55mm Black Mist 1/4 and ND2-ND32 (1-5 Stop) Variable ND Lens Filter 2 in 1 with 28 Multi-Layer Coatings - Nano-Xcelcel Series
SKU: KF01.1810
This ND filter has a nice build and feel to it. I especially like the adjustment grip - it makes adjusting super easy to do. It feels durable. The leathertte case is a nice tough.
It moves smoothly and gradually. The screw mount is solid and performs as expected.
The 1/4 Diffusion seems a bit heavy. It is a very pronounced effect. It's not bad by any means, but heavier that I expected. It gives everything a soft glow - almost like you were doing an Orton effect. You don't end up with tack sharp images (expected for this type of look). I probably wouldn't do portraits with this, but would enjoy it with landcapes or video work.
The color seemed a bit warm with an ever so slight green tint. For a $100 filter, it is completely acceptable. The edges have a slight vignette, but again, it is expected for a variable ND filter. There isn't an X pattern, which was a nice suprise.
Overall, this is a specialized tool. If you're looking for an ND filter with diffusion, this is a safe choice.
It moves smoothly and gradually. The screw mount is solid and performs as expected.
The 1/4 Diffusion seems a bit heavy. It is a very pronounced effect. It's not bad by any means, but heavier that I expected. It gives everything a soft glow - almost like you were doing an Orton effect. You don't end up with tack sharp images (expected for this type of look). I probably wouldn't do portraits with this, but would enjoy it with landcapes or video work.
The color seemed a bit warm with an ever so slight green tint. For a $100 filter, it is completely acceptable. The edges have a slight vignette, but again, it is expected for a variable ND filter. There isn't an X pattern, which was a nice suprise.
Overall, this is a specialized tool. If you're looking for an ND filter with diffusion, this is a safe choice.
13/04/2023
This thing works like magic. I honestly don't totally understand how it works, which is always fun. But it does indeed work. This ND filter can go from ND 2 all the way up to ND 32. This means you get a full 5 stops of ND, which can really come in handy if you (like me) shoot a lot outdoors in the daylight.
It also has a "black diffusion" effect that is at a 1/4 strength. This gives everything a touch of softness and diffuses the light nicely. This little addition makes the filter uber specific and might not be for everyone, especially if you're just looking for an ND filter. But I love the added touch of softness I get.
It comes with a beautiful leather carrying case, which will get more use than any other filter case I own. Mostly because this filter isn't the kind that will live on my lens 24/7 like a protective UV filter. I love knowing that the filter is safe in its leather case when it's not in use.
It also has a "black diffusion" effect that is at a 1/4 strength. This gives everything a touch of softness and diffuses the light nicely. This little addition makes the filter uber specific and might not be for everyone, especially if you're just looking for an ND filter. But I love the added touch of softness I get.
It comes with a beautiful leather carrying case, which will get more use than any other filter case I own. Mostly because this filter isn't the kind that will live on my lens 24/7 like a protective UV filter. I love knowing that the filter is safe in its leather case when it's not in use.
02/04/2023
I tested out the 82mm version of the Black Diffusion filter with a Canon 24-70 2.8L lens. The filter fit properly and works smoothly with its well-designed adjustment lever. The filter is quite close to neutral in terms of color alteration, and A/B photos of a bright red car in the sun showed no color shifting at all. I often like HDR shots with the sun in the frame, and this is where the filter proves its worth. Some experimentation suggests that this will be wonderful for photos that include large oceanscapes or other bodies of water, particularly on a bright sunny day. The filter comes with a nice case and is easily cleaned with a microfiber cloth if you get a fingerprint on it.
02/04/2023
This filter is well made and high quality. I love the fact that it combines a variable ND with a black diffusion filter. This way I don't have to stack filter which helps avoid vignetting at wide angles. This is perfect for filmmakers since it includes ND2 to ND32.
it would be nice if it could have gone to ND64 just to cover the most used values and allow the most flexibility without having to stop down the lens.
it would be nice if it could have gone to ND64 just to cover the most used values and allow the most flexibility without having to stop down the lens.
