Cokin Z-Pro and Graduated Filters

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Hi folks, and first post for me.

I just received a Cokin Z-Pro filter holder and a couple of graduated ND filters. I'm puzzled.

For wide angle use, the holder can be mounted in reverse. Okay, no problem. Then the ND filter can be fitted into the holder, BUT you can't slide it all the way through.

There are little buttons on the holder that appear to be stops of some sort. The filter goes down until it hits one of these buttons, and that's it. No positioning freedom.

You can slide the buttons back and forth, out of the way in one direction (for one surface of the holder), but not in the other. With the filter holder mounted in reverse, these buttons interfere with the sliding of the graduated ND filters.

In fact these sliding buttons are a problem for the spots closest to the adapter ring on both sides of the holder. There is no problem in slots number 2 and 3, away from the adapter ring... but that's no good for the widest angle work.

I'd like to just remove these buttons, but they are captive in the holder.

So what gives??

Thanks...
 
I think the Z-pro system is fully costumisable and you might just need a spacer to solve your problem. Have a look here.
 
Yeah, I've read all the Cokin stuff. They don't talk about these little buttons that stick out from the main member of the Z-Pro holder.

You can see the buttons on the diagram on the Cokin page. There is one at the top. It sticks into the shorter side on my holder, and can't be set flush to allow a graduated filter to be slid up and down on that short side, where you'd use it with a wide angle lens.

There are two buttons at the bottom of the holder, one on either side of the vertical axis. They stick into the path of the closest filter on the wider side of the holder, and can't be set flush to allow a graduated filter to be slid up and down in that closest slot.

No matter how you rearrange the filter holders and spacers, either one or two buttons will always extend into the path of the filter closest to the main holder member.

These button seem to be there for the circular filters to rest on, but they interfere with the long filters, like the graduated ones.

You can sort of bend things to make the filter slide over the button, but then it rubs against the filter in a rough way that would certainly scratch the "organic glass" over time.

Is this a defect that they are correcting via a redesign, or what? I see that a lot of suppliers are out of stock of Z-Pro kits.

Thanks....
 
Maybe the first slot is not meant to be used with the longer filters but only with the polariser?!??
 
Okay, I've got this one solved.

The slot on the narrow side is called "A." The 3 slots on the wide side are called "B" "C" and "D."

For wide angle work, you can mount the adapter ring into slot "B" and then use slot "A" for the filter. The problem is that what Cokin calls the "sliding tabs" get in the way of a long filter like a graduated ND.

There is ONE sentence in the big Z-Pro brochure, and in parentheses in that ONE sentence there is the solution. It says, "you must return the sliding tab to the upwards position" and states that it is easy to do with a ball point pen tip.

Well, I say not so easy. It is do-able, and I've done it. However, you feel like you are going to break off the sliding tab in the process.

Anyway, I've reversed the one sliding tab. I can now mount the filter holder in the reverse position, use a long filter, and the sliding tabs do not get in the way. Problem solved.

BTW, the sliding tabs are there to support either the adapter ring, locking it in place, or a circular filter like a polarizer. It's not the best solution, IMHO.
 

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