FREEWELL Magnetic Quick Swap System 67mm Neutral Density ND64 (6 f-stops) Camera Filter

Product Information

This Freewell filter system actually comes in two pieces. The actual filter (ND, POLA ETC.) and a magnetic clear UV filter. The clear UV filter has a magnetic ring that screws into the threads of your lens and can stay attached permanently if you wish. Screw the magnetic VND Base onto your lens and you've got 1 f-stop as standard (which can be removed –more on that in a sec). Now you can snap on a magnetic 2-5 stop filter, or a 6-9 stop filter –both of which have hard stops, despite being magnetic, which helps prevent the dreaded "X" pattern.

The Freewell 10 Stop Magnetic ND Filter I discovered to have more of a green colour cast: Freewell Magnetic 10 Stop In colder temps and time restricting locations, being able to just pull off a filter and slap another one on saves a ton of time. It would save your numb hands from trying to thread on and off filters, like you’ve had to do in the past.

The company also says the kit’s magnetic adhesion will keep the filters in the holder firmly affixed, which prevents vibrations while they still remain easy to remove and adjust. The metal knurling on the bezel along each ND level helps grip when turning to change values and allegedly improves the accuracy of stop setting. The company also claims that transitioning from one-stop value to another is smooth and gradual, and should give a reduced occurrence of “x-pattern overlaps” seen in other variable NDs. As you can see, there’s now little-to-no difference between the control and the Freewell 2-5 stop VND image. What this means overall is a little extra time in post color correcting photos and videos (which needs to be done anyway as evidenced by color cast in the control image as well). Completing this analysis, K&F Concept’s ND100, 10-stops neutral density filter has no measurable effect on color or sharpness. Optical Test Summary

There’s always a possibility that adding a couple pieces of flat glass in front of your expensive optics will degrade your resolution, but I didn’t find that to be the case with these filters. Having tested on my 42 megapixel A7RIII and some of my sharpest lenses, there was no visible loss in resolution in the center or edges of the frame when using the Freewell filters compared to test shots with no filters. Cross Polarization ProblemsSo the question is: how does this compare to other VND filters in similar situations? To find out, I took all three sets of filters out to shoot a few test shots: the Freewell, the PolarPro, and the Moment. I was expecting similar performance here with the Freewell filters, but I’m happy to report that they actually do a significantly better, as long as you don’t pay attention to the numbers on the edge of the filters too much. J. Matthew Gore Beach #3 on the Washington Coast, Freewell 2-5 Stop VND I did not encounter the dreaded “X” pattern with these filters. Unfortunately, I did find that many of my wide angle images had dramatically different light across the frame, usually manifesting as a dark bar from the top center to the bottom center of the frame. See the examples below. Freewell claims their magnetic VND system can be safely used with any 16 or 17mm full frame lens without adding vignette (on top of the natural, optical vignette of the lens). This means cleaner images without additional darkening around the edges and corners — even when shooting wide angle. Filter compatibility One other advantage of the K&F Concept filters is that they are available for a wide range of diameters, starting at 49mm, as opposed to 67mm for some competitors.

