# Zomei Aluminium Metal Square Filter Holder for Cokin P



## scottburgess (Feb 18, 2017)

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!


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## Deleted member 91053 (Feb 18, 2017)

When I saw the title I was going to ask you if they made a larger version. Having read your full post I think I will stay with my £10 plastic cheapie - not perfect but at least it works!


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## scottburgess (Feb 19, 2017)

johnf3f said:


> When I saw the title I was going to ask you if they made a larger version. Having read your full post I think I will stay with my £10 plastic cheapie - not perfect but at least it works!



I too am using the $10 cheapie... it works okay, but a couple of the filters are looking a tad warped and I would like to hold them a little straighter.

To answer your question: yes, they do make a Cokin Z-Pro holder. I have no idea about that one as I haven't tried it.


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## slclick (Feb 19, 2017)

scottburgess said:


> johnf3f said:
> 
> 
> > When I saw the title I was going to ask you if they made a larger version. Having read your full post I think I will stay with my £10 plastic cheapie - not perfect but at least it works!
> ...



I have the Z by Zomei and it works without any issues. I saw no need to buy a more expensive holder that did nothing more. My money needs to go into better, no color cast filters.


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## scottburgess (Feb 19, 2017)

slclick said:


> I have the Z by Zomei and it works without any issues. I saw no need to buy a more expensive holder that did nothing more. My money needs to go into better, no color cast filters.



Thanks, Slclick. Does the Cokin-Z have cross-compatibility with the Cokin Z Pro holder--for example, do the Cokin thread adapters work with it? And does it hold the round filters, or only the rectangular ones?

Looking further I see that NiSi has an all-aluminum holder advertised on Amazon which holds round filters and has the easy-release post built in. A brand called SIOTI has something similar. If anyone can comment usefully about either I would appreciate the input.

Likewise, I have no direct experience with the Lee system equipment and would like to hear from folks about the build quality of the holders and other system components.


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## slclick (Feb 19, 2017)

scottburgess said:


> slclick said:
> 
> 
> > I have the Z by Zomei and it works without any issues. I saw no need to buy a more expensive holder that did nothing more. My money needs to go into better, no color cast filters.
> ...



Mine came with all sorts of XXmm thread adapters which have double threads (for round filters I assume and yes, the main holder is for square /rectangular only. Either 100x100 or 4 x 6, something like that.


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## Deleted member 91053 (Feb 19, 2017)

Interesting, thanks for the info I will have a look see!


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