K&F Concept ND2-ND400 Variable ND Filter Review

Long exposure photography, it’s my thing (see portfolio if you like that too).  If an ND1000 filter isn’t stuck on the front of my lens, it’s probably an indication that the camera hasn’t yet come out of the bag.

K&F Concept have kindly sent me one of their ND2-ND400 Variable ND Filters to try out, for me I’m using it on a 77mm thread to fit my Sigma 10-20mm wide angle lens.

So generally as I’m such a big fan of extra long exposures I’ve never had a lower strength ND filter in my general kit bag, this has been a limitation for me I now feel.  I’ve not had the ability to be able just block that 1-2 extra stops of light to provide a more gentle long exposure.  This length of exposure is perfect for a beach setting where you would want to grab an exposure of about 1/2 second to be able to stretch the tide rolling on and off the beach.

As I’m 70 miles from the nearest beach, that will have to wait for a future photography adventure.  Lacking a nearby beach I opted for a walk out in the hills of the Wessenden Valley above Marsden in West Yorkshire.

The valley hosts 3 reservoirs, the largest being Butterley with it’s majestic Victorian stepped spillway (Today in full flow!)

Above the spillway is a wide, curved weir which provided an opportunity to do a first test of the ND2-400 filter.

The base exposure for the conditions was 1/250s at f/11.  I attached the ND2-400 filter to the lens and start testing.  The filter itself is a good thickness so it’s very easy to attach to the lens without too much risk of dropping it (No way I was retrieving if it had dropped).  When the filter is firmly attached the strength of the filter can be easily adjusted with the easy to use handle and the prominently marked scale ranging from ND2 all the way to ND400 with dots marked for each f-stop along the way.

The gallery below shows the resulting selection.  The images have all been edited the same in post and none have had to have any temperature adjustments as the filter added no colour cast.  In most ND filters you will generally get a slight warmth to the resulting images, not so here.

(I had a bit of fluctuation of about 1/3 of stop in exposure due to the parting of the clouds and the coming and going of the sun) but I’m confident in saying that the scale markings are pretty accurate and the filter applies the appropriate strength of filtering.

Zooming into the images and comparing the filtered images against the unfiltered image showed no increase in softness, the images were just as sharp as the unfiltered lens.

I’m definitely excited for the opportunity to try out the K&F Concept ND2-400 filter in a few other scenarios in the coming weeks.  Beach/wave photography and I also intend to try out some crowd photography to produce some ghost like images.

If you’re looking for a variable ND, then I’ve no hesitation in recommending this one.  Does exactly what it says on the label, and does it with quality result and a solid price point compared to others on the market.

The K&F Concept ND2-400 filter can be picked up from the following locations:

Kent Faith Website https://bit.ly/3iTgd8O Use coupon code: KF10UK (10% discount,Valid until 31/12/2021)

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08ZYDZ58V Use coupon code: KFCUK009 (15% discount,Valid until 31/08/2021)