Photography News Issue 61

Photography News | Issue 61 | photographynews.co.uk

First tests

Marumi 100mmMagnetic Filter System From£125.94

There’s nothing like getting it right when you press the shutter button, hence on-camera filters remain hugely popular. If you need proof of that then look at the new names and recent innovations in the filter market. PN tested the H&Y magnetic strip filter system a few issues back, and very impressed with them we were too. To recap, the holder strips of a standard Lee (other brands available too) 100mm system holder are replaced with a set of magnetic adapters and then the Lee 100x100mm and 100x150mm filters are put in magnetic frames. Offer the framed filters to the modified holder and magnetism does the rest. The H&Y adapter system was good to use but it had one serious disadvantage: there was no place for the polariser in the holder. That said, H&Y’s own square filter system does offer a solution. Now, it appears that Marumi is collaborating with H&Y to bringoutitsownsystemthatcombines very high-quality glass filters with the benefit of magnetic attachment and factoring in the benefit of the polariser solution, The Marumi M100 filter holder is made from aviation-grade aluminium and its system means that it can be used on as wide as 16mmwithout cut- off. The holder has two screws that lock onto the adapter ring and a drive cog wheel, of which more in a minute. The M100 holder comes with three adapter rings, 72, 77 and 82mm – if you want to use the system on smaller diameter lenses you will need a simple step-up ring. Each adapter ring comprises two rings that work independently of each other. One screws onto the lens, the other has a thread to accept the polariser. This freely rotates and has a serrated rim which meshes with the holder’s cog wheel so when the two components are together, twiddling the drive wheel rotates the inner ring. Now fit the polariser in its ultra-thin non- rotating mount and this is how the polariser’s orientation is adjusted. The polariser’s very thin mount means it does not foul any grad or ND filter that is added to the holder; thus you have the option of mixing filters. The concept is neat but there are issues. Screwing in the polariser takes care; thin fingers definitely help but even thin fingers will inevitably brush the polariser’s surface. However, the advanced anti- grease coating means you can just grip the filter’s surface. It’s counter-

Specs

Prices and filter availability M100 Magnetic Filter Holder with 72, 77 and 82mm adaptor rings £125.94. Suitable for lenses 16mm wide Square 100x100mm ND4 (2EV), ND8 (3EV), ND16 (4EV), ND32 (5EV), ND64 (6EV), ND500 (9EV), ND1000 (10EV), ND4000 (12EV) and ND32,000 (15EV) £179.94; 100-150mm ND grads, ND4, ND8 and ND16 in soft, hard and reverse versions at £199.98 each; Circular polariser £114.96 Filter holder construction Avionic aluminium grade Glass Filters made from Schott 270 glass, and coated on both sides – low reflection, anti-scratch, anti- static, water and oil repellent Contact kenro.co.uk The H&Y adapter systemwas good to use but it had one serious disadvantage: there was no place for the polariser in the holder

150x100mmgrad

Magnetism holds the Marumi- framed filters firmly in position.

Verdict

intuitive because instinctively we are trained not to touch an expensive coated glass surface but here it is an option provided you give the touched surfaces a wipe before using. In the cold, you can use gloved fingers for the task so finger grease is not an issue. Holding the drive wheel keeps the rotating ring still while you attach or detach the polariser helps. Gravity can lend a hand too – lens facing up during attachment and facing down during removal. By comparison using NDs and grads is a piece of cake. The attraction is very strong so once in place it will stay there in normal use until you remove it – or catch it! A locking screw does hold the first filter in place so use that for extra peace of mind, or when using two filters together. When I was walking to another close by spot I did pack the filters away to avoid any expensive mishaps. One problem I had was trying to separate filters with gloves on – couldn’t do it. In the case of grads, moving them up and down even while they are attached is easy enough, while with the extreme NDs, the foam gasket on the holder stops any light intrusion during very long exposures. I tested the polariser, a selection of ND grads and extreme NDs, the 500x and 1000x. The optical performance of the filters is not an issue at all. There’s no image degradation compared with the unfiltered shot and I had no flare problems.

Marumi filters are optically first class and the option of using them in a system like this is very welcome. Take the frames off and they’d fit a Lee holder too. Attaching magnetic filters is fast, filters are held securely and operations like adjusting grads are fuss-free. The ability to use a polariser in combination with other filters is very handy once you get used to the process. Keen filter users seeking leading edge performance and versatility should check out this new system from Marumi. Pros Filters held securely, filters very high quality, fast in use, works with wide lenses, space saving Cons Polariser fitting/detaching is fiddly, filters pricey

100x100mmND

AWB

With the extreme NDs, I did tests with auto white-balance and preset Kelvin values. For a streamlined workflow, I’d be happy shooting in AWB because both the 500x and 1000x NDs gave near neutral results, perhaps with a tiny warm tinge. The quoted filter factors were very accurate too. Impressive neutrality was evident with the ND grads so no issues with casts. Optical quality of the filters was overall very good indeed. No flare, no degradation of lens quality and excellent neutrality. The filters are expensive but are very, very good. WC

1000x ND

500x ND

No polariser

With polariser

1 &2 The cog wheel rotates the inner adapter ring to adjust the polariser’s orientation. 3 If you want, the screw locks the first filter in place so it stays put and stays put if you have a grad fitted too. You can see the foam gaskets for use with extreme NDs. 4 Two rear buttons, one each side, lock the holder and adapter ring together.

Images The same scene was shot using a Nikon D850 in AWB and then with the Marumi 1000x and 500x extreme ND filters again with AWB. The filters give commendably neutral results.

Images Marumi’s polariser gave neutral results and its advanced coating minimizes grease from fingerprints.