If you read my last post about switching filter systems, you will already know that I’m ditching my Lee100 system for the Kase Revolution filter system. The Kase Revolution system of magnetic filters is already one of the easiest filter systems to work with in the field. In this post, I’ll share a tip on how to improve your Kase filter experience.
The Problem
When I’m out with my camera, if it’s not in my backpack, it’s either in my Peak Design capture clip or on a Black Rapid strap. When I carry it like this, I like to keep my lens hood attached. It offers me a little bit of protection. I don’t use UV filters on my lenses anymore, and without the lens hood, the front element would be exposed.
If you’ve ever invested in a circular filter system before, you’ll know the usual advice. Buy filters that fit the largest lens you have or are likely to have. If you have lenses with smaller filter sizes, then use step-up rings. These step-up rings are the root cause of the problem. If you leave the step-up rings attached to your lenses, the lens hood will no longer fit. You will also often find that the lens caps no longer fit securely. The picture on the right shows the problem when the step up ring is attached.
If you don’t leave the step-up rings attached, then you’re back to screwing them in when you want to use filters. Then removing them once you want to put the lens hood back on. This totally negates all the benefits of using a magnetic filter system.
The Mistake I Made
I shoot with both a crop sensor Fuji X-T5, and a full frame Nikon Z8. My lenses range from 67mm filter threads all the way to 82mm. I do have a lens with a 95mm filter thread, the Nikkor 180-600mm. It is unlikely however that I would use filters on that lens.
When I invested in the Kase Revolution system, I purchased the 82mm pro kit. I then proceeded to order step up rings for some of the other lenses. This was my mistake. Keep reading to find out what I should have done.
How To Improve Your Kase Filter Experience
Kase have obviously realised there are people out there, who like me, want to continue to use their lens hoods. They also realise that people who invest in their filter systems don’t want to be screwing adapter rings on and off their lenses in the field.
Kase now sell adapter kits. I’m not sure if these are a new innovation or people just don’t know about them. I haven’t seen them discussed in many places and I watched a lot of videos on YouTube before purchasing my Kase filters. All the videos I’ve watched still spew the age-old advice of using step up rings. Let’s face it, step-up rings suck! One particular photographer on YouTube went as far as recommending not using the inlaid rings at all. Their reasoning behind this, you may damage your front element when installing it.
If you’re like me and don’t know about the adapter kits, let me enlighten you. These kits will seriously improve your Kase filter experience and speed up your workflow in the field.
What Are Kase Adapter Kits?
Kase adapter kits consist of two main parts. Firstly, you get an inlaid magnetic adapter ring that screws down into the filter threads in the lens. This means you don’t increase the circumference of the lens barrel, and in most cases can still use your normal lens cap. The image on the right has the inlaid ring installed. You can’t even see it.
The second part is what can only be described as a magnetic step up adapter. It does the same job as a step up ring, but attaches to the inlaid ring magnetically. This eliminates all the tedious screwing in and out of step-up rings. When you’ve finished using your filters, you simply detach it, just as if it was another filter.
There is a video on the Kase website (actually hosted on YouTube) that tries to explain this, but doesn’t do a great job in my opinion.
How I Use The Kase Adapter Kits
The Kase adapter kits have simplified my workflow and minimised the compromises I had to make with my gear. I now have magnetic inlaid rings in all my lenses, both Fuji and Nikon. As the images below show, I can leave the inlaid rings installed and still use my lens hoods and caps.
I have opted to buy magnetic lens caps for a few of my lenses. I find them better for a few reasons. Firstly, they have a lower profile than the pinch caps and take up less room. They are also quicker to put on and take off. Some of the Fuji and Nikon caps can be fiddly to clip into place. Lastly, and most importantly for me, they’re smooth on the inside. You may be wondering why this is important for me. Well, it’s very simple. I have a habit of taking lens caps off and putting them in my pocket. When they come out of my pocket, they’re covered in lint and all manner of other crap, which ultimately ends up on the lens when I put the cap back on.
How Is My Kit Made Up
In the simplest terms, you will need one adapter for each filter size other than those that are the same size as your filters. You will also need an inlaid ring matching the filter size of your lens. Let’s look in detail at the lenses I will use the filters on and what adapters and rings I need.
| Lens | Filter Thread Size |
|---|---|
| Fujinon XF 10-24mm f4 R OIS WR | 72mm |
| FUJINON XF16-80mm F4 R OIS WR | 72mm |
| FUJINON XF70-300mm F4-5.6 R LM OIS WR | 67mm |
| Nikon Z 14-30mm f4 S | 82mm |
| Nikon Z 24-120mm f4 S | 77mm |
| Nikon Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S | 77mm |
As you can see, the largest thread size I have is 82mm. I purchased the 82mm Pro Kit. A word of warning here, Kase recommend going a size above your largest lens filter thread size to avoid vignetting. This only happens when you stack multiple filters, but something to think about. On the Nikon 14-30mm lens I see no vignetting at 14mm with a single filter attached. With two filters attached, I see a small amount in the corners. If I zoom in to 15mm, then this disappears. Kase have a useful table on their website to guide you when making this decision.
What’s Included and What’s Extra
The 82mm Kase Pro kit comes with a standard 82mm adapter ring as well as an 82mm inlaid ring. I have installed the 82mm inlaid ring in my Nikon 14-30mm lens. This leaves me with two 77mm lenses, two 72mm lenses, and a 67mm lens I need adapters for. To allow all these lenses to use the 82mm filters, I purchased the following adapter kits and rings.
TIP
The 77-82mm standard step-up ring will fit on the Nikon 100-400mm lens without impacting the use of the lens hood.
As I mentioned earlier the kits include both the inlaid ring and the magnetic adapter. You only need one adapter for each size. This can be moved from lens to lens. You need an inlaid ring for each lens, this stays installed on each lens. This is an important concept to understand. It will save you some money.
At the time of writing, the inlaid step-up ring kits cost between £35 and £50 depending on the size. The inlaid rings cost between £15 and £25. If you take my list of lenses above, buying the step-up kit for each lens would cost me £210. Buying only one kit for each size and individual rings would cost me £163. A not insignificant saving of £47, or 22%. When you’ve already invested £350 in filters, I’m sure you will appreciate this.
You can also save a little more on the cost of your filters if you look around on YouTube. There are a lot of photographers and creatives out there that have discount codes available. Most of these will get you between 5% and 10% off the total cost.
Wrapping Up
This post turned out to be much longer than originally intended. Hopefully it will help you avoid the mistake I made and save a little cash. Thankfully I only purchased a couple of step-up rings before I figured this out. If it did save you some cash, please feel free to buy me a coffee using the button below.
Buy Me A CoffeeIf you made it this far, thanks for sticking with it. If you’re still confused or have questions, please get in touch or leave a comment below. Until next time, have a good one.
