URTH Magnetic Filter Kits 

Introduction

When we began our careers in the photographic industry back in the 80’s you could only ever buy filters individually. These were generally sold in bulky plastic containers that tended to always crack and break eventually. Depending on how many filters you carried, they always seemed to take up a good portion of valuable territory in your camera bag. In those days, step-up rings were not a common accessory, at least they were never on our radar, so we would carry multiple filters for different size lens threads.

Attaching filters in the field as a Travel Photographer has always been time-consuming and a real pain in the ass. There’s never really been an easy way around this and we don’t think there ever will be a way to change filters quickly.

Till now…… well sort of, maybe we should have said  ‘quicker’ rather than ‘quickly’

Magnetic lens filters have been around for a while now but only a handful of companies have started offering them. Strangely, photographers have not yet embraced magnetic filters for some unknown reason. We can only assume it is because not every type of filter is released as a magnetic filter and the cost to release a comprehensive range of magnetic filters would be prohibitive. So, for the time being, magnetic filters will possibly only be attractive to the minimalist or beginner photographer that only needs the most common filters that are used in photography such as the UV, CPL, and ND filters. In reality, these filters should generally cover the needs of most photographers.

With this in mind, Urth has launched a small magnetic filter range of the most commonly used filters. They have released the UV, CPL, and ND1000 as individual filters and 2 Filter Kits, however, they also have an ND8 filter that can only be purchased in a kit.

If you’ve never heard of Urth, you may be more familiar with the old brand name –  Gobe. The company re-branded in late 2020. We’ve been using Gobe/Urth Filters for quite a while now and absolutely love their quality, price, and contribution to the environment through tree planting in some of the most deforested regions of the world. If you are going to recycle the box take a few moments to register your product to plant 5 trees. Your unique code resides on the inside of the lid on the kits and inside the flap of individual filters.

Urth was kind enough to send us the 77mm Magnetic Essentials Filter Kit Plus+, and 72mm Duet Filter Kit Plus+, for this review. Please read our disclaimer at the bottom of this post.

What are Magnetic Filters?

Magnetic filters, in reality, are no different to the screw-in type filters you’re probably currently using. The only difference is how they attach to the front of the lens. Rather than being secured using a thread, they are magnetized and connected to an appropriate-size adapter ring which is attached to the front of the lens. The only exception is the UV filter which also has a thread.

Do I need magnetic filters?

As mentioned in our other post, the results achieved in your image will not change whether you have a screw-in or magnetic filter. Using the magnetic filters, however, will be much quicker to attach. So if you want a filter system that is much quicker and easier to use then, yes, you should consider magnetic filters.

Which filter kit should I get?

If you are just starting out, then we would suggest you purchase the Duet Filter Kit. Most photographers, when starting out, don’t need ND filters. Once you understand what ND filters are for and how they would be used in your photography, if at all, then you can purchase the ND filters individually. The only issue is that the ND8 filter is currently only supplied in the Essentials Filter Kit.

If you are a more advanced photographer who uses ND filters and has just bought a new lens that has a different lens thread size than your existing lenses then we would suggest you try the Essentials Filter Kit.

How to use Urth Magnetic Filters

All Urth Magnetic Filters are provided with a magnetised adapter ring. Remove any existing filters from the front of your lens and screw in the provided adapter ring. For the UV filter, you also have the option to screw this in instead of the adapter ring. Sort of defeats the whole purpose of using a magnetic filter system so not 100% certain why the UV has the thread.

Make sure you purchase the correct filter thread size for the lens. If you do not want to purchase multiple filters for different lens threads we suggest that you buy a filter for the largest thread size you have and then purchase a step-up ring for smaller thread sizes. Keep in mind that this may cause some vignetting.

As digital shooters we prefer using the adapter ring and removing the UV filter prior to attaching another filter as the UV filter for us is really only there to provide protection for the lens element.

Note: If you remove the UV Filter from the lens you MUST attach the adapter ring for any other magnetic filters to connect.

Important: The Urth Magnetic CPL Filter Plus+ works a little differently from a conventional CPL filter which will usually have a rotating ring. The Urth filter works in a similar way to a CPL that is used in a Square Filter Holder whereas the whole CPL filter rotates to achieve polarisation. Having a CPL without the rotating ring allows the filter to be much slimmer and therefore reduces excessive vignetting. Although the polarization works effectively the rotation is not as smooth as a conventional CPL filter.

