1st thoughts on the X-Pro Kit system
Hello folks, I hope you are cool and hydrated, here, it’s a living hell! In this video, I wanted to share my 1st thoughts on a square holder kit and a few filers, the K&F Square Filter Holder System Pro Kit.
I’ve made three videos about filters, of different brands and the use I make of it in the past. You may sometimes notice these filters on my camera in some of my BTS. So far I chose to use circular filters, but I did consider investing in square filters at the beginning.
The reason why I didn’t do it is because I thought at the time that I would have to buy identical filters of different sizes for all my lenses. That was one of the advantages of square filters. You buy one kit and it should fit most of your lenses with the adapter rings. But I quickly found out I just had to buy step up rings for circular filters and order filters that were the same size as my biggest lens… and Voilà.
The K&F concept Square Filter Holder System Pro Kit still has the advantage of proposing a kit that has everything in the package. You open the box, and you can use them right away, no additional purchase needed.
Let’s see what is included in the kit:
You have an ND8 filter (3-Stop)
ND64 filter (6-Stop)
ND1000 filter(10-Stop)
a CPL filter that goes in the holder, that you can easily adjust once it’s in.
4 adapter rings (67mm/72mm/77mm/82mm)
And all of that can be comfortably stored in the provided Leather pouch!
For those who don’t know and I recommend you go and watch my first videos about filters, the ND filter allows you to have further control over your exposure. For whatever reason (for creative ones of course) you need to have a specific aperture, ISO and shutter speed and you still have an overexposed image… an ND filter can help you out.
ERRATUM! in the video I stated that I only used the CPL filter for the following image... I actually used the ND8 filter:
Fujifilm GFX 100s + CPL & ND8
1/160s f1.7 ISO50 at 80mm
Fujifilm GFX 100s + CPL and and ND64
1/50s f1.7 ISO50 at 80mm
Can you spot the differences? You can trust these filters, as they introduce very little to no colour cast nor vignetting in your images.
These square filters have nice solid frames that protect the glass. Apparently you can drop them and they might survive. I won’t test that, but it’s good to know.
The CPL filter allows you to remove reflections especially from water and glass and it also slightly enhances your contrast in blue skies and white clouds.
Japan-made optical glass, both sides have nanometer coatings (total 28 layers), they are waterproof, scratch-resistant, and oil proof.
Fujifilm GFX 100s + CPL and and ND64
1/50s f4 ISO50 at 20mm
Of course, if you are a fan of slow shutter images, if you want to capture moving water and want that silky smooth effect, ND filters will be the tool for that.
On the left 25 sec of exposure, I stacked the ND8 and the ND1000 with the CPL:
Fujifilm XH2s + CPL
1/640s f2.8 ISO80 at 50mm
Fujifilm XH2s + CPL + ND8 & ND1000
25s f2.8 ISO80 at 50mm
When I got them I felt confident in using them in the field. Overall the holder feels solid, and the filters are really well made, but I am not a huge fan of the adapters. I wish they were slightly thicker, I hope they won’t bend, that the material will not deform over time.
I really enjoyed using them, I even felt the square filters were easier and faster to use. Because of the size of the glass compared to the lenses I use, the risk of having vignetting dark areas in the corners, especially with wide angle lenses is reduced. In fact I haven’t noticed any vignetting on my pictures so far.
Side by side, one of these 2 images uses a CPL and ND... Which one is it?
The PRO Square Filter Holder from K&F Concept has two slots, and the integrated bin for the circular polarizer in the back. The orange adjustment wheel on the side of the holder allows you to adjust the rotation of the circular polarizer without touching the filter itself. There’s also a clever safety mechanism to ensure that the polarizer is correctly and securely inserted.
Made of aluminum alloy the system is lightweight and overall is very well made.
Now the biggest advantage of using these square filter system is the possibility of using the Graduated ND Filters. Typically half of the filter is of neutral density which transitions gradually, into the other half which is clear. With circular ND filters, you are able to adjust the rotation of the horizon line, but not its vertical position within the frame. With square filters, you can, and this without affecting your composition.
Unfortunately, and this is where this video and article become disappointing. I do not have such a filter… a shame. I am going to be completely honest I never used graduated filters, I guess I never felt the need considering the type of work that I usually do. But the more I think about it… the more I feel I faced numerous situations in the past where a graduated filter could have helped me out. You know these wide angle shots where I have at the top of my frame this bright sky. This means more control on the exposure of my entire scene and less work in photoshop!
So I guess there should be a follow up to this one with graduated filters… I am depressed and excited at the same time.
Are you circular or square? Tell me in the comments below. I will only give you my answer if I can get my hands on these graduated NDs!
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