On Thu, 12 Aug 2004 16:43:56 -0500, Jon Elson wrote:
Ernie Leimkuhler wrote:
In article rs.com,
Jon Elson wrote:
I took the autodark filter module apart and there is a dichroic filter
that looks very reddish-purple in reflection, and very green in
transmission. (It has a piece of clear glass next to it that I'm
assuming is an IR or UV blocking filter.) SO, the question is, can
I swap out this green filter for something closer to neutral density
in color? The LCD unit seems to be a pretty good ND (colorless)
filter by itself.

DO NOT DO THIS.
That lens may suck, but it can't be harmful or they couldn't sell it in
the US.

I have absolutely no intention of just taking the filter OUT, or putting some random
piece of material in there. I was wondering if there were filters of this type
available in different color shades, etc. The auto-dark component of the filter
seems to work fine, and is a pretty neutral color. I just want to get a more
neutral color to the safety lens, and it seems that $450 is a bit high just to get
this one piece replaced. I know you can get standard welding filters in a
variety of shades to fit welding hoods of the non-automatic type. Or, at least,
you USED to be able to buy them.

The problem is that the dichroic filter in your lens is designed to
*complement* the spectral characteristics of your LCD. If you use
a different filter, it may not properly complement the LCD, and
you could be exposed to harmful levels of UV.

It would *probably* work, but you can't *know* without laboratory
style measurements. Your eyes are too important to depend on
"probably".

Gary