141 Adapter 77mm to 72mm Step-Up Ring (700141)

Let’s cut to the chase….was it worth the extra money to pay for the Heliopan v’s the many other cheap options…..for me, yes.I have a Lee 100mm filter system that I have built over over several years from my DSLR days and it is quite a large investment. I sold my DSLR gear last year to join the mirrorless Fuji band & their lens filter sizes are typically a fair bit smaller as their lenses are physically smaller. So, I could sell the Lee system & then buy into their 75mm system or, I could buy adapter rings to match the Fuji lenses to the standard 72mm Lee filter holder adapter ring I have. This decision was made even easier as I recently invested in a Singh-Ray Vari-ND filter that I can use with my Fuji lenses. I bought the 77mm Singh-Ray filter size as that is likely to be the biggest filter thread size on any Fuji lens still likely to come out. So, the Heliopan adapter ring now fits on the Singh-Ray filter, bringing it to a 72 mm fitting & then I have adapter rings that bring my Fuji lenses all up to 72mm & I can still use my Lee filters at 72mm as well. So, back to the value question….it seems very much worth it to me to spend the extra $30-$40 for this Heliopan ring due to the precision machining, the brass materials & hardened anodised matt (non-reflecting) finish, as I don’t have to worry about a cheaper aluminium ring binding onto a $300 filter & ruining it. Or, having a cheaper ring bind onto a $1,000 lens. This seems very much like a false economy to me. I live in Dubai, where the dust & extreme weather conditions make adapter ring binding a real problem. I have seen other photographers here suffer this fate & now, they have switched to brass & precision engineering, having lost hundreds of dollars in lens repairs. Although a seemingly innocuous item, this step down ring is worth every cent. I’ve used it from the Dubai desert heat to the freezing rain in Norway & not had one problem.