Kase Wolverine Magnetic filters
When it comes to wanting to see those rocks under the water and removing that sun glare on the water or you need a longer shutter speed to create a certain look to an image, chances are that you are going to need some lens filters to get the desired effect.
Filters come in many guises these days, there are screw on filters, square filters, clip in filters and magnetic filters, all of them have their uses and some work better than others. Are they plastic or glass, is the glass standard or pro quality, there is a lot to look for when buying filters, after all if you just spent £1000 on a new lens and you put a cheap plastic filter on it what was the point of buying that top quality lens, if you buy a top quality lens you need a top quality filter system, and that is exactly what Kase offers with the Wolverine magnetic circular filter system.
The Kase system isn’t unique there are other makes around that do a similar job. The filters are made extremely well and are very durable, they are also very easy to clean without scratching.
The best way to buy these filters is to get one of their filter kits which will cover all your needs in one go, and to avoid vignetting always go for a size larger than your largest lenses thread size. So for example in my case my largest thread is on my Z mount 14 - 30 mm lens that has a 82mm thread and the next size up from that in the filter kits is 95mm. Lets say your other lenses have a thread of 77mm, all you need to do is buy some step up rings for those lenses to get you to that 95mm, job done all lenses covered.
The great thing about these magnetic filters is the ability to stack them on one another, so you can use an ND filter and a Circular Polariser at the same time and the fact they are magnetic and not threaded makes it extremely quick to chop and change your filters around compared to unthreading one filter then putting on another one. The magnets hold the filters on very securely, but it is advisable to take the filters of after you have used them just in case.
If like me you use a peak design capture clip, it is a great way to keep your camera handy at all times but the edge of the filters can catch on your clothing and fall off. This goes for the magnetic lens cap also, I don’t know if its just my set but the lens caps magnetism is not as strong as the filters and can easily fall off if rubbed on your clothing when walking.
You can see above that the filters are pretty compact especially when you consider that this is the 95mm thread size attached which is the largest that Kase manufacture, it is on my Nikon Z 14-30mm lens which has an 82mm thread size. So above you can see the 82-95mm threaded lens adapter plus the circular polarising filter attached.
You can buy all the individual filters but the best place to start is with one of their kits. They are available in three lens thread sizes, 77mm, 82mm and 95mm, this is why I went for the 95mm kit as it is one size larger than my largest threaded lens. Kits are also available in two guises, the Entry kit and the Professional kit, the only difference between them is that in the Pro kit you also get a 10 stop ND filter. Examples of each kit are below.
In the Box Entry kit (95mm example)
95MM Magnetic Lens Adapter
Magnetic Circular Polariser
Wolverine ND8 (3 stop) Neutral Density Filter
Wolverine ND64 (6 stop) Neutral Density Filter
FREE Magnetic Lens Cap
Cary Pouch
In the Box Pro kit
95MM Magnetic Lens Adapter
Magnetic Circular Polariser
Wolverine ND8 (3 stop) Neutral Density Filter
Wolverine ND64 (6 stop) Neutral Density Filter
Wolverine ND1000 (10 stop) Neutral Density Filter
FREE Magnetic Lens Cap
Cary Pouch
At time of writing the kits are priced as such :
77mm Kit 82mm kit 95mm kit
Entry kit - £220 Entry kit - £235 Entry kit - £285
Pro kit - £280 Pro kit - £310 Pro kit - £395
Pros
Optically fantastic
Very quick and easy to use
No colour cast from ND filters
Cons
Cannot use in conjunction with lens hood
Cannot use as an ND grad filter
Lens cover magnet not strong enough
Conclusion.
It will always be difficult to justify spending this much of your hard earned cash on a set of filters, but once you do it you will never need another set of filters again, they are that good. The time saved using them combined with how little space they take up in your bag is a real bonus, they are so easy to use.
Click on the Kase logo to go to their website.
