Kase Magnetic Filters | A Landscape Photographers Review
For decades, both film and digital shooters have used filters to help their image-making while out in the field, be it to balance the exposure with a graduated filter, cut the reflective light with a polariser or slow the shutter speed with a neutral density. To this day, even with the technological strides made by the camera manufacturers, most landscape photographers will still own a set of filters of some sort to help them take photos.
I’ve been using filters for my landscape photography for many years, working my way through a number of different brands. I’ve invested in both circular and square systems, before finally ending up with these Kase Wolverine magnetic filters. Having now used them for over a year and in that time having been asked my opinion about them quite a few times, I’ve decided to share my thoughts on these filters based on my own experiences while out, taking landscape photos.
Before I start, just a couple of housekeeping items. I’m not writing this post to suggest Kase filters are the best filters on the market. Everyone has different needs and in fact, we photographers are spoilt by the options we now have when it comes to choosing filters. This post is my opinion and based on my own experiences with this and other brands I’ve used. Secondly, I’m not affiliated with Kase in any way, I bought my own set of filters and am under no obligation to say good things.
My Kase Wolverine Magnetic Filter Kit
When I switched to the Kase magnetic circular filters, I opted for the 72mm professional kit which consists of an ND8 (3 stop), ND64 (6 stop), ND1000 (10 stop), a polariser, magnetic adaptor, one magnetic lens cap and a leather carry pouch. Being a Fujifilm X mirrorless shooter, I went for the 72mm kit as it fits my largest lens diameter without vignetting and buying anything bigger would have been more expensive and meant more weight in my bag without any benefit. The 72mm kit was just right for me.
Along with the professional kit, I also purchased step-up rings and magnetic lens caps for the other two lenses I regularly use for my landscape photography. All in all, with the professional kit costing £270 and the extra step-up rings and lens caps costing a further £80 (ouch!!), all of the kit you can see in the picture above costs £350.
What do I like about the Kase Magnetic Filters
#1 Minimal colour cast
I remember the days when I would take a long exposure photo and depending on the filter brand, the resulting image would be awash with a blue or magenta colour cast. Yes, it can be corrected in post, but that’s still more work for those who want to spend less time in front of their computer and want to see a more accurate representation of the scene while out there in the field. How do these filters fair in this department? Well, pretty good actually. These filters are incredibly neutral and even with the multi-minute exposures, the colours in the resulting image remain pretty accurate with minimal colour cast.
#2 Quick and simple to use
With the right accessories, this system is a breeze to use. When I bought the Professional kit, I made sure to buy step-up rings and lens caps for all of my usual landscape photography lenses. Although it meant another £80 investment on top, it also meant that while out in the field, I wouldn’t need to mess around screwing or unscrewing adapters to change lenses or put my lens cap back on. I can simply mount whatever lens I need and snap a filter (or two) straight onto the end in a matter of seconds. If the scene changes quickly, in no time at all, I can swap out the filters in a pinch. This has been an absolute game-changer for me.
Lastly, when putting the camera back in the bag, whether I leave the filter on or take it off, the magnetic lens cap will fit regardless and unlike using filter holders for square systems, there is no disassembling to do. I just pop the lens cap on and put the camera away. Zero fuss!
#3 A lightweight filter kit
Without the bigger, thicker square glass and the holder kit, the Kase filter system is compact and lightweight. The 72mm Professional kit weighs just 161g and with the extra step-up rings and lens caps, the weight is still a reasonable 250g in total. The leather pouch alone makes up more than 70 of that 250 grams, so if you need to slim down the weight or size even further, you could look to store the filters stacked together in a smaller, single pocket pouch. For me, the protection the leather pouch offers makes up for this extra weight so it remains in my bag.
#4 Well-made with tough glass
Made from toughened B270 Optical Glass, these hard to scratch filters feel reassuringly robust to use while out in the field. In the last year, my filters have been knocked and dropped here and there without any problems but I have to admit, I haven’t put them through the ultimate test by dropping them from height onto a hard surface. I’ve seen others do so and the filters have come away without a scratch which is quite reassuring for when the inevitable does eventually happen and I have a clumsy moment.
