H&Y Filters REVORING Swift Review

The H&Y Filters REVORING Swift is an evolution of the REVORING system and adds a complete eco-system of stacking magnetic filters that can be used for either stills or video.

The entire system is based around the REVORING adapter that uses an innovative mechanism to attach itself to the front of your lens. Hold the rear ring that sits against the filter lens thread and then twist the front ring, ensuring the mechanism retracts. Then sit the threads inside the lens thread and release the front ring, as you do this the mechanism releases and grips the lens thread.

It’s clever and once in place, holds firm. With the main ring in place, the drop-in filter holder, or the square filter holder can be added, if you have it. Each filter holder is held in place by the magnets, and with no screwing involved, it’s incredibly quick and easy. Next comes the hood or Matte box which is attached in the same way.

In this review, I’m looking at three main components of the REVORING Swift system. The Adapter with built-in Variable ND-CPL, the MRC ND8-CPL, and the rubber hood.

Getting your head around the entire system can take a while, as there is so much to it. But break it down, and it all starts to make sense. Essentially you have the lens adapter, much like any filter system, which attaches directly to the front of the lens. There are four different options depending on the diameter of your lens. In this test, I’ve used the 67-82mm on the Sony 24-70mm f/2.8. This is the largest diameter for this adapter, and fitting it takes a couple of seconds and holds solid once in place.

The build quality of the empty adapter is excellent, with an all-metal design that feels solid and robust. One aspect that I like is, that unlike traditional screw-in filters, there is absolutely no way that this system is going to get stuck to the front of your lens.

Attaching the adapter with built-in CPL follows the same process and again the quality of the adapter with the full metal build is excellent. The CPL has two pins around the rotating polarizer and VND elements. The front ring operates the VND and rotates smoothly. The rear ring rotates the CPL.

Once in place, the adapter holder of choice can be attached. I only have the drop-in filter adapter. This is designed to stack on top of the empty REVORING adapter and not the one with the built-in Variable ND as it already has a CPL built-in.

Again the all-metal build is nicely designed, and there’s a protective plate that can be slotted in if you’re not using a drop-in filter. I like that this has been thought about, as you can leave the drop-in filter adapter in place without worrying about light leaks if you’re not using a filter for a shot.

The Drop-in CPL fits together well and offers a large metal rotation ring on the side. While this isn’t the smoothest of rotations and makes quite a bit of noise as it’s rotated, it does work well.

Finally, the rubber filter hood; either attaches directly to the front of the drop-in filter adapter or requires the H&Y magnetic adapter ring for the relevant REVORING adapter if used with the adapter with the build-in VND.

It doesn’t sound very easy, but once you start to play around with the system, it all makes sense.

Overall the design and built quality are excellent. The only slight issue is that the rotation ring of the drop in CPL is a little rough when rotated, and this noise will be picked up in the audio of any video being shot if adjusted.

The REVORING Swift system is designed to make life easy for image creators, be that stills or video, so when it comes to performance, I had to consider if this magnetic design is a benefit to the filter system or just a gimmick.

Thankfully I’ve had a good amount of time with the REVORING Swift system before its launch and have used it of quite a few shots, mainly video. Due to the time of year, there’s not much need for a CPL or VND when the skies are generally overcast when it comes to photography.

Used for video, the all in one VND CPL were a huge benefit, and the fact that the REVORING fits diameters with a size between 67 and 82mm meant that swapping between each lens was a quick process. I didn’t realise quite how time-consuming the process of unscrewing filters can be.

What’s more, I can use the same filter system on every lens. I use Sony fixed and zoom lenses on the A7 series and FS7 cameras; I’d like to go Cine, but the budget doesn’t allow. This means that all my lens diameters are different, 82mm for the zooms and a. complete mix for the fixed. Usually, this means I have to dig around for the step-down rings, often discover I’ve overtightened an adapter and ultimately, swapping filters is never the quick process you think it should be. Herewith the REVORING, it is; it takes seconds.

