46mm graduated neutral density filters

[james_symington1]

<p>Hello all,<br>

I am loathe to use my enormous set of Lee NDs on a small rangefinder and am wondering if they exist in screw-in format in 46mm thread. I have a nice 2 stop one in 58mm from B+W but they don't make them for 46mm, at least not anymore.<br>

Does anybody know if any reputable filter manufacturer currently make them in this relatively small size?<br>

Many thanks,<br>

James</p>

[sumo_kun]

<p>Won't a screw in ND grad be relatively useless? You could buy a step down ring and use the B+W that you have now.</p>

[colin_elliott]

<p>I would suggest the Lee filters made for rangefinders (RF75 range) </p>

 

[james_symington1]

<p>Hi Chuk,<br>

Much to my surprise after years of believing that screw-in grads were too inflexible to be useful I tried that screw in on my SLRs on a recent trip and found it to be fine almost all the time for general shooting. It was only when I was doing more exacting work in the early hours or at dusk that it became a liability.<br>

My concern with using a step-down ring is that I imagine the darkest part of the filter will be effectively cut off on a smaller lens. But it would certainly be an inexpensive experiment so thanks for the suggestion.</p>

<p>Hi Colin,<br>

That Lee kit looks great although it would be with a heavy heart that I would start down the route of amassing extra paraphenalia. I will check it out though. Many thanks for that.</p>

[james_symington1]

<p>Unsurprisingly for Lee, the cost of an RF75 holder, adaptor ring and a 2 stop grad is just north of GBP 160. Ugh.</p>

[carsten_ranke]

<p>I made an extensive search for my M9 and Elmarit 28 Asph., and found no 39 mm filter. A 49 > 39 mm step-down ring and the 49 mm B+W 2 stop grad ND works fine for me now, darkens the upper third with a nice soft gradient. The 49 mm B+W should work with 46 mm, also.<br>

BTW, I have some custom made screw - in filters: sold my Canon gear and made use of my Singh-Ray Galen Rowell 2stop soft grad ND (84 x 120 mm), with help of my optician. He cut out a wedge-type 52 mm disc, from the soft transition, and mounted it into a cheapo slim 52 mm UV filter. Sits on my CV15/4.5 II all the time, sometimes on my Nokton 1.5/50, super soft transition from one pole to the other. With my hard-grad ND 3 stop Singh Ray I made two 39 mm filters, the same way. One for upper third, one for lower third. 5 € for the optician, and three cheap UV filters investment. Works fine for me, not so flexible as the LEE RF75 but small !</p>

[james_symington1]

<p>Thank you Carsten. I will look into it.</p>

[derek_au1]

<p>Hi James,<br>

I'm in the same boat as you. I found a 46mm ND Grad filter on eBay. Its sold by a photographic store in Hong Kong and is really inexpensive. The brand is "Green L" which I've never heard of. I'm about to order mine after I finish writing this. Don't know about the quality, however, they state it is made from optical glass (at least it isn't a plastic filter). Do an eBay search on "46mm graduated filter" and you will find them!</p>