So.. I'm going to be up front.. I'm NOT A huge fan of diffusion filters. People already tend to over-soften their images they post online, so I'm not a giant fan of a 'dirty lens' look.

However, for some of our sessions we've done, soft images are more desireable than hard/crisp images. (An example, is if you're producing an image that appears to be in a fog or smoke) In the past, I would have simply used an oiled UV Filter (that's literally what it sounds like... put a light layer of oil or grease on the filter, and then attach it). As you can imagine, while those images turn out ok, introducing oil/grease/vaseline into gear, is always a nightmare. So, diffusion filters are a go to, for many photographers.. now myself included.

Black diffusion filters by and large, are used for 2 purposes.. 1.) Soften images, and 2.) reduce highlights/glare.. To that end, these 2 filters serve their purpose well.

However, I will point out, for MOST use cases, while the 1/8 can be used as an all around every day use filter (if you so desire), I would strongly recommend taking the time to find your use case for the 1/4, as it can drastically change your image.

As for these particular filters, they do their jobs, as expected.. EXCEPT, there is one thing I REALLY want to point out: These are double threaded filters, in that you obviously thread them onto your lens, BUT, these is a thread on the external side of the element too, so you can couple this up with other filters, as well.

THAT is a major design decision, that I honestly wish more manufacturers would take the time to implement. It's often frustrating, when you're trying to couple up multiple filters, and yet, you can't.

As with all K&F filters, the easy twist to open case for the filters are amazing, and the fact they have multiple rings, so you can store a different filter in their case, is a bonus.

However, while the fact that you can store other filters in the case is a plus.. it can also be a minus. If/when you have multiple filters of the same manufacturer (in this case, K&F), keeping track of what each filter is, in each case, especially while in studio, can be a challenge. So, it'd be nice to see a label on the case, indicating what is inside. Still, that's something that a simple label maker could do, too, so it's not a big deal... just one thing I've always noticed with multiple manufactures, and is NOT limited to K&F.

K&F claims there's an anti-scratch coating on their lenses, but short of taking sandpaper to the filter, I cannot attest to that claim, until I've used these longer than a few weeks. That said, I have no reason to doubt this claim, as the other couple of K&F filters I've used, seem to have held up well.

So far, I'm quite happy with these 2 filters. They soften the images, without adding any real color shift. They are comparable to a significantly more expensive set of filters that I've been using for years... so much so, in fact, that I'm thinking about giving more of the K&F brand filters a go.

These are an amazing set of filters, and I'm quite happy to have them in my studio gear collection.