I’ve been a fan of K&F Filters for sometime now, and have come to appreciate the consistency and the quality of the brand. The majority of my lenses live their lives with K&F UV protective filters on their front element.

I recently purchased a lens known for the special quality it brings to images, but has the disadvantage of being susceptible to flaring when shot wide open, which is how I like to use it. That being the case, my thought was that the coatings on the K&F Concept Ultra-Low Reflectivity Filter might provide at least some reduction in flare; in other words, the anti-reflective coatings on the filter reduce scattered light reaching the lens itself.

Using a spot meter and a neutral grey card, I found that the MCUV filter doe not absorb any light, nor does it degrade the image sharpness; the two provided pictures of type are both enlarged 500%. It does serve the purpose, as is typically the case, of low-cost protection for the front element of the lens. It is very light-weight owing to its aluminum frame, and the thinness of the glass. It has knurls on the frame for grip and the front threads are, at least in the case of the 62mm size I ordered, the same size as the filter size. This is not the case with all K&F Concept filters; I have several where the front threads are larger than the filter size or rear threads.

In the tests I performed to check for its “Low-Reflectivity,” in situations where there is a high degree of flare, for example the sun is in the frame, it did seem to help reduce flare in the lens I was using. And in situations where there is not a high degree of flare, I did sense that it provided slightly more contrast, evidence that it is preventing some scattered light from entering the lens. So, it did seem to do what I had hoped, that is, provide additional effective coatings to reduce flare in a specific lens. And of course, one would expect the same results on any lens to which its attached.

At best, these effects are subtle. On the other hand, they could be imagined; I’m seeing what I want to see. In all things visual, I use my senses rather charts and graphs to decide if an effect is of interest or useful to me. I don’t make comparisons, but judge a lens or filter, for example, for the qualities it has, not by those it doesn’t. Does it provide me a means by which to realize an idea or vision; that is the question for me. Every lens, filter, camera, film, etc., has a quality that needn’t be deemed as “good” or “bad,” but rather, is that the quality that aligns with my vision. Start with a vision, and the means will present itself.

As I noted at the beginning, I’ve come to rely on the quality of K&F filters, and for the reasons that the seller asserts, but most importantly to me, the high quality of their multi-coated, anti-reflective glass. Putting low quality glass in front of a high-quality lens denigrates the lens quality to that of the filter in front of it. That is why I have confidence in K&F filters.

Along with the filter is supplied what appears to be a new version of protective case; it is fabricated in such a way that it will hold a variety of filter sizes securely; I like it. Also included is a high-quality microfiber lens cleaning cloth.