Rotating a CPL filter with the M2 system is a straightforward process. We’ve made it simple and intuitive to adjust the polarizer to achieve your desired effect. Flip the 2-5 stop VND filter around and it becomes a circular polarizer; flip the 6-9 stop VND around, and it becomes an ND32 polarizer. Want a glow mist filter as well? Simply pop out the 1-stop glass in the VND Base, replace it with the MistxVND Base and you get a 1/8 diffusion filter. Threaded VNDs are constructed using two panes of polarized glass. For this system, Freewell separated these panes into two filters. One half is the filter mounted inside the base ring, the other half is mounted in front. Once mounted and aligned, there are two panes of polarized glass, just like a traditional, threaded VND. The main area where magnets are gaining grounds is in the realm of third-party filters. Freewell has been supplying such products for a while, and Kenko / Hoya has recently begun offering their Instant Action magnetic filters (not yet in the US, however). Both companies offer a full lineup, with circular polarizers (CPL), neutral density (ND) filters, protective filters and even variable neutral density (VND) options. In some cases, they also offer adapters to use existing filters with their system, or magnetic lens caps.I'd primarily be interested in adapting to zoom lenses, i.e. 10-24, 16-55, 55-200. From what I can tell, the 77mm would be good, but I'm not sure. In addition to using the system as a CPL or VND filter, you can also replace the inner VND base filter with a “Mist” VND filter, which works just the same as the other VND filters but adds a “Glow Mist” effect, essentially a bit of diffusion that will smooth out your image a bit. I generally don’t like diffusion filters, so I didn’t test this heavily. The Only Problem As explained earlier, both the 2-5 stop VND and 6-9 stop VND may be used as circular polarizers when flipped over (and the base ring filter is removed). Circular polarizers improve clarity, increase saturation, and bring highlights under control. They are frequently used in landscape photography to remove reflections and punch-up color and clarity, though they can of course be used when shooting video as well for a similar effect. The Freewell magnetic VND system may be used with circular filter threads measuring 58, 62, 67, 72, 77, 82 or 95mm in diameter.

However, if you want to shoot with a VND filter, your first need to snap the VND base filter into the inner filter slot in the base ring on the lens. Then, you flip one of the VND filters so that the “VND” text on the ring is facing you, and snap that on top of the base ring on the lens. Anyone who needs neutral density filters will enjoy using the Freewell Magnetized VND system, but run-and-gun hybrid shooters using consumer DSLR and mirrorless cameras should love it. You may shoot photos one minute, flip the camera to video mode, throw on a variable ND to control shutter speed, and keep going. Quite frankly, K&F Concept’s filters performed much better than expectations. They can easily stand their ground against filters from better-known brands. These results are excellent. In Use Bernard Dery | Light And Matter CPL at 20mm Freewell says that its new system will be more convenient than others on the market, as shooters would only need to carry the two filters with them when traveling, and would still have the capability to capture images using ND stops from two to nine as well as having access to an integrated Circular Polarizer (CPL) and the “Glow Mist” bonus filter for creative applications. Gear and rope constantly bumped against my camera while I had it out. The clear UV filter gave some nice peace of mind to know that the glass of my actual lens, was totally safe. Colour Cast and Quality Of The Freewell Magnetic Polarizer FilterFreewell is seeking crowdfunding to bring the product to market, and the IndieGoGo bundle also includes a compact case that can hold the entire kit safely, and it can easily fit in any bag, or clip onto any exterior strap or latch point. Personally I use a UV filter on all my lenses for added protection from the elements or the extra safety it may provide in a fall thus it's a fantastic option, but not something that would have worked for my video camera. I have to use a step up ring to go from my Fujifilm's 58mm thread to the 77mm filter size I'm reviewing. The smallest filter size Freewell makes is 67mm meaning I needed to use a step up ring regardless thus I opted into using 77mm filters so I could interchange them from my video camera to my photography camera which has actually been fantastic — more on that later. The ability to attach regular lens caps to either the lens adapter or a filter is quite useful, it lets the user attach whichever cap is desired. The magnetic link is strong enough to hold the lens cap and filter pair in place solidly. Bernard Dery | Light And Matter CPL at 20mm Videographers and filmmakers should also appreciate the diffusion mist base filter. The filter’s 1/8 strength is just enough to create the desired effect without being too obvious (as it can be with stronger, 1/4 strength mist filters). Some videographers using cameras with super sharp digital sensors could very well leave this “mist” filter in their base ring at all times. Pricing That being said, it’s near impossible to accidentally bump this filter off. The magnets are quite strong and definitely require a firm hold to come apart. Since this polarizer is magnetic, it’s perfect to rotate in either direction with no worries of the filter unscrewing. Taken with the Freewell Magnetic Circular Polarizer (CPL) The red circle shows where the above climbing photo was taken.