitech filter (165mm Hitech filters).

• See the lens on: Amazon

For the 14mm f/2.8D ED, here are the special filter systems to be used.

Observations:

• I haven’t yet found a filter holder reference from NiSi or Rollei, which could fit on the Nikon 14mm f/2.8,
• The system proposed by Kase (K170) allows the use of a CPL (150mm) and two square/rectangular filters without vignetting. Note that the system must be first mounted on the lens before it is attached to the camera (as on the Wonderpana system),
• The Benro system requires placing the filter holder with the lens detached from the camera.

To my knowledge and at the date of writing this article, there are 4 Sigma lenses with a curved lens and therefore requiring special filter systems: the Sigma 12-24mm F4 DG HSM Art, the Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG HSM Art, the Sigma 20mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art and finally the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art. I voluntarily ruled out the Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 DC HSM which is a special Fisheye lens as well as the Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 DG EX HSM which is a rather old and less used lens (but I could add it in an update of the article).

• See the lens on: Amazon

For the Sigma 12-24mm f/4 DG Art, you have the choice between all these systems:

Notes:

• NiSi states that there is no vignetting with 2 square or rectangular filters with the filter holder set at 90°. There may be slight vignetting at 45°, however. To avoid vignetting, it is recommended to use the NiSi 180mm system (the one of the Canon 11-24mm f/4 L) with the special adapter ring for this lens.
• The Kase 170mm system for this lens does not, to my knowledge, allow the use of a circular polarizing filter (CPL). No vignetting announced with two filter at 12mm filters -> watch the installation video,
• The SW150 Mk II system vignette from about 12 to 13.5mm, which only allows the lens to be used from 14mm upwards.

• See the lens on: Amazon

For the Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG Art, you can choose between all these systems:

Notes:

• Kase, with its K170mm system confirms no vignetting at 14mm with 3 square or rectangular filters. There is no possibility of using a CPL on this setup,
• NiSi offers two adapter rings (77mm and 82mm) for its S6 system, which allows this system to be used on lenses with smaller diameters,
• Note that several brands (including Kase and Haida) offer gelatin ND filters that you can place on the rear of the lens.

• See the lens on: Amazon

The table below summarizes all the filter holders that fit on the Sigma 20mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art.

Notes:

• Kase offers both systems for this lens, the K150 and the K170. The K170 allows the placement of a CPL (150mm) and 2 square/rectangular filters (unlike the K150). The K170 system must be installed on the lens before the lens is mounted on the camera.

• See the lens on: Amazon

Here are the filter holder options for the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art.

Notes:

• Here is the installation video of the Kase K150 II on this lens here. It is possible to place 3 square/rectangular filters without vignetting. No possibility to place a CPL.
• The NiSi 150mm allows the placement of 2 square/rectangular filters without vignetting (video here). The new S6 system is also available for this lens with two rings (77mm and 82mm) to install the S6 of the lower diameter lenses,
• You can also ask Sigma to install a kind of mini rear filter holder to place gelatin filters. Kase offers for example an ND rear filter set here.

• See the lens on: Amazon

At the time of writing, only the 15-30mm f/2.8 optics (G1 and G2) have a curved front lens requiring a special filter system. Here is the set summarized in the table below.

Notes

• As with other lenses, Kase offers the possibility to install two systems on this Tamron lens: the K150 and the K170. As a reminder, the K170 allows the use of a CPL (150mm), which is not possible with the K150,
• Note that the Canon version of this lens allows the use of a gelatin rear ND filter at the back of the lens, but I still have trouble finding it anywhere online,
• NiSi offers two adapter rings for using the S6 system of this lens on lenses with smaller diameters (77mm and 82mm).

I will only mention (for the moment) the two Samyang/Rokinon lenses: the 14mm f/2.8 ED AS IF and the Samyang XP 14mm f/2.4. Of course, there are other Samyang/Rokinon lenses (especially with manual focus) that I could add references if you are interested.

