There is the old phrase in media production - it's not the gear, it's the person behind the gear. While having modern and fancy gear definitely makes life as a professional photographer easier, having the right gear for a specific job is important. Enter K&F Concept - the reached out to me to offer a new filter and I ended up choosing their Nano X Variable Neutral Density (ND) over their newer magnetic line because of the versatility the Nano X offers. Here's how it went and my thoughts on this filter.

The Look: No Color Casting or Image Degradation

I believe that for both photographers and videographers, investing in a good Variable ND filter can be a game-changer. There are a lot of brands and choices out there, from super expensive God-Tier level like Peter McKinnon to super disposable ones that might tempt beginners to try (I'm looking at you Neewer). K&F Concept's Nano-X is a solid product for the price and has really good image quality. There is no weird color casting I could see except it added a bit of warmth which can be balanced easily with proper White Balance. During my testing in two photoshoots - I use the same photo gear for my video capturing - the auto White Balance for the photos was enough to neutralize the tiny bit of warmth for the filter. It's a non issue, honestly.

A Cinematic Touch to Videography

When it comes to videography, the human eye is used to the frame rate from movies and cinema - 24 frames per second or 23.98 if you want to be pedantic about it. It's the norm. Variable ND filters helps you achieve that frame rate by cutting the available light when you're not in studio settings. You don't know what light situation you might get during a job, the immense advantage of a Variable ND is that you don't need for multiple filters. You grab one of these, put it in your lens and you're good to go.

Elevating Photographic Creativity

Photographers, too, can use one of the K&F ND filters. It opens up creative possibilities with slow-motion blur at any time of the day to make a landscape scene more magical if there's flowing water or to single out loneliness in a still person surrounded by moving crowds. Yeah, closing the aperture is an option, but the trick lies in maintaining a visually appealing background with a buttery smooth motion blur. Using a smaller aperture also makes any lens imperfection or scratch that otherwise wouldn't matter an noticeable issue on the photos. For my case, it's a bit of both.

Real World Use

As a photographer with notions of videography and filming, I have one camera for both. It's less gear and usually my jobs don't allow me the extra time to switch cameras and readjust the settings if the scene has changed. With cameras like the Canon R6 or the Sony A7IV, the video and stills settings are separate which is perfect for my case. So, one camera, one lens, one ND Filter and bonus appearance of the 1/4 ProMist from K&F Concept as well.

Here's how I used it during a photoshoot. I reduced the shutter speed on a sunny morning to around 1/50 or 1/40 of a second to do the POV photos of the couple turning around. The subject gets removed from the background to create a dream-like moment of fun and love. In another shoot, I used it as well to reduce the shutter speed to walk with my couple and create a soft motion blur in their legs and world around them.

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And for video, well, you are required to hang around the 1/60 if you're doing 24 frames per second or in my case 1/100 since I normally shoot in 50 frames per second because I live in Europe and light banding is a real thing. It also allows me to slow my footage down in the editing process to add more meaning to moments.

Why K&F?

A Variable ND filter is a good investment for videographers and portrait photographers to be more creative with their work and to get the job done properly. The offering from K&F is strong - good glass, surprising clean presentation, no harsh color casting, solid build. I recommend it for photographers who are looking into expanding their creativity as well as landscappers and to videographers who are starting out.