#5 No noticeable loss of image quality
This was never supposed to be a scientific review of the Kase filters but image quality is incredibly important to me, as it is to most other landscape photographers and with the engineering that goes into the expensive lenses we use, what we place in front of them matters. Adding another sheet of glass for the light to pass through will likely affect the image quality to some degree but I’ve zoomed in plenty of times during post-processing, frequently pixel peeping and to my eye, I can’t see any degradation in my photos at all.
#6 Filter magnets are reassuringly strong
I mentioned previously that with over a year of using these filters, I’ve not yet dropped them from height and that might be in part due to luck, but if I’m being honest, its mostly because the magnets are very strong and to this day, I’ve not had a filter drop off the camera a single time. As I wander through the forest taking photos, I will regularly throw my tripod over my shoulder with the camera and CPL filter still attached and as I walk along, with the camera bouncing up and down on my shoulder, not once has the filter dropped off. If I felt for one minute the magnet was not strong enough, I would not be taking that kind of risk.
#7 No vignetting (even when stacked)
One of the issues I had with previous filter brands, especially when using a square format with a filter holder was heavy vignetting around the image, especially when stacking filters in front of my wide-angle lens. Even though I had read positive things about a lack of vignetting, when I was looking at the 72mm Kase filter set, I have to admit, I was a little concerned I might see some at my widest focal length, but I’m pleased to say that even when stacking 2 or 3 filters, the thin profile means they don’t protrude out too much, which helps to avoid the dreaded vignetting.
It’s a problem easily rectified by buying the larger 77mm or even 82mm set, so the filters are slightly oversized, but for me, the small, compact size won out and I’m incredibly pleased with the 72mm set I ended up going with.
The not so good
#1 The CPL is a bit fiddly
Most will know that to add or remove polarisation, you need to turn your circular polariser filter and although there are benefits to having thin, low-profile filters, it does make the CPL a bit difficult to spin. With the strong magnets creating a lot of friction as it turns, you need to get a bit of a grip on the filter but being so thin, it’s sometimes a bit frustrating to lock in the exact amount of polarisation I want. That being said, I prefer to have strong magnets to avoid the filters falling off, so I wonder if, in the future, a better design could be looked into. One that allows for a smoother, less fiddley rotation.
#2 The magnetic lens caps should be stronger
Whereas I mentioned previously that the strength of the magnets on the filters was nice and strong, unfortunately, the same can’t be said about the lens caps. I probably have to mention now that having purchased these lens caps over a year ago, this issue may well have already been addressed but I’ll base this feedback on the versions I received and for my set at least, the magnets are quite weak. I am in constant fear that I’m going to lose one of the lens caps, to the point at which I will only use them when the lens is safely in the bag and even then, they frequently fall off.
#3 Works best after investing in more accessories
I mentioned above that along with the 72mm Professional kit, I also purchased £80 worth of step-up rings and lens caps which I felt I had to buy to get the full “ease of use” benefit from the system. You could avoid buying the magnetic step-up rings and use cheaper (non-magnetic) alternatives but that would mean screwing and unscrewing the single magnetic adapter ring, each time you want to change lenses. That would get very boring, very fast. Also, if I hadn’t invested in the magnetic lens caps, every time I put. the camera away, I would have to unscrew and remove the magnetic adapter ring so I could put the regular cap back on the lens.
The Verdict
With the positives significantly outweighing the negatives, I’m pleased to say that I’m a very happy user of these Kase Wolverine Magnetic filters. I would even go as far as saying that they are the best filters I’ve owned to date. Ever since I stopped using graduated filters in favour of bracketing for my landscape photography, moving back to the circular format was an obvious move and with the solid construction, fantastic image quality and lightweight kit, these super convenient magnetic Kase filters were an obvious choice in the end.
Whether you’re looking to invest in your next filter kit or just curious about the Kase magnetic filters, I do hope you found this post useful. I’d love to hear about other people’s filter experiences and welcome any of you to leave feedback in the comments below.
Until next time.