Gear Preview: The Wine Country Camera Filter Holder System Has a Few Tricks Up Its Sleeve

Due to be released in the fall of 2016, Wine Country Camera’s Filter Holder System is a smartly crafted piece of equipment that is seeking to go beyond anything else currently on the market. I never realized that filter holders could be so awesome until seeing what this could do.

In the public preview video shown above, we get to see for the first time how the upcoming filter holder system will work. Designed to be as light-tight as possible, the system incorporates a few new ideas on just how to do that. Starting from the internal polarizer with a dedicated turn knob on the holder unit, to the “filter vaults” which encase the filters for side protection, better handling, and a light-tight seal, the WCC Filter Holder System looks like a promising solution for those that want better quality results. My current LEE filter holder does a fairly poor job at preventing light leaks all around, so I am really looking forward to seeing improvements in this area.

The Wine Country Camera 100mm Filter Holder System will be compatible with currently available 2mm 100x100mm and 100x150mm filters from brands such as LEE and NiSi. The 100mm Holder Kit will cost $299, additional filter vaults cost $35, adapter rings cost $25, and the circular polarizers cost $149. All the details can be found on their website. You can follow Wine Country Camera on Facebook to stay up to date on the new filter system.

Ryan Mense's picture

Ryan Mense is a wildlife cameraperson specializing in birds. Alongside gear reviews and news, Ryan heads selection for the Fstoppers Photo of the Day.

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14 Comments

Looks heavy and bulky (going to be a pain to travel with), too many parts, gonna be overpriced and seems to target the wannabe rather the real professional...

i disagree. it is the best solution to preserve the filters and avoid the light from coming in. i'm a fan!

Exactely! In addition brilliant tech for sliding and securing filters.

It doesn't look any more bulky than any other filer system on the market. You can't put a Lee system in your back pocket either. Going to be expensive, yes. Frankly, I would rather have durable plastic over wood if that saved cost. As for wannabe vs pro, what is a 'real pro' filter holder and why is it better than this?

From the Facebook post it seems the kit price is going to be around $300. (comes out around November) My concern is that it's made to only use their circular polarizer.

This solution looks awesome! I cannot wait!!!

This looks incredible, I hope they're able to sell it for a reasonable price. I don't use my filter system all that often, but when I do this would negate all my complaints about what I don't like about my current one (except that step up/down rings sometimes don't fit my lenses well, but that not the filter systems fault)

Is this any better? Looks less heavy... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p95uq9PWK_I

That looks decent too. My biggest issue with ND filters is getting them on and off without messing up your zoom, focus, or composition. In lower light, you can't see shit with an ND on. The WC kit looks to make this easy, the one you linked looks decent too, but it looks like you need more force to get it on. There is risk of something going wrong.

Yes. Firecrest solution is a really good one! And also the filters are top notch quality. Love it! Only problem sometimes is stock - especially if you want their "signature edition kits".

It looks quite thick. By building space for a polarizer at the back, I wonder how it functions with wide angle lenses. I'm guessing not well with anything wider than 20mm or so?

The Nisi system has an exclusive patented design that allows the Circular Polarizer filter to rotate independently via a cog on the 82mm main adapter ring without disturbing other filters in use, and the holder is made of aluminium light and rugged as this is patented may be interesting devlopments.
Note also the filters are better than anything I have used before, no colour casts , made from high quality optical glass just don't drop them
http://www.philnortonphotography.co.uk/_photo_14472690.html

One thing all manufacturers already learned: never have any bright color objects around the lens. It is not just "design" that all other holders are pure black... so I am really worried about that bright holder. Might produce light bouncing or reflections.

I like the polarizer mounting and the filter adjustment smoothness but I would be worried about cost and weight. I am a big fan of the progrey holder. Very lightweight, has excellent system for polarizer. Only complaint is that filter holders can be tight. For travel I would think progress is more efficient.