Like a bunch of you I'm sure, I looked around at my filter situation and saw a bunch of hodge-podge-purchased black filters that all looked the same and figured it was time for an upgrade. I wanted to step into a system instead of just a new brand.
The thing that drew me to Maven immediately was the color-coding; this scratches a part of my brain in a way that makes it very easy to remember what is what when I'm trying to quickly grab a filter. Not only do they color code by filter type/function, but on some filters, they integrate information about the filter (like how strong the diffusion level is, for instance) using elements on the outside of the filter ring itself. Gone are the days of squinting at tiny text printed inside the filter frame!
Where most of my older filters were brass frames (I tended to buy Breakthrough, mostly), these are thinner and much lighter aluminum.
The ND filters proved to leave no cross-hatches or induce color shifts when white balance is normalized to a bare lens. Same story with the Splash Guard (UV) filter...no discernable color shifts.
The filters have hydrophobic coatings and are easy to clean with a tshirt in the field.
Because these filters are stackable, you can do some fun things, like stack a LPL on top of a CPL to make a VND that also cuts reflections.
You can also put their magnetic adapter PAST a favorite old threaded filter and have the Maven stack beyond it. I do this with a favorite old Cinebloom.
The extra strength magnetic adapters are SUPER strong, and I can hold an 800g+ lens up by just the filter. I wouldn't do this if I were you, but it's still cool to see
The step up adapters were a mixed bag, as they don't all come in extra strength, and overall I'd probably just get a threaded step up or down adaptor and put the filter-matching magnetic adapter on that.
Overall, these things have been a joy to use and have become an everyday thing I keep in my bag and utilize all the time. It's kind of hard thinking about using threaded filters anymore!
Maven's got a ton of filter types and I've barely scratched the surface, but it's cool to have the foundation now to be able to use and stack any combination of options. Michael Andrew, the owner of Maven Filters, has been super receptive to feedback and is hungry for design improvement and even totally new product ideas. They've been super professional, responsive, and overall my favorite company to work with so far.
p.1 #3 · Maven Magnetic Filters - Long Term Review
robert614 wrote:
Did you happen to test if they vignette when stacking a ND and CP with a 16-35mm at 16mm
I’ve had a tough time finding filters (not square) that don’t vignette
The Kase, which I have, are the closest I’ve found. They vignette slightly at 16mm but it’s gone at 17mm
I can test that for you later today, I'll post off/on in here for ya. Thinking about this though, I'd be putting a 77mm on a step up adapter for a 67mm lens, do you think that's an accurate test for your use case? It's how I'd use it in my personal kit.
p.1 #4 · Maven Magnetic Filters - Long Term Review
RoamingScott wrote:
I can test that for you later today, I'll post off/on in here for ya. Thinking about this though, I'd be putting a 77mm on a step up adapter for a 67mm lens, do you think that's an accurate test for your use case? It's how I'd use it in my personal kit.
I’m guessing you have the 16-35 f4? I actually have the GM II with 77mm filter diameter. So I’m not sure if your results would translate directly to my lens. But I’d still be interested in your results. I’ve considered getting the f4 as a lightweight alternative to the GM
But please don’t go out of your way or anything. Appreciate the reply!
p.1 #5 · Maven Magnetic Filters - Long Term Review
robert614 wrote:
I’m guessing you have the 16-35 f4? I actually have the GM II with 77mm filter diameter. So I’m not sure if your results would translate directly to my lens. But I’d still be interested in your results. I’ve considered getting the f4 as a lightweight alternative to the GM
But please don’t go out of your way or anything. Appreciate the reply!
I'm actually using the Tamron 16-30/2.8, but set it to f8 and 16mm for this test.
p.1 #8 · Maven Magnetic Filters - Long Term Review
RoamingScott wrote:
I replaced the blue sky gif with a more even white light source.
Much easier to see! Looks good! No mechanical vignetting. Thanks Scott!
I also noticed he also has a Dark CPL. Which combines ND+CPL in a single filter. Sounds interesting, but I don’t know anyone that’s tried them. Ever had a chance to test those?
p.1 #9 · Maven Magnetic Filters - Long Term Review
I’ve not tested those yet, and I can see the appeal. However, it seems like the real strength of the system is being able to mix and match filters. You would have to buy a dark CPL in every ND strength that you want to use vs just put the regular polarizer on whatever regular ND.
It would probably come down to how often you are combining an ND and a CPL to see if it’s worth the investment in the DCPLs.
Looks like you could still combine a DCPL with the LPL for a VND/polarizing combo:
robert614 wrote:
Much easier to see! Looks good! No mechanical vignetting. Thanks Scott!