22/03/2023
Excellent buy for my camera. I must recommend this. Easy to assemble, easy in use and great enhancement to your photography. With this, I got excellent landscape picture with balanced brightness and clear details of sky & clouds. ND filter adds advantage over waterfall pictures. love it !
20/03/2023
The filter comes in a plastic carrying casing with high quality foam to protect it. The filter is a tight fit in the case so you can be sure once stored it wont move around or get damaged during transit.
The filter itself feels to be of good built quality with metal frame holding the glass in place. I like the lever to adjust the stops, the action is smooth and will not move on its own. I would have preferred if K&F included a lens cap just in case, I wanted to leave the filter on the camera.
Considering the price, the image quality is comparable to high end products. I found the image quality to be excellent as I did not notice any chromatic aberration, loss of definition or the dreaded X from graduated filter.
You can see some product and some test images I did at home to test the product. I hope you found this useful, if so, please vote positive below
The filter itself feels to be of good built quality with metal frame holding the glass in place. I like the lever to adjust the stops, the action is smooth and will not move on its own. I would have preferred if K&F included a lens cap just in case, I wanted to leave the filter on the camera.
Considering the price, the image quality is comparable to high end products. I found the image quality to be excellent as I did not notice any chromatic aberration, loss of definition or the dreaded X from graduated filter.
You can see some product and some test images I did at home to test the product. I hope you found this useful, if so, please vote positive below
13/03/2023
I was actually looking for a plain ND2-32 filter but this one sounded interesting so I gave it a try. Basically the diffusion effect softens the image a bit giving it a more dreamy look. It avoids the "you can count every pore/hair" look that can be kind of harsh when you use a high resolution digital camera. I was kind of hoping the black diffusion would be a separate filter stacked on top of the ND, but it's not. So if you want ND without diffusion you will have to buy a different ND filter to get it.
The machining of the filter is very well done and the filter itself is very thin. I think this is their main reason for combining diffusion with ND, to keep it very thin compared to stacked filters, avoiding vignetting.
As long as you are wanting that dreamy black diffusion look, this filter works great. The level of ND is easy to adjust and doesn't seem to modify the image other than making it darker. No weird color shifts or patterns appear as you rotate it. The high level of ND is great when you want to shoot with longer exposures to get an image blur effect, or to shoot with wide-open F-stop to get shallow depth of field.
The whole thing comes in K&F's fanciest case, leather with a magnet closure. It is a bit more bulky than their plastic cases but looks nice and is much easier to lift the filter out of.
Overall recommended, just make sure you want the black diffusion effect as it's built into this filter. If you don't, K&F have other ND filters without it.
The machining of the filter is very well done and the filter itself is very thin. I think this is their main reason for combining diffusion with ND, to keep it very thin compared to stacked filters, avoiding vignetting.
As long as you are wanting that dreamy black diffusion look, this filter works great. The level of ND is easy to adjust and doesn't seem to modify the image other than making it darker. No weird color shifts or patterns appear as you rotate it. The high level of ND is great when you want to shoot with longer exposures to get an image blur effect, or to shoot with wide-open F-stop to get shallow depth of field.
The whole thing comes in K&F's fanciest case, leather with a magnet closure. It is a bit more bulky than their plastic cases but looks nice and is much easier to lift the filter out of.
Overall recommended, just make sure you want the black diffusion effect as it's built into this filter. If you don't, K&F have other ND filters without it.
11/03/2023
I've been collecting various K&F filters for my camera and I have been thoroughly impressed with the quality. K&F has been coming out with some fantastic products (such as their neat magnetic snap-on filter system) and this new combination ND filter and black diffusion filter is no exception. Build quality is excellent. The knurled metal rings are finely machined and the variable ND ring turns smoothly, with hard stops at either end to let you know when you've reached the limits. There's a pretty nice storage pouch included too.
This is probably not the kind of filter you would want to shoot with all the time; it's a filter combination with a pretty specific use case. However, for those times when you want a diffusion effect and need a variable ND to quickly maintain a certain f-stop when shooting, this is a very handy 2-in-1 filter to have on your camera.