• See the lens on: Amazon

Notes:

• Samyang offers its own filter holder system for this lens, the Samyang SFH-14. It has two slots, allowing you to use two square or rectangular filters at the same time.
• According to user feedback, the product does not seem very well designed, and many photographers choose systems from Lee, NiSi, or WonderPana instead.
• WonderPana also confirms slight vignetting at 14mm with this system. The system must first be attached to the lens while the lens is detached from the camera.
• I haven’t found a Benro or Rollei filter holder for this lens yet.
• The system offered by Kase must be attached to the lens before the lens is mounted on the camera. No vignetting is apparent at 14mm with two filters. There is no possibility of using a CPL with this system.

• See the lens on: Amazon

Note:

• At the time of writing this article, I only found 3 possible filter systems for this lens (NiSi, Haida and Wonderpana). Do you know of any others?
• For now, I really had a hard time finding online resellers for these filter holders (update later).

• See the lens on: Amazon

Many people have been talking about it a lot lately and given the price and quality offered by the brand, a lot of people have been tempted. The optic has a curved front lens but its design allows the use of a circular screw filter in front of the lens (CPL / ND) of 95mm. However, if you want to use a GND filter, you will need a filter holder (just like any other optics…).

The brand offers its filter-holder system, the IFH-100, which would be compatible with two square (100x100mm) or rectangular (100x150mm) filters, the whole thing needs to be assembled with a 95mm adapter ring (supplied with the filter-holder). Note that the filter holder can be used with a circular screw filter, even if you lose a slot on it. Nevertheless, it allows the use of a CPL + ND filter. Finally, Irix also offers adapter rings (from 52mm to 95mm) to be able to use their filter holder on any lenses. All diameters are here. However, some users talk about light leakage concerns with the use of their filter holder system.

For those who don’t want to bother with a front filter system, you can also simply place small gelatin ND filters at the rear of the lens (which doesn’t cost anything), like the brand’s ones.

To my knowledge, only two other brands offer other possibilities:

• NiSi offers a filter specially adapted to the Irix 15mm f/2.4 in 150mm. So, you can look at the filters adapted to this system here.
• Lucroit also offers a special 100mm filter holder for this lens.

Concerning the filters, for this lens, Irix offers:

• GND filters (Soft, Hard and Reverse),
• ND filters (ND8 to ND3200),
• A CPL (Irix Edge Circular Polarizing Filter),
• One screw-on ND filter (Irix Edge Full-ND) 10 stops.

A short aside, but for those who are wondering, I only found NiSi which offers an adequate filter holder system (NiSi 180mm) adapted for the Irix 11mm f/4 lens. Two 180mm wide filters could be placed with a slight vignetting.

Of course, for the classic 95mm screw filters, you may very well decide to use filters of other brands. The GND filters of this brand are compatible with any classic 100mm filter holder (Lee, NiSi, Cokin, Haida and others).

See the lens in detail on: Amazon

To my knowledge, this is the only brand lens for which a special filter holder system must be used. These are the systems that can be adapted to this lens.

Notes:

• Unless I’m mistaken, the S5 filter holder from NiSi fits both the Pentax 15-30mm f/2.8 and the Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8. There is however a 150mm system of the same brand which fits on the Pentax,
• Haida offers an old system (150mm), as well as their new S6 filter holder system for this lens.
• At Lee, it is the same system as the Tamron (SW150 filter holder + Tamron adapter ring) that fits on this lens,
• At Rollei, it is also the filter holder of the Tamron that fits in with this lens,
• Apparently, there is an FH150 filter holder for this Pentax, but I haven’t found it online yet.

See the lens in detail on: Amazon

Once again, I only know this lens from Tokina, requiring the use of a special filter holder system. Here’s what I found to be compatible with:

Notes:

• Here is the installation video of the NiSi 150mm system on this lens.
• I still haven’t found out whether all these filter holders fit the newer Tokina 16-28mm Opera, except for the Lee SW150 Mk II.

This brings me to the end of this list of special filter holder systems for wide-angle DSLR lenses. Some are still missing, and I’ll add more as I find new ones. Do you know of any others that you would like me to add to this list?

