It is no secret that many landscape photographers, including myself, heavily rely on filters for field work. As I pointed out in my Landscape Photography Guide and Lens Filters Explained article, filters can be very helpful for, among other things, capturing more dynamic range in difficult lighting conditions, decreasing reflections and haze, enhancing colors and slowing down the shutter speed. I have been using a number of different filters and filter systems ever since I started photographing landscapes (more filter holder system reviews coming up soon), so when I found out that Hitech came out with a new filter system this year, I decided to give it a try.
Actually, there are two main reasons why I decided to get the Hitech Filter System with a bunch of new filters. First, my Lee Filters were getting really old. Second, it was very inconvenient to use a polarizing filter together with other filters on the Lee system – I had to mount a CPL on my lens first, rotate it to a needed degree, then mount the Lee filter holder on the filter carefully without rotating the filter. This was just too time consuming for me and it would often result in a lot of vignetting when going a little wider. Lee does make an accessory ring for the filter holder to accommodate a 105mm filter, but I tried it before and it was too painful to use in the field with other filters. Since I was planning on looking at a whole new set of filters anyway, the Hitech filter system seemed like a good solution to the problem.
Table of Contents
1) Product Information and Specifications
Product Highlights:
- Allows Creation of Multiple Filter Slots
- Plain/Spring Spacers for 4″-Wide Filters
- Uses Same Rings as MK4 Nylon Holder
- Accepts 105mm Adapter Ring
- Comes Assembled with Three Slots
- Can Be Modified for 4mm-Thick Filters
- Constructed from Durable Aluminum
Product Information:
The Hitech 100mm Aluminum Modular Filter Holder is a system that will permit you to use numerous filters depending on your needs in order to create the shot you envision. It comes fully assembled but can be modified to accommodate the filters you require at any moment. It removes the traditional limitation of only three filters per holder by the use of the included plain and spring spacers. Using these included spacers, you can alter the configuration to accept filters as thick as 4mm.
This holder is constructed from durable, rigid aluminum for increased stability while still remaining lightweight. Additionally, this holder uses the same optional 105mm front accessory rings as the nylon MK4 holder, allowing for greater versatility between both systems.
The included filter spacers permit you to use filters ranging from 4 x 4″, 4 x 5.65″, and 4 x 6″ for the greatest amount of flexibility. You are also able to easily modify the number of filter slots with your holder; once you decide upon the number of desired slots, included brass nuts can be used to secure everything in place. Additional spacers and screws are also available to further expand the system.
- One of the slots can be modified to hold a 4mm-thick filter by inserting plain spacers.
- Additional spring and plain spacers can be used to further configure the filter holder to accommodate multiple filters.
- Comes fully assembled for general use.
- Utilizes same optional 105mm front accessory adapter rings as MK4 nylon holder for system compatibility.
2) Packaging, Assembly and Use
As described above, the Hitech 100mm Modular Filter Holder comes fully assembled in a nice box, with additional screws for different configurations, plus a two page manual. Here are the screws with the manual that are stored in a separate plastic bag:
While it is nice to have options for different configurations, I never go back and disassemble/reassemble filter holders, because it is too impractical. Imagine trying to adjust a filter holder with tiny screws in the middle of nowhere in often cold temperatures. That just doesn’t work. Since I only use a filter holder to stack multiple filters (I hand-hold single filters), I left it as it was, fully assembled and ready to use.
The very first thing I wanted to try, was to mount the 105mm Hitech polarizing filter on the holder. So I took the Hitech 105mm Threaded Ring and mounted it on the filter holder. The next task was to mount the filter on the ring.
After a few unsuccessful tries to get the polarizing filter to attach to the threaded ring, I realized that the threads on the ring were very poorly manufactured. Why would anyone want to use plastic threads on a filter holder? I ended up pushing the filter hard on the ring and then rotating it, which I thought ended up locking it in place. As soon as I turned the filter holder sideways, the 105mm filter fell off. Gladly, I was trying this at home, so the filter did not get damaged. But I could not imagine trying to do this in the field. I was finally able to secure the filter on the holder after a number of tries and I made sure to tighten it enough, so that it does not easily come off. While trying to remove it for cleaning would be painful, I just did not want to deal with the mounting business (or potentially dropping it somewhere) every time I needed to use it. Here is how the filter holder looks with the 105mm polarizing filter attached:
Next, I tested how the filter holder would work with an ND filter attached. The good news is, mounting and removing filters is a painless process and the brackets do not seem to damage filter sides like the ones on the Lee Filter Holder. I was able to easily mount multiple filters and it worked out quite good:
The final task was to get the 77mm ring attached to the filter holder. While the ring itself is nice, the way Hitech designed the mount is terrible. The filter falls into the hole and you use a knob on the side of the filter to secure it. Well, sounds like it should work painlessly, but there are two problems with this approach. First, aside from the single knob, there is nothing to secure the adapter. Second, the knob itself does not come out enough to be able to secure it. At first, I thought I was doing something wrong, but then I realized that this was another design/manufacturing problem. Again, the adapter fell right off as soon as I turned the filter holder sideways. To secure it, I had to over-rotate the knob and have it come out a little more to actually touch the ring. I don’t know who came up with this approach, but it is a really bad design. Imagine yourself standing on top of a cliff, thinking that your filter holder is securely tightened and then it just falls off and there goes your filter holder with all filters attached to it! I would not want to lose $500+ in an instant like this.
