K&F Concept Natural Night review: a top-quality light pollution filter at a rock-bottom price

K&F Concept is one of the world’s largest suppliers of camera filters, according to 2024 reports. The Chinese filter and photo accessory company is based in Shenzhen, and since it began production in 2012, has racked up a whole host of prestigious awards, from the likes of Red Dot and iF Product Design.

The company is well-known for creating quality products at affordable price points, enabling even beginner and enthusiast photographers to achieve great results with minimal outlay. I got hold of K&F’s Natural Night light pollution filter, a circular screw-in filter available in a range of filter thread options that start at just $40 / £30 / AU$60, very much fitting into affordable territory.

A light pollution filter is designed to cut out yellow and orange wavelengths caused by street lights, which can not only create an unwanted yellow color cast in your night city shots but also reduce contrast and create a washed-out, hazy glow on the horizon in astro photos. Starry shots and night city photos are the best used for a light pollution filter, so let’s see if this budget-friendly option from K&F Concept is up to the task, and worthy of a place in our guide to the best light pollution filters.

K&F Concept Natural Night: Specifications

K&F Concept Natural Night: Price

The K&F Concept filter is quite affordable in all its various sizes. The smallest 49mm costs just $43 / £30 / AU$60, while the largest 82mm costs $80 / £66 / AU$120. As usual, the larger the filter, the greater the cost in general, though I did notice that some filters bucked the trend; the 52mm was actually cheaper than the 49mm in some territories, and I guess this is down to it being a more popular size.

These prices make the K&F filter quite affordable when compared to similar sizes from the likes of Rollei, Cokin, and Hoya – all of which have options over $100 / £100 / AU$200 at their top end. However, the K&F filter is a little limited when it comes to larger size options, topping out at just 82mm, so those with larger front elements may need to look elsewhere.

Photographers looking for more creative control with a dedicated filter system will also be glad to hear that the light pollution filter is also available as a 100x100mm square option, for slot-in systems such as K&F Concept's X-Pro filter holder (requiring one of its plastic frames). The 100mm square filter costs $90 / £84 / AU$148 for the filter on its own or $110 / £95 / AU$163 for the filter with the plastic protective frame.

K&F Concept Natural Night: Design & Handling

The K&F Concept Natural Night light pollution filter is made from aviation-grade aluminum alloy, which has CNC machining precision and a non-slip knurled pattern on parts of the filter frame edge.

It’s available to fit a wide range of lenses, with nine filter thread options available from 49mm up to 82mm. While the range is a little limited on the larger lens side of things (Irix and Rollei both make versions up to 105mm), this will cater to most enthusiasts.

Having lots of choices at the smaller end of the filter thread range, such as 49mm, 52mm, and 55mm, will also make it tempting for entry-level photographers with kit lenses, and the price is tempting, too.

Nano-X is K&F Concept’s top-tier range of premium filters, made using the best-quality components. However, the K&F Concept Natural Night light pollution filter belongs to the Nano-Xcel range, a newer series of filters that use new-and-improved coatings and high-definition optical glass.

Inside the frame, the filter is made from K&F’s Japanese AGC optical glass, which features a 28-layer nano coating on both sides to reduce glare and reflections, with a claimed 0.2% ultra-low reflectance. The nano coating also provides waterproof and scratch-resistant properties, too.

K&F Concept describes the filter frame as ‘ultra-slim’, and although it has a depth of 6mm, it only protrudes by 3mm when mounted. Some other filters I have tested, such as the Hoya Starscape, stick out by 4mm, so in this sense, the K&F filter is a little thinner and should reduce vignetting when shooting with super-wide-angle lenses or stacking multiple filters together.

Down to brass tacks, the filter is specifically engineered to remove yellow and orange wavelengths of light from your scene for reducing light pollution when taking city shots with phosphor lamps that can cause a garish yellow color cast, or in the countryside, where distant street lamps cause a bright glow on the horizon. This filter cuts light between 575-600nm to reduce the yellow and orange glare, allowing the delicate blue tones of starry sky shots to cut through and increase contrast.

Also in the packaging is a circular plastic hard case to keep the filter protected when not in use. It is small and compact, so it doesn't take up much space in your kit bag, though I did find it a little frustrating at times trying to line up both sides of the case to get it to close properly, and it was a bit more time-consuming than other hard cases from the likes of Hoya.

K&F Concept Natural Night: Performance

The filter has a double-sided 28-layer nano coating to make it oil, water, scratch, and dust-resistant. The coating also has anti-reflective properties to keep reflections down to just 0.15%. My tests showed water beading off the hydrophobic filter surface nicely. This makes it easy to shake water off, and although I didn’t get hands-on with the 100x100mm option, I imagine this is even easier to clean, as water can’t get trapped at the edges, as it can on the metal screw-in type.

It does a good job of neutralizing the unwanted yellow and orange wavelengths of light you’ll get from sodium and mercury-vapor street lamps, though, as with other light pollution cut filters I assessed, they can’t do too much to reduce the light spill and loss of detail in the night sky or stars. For this, the best option is to head to a designated dark sky area for the deepest night skies and clear star shots.

However, this isn’t always possible when shooting cities at night, and that’s where this filter excels – reducing the garish yellow glow for cleaner urban low-light scenes. It provided good contrast, though very fine details were a little softer than in some of the other filters I've tested, and also compared to the control test shot without any filter attached at all.

You really have to zoom in to see this loss of detail, and you have to remember that this filter sits at the budget end of the market. It was really nice to have its brilliant coatings, though, as some other budget filters omit them. So K&F Concept gets the thumbs up from me for value.

K&F Concept Natural Night: Verdict

Of all the many light pollution filters I have tested, few offer as much bang for buck as the K&F Concept Natural Night. With prices starting at around $40 / £30 / AU$60 for the smallest 49mm circular screw-in size, its features are truly impressive, with Japanese AGC optical glass, 28-layer double-sided nano coating for excellent dust, oil, water, and scratch resistance, a thin and lightweight metal frame, and a knurled filter frame edge, which makes it easier to use.

While it doesn't match the quality of the Cokin Nuances Clear Sky, it costs a fraction of the price, so for those on tight budgets, you could do far worse than the K&F Concept Natural Night filter.

Alternatives

Aimed at professionals, the Cokin Nuances Clearsky is one of the highest-quality light pollution filters around, with the very best glass and water-resistant coatings. It's available in thread sizes ranging between 52mm and 82mm, and can also be picked up as a square filter for Cokin’s P, Z, and X holders. If you take astro and night city shots to sell and have deep enough pockets, the Cokin Nuances Clear Sky is the best of the best.

The Irix Edge Light Pollution filter is designed to tone down the bright yellow color casts you might come across when shooting cities at night. It is very well made, boasts some great features, and is available in a generous range of filter thread sizes, up to 105mm.