Once the filter you want is in place or dropped in, the rubber lens hood is clipped on, again no lining up or lugs, and off you go. At this point, if nothing else, you’ll save yourself a good five minutes not having to worry about screwing in and out filters.

Next up is the actual use of the filters and hood. In this review, I’ve focused on three components of the wider system.

REVORING Variable ND+CPL

This is the adapter filter combo, I found that it worked well and did the job intended but at the same time, you need to be careful about how far you push the effect.

The CPL colour cast can be quite intense, especially for longer exposures, and then mix with the polariser can get some interesting effects. Used for the video you don’t tend to push the effect too much, but for stills and long exposures it could be difficult to strike a balance.

The other issue was the chromatic aberration that really highlighted in blue around high contrast areas on long exposures. Again keeping the filter in check was essential for good results.

When it came to us, the filter was well thought out. Once in position, the VND front ring rotates smoothly with light resistance, and the rear CPL rotates smoothly but with a little more resistance.

Overall the adapter with build-in VND and CPL worked well, but you do need to be careful that you don’t push the effect to far.

Drop-in MRC ND8 CPL

I love the drop-in filters, and with the standard REVORING attached to the front of the lens, the drop-in filter adapter can be attached. The CPL is then dropped in, and the effect can be adjusted with the large metal wheel on the side.

There’s a little bit of rattle in the filter once it’s in place, but this has no real effect on the actual quality or use of the filter. Rotating the wheel and the filter rotates easily, although it’s not as smooth as some other systems with a similar mechanism that I have come across. I’d go as far as to say it’s a little rough.

The noise from the rotation is enough to be picked up by any mics close by, so this should be adjusted and set before the film starts rolling or you hit record.

In use, aside from the noise it creates, the effect is good; this is a CPL with some thought and helps reduce reflections and kick out cloud detail and contrast well.

Again there are a few issues for stills photographers using large-diameter wide-angled lenses as the edges of the filter holder can appear in the frame. I used the filter with the large Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 and at 24mm you could just see the holder in frame, however, used for video the 16:9 aspect ratio crops these corners out.

REVORING Rubber Hood

I like the rubber hood; it’s relatively large and securely attaches to the front of both the drop-in filter adapter and the REVORING with VND and CPL adapter with strength.

Once in place, it helps to reduce any flare that might want to affect the quality of your images and matches the quality of the rest of the system.

The rubber hood is more than a simple extra. With the filters and holders drawing the glass further away from the lens’s front element, there’s a greater likely hood that you will suffer from the flare. However, this hood will almost eliminate that worry, so it is a worthwhile addition.

Initially, it takes a little thought to get your head around the system, and that’s not because it’s complicated; it’s just different. Once you have the adapter you need, select if you want the build-in VND version empty, it’s just a case of popping on the filters you want.

Stills photographers will inevitably opt for the square and rectangular versions; I hope to test these out soon, while videographers will revel in the ease of the drop-in filters.

Using those drop-in filters makes life easy; pop them in rotation to adjust the polarising effect, and you’re done. If you want to remove them, pop them out as you would in any matte box and continue to film; just pop it in when you need another filter. The system is quick to use, but what makes it is that magnetic connection.

Often I’ll arrive at a location, have moments to set up and once finished, I’ll be ushered out with the video kit, lights and all, still packing down tripods and throwing everything back in the kit back. More often than not, the delicate filters take time to unscrew and carefully pack away at each end of the shoot. Here the magnetic attachment speeds up the process, and those seconds gained back are incredibly valuable.

The quality of the glass for the VND and polariser separately were good, and while there was a cast issue setting custom white balance or a slight tweak in post this was quickly corrected as long as the effect wasn’t pushed to far.

I did find that using AWB did cause issues, so selecting a fixed WB is essential with both the VND and CPL. You also need to be mindful that the longer the exposures for stills the more likely hood there will be the influence of Chromatic aberration in your shots.

However, as a system, it works incredibly well and is a good if expensive choice.

For more details check out www.kickstarter.com/projects/revoring/revoring-swift-magnetic-video-and-photo-filter-system?ref=4h9nh3&token=0c749729