The Lee Filter Holder System, in comparison, has a much better design. The adapter is secured from one side with hard aluminum teeth that are part of the filter holder and the other side is secured with a spring knob. Once it is attached, it does not easily come off as the one on the Hitech filter holder.
What about vignetting? With the filter holder fully assembled with 3 slots + polarizing filter, the filter holder causes some serious vignetting issues at anything wider than 50mm. Take a look at the below shot taken at 28mm:
Yikes, not a pretty sight. I would not recommend having all three slots with the polarizing adapter in place at the same time. I ended up reducing mine to 2 filters and vignetting was reduced a bit. Here is another example at 40mm and you can still see vignetting around the edges:
3) Sample Images
Here are some sample images shot with the Hitech 100mm Modular Filter Holder:
This first image was shot with the Nikon D800E and the Nikon 28-300mm VR. Even at 40mm, I had to crop out the borders to get rid of vignetting. Filters used: Hitech 105mm Circular Polarizer (to reduce haze and bring out the clouds) and Hitech 2 stop GND filter (to bring down the exposure of the sky).
While photographing the above, I took a picture of the setup using my iPhone:
You can see both the GND filter and the CPL mounted on the Hitech Filter Holder.
Here is another sample image:
The image was also captured with the D800, but with the Nikon 18-300mm DX lens at 26mm in DX cropped mode (for the upcoming lens review). Also had to crop the corners a little. Filter used: Hitech 105mm Circular Polarizer.
4) Summary
As outlined in this review, the Hitech 100mm Modular Filter Holder has a couple of design issues that need to be addressed. While the filter holder itself is good, the adapter that mounts the holder to the lens needs a redesign with something that tightly holds it in place. Another problem is the plastic threaded ring that holds the 105mm polarizing filter. Hitech needs to come up with a metal ring instead of a plastic one and make sure that the threads are the same both on the filter and on the ring. It should not be this painful to mount a filter. In my opinion, it is unacceptable to sell a product with such bad design flaws. Yes, there are workarounds to both issues, as I pointed out in my review, but why should I be the one thinking about them?
Looks like I am still going to have to rely on my good old Lee Filter Holder that I have been using for years.
5) Pricing and Where to Buy
The Hitech 100mm Modular Filter Holder is available for $83.25 at B&H, although I do not recommend purchasing it, not until a fixed version comes out. If you need a better system that works, go with the Lee Filter Holder or the Cokin Z Pro Filter Holder Systems.
Hitech 100mm Modular Filter Holder
- Features
- Build Quality
- Handling
- Value
- Size and Weight
- Packaging and Manual
Photography Life Overall Rating
Sir
About a year ago, I bought a number of 100mm* 100mm neutral density filters with Format and Hitechs modular filter holder. The iters are excellent and were purchased with a mount for a 77mm lens.
the ring pushes into the filter holder and then screws onto the lens. Dead simple. Works a treat.
The problem I have is that the purchase was made as part of a planned upgrade and I now have a lens with an 82mm filter thread. I don’ see a mount of this diameter on your website. Do you sell such a thing? it’d be a pity to lose such a good set of filters due to one small part not bein available.
Thank you.
Peter
Hi just one point – the polariser fits so closely ( & turns – obviously ) such that it is very difficult to detach from the adapting ring ( virtually impossible on a cold day ) & fits so closely that one has to buy two adapter / mounts ( £20 more ) to be able to mount filters with or without the polariser !!!! Which means that you can’t leave the adapter on the lens when out & about ( significant in damp or colder weather – where dexterity is reduced & convenience needs to be optimum )
Also – it’s also virtually impossible to then transfer the polariser to the adapter for a larger lens so one has to consider more adapters & filter holders for each lens / another polarising insert & extra adapting mount ( £ 200 )
The surface of the filters also scratches very easily & there needs to be some clear marking on the filter holder sleeve to identify – viewing from the front – the side that goes to the wheel for rotating the the polariser ( for convenience. )
On cold days the vents – that need to be removed / replaced according to the filters being used – become very brittle & are extremely fiddly with cold hands !!!
