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Urth Magnetic Filters Kit Review

Park Cameras recently expanded its range of camera lens filters by adding Urth filters and backpacks, which brings a diverse lineup of options for photographers and content creators. I was lucky enough to take the Urth 82mm Magnetic Essentials Filter Kit Plus+ along on a landscape photography trip to Exmoor, which is the ideal setting to test these filters in real-world shooting conditions.

The timing couldn’t have been better with autumn colours on full display, providing the perfect setting for long exposure photography using Urth’s ND filters, shooting with a circular polariser, and putting these filters through their paces for our hands-on Urth Magnetic Lens Filters Kit Review.

Join us as we head into the field to see how they perform, what’s included in the kit, the cost, and whether this filter set could be a great addition to your outdoor photography kit.

What is the Urth Magnetic Lens Filters Kit?

The Urth Magnetic Lens Filters Kit comes in a range of thread sizes and includes four professional-grade Plus+ filters, which are ideal for outdoor photography thanks to being tough and easy to clean. Urth’s Plus+ range uses German SCHOTT glass and features a quick-switch magnetic design for quick filter switching and stacking.

The kit includes four filters:

1. UV
2. CPL
3. ND8 (3-stop)
4. ND1000 (10-stop)

I chose the 82mm kit to fit my largest lenses, along with a 77-82mm step-up ring for use with my other lens, which is more cost effective than getting a different kit for every lens.

Sample landscape © Nick Dautlich, tripod mounted with Urth CPL. Camera settings: 0.3 seconds. f/8. ISO 100

How do Urth Magnetic Lens Filters work?

The beauty of this magnetic system lies in its lightweight and easy-to-use design. Start by threading either the magnetic UV filter or the included magnetic adapter ring. Once either is screwed onto your lens, you can simply snap any of the other filters into place, with strong magnets guiding and holding the filters securely.

It’s super quick and really easy to use, with a neat stack of filters sandwiched in-between the two end metal storage caps.

The kit is extremely small, lightweight and convenient to grab from your bag

How did Urth Magnetic filters perform in the field?

The Urth magnetic filters worked exactly as intended during my time shooting with them in Exmoor. The kit was used with a Sony camera and Sony E-mount mirrorless lenses, with the widest being a 16-35mm and the longest a 70-200mm. I noted that there was zero vignetting even at 16mm, and I experienced no issues using any of the ND filters, even when stepping-up from a smaller thread.

Colour cast was minimal, with neutral results when using both the CPL and ND filters, even simultaneously. Urth doesn’t recommend stacking more than two filters at once, which is perfectly adequate for 95% of use cases during my typical outdoor photography.

Next we take a look at each individual filter and how it performed during real world use.

UV filter

There’s no end of debate about the pros and cons of a UV filter, suffice to say, in my personal experience, a UV or protection filter can save the day when shooting in windy, dusty, or otherwise challenging outdoor environments. For this trip, I had a circular polariser mounted 100% of the time and decided to use it as protection for my lenses, forgoing Urth’s UV filter.

Included in this kit is the Urth 82mm Magnetic UV Lens Filter Plus+, which retails at £75. This is extremely reasonable for a pro-grade UV filter of this size, and even better value when considering that the price of the Essentials Kit – which includes four filters, is just £195.00, but more on that later.

CPL (Polarising) Filter

When shooting landscapes and outdoor scenes I will have a CPL (circular polariser) attached to the lens most of the time. A polariser is vital for reducing glare from wet foliage, rocks and other surfaces, and can significantly enhance contrast, saturation and overall tones.

The included Urth 82mm Magnetic CPL Polarising Filter Plus+ performed brilliantly and served all of its intended purposes outlined above. I did notice some uneven polarisation when shooting at ultra-wide focal widths, but still kept it mounted and experimented with where I wanted the polarisation effect to be most prominent.

The effect on wet autumn foliage is so dramatic I would recommend using a circular polariser 100% of the time, although of course the strength of the effects does not have to be 100% as it works in increments as you rotate the filter round.

Thanks to the ultra slim design, I didn’t see any vignetting and wouldn’t hesitate to use an Urth CPL in all relevant situations. If you do notice vignetting or other artefacts such as reflections and glare, you can experiment by changing positions, or simply remove the filter instantly, thanks to its magnetic design.

Sample long exposure © Nick Dautlich, tripod mounted with Urth CPL and ND filter. Camera settings: 30 seconds. f/16. ISO 100

Solid ND filters

The two included solid ND filters are ideal for slowing the shutter speed to create motion blur. Although often used in cinematography, a solid ND filter is also a valuable tool in certain situations for stills photography. These include creating streaking clouds, removing moving subjects from the frame, and allowing the use of a wide aperture during bright conditions to retain a shallow depth of field.

Included in this kit are:

1. Magnetic ND8 Filter Plus+ (3 stops)
2. Urth 82mm Magnetic ND1000 (10 Stop) Lens Filter Plus+

With these two filters, you can experiment with extreme long exposures as well as create slightly longer exposures to smooth flowing water, clouds, and produce other more subtle effects. During the trip I tried both and found them easy to use, and they worked precisely as expected, making a great addition to the UV and CPL filters.

German Schott glass is very easy to clean

Other strengths and weaknesses from field tests

Ironically, the only real weakness I found was also the filter kit’s strength, which revolves around just how thin each filter is. The frames are extremely thin, and the magnets are quite strong, so I occasionally found that I would smudge my fingers on a filter when pulling it off from the stack. I am certain that over time I would get used to the system, but this happened a few times during the week of shooting.

A major benefit of this kit is that you can still use your lens cap while the filter is installed on the lens. This is a huge time saver and eliminates the need to buy larger caps, which are required by many other systems.

A quick note regarding the step-up ring, Urth is working on their own, but these were not available at the time of my review, so I used my own ring to go from 77mm to 82mm.

Sample landscape © Nick Dautlich, tripod mounted with Urth CPL and ND filter. Camera settings: 1.6 seconds. f/8. ISO 100

Urth Magnetic Filters Kit price

One of the major draws to buying all fours filters in the Essentials kit is the financial saving you make, versus buying them individually. Urth has gone out of their way to ensure that photographers can get the everyday outdoor filters they need in one handy kit without the expense of buying individually. Thanks Urth!

Summarising my experience with Urth, I found the system to be really quick and easy to use. I especially appreciated the versatility of being able to magnetically mount either the UV filter or a threaded base, as well as how quickly I could use them without needing a larger cap or threading each filter individually.

If you shoot outdoors, this is the perfect starting point for everyday filters and serves as a great foundation for enhancing your images, as well as protecting your expensive lens from accidental damage to the front element!

Discover a diverse selection of Urth lens filters and accessories to elevate your photography, and browse our range of lens filters and kits to find the perfect system to enhance your creative vision.

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By Nick Dautlich on 05/11/2024