77mm Black Mist 1/4 + ND2-400 Variable ND Filter with Double-sided 28-layer Anti-reflection Green Film and Lever Nano-Xcel Series

SKU: KF01.2023

  • 177.99
Overall Rating 4.8   96
Reviews
4
Better than Freewell? I think so!
Pros:1) Retains image sharpness2) Warmer color cast (which I prefer)3) Higher contrast than Freewell4) Larger range ND range than Freewell5) Build quality better than Freewell6) Better carrying case than FreewellCons:1) Each ND stop does not have a hard stop or even a numeric indicator so you're not sure if you are on ND 8 or ND 16. This can be a con for some but for my use it is not a big deal as I primarily shoot video and use a monitor to gauge my exposure and just rotate the ND until exposure is correct.2) Filter does not have a hard stop when it reaches 400 ND and you can keep rotating it till you get the X pattern.I'm comparing this filter to Freewell ND mist version since that seems to be the most popular ND filter being used especially in the wedding videographer circles.In terms of overall build quality I want to say the K&F filter definitely feels a lot better. Even the overall packaging makes you feel like you bought a premium product. I really like the rubberized coating they use. It feels very premium and it has a good weight to it. The anodized orange indicator is nice and allows you to adjust the ND stop easily. The case that comes with K&F's filter is much more useable and compact compared to the bulky plastic cases that freewell gives. (There was a time thatfreewell's filters wouldn't even fit their case if you installed the magnetic cap which was a huge oversight on their part although I do wish K&F had a magnetic cap as well since those are the best IMO)I am primarily a video shooter and I was hoping that the filters would have similar color casts but unfortunately they don't. It's not hard to fix this in post but still would have been nice if they did match as I have multiple cameras. I do however prefer K&F's color cast as I tend to like warmer images. I also like the halation on this filter more than I do the freewell. If you look at the image where I put the two side by side the K&F is more contrasty and the light spread is kept where it should be and not across the entire image like how the freewell does it. This looks a lot more natural to my eyes. In terms of sharpness I could not see a distinct difference between the two. Both look excellent.Biggest gripe that I see other people having is the fact that there is no indicators on the filter aside from the first ND2 and ND400. The rest of the stops are indicated by dots. I don't know why manufacturers create an excellent product and then do these kinds of small short cuts. Although for me in real world use this probably wouldn't affect me, it did make testing the two different filters a pain. This is the reason why I have only included one comparison shot because I could only test the ND2 on both filters as that is the only two ranges that are clearly marked on both filters.At the end of the day in spite of some of it's shortcomings the filter does do an excellent job of what it is supposed to do. Cut light without messing with overall image sharpness or colors and give it that nice "cinematic" glow and I honestly think it does it better than Freewell. Thumbs up from me and will be using it at my next paid gig.
Better than Freewell? I think so! Better than Freewell? I think so! Better than Freewell? I think so! Better than Freewell? I think so!
30/04/2024