Kase ND filters
Today I will be talking about the kase wolverine magnetic circular filters, I’ve also uploaded a video review to youtube and you will find that linked at the bottom of this post.
Firstly I would say these filters are specifically designed for ease of use. They just make using filters easy and this is really what brought them to my attention in the first place.
You attach an adaptor ring to your lenses which will bring all of your threads to the correct size to receive the filters.
They come in three sizes,
77mm, 82mm and 95mm.
Each size having an entry or professional kit. I believe the only difference between the entry and professional kits is that the professional kits have a 10 stop filter included where the entry is just the 3 stop, 6 stop and a polarizer.
I use the 77mm set for my fuji set-up
Once the adaptor ring is secured to your lens, you can now easily attach the magnetic filters.
I've found the magnets to be strong enough and I've never had one drop off.
The filters are also stackable, meaning you can attach a polarizer and an ND filter at the same time.
When you are not using the filters you can attach the magnetic lens cap to the adaptor ring meaning that there's no need to remove the adapter ring when out in the field.
My professional 77mm set includes a circular polarizer, a three-stop, a six-stop and a ten stop ND filters.
The Nd filters are also stackable should you need more than a ten stop reduction in light.
The kit comes with a 77mm lens adapter, but if you need more or different sizes, you can buy them individually from the kase website. This means you can attach an adapter ring to every lens that you use making swapping filters quick and easy.
The set comes in a handy leather pouch that's nice and compact. The set of 4 filters, polarizer and pouch comes in at only 140 grams which is great for anyone who needs to keep the weight down in their pack.
Kase Filters build quality
The build quality of this set is really nice, they feel tough and according to the kase website, they are scratch-resistant and repel water and dust.
They’re made from toughened optical glass too so they should be fairly durable. I did drop an nd filter on a gravel path during my last photography trip and it didn't leave a single mark, so from my experience, I can tell you that they are definitely tough.
The filters feel slim and tactile, I love the knurled edges and the lens cap is felt-lined and solid in construction. The pouch is leather, padded and well made too.
so overall the build quality is absolutely on point from a product in this price range.
Kase filters circular polarizer
So we have established that these filters are great in terms of ease of use and build quality but how do they perform. Are they colour neutral, do they vignette and how is image quality
First, let’s talk about colour casts as this is always one of the first things I look for in a filter.
So you will notice in my test shots when you download them that the colour does shift ever so slightly as we move up to the 10 stop filter, just a touch more towards magenta but in my opinion, it’s so negligible that it isn’t anything to worry about and certainly wouldn’t stop me from picking a setup, even when the filters are stacked they still perform amicably
1st shot = no filters. 2nd shot = 10 stop ND filter
There is very little, if any vignetting, with 1 or 2 filters attached, even when I’m at 10mm on my fuji 10-24.
We do start to see vignetting creeping in though, when we attach 3 filters when at 10mm we can also see the filters in the edge, but by increasing the focal length up to 12mm it drastically improves it.
In my experience and certainly, for the work I do, I don’t think I would ever have the need for attaching 3 filters but it’s something to bear in mind if you do shoot really long exposures with a very wide lens. If this is how you like to shoot, my advice would be to go for a larger diameter set, but for me I prefer the smallest size possible as they take up less space in my bag.
The polarizer works really well and is probably the most effective I have ever used especially when used correctly at 90 degrees to the light source. It cuts through glare and really saturates the image. Perfect for my woodland images.. this shot was from last weeks video and you can clearly see the difference between the 2 images, the first being polarized the second without.
In terms of image quality I’ve seen nothing that concerns me and I feel completely confident in stacking the filters. Obviously having the filters attached means no lens hood unless yours can accommodate filters like this and although the filters have an anti-reflective coating you will need to shield the sun with your hand or something if you are shooting towards the light, but that's commonplace with any filter of this type if you are looking to minimize lens flare and reflections.
kase filters wolverine
It's really difficult for me to pick out many negatives with this set of filters but to make the review fair here's a few minor points.
These filters are obviously not of the graduated variety, so if you are looking for filters that will reduce exposure in certain areas of your image, then I would suggest looking at a modular system. For seascapes, graduated filters are very handy but for the majority of my photography I’m usually in the mountains or woodland, so graduated filters become not as useable and for this reason, I am preferring these at the moment. If I need to increase my dynamic range a simple bracketed exposure will often give great results if post-processing is used correctly.
Another point I should mention is that the lens caps are a little pricey, but they completely solve a problem and for that reason, I believe they are worth the money and would advise ordering one for every lens that you take out on a photography trip.
I would like to see a belt loop on the back of the pouch so I could attach it to my belt, that way it wouldn’t be flapping about and I could leave it attached when walking. It’s slim enough to sit underneath a t-shirt and not be noticed, so that would be a nice addition.
You may see a very slight shift to magenta when using the Nd's. For me though, it's so negligible that I've only once had to adjust this in post production with an adjustment brush and white balance correction.
Aside from those few minor points and I am being picky for the sake of a fair review there’s really nothing bad to say about these and I will continue to enjoy using them going forward.
Kase filters for photography
I think these filters are for photographers and filmmakers that are looking for a compact weight-saving professional filter system that’s easy to use. I have been using these filters for both my photography and filmmaking exclusively over the past 5 months, virtually all of my YouTube videos during this time will have had one of these ND filters on the lens allowing me to keep my aperture wide and shutter at the correct speed. If you fancy taking a look at some of those videos, I will link to a couple in the description.
Backlighting your landscape photos can be a great way of producing interesting and dynamic photography.