ACCESSORIES
Testbench
Kase Wolverine Magnetic Circular Filters Case
The leather-look case has five slots for filters, and a brass clip for attaching it to a bag or strap.
Andy Westlake tests a brilliant set of filters that attach to your lens magnetically ● £235 ● kasefilters.com
SOMETIMES it’s the naming that annoys me. Call your product after a notoriously ferocious predator, as filter maker Kase has done with its Wolverine range, and it just seems like you’re trying too hard. My natural, perhaps overly cynical instinct is to dismiss them on the spot, as likely to be sheep in wolves’ clothing. Thankfully, though, I gave these filters the benefit of the doubt, and agreed to try them out. Because it turns out they’re the real deal. Indeed as high quality, easy-to-use filters go, they’re absolute monsters. The concept is deceptively simple. Screw an adapter ring into the front of your lens, to which the super-slim filters snap firmly into place magnetically. The circular polariser can be rotated freely on this magnetic mount, negating the need for a rotary frame. Once positioned, an ND filter can simply be stacked on top, again holding firmly in place. Cleverly, the filters can’t be mounted the wrong way around; Stackable the magnets will repel each other if you try, so You can use an ND the filters won’t hold in place. and a polariser at the It’s hard to convey just how quick this same time, with the approach is, compared to laboriously latter going closest screwing filters into lens threads. Filters to the lens. become much quicker and easier to use, which encourages you to use them creatively. The design means that there’s no chance of light leakage ruining your shots when using strong neutral densities, either. Optically, the filters are superb, with barely any discernible impact on image quality. Indeed the only artefacts I saw from their use were some small additional flare spots when shooting directly into the sun. The ND filters are as neutral as they could possibly be, so you won’t have to correct any unpleasant colour casts in raw processing. I didn’t see any troublesome vignetting when stacking a polariser and ND either, even on the Laowa 15mm F2 Zero-D ultra-wideangle prime.
www.amateurphotographer.co.uk
ALL PRICES ARE APPROXIMATE STREET PRICES
The metal lens cap is lined with felt to avoid scratching your lens’s front element. I found it came off a little too easily.
GOLD
Adapter rings
You’ll probably want to get a magnetic ring for each of your lenses. They’re available in all sizes from 49mm to 82mm, for £12 each.
At a glance ● Magnetic filter set ● Includes polariser, 3-stop
ND, and 6-stop ND
● Magnetic lens cap ● Carry case included
KITS AND SIZES
Verdict
When a clever idea comes along you wonder why everyone else isn’t doing it. Kase’s Wolverine circular filters fit right into this category, as they’re so quick and easy to use, with excellent results. As always there are compromises: the adapter rings add awkward bulk to small lenses if you choose to leave them attached, block the use of hoods and your lenses’ original caps, and don’t accommodate graduated filters. But if you can live with that, they’re an excellent option, particularly when you want to carry minimal kit.
Lens cap
No colour cast was visible even with all three filters stacked Sony Alpha 7 III, 24-105mm f/4, 4s at f/11, ISO 100
Kase’s Magnetic Circular kits come in three sizes; 77mm, 82mm, and 95mm for use with ultra-wide lenses. Stepping up to the Professional kit adds a 10-stop ND filter, but at a significant premium. Prices range from £220 for the 72mm Entry Kit up to £395 for the 95mm Professional Kit. 51