I'm happy to have this in my filter collection and would definitely recommend it if you sometimes like to shoot with a subtle diffusion effect. The price-to-quality ratio is excellent and I would gladly buy more from this brand.
This is probably not the kind of filter you would want to shoot with all the time; it's a filter combination with a pretty specific use case. However, for those times when you want a diffusion effect and need a variable ND to quickly maintain a certain f-stop when shooting, this is a very handy 2-in-1 filter to have on your camera.
I'm happy to have this in my filter collection and would definitely recommend it if you sometimes like to shoot with a subtle diffusion effect. The price-to-quality ratio is excellent and I would gladly buy more from this brand.
28/02/2023
K&F Concept is really stepping up their filter game and this one is awesome. This review is for the K&F concept 82 mm black diffusion 1/4 effect with variable ND2-ND32 2-in-1 filter. For this filter, K&F stepped up its packaging, utilizing a magnetic lid box and a magnetic leather pouch. The filter itself is stored in a clear plastic bag, which unfortunately uses an adhesive folding closure (just be careful when removing/inserting the lens to not let the band of adhesive touch the filter). Still, the overall package is much nicer than the plastic snap box with foam cutout, but I can't say if it's more practical or "better" as I feel it provides less protection than the hard plastic snap box. Anyways, on to the filter itself.
The filter looks and feels great. It has a solid metal construction with a premium feel to it. The inner stationary ring has two large areas of knurling and the outer movable ring is fully knurled. One section of the outer ring has an orange metal tab sticking out for easy turning. This particular filter has hard stops built into it for the minimum and the maximum. I am unable to appreciate much or any X effect on my 18-35 mm lens (not that the X effect is typically a significant issue at these lower stop levels from 1-5 anyways). I really like the built-in hard stops though because it lets me know when I'm at the minimum and the maximum and I can make more efficient adjustments instead of just blindly rotating well past each end and going all the way around. The variable ND portion works well, but how's the black diffusion? I'll be honest, it's my first time using a black diffusion filter, but the effects were definitely noticeable between having it vs not having it. It provides that soft cinematic feel and tones down the highlights and contrast. I can't believe I've never used one until now.
The K&F Concept 82 mm black diffusion 1/4 effect with variable ND2-ND32 2-in-1 filter provides premium functionality at a budget price point, especially when compared to the bigger brands. At that point, you're paying extra hundreds of dollars for minor gains in optical performance. If you need the absolute best because it's your profession, then just move on and pay the big dollars. But if you're looking to test the waters or need a strong working filter without breaking the bank, then K&F has the glass you need.
The filter looks and feels great. It has a solid metal construction with a premium feel to it. The inner stationary ring has two large areas of knurling and the outer movable ring is fully knurled. One section of the outer ring has an orange metal tab sticking out for easy turning. This particular filter has hard stops built into it for the minimum and the maximum. I am unable to appreciate much or any X effect on my 18-35 mm lens (not that the X effect is typically a significant issue at these lower stop levels from 1-5 anyways). I really like the built-in hard stops though because it lets me know when I'm at the minimum and the maximum and I can make more efficient adjustments instead of just blindly rotating well past each end and going all the way around. The variable ND portion works well, but how's the black diffusion? I'll be honest, it's my first time using a black diffusion filter, but the effects were definitely noticeable between having it vs not having it. It provides that soft cinematic feel and tones down the highlights and contrast. I can't believe I've never used one until now.
The K&F Concept 82 mm black diffusion 1/4 effect with variable ND2-ND32 2-in-1 filter provides premium functionality at a budget price point, especially when compared to the bigger brands. At that point, you're paying extra hundreds of dollars for minor gains in optical performance. If you need the absolute best because it's your profession, then just move on and pay the big dollars. But if you're looking to test the waters or need a strong working filter without breaking the bank, then K&F has the glass you need.
17/02/2023
Excellent investment in filters, I am ordering again these 1/8 and 1/4 black diffusion filters but without the ND because in low light it takes away a little exposure, this filter is designed for outdoors without losing 1/4 of black diffusion, or indoors with a very controlled environment.
26/01/2023