i'm sure this has happened to everyone at least once...

[tehsa_lleighnore]

i was shooting something in a hurry and screwed on one filter on top of another.

3 filters in all and in my hurry to shoot it before it was gone, i think i

screwed the 2 filters together wrong. i was able to remove them together from

the 3rd filter closest to the lens but now i can't seem to unstick them. i even

tried my friend who is in theatre tech try to pry them loose with a trick she

uses for light filters but no luck. any tips? thus ends the not so bright girl

with an equipment mishap.

[rnt]

Sometimes it's a matter of applying gentle, even force so as not to distort the filter ring. There are filter 'wrenches' made that do this... for a comprehensive discussion go to:

 

http://www.earthboundlight.com/phototips/filter-stuck-on-lens.html

 

-B

[Matthew Currie]

Try sticking the pair of filters in your freezer for a while. Latex gloves might also help with your ability to grip them.

[graham_line]

Press them between two mouse pads/silicon rubber pads on a flat surface and try twisting them apart. The freezer trick usually works.

[pvp]

Find 2 rubber bands that you can place around the circumference of each of the stuck filters. Grip the filters lightly with your thumbs and fingertips only on the rubberbands. Unscrew. The filters will unscrew as if they were never stuck.

[crabseye]

Lie them flat on a rubber surface.

 

Apply fingertips to top one to unscrew. Don't squeeze the threaded area.

[tehsa_lleighnore]

i tried sticking it in the freezer for 5 minutes and nothing's happening. how long to do it?

[akajohndoe]

Lay them flat on a sheet of rubber or a placemat or such and try to unscrew the top one using only your fingertips on the outside (top) edge. The pressure on the outsides of the rings distorts the "roundness" and the "evenness" of the filters and actually makes them tighten.

 

I have a pair of filter wrenches that are essentially heavy rubber bands with handles for truly recalcitrant filters.

[Matthew Currie]

For any effect from freezing, you need to leave them in long enough really to reach freezing temperatures (and hopefully to contract somewhat in the process).

[alex_lofquist]

If nothing else works, try moistening a cotton swab with WD-40 and apply it between the filters. If one of the filters is a polarizer, be very careful to not allow any of the solution to get into the rotating rings.

[akajohndoe]

Here is a snapshot of those filter wrenches I wrote of earlier. The only markings on the are presumably the company name, NEWLINE. they are fairly large, each is substantial in my hand.<div></div>

[akajohndoe]

I have no clear recollection of where I might have obtained these tools; however, searching the internet for "Strap Wrench" might find something similar.

[tehsa_lleighnore]

i'm about ready to give up on this so called freezer trick because i stuck my filters in there for an hour and nothing. even turned the temperature up at highest. when i pulled it out, it was stuck to the freezer shelf but they still didn't get unstuck.