jim_wilson4

I have been battling a 77mm B+W polarizer for about 3 days. I screwed the filter on my

70-200 2.8 Canon lens and for some reason it decided to saty there. No conventional

tricks would work. I tried cold, hot, rubber jar lid removing pads, freezing it, even liquid

wrend drops judiciously applied around the threaded ring. The fact that it is a polarizer

and rotated around the inner ring made it all the dicier. Finally in desperation I wnt to my

local Lowe's store, carried the lens in to the tool department and found the largest set of

channel locks on the rack. Making sure that the grooved jaws gently gripped the inner ring

and did not touch the actual filter ring, all it took was a gentle rotation of the wrench and

my filter was free. No damage to either component. I guess it was all about leverage

because the was no sign of cross threading or debris in the threads. This is my first such

experience in 26 years as a commercial shooter, but I think I'm going to put a tiny bit of

anti-sieze on all my polarizer threads.

Hope this saves someone three days of frustration!

Sincerely,

Jim Wilson

Dear Fellow Shooters,

Wow! Thank you for all the time y'all put into my question. What a great group of people! I'm so glad I stumbled on to this forum, hope I can contribute something in the future. Each one of you made really salient points. You guys who said it's all about the wood and how you feel about what you're shooting with, really pulled me over. Unless there is something really frustrating about a wood view camera, like ending up with shots that have soft sections or something, I know I would bond better with a beautiful wood view. It might be sentimental but I have this mental image of one of my grandchildren taking Papa's old wood 4x5 out and finding out he or she has "the gene". What I wouldn't give to have had a legacy like that.

Anyway, thanks guys! I look forward to communicating on a regular basis with you all. My living is made in commercial work, quite a bit of architecture and advertising. While I enjoy shooting for all my clients, aviation and landscapes are my real passion. Feel free to drop by www.Jimwilsonphotography.com .

Regards,

Jim

Dear Fellow Shooters,

I am a 25 year pro based in Dallas. My large format work is all done

on a Sinar P2. As you well knwo that limits landscape work to

something that can be shot within 10 feet of the car! I've been

thinking about a field camera (4x5) for awhile and have a question.

My heart tells me I'd love a cherrywood Wista that my grandchildren

could cherish with the images their Grandfather created on it. My

professional photographer instinct tells me a Toyo 45 with a rotating

back would be much more durable, relaible and precise over the years.

The cherrywood beauty would soon lose it's appeal if my images

weren't sharp due to warpage or any imprecise adjustments the brass

hardware might be subject to.

I'm sure there are a number of you guys that wrestled with this

quandry and made decisions both ways. I'd appreciate your insights.

Regards,

Jim Wilson