Reviews
Excellent Collection of Solid and Graduated Filters
I am no professional photographer but I am interested in photography and I have been teaching myself more about the subject over the past year. Though I have a very nice camera, a Samsung NX-300 with an 18-55mm lens, I recognize that I have much to learn when it comes to using my camera effectively. I have a high interest level in photographic equipment and I was afforded the opportunity to work with this filter set. It has proven to be educational and I have thoroughly enjoyed working with this set so far.This set of filters by K&F Concept includes a total of 18 filters – nine solid color filters and nine graduated filters. There is a very wide variety of colors in this set – red, green, blue, orange and more. As an experiment I took the solid red filter, screwed it onto my lens and snapped a picture and was not surprised by what I got – red everything like I was in a photo finishing room. That’s not where this particular filter is most useful, but it was a fun experiment and it has given me some ideas for later.With the same red filter, I set my camera in black and white mode and took two exposures of the same object, one with the filter and one without. The strength of this filter became obvious – it really made the contrast on the exposure pop. Some of the other colors serve a similar purpose, but not all. The gray filter, for example, is helpful for reducing the light a bit to prevent washout, but it is not the same as a neutral density filter.The graduated filters are interesting and serve in a completely different type of role. The orange graduated filter can really make sunrise/sunset exposures much more colorful and vibrant by giving the upper portion of the exposure just a little extra nudge. Blue is useful for making the sky more vivid but it can make the sky a little unnatural too. In experimenting I used the orange graduated filter to snap an exposure of a tree – not a typical use but good for getting an exposure that can be examined. Looking at the resulting picture I was able to see the effects of the orange graduation, though it was not as dramatic as one might expect from looking at the filter directly.The filters fit my main lens very easily and I had no trouble putting them on or removing them. In the case of the graduated filters they rotate fairly smoothly and are very easy to adjust in real time. All of them are very lightweight and do not weigh down the camera.The filters come wrapped in plastic envelopes to protect them and they are packed in padded folding sleeves that serve not only to protect the lenses but also to help keep them organized. There are three sleeves in the set, each holding 6 lens filters. This is a trade-off – I would have liked to have them all in one large sleeve for convenience but a larger sleeve like that would weight more and be bulkier. This is a small quibble that is strictly a personal preference, not a fault.I really like this set of filters and it has made composing shots with my camera a lot more interesting. I am still learning how and when to use some of the filters but the learning process is fun and I am getting very interesting results. This set has a lot of color filters in it; if you want/need a wide assortment of filters for a 58mm thread lens, this is a fine set. If you need another size, there are similar sets available.Disclaimer: I was provided a sample of this product in exchange for a fair, honest and thorough review. Even though I received this product at no cost I have rated and reviewed this product without bias, based solely on my experience with it.
24.09.2015