The Wine Country Camera Filter Holder System is… Huge.

This is one aspect I was not expecting. at. all. The Wine Country Camera Filter Holder System is designed to fit lens filter threads up to 95mm. This is compared to the 82mm maximum of most other systems, like the Formatt-Hitech Firecrest 100mm holder photographed side by side.

The reason for this is simple: WCC uses filter frames that surround the glass filter that engages with the rails, as opposed to most other 100mm filter systems where the rails engage the filters directly. Ultimately, this gives the WCC system over 1cm more in diameter, and thus more filter area, for lenses to use. An additional benefit is the ability to use wider angle lenses, especially on smaller APS-C or Micro 4/3 systems, when used with WCC’s original holder adapters, as opposed to using step-up rings with a single, larger adapter. The physical reason for this is from the larger overall aperture through which the lens sees through the holder plus the reduction of the holder’s profile by putting it closer to the front element of the lens.

Before ordering, I was not expecting the WCC holder to be so large. While it’s size will impact my current filter packing solutions, the benefits outweigh those complications and I will simply be forced to adapt, buying whatever I need to transport the system safely while hiking. At least WCC thoughtfully included a formed, hard shell case for the holder. The included filter pouch leaves much to be desired, though. Sadly, I’m unable to pack the holder with the filters together in the Mindshift Filter Hive like I’ve been doing previously with the Formatt-Hitech system.

Or, there’s the option to keep both holders and use each as the situation dictates.