FREEWELL Magnetic Quick Swap System 67mm Neutral Density ND64 (6 f-stops) Camera Filter

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I did not encounter the dreaded “X” pattern with these filters. Unfortunately, I did find that many of my wide angle images had dramatically different light across the frame, usually manifesting as a dark bar from the top center to the bottom center of the frame. See the examples below. Contrary to regular polarizers, the CPL has no moving parts. It rotates simply by moving on the adapter. This does generate a small friction noise. If you’re anything like me, numb hands are dumb hands and they can’t accomplish anything useful. Especially not threading on and off a filter in reasonable time. This magnetic filter system by Freewell has a serious advantage in this case. What Comes With The Freewell Magnetic Filter System? The main area where magnets are gaining grounds is in the realm of third-party filters. Freewell has been supplying such products for a while, and Kenko / Hoya has recently begun offering their Instant Action magnetic filters (not yet in the US, however). Both companies offer a full lineup, with circular polarizers (CPL), neutral density (ND) filters, protective filters and even variable neutral density (VND) options. In some cases, they also offer adapters to use existing filters with their system, or magnetic lens caps.

In colder temps and time restricting locations, being able to just pull off a filter and slap another one on saves a ton of time. It would save your numb hands from trying to thread on and off filters, like you’ve had to do in the past. Overall the benefits of this magnetic system greatly outweigh my concerns of reliability which in my testing hasn't been an issue. Image Quality Feel free to ask me specific questions I might not have covered throughout this review or simply let me know what you thought. As always thanks for watching, reading, or both.I was expecting similar performance here with the Freewell filters, but I’m happy to report that they actually do a significantly better, as long as you don’t pay attention to the numbers on the edge of the filters too much. J. Matthew Gore Beach #3 on the Washington Coast, Freewell 2-5 Stop VND The Freewell Magnetic VND system is available in 58, 62, 67, 72, 77, 82 and 95mm diameters and comes with all of the following components: Conclusion: Here, the Freewell VND filters are no worse than the very expensive PolarPro and less expensive Moment, but none of them give acceptable results. If I had just flown to Iceland with these filters and discovered results like these on my memory card at the end of my day, I’d be pissed off. Non-magnetized, threaded lenses, however, are not compatible. This is because neither the magnetic filters nor the base ring offer outward facing threads. Color accuracy and sharpness The Freewell 10 Stop Magnetic ND Filter I discovered to have more of a green colour cast: Freewell Magnetic 10 Stop

Remove the base ring filter, and there’s now one pane of polarized glass (which is effectively a circular polarizer is). As explained earlier, both the 2-5 stop VND and 6-9 stop VND may be used as circular polarizers when flipped over (and the base ring filter is removed). Circular polarizers improve clarity, increase saturation, and bring highlights under control. They are frequently used in landscape photography to remove reflections and punch-up color and clarity, though they can of course be used when shooting video as well for a similar effect. Simply put, I loved my time with the magnetic Nano filters from K&F Concept. Their optical quality is excellent, indeed better than some of the competition. The craftsmanship is also superb, with no complaints. Lastly, I zoomed into 200% on the images taken at f8 with my 70-200mm lens to show potential sharpness loss. Such detail likely won't come through after jpeg compression and resizing for this article but trust me when I say I see no loss in sharpness or detail in the image, which is great.Generally, a consistent color cast will disappear when you apply auto-white balance in camera or color correction in post. However, color casts may change the relationships between true white and colors similar to the cast and reduce contrast between them. Take this into consideration when shooting. J. Matthew Gore Conclusion and Recommendations The K2 filter system consists of screw-on base filter holder rings, that you only have to screw onto your lens once, afterwards, the filters snap on magnetically. The system includes the K2 Island Slot, a gradient tool integrated for slide-in effect filters like gradient, glow mist, snow mist, and streak. The effect filters slide in from the top and can be rotated in any direction. Magnetic Filter System K2 – Source: Freewell True Color VND When I tested the PolarPro and Moment VND filters in the past, I found that neither of them were perfectly accurate in terms of their f-stop designations. Both filter brands promised 3 full f-stops (EVs) worth of density, but only provided 2 1/3rd stops. Thus far in my experience, I have not had any issues with the filters falling off in standard use. That can be walking on a trail with my camera above my shoulder, moving with my camera in hand filming a shot, or even running around a bit. The filters are quite secure because they are machined well to fit within the ring that's attached to the lens. Thus not only are the magnets holding the filter in but the friction caused by the precision of the manufacturer helps keep them secure. They are also light so it would require a large impact for them to detach. I haven't been able to get them to come off in the field or in testing. Quality neutral density filters darken photos and videos without affecting color. A filter with high color accuracy contributes less color cast, which translates into less work in post fixing what the filter added.

Consequently, we’ll need to judge this filter set on two aspects: the functionality of its magnetic attachment system, and the quality of its VND filters (and filters in general). What Do You Get? J. Matthew GoreSimilarly, looking at the 6-9 stop filter, the “6” position on the ring gives me a little less than 6 stops (5 2/3rds) but turning a bit beyond six gives me six stops, then a bit beyond the 7 and 8 positions give me 7 and 8 stops of density, and then the 9 position gives me exactly 9. So, again, I’m getting 3 and 1/3rd stops of range… just not exactly where I’d expect it. Matthew Gore | Light And Matter This diagram shows the tested ranges of the Moment and Freewell VND filters, with the Freewell filters covering larger ranges than promised. Resolution