Sometimes, screw-in lens filters can become stuck on a lens. It might be screwed on too tightly, it might be reacting to temperature changes, or salt spray or grit might be jammed in the filter thread.
And because the filters are so thin, there’s often not much opportunity to get a good grip with your bare hands. Especially if your hands are cold or wet (or both), which is common in landscape and travel photography. And making things worse: when you squeeze with your hands to get a grip, you can ever-so-slightly deform the filter to a slight oval, which makes it bind even more.
You usually don’t want to use brute force methods like a vice, pliers, or multigrips. At best, they risk damaging the filter. Just as likely is to damage the lens rim or end up with broken glass. And you don’t want to add any lubricant, because that’s going to wreak havoc with the optics and the lens mechanism.
So what do you do? Well, the good news is that there are several easy things to try.
The Mousepad or Shoe Sole Technique
Before you reach for a wrench, try this trick often used by camera repair technicians. It’s an evolution of what used to be known as the jar opener technique (back when people commonly had jar opener pads in their kitchens).
- Place a rubber mousepad (or the rubber sole of a sneaker) flat on a table.
- Take the lens off the camera.
- Place the lens face-down so the filter rests flat against the rubber surface.
- Apply gentle downward pressure and twist the barrel of the lens.
Why this works: Unlike using your fingers, which squeeze the filter into an oval shape and bind the threads, this applies friction evenly across the entire face of the filter ring. It often breaks the seal immediately.
Yes, but: This method works best on single-element filters. That is, it isn’t effective for circular polarizers and variable ND filters. That’s because in those multipart filters, the front element rotates independently of the part that’s attached to the lens, so all you end up doing is spinning in circles without loosening anything.
The Rubber Band Trick
Two quick options are to use a clean cloth to try to get a better grip. I find that a rubber band wrapped around the filter works even better. There’s no particular magic to which rubber bands to use, although I’ve used these ones for years and find them a good combination of the right size for many lenses and offering a firm grip that lays flat on the surface without twisting.
Dishwasher Gloves
Another suggestion that readers have had is to use dishwashing gloves. You’ll obviously want ones that don’t have any detergent residue still on them which would make them slippery.
This doesn’t really solve the binding issue if you squeeze, but being able to get a firm grip is a step in the right direction.
When All Else Fails: Filter Wrenches to the Rescue
If you find yourself putting filters on and off a lot, you can also get inexpensive filter wrenches that make for a good solution.
They’re pretty simple: they’re just slightly springy to make it easy to get a firm grip around the outside of the filter. You just slip the wrench around the filter, and you’ll then have both grip and leverage. You can get something similar in kitchen utensils for jars — the main difference with the filter ones is that they have a very narrow area that comes into contact with the filter, so you can get good purchase on just a single filter rather than a broader contact that makes it difficult because you’re trying to turn both the filter and part of the lens.
Filter wrenches also have the benefit of reducing the risk of getting fingerprints on the filter or lens’s front element. They’re especially useful when your hands are cold or wet. If you’re only carrying one or two for the most common filter sizes you’re using, then the wrenches are light and hardly take up any space in your camera bag. You can also get inexpensive sets to cover pretty much any lens diameter you’re likely to have in your kit.
Things Worth Knowing About Lens Filter Wrenches
They come in different sizes. Each one covers a small range of lens diameters. For example, one might cover filter sizes of 67mm to 72mm or 58mm to 62mm. But you don’t necessarily need a perfect fit for every size. So if you have one that’s close to the right size, it’s worth giving it a try. You’re after grip, and the wrenches are designed to wrap around.
In general, you don’t want to use them to attach a filter. That’s to reduce the risk of over-tightening. Filters should be finger-tight. If you do them too tight, you risk damaging the brass, aluminum, or plastic threads on either the lens or the filter (or both).
On most lenses, as you’re looking down the barrel of the lens, you’ll turn the filter counter-clockwise to loosen and clockwise to tighten.
Where to Find Them
Any good photography gear retailer should carry them. You don’t need fancy or expensive. I quite like this multi-wrench pack that offers good value.
Prevention
So far, I’ve been focusing on the cure. But ideally, you’d want to prevent the problem from happening in the first place. That’s not always possible, but there are some best-practice techniques that will help.
Upgrade from Aluminum to Brass
The rings of cheaper filters are often made of aluminum. Because aluminum is a soft metal, it is prone to “galling,” which is a type of wear where the threads almost micro-weld themselves to the lens.
Higher-end filters (like B+W or high-end Heliopan) often use Brass mounts. Brass is a harder, naturally lubricated metal that is far less likely to bind or cross-thread.
Yes, they’ll be more expensive. But in another positive, you’re not just getting brass rings — you’re usually getting better optics as well because it’s usually only high-end filters that use brass.
The Back-Threading Trick
There’s a simple habit you can use to help avoid putting the filter on crooked and creating a cross-threading problem.
- Place the filter on the lens.
- Turn it counter-clockwise (lefty-loosey) first.
- Wait until you feel a distinct “click” as the threads align.
- Then turn it clockwise to tighten. This ensures the threads are perfectly seated.
Lens Filter Size Charts
I’ve compiled some lens filter size charts, starting with some of the most commonly used and current lenses. You can find the corresponding chart here:
- Canon lens filter sizes chart
- Nikon lens filter sizes chart
- Sony lens filter sizes chart
- Fujifilm / Fujinon lens filter sizes chart
- Olympus / OM System lens filter sizes chart
- Pentax lens filter sizes chart
- Sigma lens filter sizes chart
- Tamron lens filter sizes chart
And you can also use step-up and step-down filters if you don’t have the exact size filter on hand.
I use either a rubber lid gripper my wife keeps in the kitchen or a flat, soft piece of wood. The rubber lid gripper is just a sheet of rubber that lets you get a better grip and they work really well and can usually be found at your local market in the kitchen gadget section. The wood has to be soft. Most pine is OK but redwood is even better and walnut works in a pinch (don’t ask me how I know…). The filters with the raised notched rims can be shoved onto the wood and the lens turned to remove the filter. This takes a little practice and a fairly heavy hand but it works. As long as the wood surface is soft enough to allow you to embed the filter ridges into it, this should work.
Great tips–thanks!
Hi David, I’m just buying my first filters and have just realised they could get stuck. I’m wondering if washing up gloves will work too. I’ll have a dummy run with them.
Yes, they should work just fine. So long as you can get extra grip without damaging or ring/thread or marking or damaging the glass.