I recently took out the K&F Concept Variable Lens ND Filter ND32-512 for a spin. I thank them again for this collaboration. If you are interested in getting the product for yourself after reading this:
Click HERE to go directly to K&F Concept.
or
Click HERE to go to K&F Concept's Amazon page.
Who are K&F Concept?
K&F Concept (short for Kent and Faith) are a one-stop refined photography solution provider. Founded in 2011, they specialise in design, research and marketing of photographic and video equipment ranging from camera tripods, lens filters, camera bags, surveillance camera and other must have accessories for your photographic needs.
What is a ND Filter?
In simple terms, a neutral density or ND filter is a filter that is placed in front of a lens to reduce the amount of light making its way to the camera. Think of the ND filter as sunglasses for your camera - although these "sunglasses" do not change the colour of the light being captured, hence the title of neutral.
The classic use of a ND filter is to reduce the shutter speed of your camera in order to create motion blur or emphasize motion in subjects such as waterfalls, clouds, water, smoke and vehicle traffic.
The ND filter also allows photographers to shoot in bright daylight conditions with wide angle apertures without the fear of overexposing.
The ND number relates to the amount of stops (the amount of light) that is being reduced to reach the sensor of the camera. The K&F Concept Variable Lens ranges from ND32 (5 stops) to ND512 (9 stops).
"A stop is a doubling or halving of the amount of light let in when taking a photo. For example, if you hear a photographer say he's going to increase his exposure by 1 stop, he simply means he's going to capture twice as much light as on the previous shot." - www.photographymad.com
Packaging
The packaging came plastic wrapped and the ND filter itself is in a plastic sleeve in a protective disc pouch. Hopefully in the future, the plastic sleeve could be replaced with a paper/biodegradable alternative.
What's in the box?
As seen above the ND filter comes in a protective disc and plastic sleeve. The outer box is also very well made and presented.
Build Quality
The ND filter is made from premium Japanese optic glass and you can really feel the solidity of it. The adjustable ring is super smooth as well.
The adjustment thread uses a CNC precision processing pattern which means the individual bumps on the thread are cut perfectly by machine, allowing super smooth hand feel whilst adjusting to which ND number/stop is ideal for your shot.
The filter is also coated on both sides with green film which helps with the reduction of glare. The coating also helps to make the filter waterproof, oil resistant and scratch resistant. The outer layer is also made from a strong slim Aluminium alloy frame.
Real World Tests
I was mega impressed with the ease of use of the ND filter. I was able to get a useable shot within two to three minutes of trying out the filter. Quite often with variable ND filters, an "x-cross shadow" can appear in your shots thus rendering your shots unusable, however, with this filter I didn't have this problem at all. See below for some with and without comparison shots.
Examples
Conclusion
Overall, I'm really impressed with the performance of the K&F Concept Variable ND filter. I have been looking for something like this for years and now I finally have the solution at a very reasonable price. I couldn't recommend it more and it will live in my camera bag for a very long time.
Links again to buy the product if you are interested:
Click HERE to go directly to K&F Concept.
or
Click HERE to go to K&F Concept's Amazon page.