I've been thinking about the simple
Maxi CPL solution I posted 9 days ago based on
@Harsh's concept of using the supplied Maxi lens cap and the 24mm CPL from a mini-0906. I really liked the way it looked, almost like it could be a factory supplied accessory if it were refined a bit more. So, of course, I was bummed that it turned out to cause vignetting depending on the chosen resolution one is shooting at.
So, as I thought about this during the week I realized there was a simple elegant way to make this work, that places the 24mm CPL very close to the front element of the lens, thus completely eliminating vignetting in ALL resolutions and with the fringe benefit of a design that looks far more professional and compact. Now, it even looks like something that could come from the factory. It has a nice cohesiveness and integrity as if it were meant to look like this beyond just being a lens cap with a CPL pressed onto it.
This new approach requires
no glue as it makes for a snug but still adjustable friction fit of the CPL on the lens cap and of the lens cap on the lens bezel itself. The approach could not be more simple. I started with a fresh Maxi replacement lens cap and carefully cut out the top with an X-acto knife and then, like last time, I cleaned it up with a Dremel tool. This time I did NOT remove the raised lip inside the cap. This is important. The lip provides extra holding power when the cap is installed on the lens. Instead of installing the lens cap in the normal way I pressed it onto the lens backwards so that the end that was cut out is facing towards the camera and the back of the lens cap is facing forward. When pressing the lens cap onto the lens the trick here is to push it ALL that way until the back of the cap (now facing the front) is exactly level with the front of the lens bezel. The cap will be a very tight fit on the lens because it is slightly tapered in front and you are now pushing the tapered end on backwards and the wider portion of the cap (now forward) will make for a tighter, more secure fit for the CPL. The one important caution here is to be careful when installing the tightly fitting backwards lens cap onto the lens because if you twist it carelessly you risk throwing the lens out of focus. Finally, all you need to do is press the CPL onto the front of the lens cap and make the required adjustment. The fit of the CPL is fairly tight just from friction and will stay in place quite well once set.
EDIT: I decided to add this photo below to this post to better illustrate what I was talking about in the previous paragraph regarding the tapered Maxi lens cap. Reversing the lens cap when installing it on the Maxi B lens is critical for this DIY project to work because only the wider rear of the tapered cap will be the correct size for a snug fit with the mini-0906 24mm CPL.
When you install the lens cap this way, as you can see and compare in the photos below, you now have the lens cap completely covering the gap between the front lens bezel and the rear lens bezel. You now have a wide 24mm CPL very close to (but not touching) the 20mm front lens element with a nicer, cleaner, more compact design and there is zero vignetting at any Maxi resolution setting including 4K.
BTW, if anyone is wondering, those strange protrusions on the bottom of the camera are the nubs of some 3M Dual Lock tape I've applied to my Maxi.
1920 x 1080
2704 x 1524 (2.7K)