I also noticed he also has a Dark CPL. Which combines ND+CPL in a single filter. Sounds interesting, but I don’t know anyone that’s tried them. Ever had a chance to test those?
p.1 #10 · Maven Magnetic Filters - Long Term Review
robert614 wrote:
Much easier to see! Looks good! No mechanical vignetting. Thanks Scott!
I also noticed he also has a Dark CPL. Which combines ND+CPL in a single filter. Sounds interesting, but I don’t know anyone that’s tried them. Ever had a chance to test those?
I've had their Dark CPL set in 82mm since July 2024, use them for my waterfall photography. Recently I picked up a 95mm set of Nisi JetMag Pro for use with my medium format setup. There were other reasons for that, not that I wasn't happy with the Maven's. They are still my go to filter sistem for my Sony system.
But I've been happy with dark CPLs, and I've used dark CPLs for years (Breakthrough, Freewell, PolarPro, etc).
Kase magnetic adapters are slightly thinner and work with Maven filters, but the "grip" isn't quite as good, but if you have a lens that is super senstive to filter thickness, it's an option. The Maven version of the inlaid ring or the Kase inlaid ring don't work all the well because the magnetic lip on the filters doesn't fit inside the opening of lenses, which means they don't sit flush.
p.1 #11 · Maven Magnetic Filters - Long Term Review
The thing that irritates me the most about Maven magnetic system is that cheap chinese filters can get it right - you can take off the magnetic cap with one hand. But the magnets on Maven filters / caps are not matched properly and I pretty always have to use both hands to take off the cap .
p.1 #12 · Maven Magnetic Filters - Long Term Review
j4nu wrote:
The thing that irritates me the most about Maven magnetic system is that cheap chinese filters can get it right - you can take off the magnetic cap with one hand. But the magnets on Maven filters / caps are not matched properly and I pretty always have to use both hands to take off the cap .
I've never found the intersection of perfect magnetic implementation and decent dark CPL options. Maybe Breakthrough did better, but I had some iffy quality on some of my Breakthrough Kickstarter filters way back when. Maven's have been better magnetic wise than the Freewells I had. Although they had a crazy number of dark CPLs originally, but the magnets faded over time.
p.1 #13 · Maven Magnetic Filters - Long Term Review
I just grabbed a Kase 77mm 3 stop to hold me over until I can choose a system, the timing of this is good, thank you. Can you use the normal lens hoods with these?
p.1 #14 · Maven Magnetic Filters - Long Term Review
I’ve not had issues using my Nikon hoods with these.
BigBabyMoses06 wrote:
I just grabbed a Kase 77mm 3 stop to hold me over until I can choose a system, the timing of this is good, thank you. Can you use the normal lens hoods with these?
p.1 #15 · Maven Magnetic Filters - Long Term Review
Curious what you mean by this. Are you taking about the lens cap?
j4nu wrote:
The thing that irritates me the most about Maven magnetic system is that cheap chinese filters can get it right - you can take off the magnetic cap with one hand. But the magnets on Maven filters / caps are not matched properly and I pretty always have to use both hands to take off the cap .
p.1 #18 · Maven Magnetic Filters - Long Term Review
tsdevine wrote:
I've had their Dark CPL set in 82mm since July 2024, use them for my waterfall photography. Recently I picked up a 95mm set of Nisi JetMag Pro for use with my medium format setup. There were other reasons for that, not that I wasn't happy with the Maven's. They are still my go to filter sistem for my Sony system.
But I've been happy with dark CPLs, and I've used dark CPLs for years (Breakthrough, Freewell, PolarPro, etc).
Kase magnetic adapters are slightly thinner and work with Maven filters, but the "grip" isn't quite as good, but if you have a lens that is super senstive to filter thickness, it's an option. The Maven version of the inlaid ring or the Kase inlaid ring don't work all the well because the magnetic lip on the filters doesn't fit inside the opening of lenses, which means they don't sit flush....Show more →
p.1 #19 · Maven Magnetic Filters - Long Term Review
tsdevine wrote:
I've never found the intersection of perfect magnetic implementation and decent dark CPL options. Maybe Breakthrough did better, but I had some iffy quality on some of my Breakthrough Kickstarter filters way back when. Maven's have been better magnetic wise than the Freewells I had. Although they had a crazy number of dark CPLs originally, but the magnets faded over time.
This implies that you like the magnetic aspect of the Maven's but not the IQ of the Maven dark CPL if I'm reading this right. Is there anything image wise that gives you pause?
p.1 #20 · Maven Magnetic Filters - Long Term Review
RoamingScott wrote:
This implies that you like the magnetic aspect of the Maven's but not the IQ of the Maven dark CPL if I'm reading this right. Is there anything image wise that gives you pause?
Sorry, didn't mean to imply that. Maven's Dark CPLs have been the best I've used. Just was acknowledging that I haven't tried the Breakthrough magnetics, but of the ones I've tried, I like the Maven's the best. Both optically and mechanically.
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