Reviews
An excellent alternative to Tiffen's Glimmer Glass 1
So I wanted to compare these two glimmer / shimmer effect filters to see which of these two I prefer and honestly it was a very hard choice. Right out of the door, I want to mention that both filters are equally sharp so I will talk about the areas where they differ.
Overall packaging: K&F wins hands down. The design of the box looks like you bought something premium and comes with a nice plastic case. Cool thing is it has different size grooves inside so you can carry different size filters inside albeit you can only place one filter at a time. Tiffen's only comes in a ordinary plain white plastic case with logo only meant to hold one size filter.
Build Quality: This one is hard to say but if I had to pick I got to give this one to Tiffen. Their filter has more weight to it which translates into it feeling more solid / durable. This is not to say that the K&F feels cheap because it really isn't. K&F still feels solid and looks nice as well. It seems like they used an aluminum ring which is probably why it doesn't weigh as much.
Color Cast: So here is where they do differ a lot. K&F leans more to the warmer side and Tiffen seems to lean more to a cooler tone. I typically like warmer tones so I don't mind but this is all personal taste so I will not declare a winner here.
Halation: This one is a toss up as well. If you look at both filters side by side, you will notice that K&F seems to have a lot more glitter and also has a green reflection (probably from all their coatings.) This I believe translates to the filter having more of a glow to it. (it's subtle but definitely noticeable). This one also comes down to personal preference. If you prefer more glow which will also translate to having a little less contrast, then K&F is for you.
At the end of the day this is a great filter and even with the small shortcomings it has, a little editing can fix color cast and less contrast. Pricing is great for what you get and it's definitely an excellent option!
Overall packaging: K&F wins hands down. The design of the box looks like you bought something premium and comes with a nice plastic case. Cool thing is it has different size grooves inside so you can carry different size filters inside albeit you can only place one filter at a time. Tiffen's only comes in a ordinary plain white plastic case with logo only meant to hold one size filter.
Build Quality: This one is hard to say but if I had to pick I got to give this one to Tiffen. Their filter has more weight to it which translates into it feeling more solid / durable. This is not to say that the K&F feels cheap because it really isn't. K&F still feels solid and looks nice as well. It seems like they used an aluminum ring which is probably why it doesn't weigh as much.
Color Cast: So here is where they do differ a lot. K&F leans more to the warmer side and Tiffen seems to lean more to a cooler tone. I typically like warmer tones so I don't mind but this is all personal taste so I will not declare a winner here.
Halation: This one is a toss up as well. If you look at both filters side by side, you will notice that K&F seems to have a lot more glitter and also has a green reflection (probably from all their coatings.) This I believe translates to the filter having more of a glow to it. (it's subtle but definitely noticeable). This one also comes down to personal preference. If you prefer more glow which will also translate to having a little less contrast, then K&F is for you.
At the end of the day this is a great filter and even with the small shortcomings it has, a little editing can fix color cast and less contrast. Pricing is great for what you get and it's definitely an excellent option!
07/05/2023