Mirrorless cameras have become very popular in recent years, and more and more photographers, including professionals, are considering switching to them. I therefore decided to also bring together mirrorless lenses that require special filter holder systems, mainly because of their bulbous front element and/or fixed lens hood. As a reminder, this prevents you from using conventional screw-in filters. Let’s take a look at the lenses concerned.

• See the lens on: Amazon

Notes:

• The S6 filter holder from NiSi allows you to use two filters plus one CPL without vignetting, whereas the NiSi 150mm does not allow the use of a CPL,

• See the lens on: Amazon

Notes:

• Kase offers a dedicated system, the K170, which allows you to use a 150mm CPL filter independently from the square or rectangular filters. Note that the system must be installed on the lens before the lens is mounted on the camera.
• NiSi offers both filter holder systems for this lens: the S6, which allows you to use a CPL plus two filters, and the 150mm system, which does not allow CPL use but can hold three filters.

• See the lens on: Amazon

• See the lens on: Amazon

This is a rather special lens. Its angle of view is so wide that few classic brands have developed a filter holder system for it. I found three options that come up often:

• The PVGear system, which simply allows you to use a circular ND filter with an 86mm diameter. The system seems to vignette at 7mm, but not at 8mm.
• The Shapeways system, made with 3D printing, with a special filter holder for this lens that would allow two filters to be used without vignetting.
• The WonderPana system (145mm).

Do you know of any other systems?

• See the lens on: Amazon

Notes:

• Kase confirms that, with its K150P filter holder, up to three filters can be used without vignetting.
• NiSi confirms that there is no vignetting at 14mm with two square or rectangular filters and the CPL installed (see installation video).
• Haida offers its popular M15 system, although I am having trouble finding it online at the moment.
• Haida offers ND filters that can be placed at the rear of the lens (“rear filters”). They look very good and may, for those who prefer this option, save you from investing in a front filter system (see a video of their installation here).

• See the lens on: Amazon

Last lens for now in this very long article: the Samyang/Rokinon AF 14mm f/2.8 FE for Sony mount. This lens has also received quite a bit of attention, and so far I have only found a NiSi 150mm system that works with it. Be careful: the system mentioned below does not work with the Samyang f/2.8 ED AS IF UMC version (manual focus) for Sony.

Haida also offers its M15 system for this lens, but I have had trouble finding it from a European retailer for now.

I haven’t checked everything yet, but NiSi offers new S6 filter holders for:

1. Nikkor Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S
2. Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L
3. LAOWA FF S 15mm f/4.5 W-Dreamer

Seriously, I don’t know who had the courage to read this far! Most people interested in this type of article will probably be looking for a specific lens mentioned here. Obviously, the goal is not to read this article like a travel story or a general photography tips post.

Anyway, I have to admit that this article took me more than 10 to 15 days of research: gathering information, looking for links and references, and checking compatibility details. I sincerely hope that if you found it, it was useful and helped you in your own research.

As I said in the introduction, this article is not perfect, and you may well find inaccuracies or mistakes. Please feel free to comment so I can correct them quickly and avoid spreading wrong information.

If you already use a filter holder system with one of the lenses mentioned in this article, I would really appreciate detailed feedback on your setup and your experience. It would help confirm or clarify what I wrote here, and it would be extremely useful. For camera gear fans, I also invite you to read the article on the best Canon wide-angle lenses. Most of the lenses mentioned in that article require these special filter holder systems.

I will try to personally test several filter holder systems and share feedback; I think that would be very interesting. Finally, if you want me to add lenses that I didn’t mention here, and I know there are some, feel free to send me the references. I’m thinking in particular of the Canon EF 8-15mm f/4, Samyang 8mm f/3.5, Samyang 10mm f/2.8, Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6, Voigtlander 21mm f/1.8 ULTRON, and others. If you have information or want me to mention them and do the research, feel free to reach out!

See you soon,

Written by Sylvain PONS

I've been passionate about photography since 2010, learning as I went along. Today, I dedicate myself to guiding others in their choice of camera gear and sharing a variety of tips to improve their photography skills.

Despite our care, a mistake may have slipped into this article. If you find any, please don't hesitate to let us know so we can correct it as soon as possible and keep our information up-to-date!