Camera lens filters sometimes end up coming loose because of one issue or another. If you’re one of those photographers who refuse to use lens filters, then you’re missing out on a whole creative process that makes you inherently human. But if you’re like the entire staff of the Phoblographer and you adore lens filters, then you’re in luck. Recently, one of my lens filters had the glass become loose. And so I learned how to fix a loose lens filter. Here’s what I learned.
Originally, my idea was going to be to use some hot glue around the edge of the lens filter’s internal to keep it in place. That surely could’ve worked, but it also would’ve been a whole lot of extra work. Then I looked up some tutorials on how to fix it and that’s where I found some really fascinating stuff out.
Apparently, lens filters are made with two rings: one on the front and one on the back. And essentially, that means that one of the rings has become loose. So all you need to do is carefully use your fingers and twist the loose ring. Most likely, it’s the ring on the back of the lens filter. When you do that, you’ll see how much tighter the loose lens filter becomes. No more loose glass!
Trust me when I say that this is a massive relief. Sometimes I use Pro Mist filters on my lenses, and when I walk around, I’d hear it rattle around. So I’d always be afraid that it would fall out. But just by looking into how to fix it, I saved myself a lot of money.
In the photography world, we’re such a group of folks that think that we have to sit here and spend lots of money on repairs over and over again until we can’t afford to do what we want. But that’s really just capitalism that’s taking advantage of us. If you just educare yourself and learn how to fix things all by yourself, you wont’ have much of an issue.
Obviously, this all should be done within reason. I wouldn’t do surgery on my camera’s sensor.
Also, this may be more difficult to do with a lens filter that is designed to spin like a circular polarizer or something like that. Some folks recommend using silicone mats — but I’m aware that those aren’t just left around. However, every photographer should have actual microfiber cloths laying around and can use those and some finger pressure to spin the inner disc in place. Of course, the most important thing here is patience. Every now and again, shake the filter around and you’ll see that you’ll either be getting it back into place or not.
Ensuring that the glass stays clean after that, however, is a major pain in the ass. And you’ll have to be careful not to put too much pressure on them or else you’ll move the holder ring out of place again.