K&F Concept Variable ND2-32 vs. Variable ND w/ CPL | Unboxing & Review 

Hi, Buck! Thank you very much! Lately my amazon links have slowed a lot. I think it's due to the economy so I really do appreciate it! I've been very happy with the filter as its not as clumsy as some of the other one's I have used that didn't have the stop points. Thanks, again!

Thank you! I am very pleased with the non-CPL version and I am still using it every time I film outdoors. Been also able to shoot waterfalls with it and it helps me hold the shutter open longer! I think you'll be pleased. 😊

a comment worth a thousand dollars, thank you!

Wide primes shouldn’t be a problem, just zooms.

Meedo Taha thanks! It’s decent inexpensive variable ND. I replaced the CPL one with another ND only one that fits my 10-18 mm lens and it’s working well, too.

Thanks man! I recently got the 67mm version of the same ND2-32 that fits my Canon 10-18mm. Now I'm just waiting for some sunny days where I can test it out as well!

Thanks, will do!

Louie_vlsc16 thanks for the awesome feedback! I very much appreciate it! 😊

Thank you!

that's just what i thought

Hey yes you should always go for the biggest thread size you have and use step up rings for the smaller lens thread sizes 😁

Great point! Having the CPL definitely takes more time to get set up right.. and I think you could get weird results with CPL when shooting video, especially when moving the camera around. Plus, I think there's just too much polarizing going on for ultra-wide angle, but yeah that wouldn't matter with landscape where the subject isn't moving around.

Hello @BackpackeRom! In my opinion, the ND 2-32 range will be fine for most circumstances and lenses. The latter ND 8-2000 would filter out light even more. It could depend on what you are filming or photographing and the speed of your lens. If you have a very fast lens like an f/1.2 and you were using it for cinematic shots on a bright sunny day, then perhaps the ND 8-2000 would be better, but I really haven't tested it. The lens I used in this video was an f/2.8 and the ND2-32 seemed to work well. When it gets later in the evening, ND2 is going to be better because it's almost like having no filter at all, where the ND8 setting would be more noticeable. Hopefully that helps! If you have other questions, let me know. 😊

ND2 is one stop of light

CPL in low light?

Yes, but you may have to get a slightly larger lens cap that fits the ND filter. There are female threads on the front of the K&F concept filters but they are usually in size than the threads that attach to the lens.

I've been happy with my K&H 82mm 2-5 stops variable ND that was in the review. I recently bought a second one at 67mm and it's doing great as well. I honestly can't really complain about them for what I use them for. You might also want to check out Moment Variable-ND filters that recently came out. It seems like they are priced somewhere in between the K&H Concept and PolarPro.

You will need the 85 lens cap

This is what I wanna know too

How i could achieve that?

You can screw another filter onto the front of the VND, but I'm not sure if it would cause the same issue. From what I understand, the VND actually uses two CPL filters to reduce the light. I think that having VND+CPL is just too much light polarization for an ultra-wide angle lens. I have read other comments where they say the VND+CPL worked for them, but usually they aren't on a wide angle lens.

@@EricCosner I also thought that by having two standalone filters it might solve the problem with needing two hands to turn the filter but I guess if they are screwed on tight together, they will both turn if you don't hold one down with the other hand.

@@stanleystevens6278 I think you are right, one would turn the other one regardless of which one was placed first. That was the awkward part about the VND+CPL version. It seemed like it could work if you had time to get things setup a calibrated, but if you are in a hurry then it got annoying quickly.

What types of use cases are you interested in for photography?

I'm actually not sure because of how the adjustment knob sticks out. I think it might work for the one without the CPL, however mileage may very due to the type and size of the rubber hood.

Hi. I have 11mm wide angle lens with 77mm thread and can see vignetting. Do you think getting 82mm and step up ring eliminates the vignetting at 11mm?

@@bizjakboris it’s hard to say without actually trying, I personally don’t have a lens that wide.

@@itsPandaPoops thanks for replying.

You will likely have to find a larger lens cap. I find the female threads on the front of the VND are larger than the male threads that connect to the lens. I think the polarizer can be important if you shoot over water, but it just seems very cumbersome for video. I think it makes sense to get them separate if you want both, especially if your lens is an ultrawide. Most people who have commented have the vignetting issue with the ND+CPL all in one.