The system – in theory – is quite good – but the vents are extremely fiddly & its adaptability is extremely limited & becomes expensive !!!!
Just in case someone finds this article & comments when searching for reviews of the different 100mm filter holder systems available…
I had decided for the Hitech system after some of the more positive reviews I had read.
Hear some things that I believe are worth sharing
(I use a Nikon DX camera with a 12-24mm which I mainly use for landscape photography)
– I really like the build quality of the holder and it’s fit onto the adapter ring.
– The polarizer ring from Formatt Hitech is now made of aluminium – but it is really quite thick. The better option here is the Lucroit polarizer ring (also sold by Formatt Hitech) which, also made of aluminium, is only around 2mm thick. Similar to the Lee polarizer ring, but with the ability to attach it to the Formatt Hitech holder.
– what I did not like too much and caused a bit of DIY is that the first slot is straight on the holder. I did not even want to risk sliding a glass or resin filter across the aluminium holder plate… so I purchased a 10mm wide and 0.5mm thick strip of black plastic on eBay, cut it to size to have a bottom layer for the filter to sit on.
With that – wide angle adapter ring, filter guides to hold two filters, lucroit polarizer ring and a 5.5mm high polarizer – I get NO vignetting at 14mm (21mm full frame) and very little vignetting at 12mm (18mm full frame).
A slimmer polarizer would probably solve the vignetting even at 12mm (18mm FF) – or saning down the filter guides a bit as they leave ample space even with 2mm thick filters.
Hi !
Thanks for this great article and the amazing sample photos.
Perhaps you can answer my question :
Is it possible to use the Lee filter holder with the Formatt Hitech adapter rings ? It’s very hard to get those adapters (especially the wide angle versions) here in Germany.
Thanks a lot !
Carsten
Hi Carsten – amazon.de is probably your best bet (at around 41 EUR – which would be about GBP 31.60 – compared to the GBP 44.25 if you were in the UK and bought from Formatt Hitech directly… is not a bad price)
Sorry misread the question: NO Lee and Hitech use completely different adapter rings…
However, also for Lee adapter rings (wide angle) the answer that you can get them on Amazon.de is still correct – they are of course more expensive…
Thank you for the detailed report. While I would agree with the mounting problems of the polarizer and the vignetting problems below about 24 mm on Canon full format, I don’t find mounting of the filter holder with the screw problematic. Actually, my holder sits tight in place and securing with the screw does not seem too difficult. In addition, the company is just replacing the nylon ring with a metal one which may become an improvement of the system.
Paul
I know this response is almost a year later… but anyway:
See also the comment I left further below – get the Lucroit Polarizer Ring instead of the Formatt Hitech one – esp if you are concerned about vignetting!!
The Locroit ring is designed to also be used with the Hitech holder – is a bit more expensive, but as the Lee polarizer ring only 2mm thick (and also made of aluminium) – the Hitech polarizer ring is a good 6mm thick…
The filter holder called Novignett will eliminate all vignetting. Check out photo.net and search “per johannessen”. Look at the pictures and read the description. “freephotoguides” has this on their forums under Gear Talk.
Considering I have to tokina 11-16 DX lens what would be ideal filter system for long exposure shots ? Will it vignette all through 11-16mm range with either of cokin z pro/hitech/lee filter system ?
Hi,
will the Hitech Pol holder attatch on the front of the LEE system?
Got the Lee but their Pol solution is double the price…
Honestly I only partly agree with the review.
Build quality of the polarizer adapter is pretty poor but that’s it.
With the 77 mm Wide Angle adapter, using the 16-35 lens I can stack three filters at 16mm without any vignetting or 2 filters and a slim polarizer.
I wonder if in your kit there was a standard 77mm adapter instead of the wide angle one.
I find also the nut really practical if compared to the lee holder spring.
Once set there is no practical way of detaching the mount without unscrewing it.
In fact filters quality and mount quality from Hitech are really comparable to lee ones with an affordable price and delivery time.
David, yes, my kit was a standard one…I will have to check the wide angle version now, I didn’t know it existed. As for the nut, mine was poorly made and I literally had to force it in. I never had such problems with Lee filter holders. And why would they use plastic threads? That part I just don’t get…
I totally agree on the crappy plastic thread of the polarizer mount.
However my nut as Stephane’s one does the job flawlessy.
I recently bought a Hitech filter holder, the same as reviewed here. It appears that Hitech have listened to some complaints because the brass screw that holds the holder to the adapter is much longer in my version. It’s at least half a centimeter longer if not more and can be made to stick onto the holder considerably.
I cannot comment on whether any improvements (if any) were done to the 105mm threaded adapter since I did not purchase this part.
Stephane, that’s good news! I will have to obtain a newer version and update this review sometime.