Kase Filters
ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE Kase doubles up The innovative Kase Filters Double Graduate filter could save youmoney and deliver even greater creativity. Here’s why it’s a worthy winner of a PNAward
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BY DEFINITION, A graduate filter is half clear and half toned, with an area of transition – soft, medium or hard, depending on the filter type. Position a 150x100mm filter in its holder to tone down the sky of a landscape composition, and there’s a significant acreage of unused clear filter – and you get that whether you’re shooting horizontal or upright compositions. What the Kase Double Grad filter does is utilise this unemployed clear region of a 150x100mm filter, by adding an extra toned area. This results in one filter with two purposes, which saves you money and the bother of carrying an extra filter. It’s an innovative and very simple solution. Best of all, the idea works well, even with ultra wide-angle lenses. Intuition might tell you that having a toned area at each end of a 150x100mm filter would be a problem, in that you’d have both ends of the image being affected by the grad areas. Obviously, much depends on where you position the grad and the focal length of the lens you’re using. However, in the Photography News test back in issue 90, a Double Grad was tried successfully with a variety of wide lenses, including the 23mm on the Fujifilm GFX series, which is an 18mm equivalent in the 35mm format. Currently, two filters of this type are available: the first has a 3EV hard ND at one end and a 3EV soft ND at the other, while the second has 3EV medium ND and 3EV reverse ND. Future potential filters could be 2EV versions of the current Double Grads.
TONED EACH AT END The main selling point of the Double Grad filters is graduated toned areas at each end, so you have twice as many creative options when out shooting Each Double Grad costs £209. A Kase single grad filter is priced at £143 or £149, depending on the model, that makes a total of £292. The Double Grad option could save you £83. These Double Grads use Wolverine toughened Schott B270 HD optical glass that is incredibly resilient, even when dropped onto concrete from standing height. Scratch-resistant, water and dust-repellent Metallic Nano coating is used to prolong filter life, making them easy to keep clean and deliver ghosting-free performance. Finally, the Double Grads are 2mm thick, so can be used in non- Kase filter holders for those image makers already committed to other 150x100mm filter systems.
“One filter with two purposes, saving you money and the bother of carrying an extra filter”
kasefilters.com
TONE IT DOWN Graduated filters are much loved by expert scenic shooters. Kase Double Grads allow you to capture stunning, dynamic vistas
24 Photography News | Issue 96
photographynews.co.uk
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