Rolf Berge thanks! I totally agree. The fact that they have built in stops at min and max is great. I have one for my full frame camera and one for my cropped 80d. Both have minimal vignetting at wide angle.

Hi Troy! Thanks for the comment! For my Canon camera the 5 stops is definitely enough for me at 1/50th, f2.8 100 iso, but I know the A6400 is much more sensitive to light than my camera. Before buying the filter you could reduce your aperture by 5 stops and that should be the same (but with less bokeh). I used a website and it looks like to reduce from f/2.8 by 5 stops it comes out to f/15. If you want to reduce f/1.4 by 5 stops, set it to about f/7. In my testing I found the K&H stops to be very accurate. Here's a link to the f-stop calculator: imaginatorium.org/stuff/stops.htm

@@EricCosner Cool, thanks Eric!

@@EricCosner The calculator says about 6-7 stops is required based on my settings I used for bright sunlight video. So I'm going to get the ND8-ND128 version of this filter. Thanks again!

Troy Jones awesome. Would be curious to hear how it works! You could always get the other one later if you find you need one for different lighting.

I don't think it produces a green cast. Here are two videos shot using the filter. The tent video was in the summer and the other in the winter. It was very lush and green in the tent video so it may be hard to tell. Tent Video using the 82mm - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mwFRyOIkFk8.html Snowboarding Video using the 67mm - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7OWRb14n5es.html

You may want to have a look at the same filter K&F ND8-ND128. I haven't personally tested it, however at f/1.4 you would most likely need a darker filter 😊

@@EricCosner exactly. I have the KnF ND8-2000 arriving sunday, testing to follow

Open Connection awesome! Let me know how it goes!

@@openconnection how did it go?

Karn Gaur I think most lens hoods would probably allow for it, but I can’t be 100% sure. I have a 67mm and a 82mm. Unfortunately I don’t have a matching lens hood for either lens. Here is a photo showing them attached and you can see the lens hood threads behind the ND filters. Hope this helps. twitter.com/geekinit/status/1294275293125971971?s=21

Karn Gaur I was able to use a step up ring and get one on a Nikon lens. It’s a little more cumbersome to adjust the ND with the lens hood on but it did work in this particular case. twitter.com/geekinit/status/1294277097863741440?s=21

@@EricCosner ..Thank u so much for ur prompt response and helping me out with the provided link. Do take care of urself n ur loved ones from this pandemic. Luv from India❤. Namaste🙏🙏

@@karan111987 thank you very much! Stay safe! Wishing you all the best! 😊

Thanks for the comment! I wonder if there are variances in production. The only time I really notice vignetting with my 16-35mm 2.8 and the non-CPL version are on days with clear sky. These days I notice a slight darkening in the sky and it's more noticeable when I'm panning on handheld.

@@EricCosner This would be absolutely okay for me too. I'll see what the support tells me ;) Thanks for your answer and your nice review!

We're in the Appalachian mountains.. it was actually just snowing two days ago haha. I figure they could be similar. As I mentioned at the end my last filter was a Zomei. It seemed like the quality of glass was about the same, but K&F did better with the built-in hard stops. I have a Neewer for my iPhone. Moment makes a similar one, too. I'd like to get my hands on it and test it.

Good stuff. Finally affordable good ND+CPL filters

The one I preferred is the one without the CPL. I updated the description to hopefully help. It may depend on your use case. I find the VND+CPL gets returned more to Amazon than the one with only VND.

@@EricCosner great thank you.

나누기tv - Share tv *검은수염 Blackbeard* hello, the K&F Concept ND2 to ND400 is new, they didn’t have it when I did this review. I actually had a ND2 to ND400, however it was made by Zomei and didn’t stop turning at the min and max, and then I discovered that ND32 was actually dark enough for video 😄

@@EricCosner thank you soooooo muuuuuuch for very quick reply :D so which one is your recommendation for video? plz, give me advice! cheers 👍

나누기tv - Share tv *검은수염 Blackbeard* it may depend on your camera and lens. Since the ND2-N32 goes from 1 to 5 stops, each time you double your shutter speed, it’s 1 stop. So if you shoot at say 1/50 shutter, lens aperture wide open and iso at 100, then you speed the shutter to 1/1600th of a second, then that would simulate 5 stops and then see how the camera performs on a bright sunny day. Just one way of doing it. 1/1600th shutter isn’t good for video but would simulate the exposure. I will say sometimes V-ND filters that go out to 400 or even 500 begin to show color cast and vignetting especially on ultrawide lenses, but also some cameras that perform really well in low light, ND32 might not be dark enough.

