Hi all,
Bought this product recently from an Ebay seller and thought I would share my impressions. The version I purchased included a 77mm adapter ring.
I keep my lenses at the 82mm filter size or less generally, and have used the plastic Cokin P holders for many years to keep my hands free working the controls. I have a handful of filters, mostly Singh-Ray, which fit the system; most of my filters are the geared variety, not the rectangular shape. I recently bought the Zomei holder looking for a better (particularly stiffer) filter holder. It runs about $20 including shipping.
I opened the box on arrival and began inspecting the Zomei filter holder's construction. The main frame is metal, with the holder brackets made of plastic layers held on screw spindles. The main unit seems solid. I undid the screws on one side to see if I could shorten the stack of holders to make the holder more compact, and this was easily accomplished. I returned the holder to its shipped configuration just as easily.
I screwed the enclosed 77mm adapter ring onto a lens, then looked to attach the main holder. The main frame is not open on one side like a true Cokin holder. After studying it further I realized that one frame piece swings away when the back screw holding it is loosened, and this allows the main frame to slip over the adapter ring. Advantage is a firmer mount once the screw is in place, but the disadvantage is handling a fiddly, tiny (and losable) screw in the field. The screws seemed prone to turning easily and possibly getting lost; the shipping package included two spares, but I wondered if that was enough even for someone like me that is careful with gear.
I pulled out some filters to fit into the holder. The first was a rectangular 4-stop ND. I had some trouble sliding it in. A closer look revealed that the holder is just a tad too wide to hold the filter well. In fact, none of my rectangular filters were held properly. Then I realized there was no base slot to insert a geared Cokin style filter at all! Phhhht!
Things got worse! I pulled out some Cokin P adapter rings and saw they were significantly smaller than the adapters for the Zomei holder and cannot work with it.
I contacted the seller on Ebay and got him to agree to a return for refund. Seemed like a nice fellow (probably not affiliated with the manufacturer).
My take on this product is don't waste your money. Basically it is a poorly designed unit intended for Cokin P that doesn't work with any Cokin P equipment. I wanted a better filter holder without changing systems as I have money tied up in my current filters and I am happy with the smaller size and smaller cost. Now I may consider something like the Lee filter system which seems to be popular with folks on here.
But at least I can make my waste of time into your gain: if you were thinking about buying this you now know it may not work with your gear!
Bought this product recently from an Ebay seller and thought I would share my impressions. The version I purchased included a 77mm adapter ring.
I keep my lenses at the 82mm filter size or less generally, and have used the plastic Cokin P holders for many years to keep my hands free working the controls. I have a handful of filters, mostly Singh-Ray, which fit the system; most of my filters are the geared variety, not the rectangular shape. I recently bought the Zomei holder looking for a better (particularly stiffer) filter holder. It runs about $20 including shipping.
I opened the box on arrival and began inspecting the Zomei filter holder's construction. The main frame is metal, with the holder brackets made of plastic layers held on screw spindles. The main unit seems solid. I undid the screws on one side to see if I could shorten the stack of holders to make the holder more compact, and this was easily accomplished. I returned the holder to its shipped configuration just as easily.
I screwed the enclosed 77mm adapter ring onto a lens, then looked to attach the main holder. The main frame is not open on one side like a true Cokin holder. After studying it further I realized that one frame piece swings away when the back screw holding it is loosened, and this allows the main frame to slip over the adapter ring. Advantage is a firmer mount once the screw is in place, but the disadvantage is handling a fiddly, tiny (and losable) screw in the field. The screws seemed prone to turning easily and possibly getting lost; the shipping package included two spares, but I wondered if that was enough even for someone like me that is careful with gear.
I pulled out some filters to fit into the holder. The first was a rectangular 4-stop ND. I had some trouble sliding it in. A closer look revealed that the holder is just a tad too wide to hold the filter well. In fact, none of my rectangular filters were held properly. Then I realized there was no base slot to insert a geared Cokin style filter at all! Phhhht!
Things got worse! I pulled out some Cokin P adapter rings and saw they were significantly smaller than the adapters for the Zomei holder and cannot work with it.
I contacted the seller on Ebay and got him to agree to a return for refund. Seemed like a nice fellow (probably not affiliated with the manufacturer).
My take on this product is don't waste your money. Basically it is a poorly designed unit intended for Cokin P that doesn't work with any Cokin P equipment. I wanted a better filter holder without changing systems as I have money tied up in my current filters and I am happy with the smaller size and smaller cost. Now I may consider something like the Lee filter system which seems to be popular with folks on here.
But at least I can make my waste of time into your gain: if you were thinking about buying this you now know it may not work with your gear!
