okay so i keep seeing people talk about nd filters being essential for getting that cinematic look and i get the 180 degree rule and all that but every time i look into buying a set i get overwhelmed by the price difference between like a k&f concept set for 30 bucks vs the freewell magnetic ones that are way more expensive

im shooting with an air 2s mostly golden hour stuff and some midday footage that always looks kind of choppy and overexposed even when i pull the exposure down. like is the quality difference between cheap and expensive filters actually visible in the final footage or is this one of those things where people just convince themselves the expensive ones are better

honestly for the air 2s the cheap sets are totally fine to start with. the glass quality difference between budget and mid-range filters is real but its not the thing thats going to make or break your footage, at least not when youre still figuring out which nd you need in what conditions. ive used k&f filters for a couple years now and never had a complaint. the color cast thing people mention is barely noticeable and easy enough to fix in post if it bothers you

the magnetic ones are more convienent sure but i wouldnt say the footage looks better because of it, its really just about swapping speed when youre out in the field

the choppy midday thing is definitely a shutter speed issue and nd filters will fix it, that part is not placebo at all. but yeah start cheap. i burned money on the fancy ones early on and then realized i barely understood what i was doing yet anyway. get the cheap set, learn which ones you actually use, then maybe upgrade if you care that much about edge sharpness or whatever