Protecting the Canon WD-H43 Wide Angle Lens

DIY WD-H43 Filter Adapter with UV Filter and White Balance Cap

The WD-H43 has no filter ring and uses a strange cap size. As it is there is little to protect the nice high definition lens from stray projectiles, sea spray, leaves, and twigs. I like to shoot outdoors romping merrily through grass, twigs and branches while grown men with toy guns lob tiny plastic pellets at upwards of 280fps. Needless to say I was worried for my lens.

So I asked around but found no easy answers to solutions. Someone did point me to a CAVision lens clamp to adapt 75mm lens, the WD-H43 is 74.5mm which is close enough, to 77mm which I ordered from my favorite camera store. That was late September 2007. It's been on backorder since then and delivery won't happen until middle of 2008 if all goes well. Naturally I was frustrated in not being able use the lens with the great abandon I prefer. I tried a few ideas to hold a filter including using rubber plumbing parts. Finally I've come up with an interim solution that works.


A failed experiment

I use a spare lens cap for the WD-H43 and then cut out a hole for the lens. I glued a 77mm filter ring on to it then mounted my choice of 77mm filter. In this case I chose a low profile 77mm UV multicoated filter like those used in DSLRs. I did some experiments on how deep a stack I could use without the rings showing in the footage and the most it might do ('m guessing) is two. It would be three if I kept the glass on the glued on ring but I didn't. I shot test video which will be posted at a later date. Update: The LCD doesn't show the overscan area so it appears that more than 1 ring on the stack would be visible in the footage. Not one wanting to crop good video out, I put the filter glass back on.

For now here's some pictures to give you an idea of what it looks like.


DIY WD-H43 Filter Adapter with UV Filter without the White Balance Cap

DIY WD-H43 Filter Adapter with UV Filter only

DIY WD-H43 Filter Adapter with UV Filter and White Balance Cap

The Right Way to Remove Glass from a Filter

I was ready to go destroy the glass on this sacrificial 58mm filter. Then looking at it I wondered how they go it in there in the first place. It certainly wasn't using glue.



There is a retaining ring that holds the glass to the filter. On either side is a tab. The tabs are where you apply pressure and turn the ring counter clockwise. This unscrews the retainer. To remove it I used the art foam-screw driver technique. Placing the filter on the foam prevents skidding. I then use one of my little fingers to press the ring down on the foam to lock it in place. With a set of flat head precision screw drivers I rotate the ring counter-clockwise. This unlocks the ring and allows me to use one screw driver from then on.





If you don't want to do those contortions, find yourself a pair of circlip pliers that can go to the proper diameter. McMaster-Carr calls them retaining clip pliers. There is also a spanner version which are locking. They have two teeth like a protractor that will hold the tabs as you spin it. Speaking of which, a drawing compass may be easier to find.