@@EricCosner really really appreciate it!! you the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i will go with nd 2-nd32 :D thx for teaching!

나누기tv - Share tv *검은수염 Blackbeard* no problem! Another way to possibly look at it, if your camera does really well at night (low-light), then you might consider the ND2-400 during the day. I’m going to get one to review and compare! Thanks for giving me the heads up!! I didn’t know they had released a new one 😄

What lens are you using it with?

As long as you don't go with the CPL version I think you'll be happy with the results. You might see some minor vignetting at 16mm if you have a solid color in the background, but at 24mm I think you'd be fine. I sent the CPL back so I can't directly test it at 24mm anymore, but it was okay at 35mm if I remember correctly. Some people think I got a defective ND+CPL filter, but when I ask them what focal length they were shooting at, they never reply 😄

Thank you for asking. They help with framing and allow me to adjust my camera settings in real time. And it allows my viewer to see what I’m seeing. But above all, my eyes are sensitive to bright light. They are basically just ND filters for my eyes.

I wouldn't be surprised if he's like Casey Neistat - he admitted that he wears sunglasses in his videos partially so people don't see his eyes wandering to the screen. Makes sense if you're vlogging IMO.

Hey thanks for the feedback. I did another review a bit later on the same ND filter which might be helpful to you. For some reason that one doesn't get the views 😂 but I manually set the iso on that one. Here's the link: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-f6ZxQiPqdeM.html

I've been wondering about this for some time. I'm curious how wide is your lens (mm) and did you get the ND+CPL version? Thanks!

I just purchased one as well. Great video but I hope it was a bad one.

@@MogulGroup1985 let us know when it arrives. The issue with the CPL really only occurred at very wide angles. Hoping it works for you 🤞

In my tests the only way to reduce the vignetting was to keep the ND setting low. The CPL polarizer is always polarizing the light, but just at different angles as it's rotated. It seemed like the vignetting wasn't bad at 35mm.

Eric Cosner think there would be any problems on a 10-18 wide angle with only the ND set, no polarizer

@@kpritch2387 I actually have that one!! My other camera is an 80D and I use the 10-18mm with the 67mm VND K&F filter. I shot this vlog with it. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7OWRb14n5es.html . You'll notice some darkening in the sky at times. I thought it turned out okay considering it was full sun that day. I believe I kept the filter around ND4-8.

Eric Cosner awesome I’ll check it out. Thx for the info!

@@kpritch2387 No problem. I started reviewing the 67mm one, but still haven't finished the video lol. Thanks for stopping by!

I wish I knew. I can't seem to find any documentation. Overall I'm impressed with the K&F Concept Variable ND2-32 without the CPL. I bought a second one for my 10-18mm and both are holding up great.

@@EricCosner hi thanks for replying, my comment may of seemed short but it was 4am and I was trying to decide on which filter to order. The real answer of course is my eye probably won't know the difference!

@@ianwhite4315, understandable! NDs are tricky science. I think I want to do another review. So many things to consider and I've learned so much. Thanks for the reply! 😄

I'll assume, that If it were made in germany, it would be quite a bit pricier..

In case you are wondering how I do VND on ultra wide these days here is my video where I’m using in-line VND filter 😄 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-DPL8De8raJA.html

It helps me check framing and run the camera. I’ve kind of got away from it recently.

@@EricCosner check framing how? and exactly how does it help with running the camera? genuinely curious.

@@mzzah06 when I wear sunglasses it frees my eyes up to look at camera settings, my laptop and to check the camera’s flip screen to see if everything is in frame, without looking like I’m doing those things. These days, when I’m indoors, I just look into the black void of the lens without wearing sunglasses. My eyes are sensitive to light so I always wear them outdoors. In the early days I tended to look up at the ceiling a lot when I was talking 😂