When starting out in photography the first two filters you should purchase are the controversial UV filter and a CPL filter. Why is the UV controversial? Well, there are many photographers out there that will use them to protect their lenses from dirt and scratches while there are chest-beating photographers out there that claim that it reduces image quality and don’t use them. The ball is in your court as to whether you use the UV filter but personally speaking, we use them on all our lenses. The CPL filter is a must-have for any outdoor photographer. The filter is great for reducing reflection, increasing colour saturation to the sky and foliage etc. Just keep in mind that these filters do not work particularly well on ultra-wide-angle lenses (<24mm) and can polarise unevenly across the scene. Also, the filter is best used at about 90deg to the main light source otherwise there will be a minimal effect.

We strongly recommend this kit for those that are buying their first filters or those that have just purchased a new lens.

The Filter Kits

For this review, we requested the 77mm Urth Magnetic Essentials Filter Kit Plus+ and the 72mm Urth Magnetic Duet Filter Kit Plus+. Although the 2 filters in the Duet Filter Kit are replicated in the Essentials Filter Kit, we wanted the different lens thread sizes so that we could test without having to use a step-up ring (our 24-105 lens is 77mm and our 16-35 lens is 72mm).

As we have already written a post about the packaging in a generic post about the Urth Magnetic Filters, we will not repeat ourselves here. We suggest you read the post if you’re interested in the finer details.

The Essentials Filter Kit is an extension of the Duet Filter Kit. It has both the UV Filter and CPL Filter. The only reason to purchase this kit is if you are interested in the ND8 which will reduce 3 stops of light from reaching the sensor or the ND1000 which will reduce 10 stops of light. These filters are more speciality filters and are used by photographers that need a slower shutter speed to achieve an effect. The ND1000 is particularly useful for achieving a slower shutter speed when shooting in the daylight hours.

When you purchase the filter kit, the adapter ring will be included in the stack. The stack also includes a magnetic front and back ‘Magnetic Lens Filter Cap’. Keep in mind that if you are using the front magnetic cap as a lens cap on the camera you will no longer have a front cap to protect your other filters. Alternatively, you can either use your existing lens cap, albeit we found it not very secure, or purchase an additional Magnetic Lens Filter Cap. Funnily enough, when the UV filter is used with the adapter ring along with the magnetic lens filter cap, we found that the UV filter was also removed when we took the magnetic lens cap off.  If using the UV as a screw-in (without the adapter) we found no problem. The other 3 filters in the kit remain on the lens when removing the magnetic lens cap. Lastly, with the lens hood attached, it is difficult to remove the magnetic lens filter cap, but you may want to check this for yourself as all lenses have different lens hoods.

*Magnalium is an aluminium alloy with 5% magnesium and 95% aluminium. Alloys with small amounts of magnesium (about 5%) exhibit greater strength, greater corrosion resistance, and lower density than pure aluminium – Wikipedia

The optical glass is manufactured with premium German Schott B270. As mentioned above, the filters have 20 layers (or 30 layers) of nano-coating which give them better protection against water, oil and scratches. The nano-coating also provides a higher maximum light transmission and a more consistent transmission curve resulting in sharper images, finer colours and greater depth.

All of Urth’s products have a Lifetime Warranty.

The Magnetic Filter Kit Range

Urth Magnetic Filter Lens Cap

The dual-purpose filter cap can be used as a lens cap and also as caps to protect your magnetic filters of the same size. Keep in mind that if using one cap for the lens you will only have one cap protecting your other magnetic filters.

Sizes: 37mm – 95mm
Price: USD$35.00 – $55.00
Discount: Click on the Buy Now button below and use the discount code on the banner in this post at checkout to receive a 15% discount

The Final Word

The Urth Magnetic Filter Kits are a great addition to any photographer’s kit. Although there are not a lot of filters in the range yet, the filters that are provided in the kits will cover the majority of the shots that most photographers take. Nevertheless, an ND64 (6-stop) would be a handy addition in the future.

In our testing, we have found them to be invaluable in the field when you need to change filters quickly and seamlessly so if you are a photographer that works quickly then the magnetic filters should be a no-brainer for you.

The kits are also an economical way to purchase the filters as purchasing them individually will cost you considerably more and as a bonus, the kits include the metal magnetic lens caps. Also, if you want to purchase the ND8 filters you will have no choice but to purchase the Essentials Kit as this is not sold individually.

If you are new to photography and looking to purchase your first filters then we would definitely recommend purchasing a magnetic filter kit.

RATED: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 

If you are interested in reading any of our other reviews of the Gobe/URTH Filters click on any of the posts below. Alternatively, we have a dedicated URTH Filters page on our website which you can check out here. For any of our other product reviews click here

Disclaimer:  Although we are affiliated with URTH Filters and receive a commission on any sales when using the coupon code, this review is totally unbiased (we are also NiSi Resellers). As Professional Photographers we would never recommend the use of any product unless we use the product ourselves. We always strive to give you our honest opinion in order to help you make the best choice. We did receive the product with compliments of URTH but were not paid for this review. We may also receive commissions on other links in this post.