Top 10 'Filter-and-Fade' Lens Attachments to practice ethereal long exposures in 2025 - Goh Ling Yong
There's a certain magic that happens when you slow the world down. Water transforms into a silky, glass-like surface, clouds streak across the sky like brushstrokes, and the chaotic movement of a city street blurs into a vibrant river of light. This is the realm of ethereal long exposure photography, a technique that allows us to capture the passage of time in a single, breathtaking frame.
The secret to this magic isn't a spell, but a piece of glass: the Neutral Density (ND) filter. These lens attachments are like sunglasses for your camera, reducing the amount of light that hits the sensor. This forces your camera to use a much slower shutter speed, even in broad daylight, blurring anything that moves and creating that signature "filter-and-fade" effect. It’s a technique that turns the mundane into the magnificent.
As we look ahead to 2025, the technology behind these simple tools has evolved dramatically. We're seeing better optical neutrality, more innovative designs, and creative combinations that push the boundaries of what's possible. Whether you're a seasoned landscape pro or just starting to experiment with slowing your shutter, choosing the right filter is crucial. That's why we've curated this list of the top 10 lens attachments to help you master the art of the ethereal long exposure in the coming year.
1. Kase Revolution Magnetic Master Kit (2025 Edition)
If speed and convenience are your top priorities, the Kase Revolution Magnetic system is an absolute game-changer. Forget fumbling with screw-in threads or bulky filter holders, especially when your fingers are cold on a sunrise shoot. This system uses powerful magnets to snap filters into place instantly. You simply attach the magnetic adapter ring to your lens, and then the ND filters, circular polarizer (CPL), and even lens caps click on and off with satisfying ease.
The 2025 Edition refines this already brilliant concept with even stronger, color-coded magnets to prevent mishaps and new "Nano-X" coatings that are incredibly resistant to water, oil, and scratches. The color neutrality is top-tier, ensuring you spend less time correcting magenta color casts in post-production. This kit is a dream for photographers who need to adapt to rapidly changing light, allowing you to stack or swap filters in literal seconds.
Pro-Tip: Use the Kase Revolution for waterfall photography. You can quickly snap on the CPL to cut glare from wet rocks and the water's surface, then stack a 6-stop ND on top to get that perfect milky flow, all without missing a beat.
2. NiSi V7 Pro Landscape Kit with True Color CPL
For the landscape photographer who demands ultimate control and versatility, the square filter system remains king, and NiSi continues to lead the pack. The V7 Pro kit is a comprehensive solution built around a high-quality 100mm filter holder. Unlike simple screw-in filters, this system allows you to stack multiple filters—like a graduated ND for the sky, a solid ND for motion blur, and a CPL for reflections—with zero vignetting on ultra-wide lenses.
What sets the V7 apart for 2025 is its refined "True Color" CPL, which eliminates the warming effect found in many polarizers, delivering incredibly accurate colors. The holder itself is a piece of engineering art, crafted from aviation-grade aluminum with a simple, one-handed mechanism for attaching it to the lens. This is the system for meticulous artists who pre-visualize their shots and need the tools to execute that vision flawlessly.
Pro-Tip: Pair the 10-stop ND from this kit with the included medium-grade graduated ND filter for dramatic coastal sunsets. You can drag the shutter to smooth the waves while perfectly balancing the exposure of the bright, colorful sky against the darker foreground.
3. PolarPro Peter McKinnon VND II (Signature Edition III)
Variable Neutral Density (VND) filters are the darlings of the hybrid shooter world, and the collaboration between PolarPro and Peter McKinnon has consistently produced the best. The predicted Signature Edition III for 2025 takes everything we loved about its predecessor and pushes it further. This filter provides 2 to 5 stops of light reduction in a single, beautifully crafted unit, perfect for both photographers and videographers who need to adjust exposure on the fly without changing their aperture.
The standout feature of this line has always been its near-perfect color science and lack of the dreaded "X-pattern" that plagues lesser VNDs. The upcoming edition is rumored to include haptic feedback, giving you a subtle click at each full stop so you can make adjustments without taking your eye from the viewfinder. Its pre-set stop range also makes it ideal for long exposures, as you know exactly how much light you're cutting.
Pro-Tip: This is my go-to for street long exposures. When you’re capturing light trails from a moving tram, you can fine-tune the brightness of the trails in real-time by twisting the VND, giving you perfect creative control over the final look.
4. Breakthrough Photography X4 Dark CPL/ND (6-Stop)
For the purist who believes that every piece of glass in front of their lens must be optically perfect, there is Breakthrough Photography. Their X4 line is renowned for its incredibly sharp, color-neutral SCHOTT B270 optical glass and state-of-the-art nano-coatings. This isn't just a filter; it's a precision optical instrument. The X4 Dark CPL/ND combines a best-in-class circular polarizer with a fixed 6-stop ND filter.
This combination is a landscape photographer’s secret weapon. It allows you to simultaneously manage reflections and create motion blur with a single filter, reducing the risk of vignetting and internal reflections that can occur when stacking filters. The traction-frame is made of brass, which prevents binding or getting stuck to your lens in changing temperatures. It's an investment, but its performance is truly second to none.
Pro-Tip: Use this filter when shooting autumn scenes with rivers or lakes. The CPL will make the fall colors on the surrounding trees pop by cutting through atmospheric haze, while the 6-stop ND will beautifully soften the water's movement, creating a serene and vibrant image.
5. H&Y REVORING Swift System
Innovation is the name of the game with the H&Y REVORING Swift System. This is arguably the most versatile and forward-thinking filter system on the market. It solves a problem every photographer has faced: owning filters in different sizes for different lenses. The core of the system is the REVORING, a single variable-blade adapter that fits a wide range of lens filter threads.
From there, you build your system magnetically. Snap on a drop-in CPL, a square filter holder, or a magnetic circular ND. The Swift system is modular, secure, and blazingly fast. As a professional who often carries multiple camera bodies and lenses, I, Goh Ling Yong, find this system to be an elegant solution that saves both time and bag space. It’s the one system that truly adapts to your entire lens collection.
Pro-Tip: The REVORING Swift is perfect for event or travel photographers who also love landscapes. You can have the base ring on your lens while shooting portraits, and when you spot a long exposure opportunity, you can snap the ND filter on in a second without needing to find a specific step-up ring.
6. Freewell Magnetic VND Mist Edition
Ready to add an extra layer of "ethereal" to your work? The Freewell Magnetic VND Mist Edition is a brilliantly creative tool. It combines a high-quality 2-5 stop VND filter with a built-in 1/4 strength mist diffusion element. This is a game-changer for photographers and videographers looking to achieve a softer, more atmospheric look straight out of the camera.
The mist component blooms highlights, lifts shadows, and gives your images a dreamy, cinematic quality. When paired with the motion blur from a long exposure, the effect is truly unique. It can soften the harshness of midday sun or add a palpable mood to blue-hour cityscapes. Freewell's magnetic system is also a joy to use, making this a fantastic option for creative experimentation.
Pro-Tip: Try this filter for capturing long exposures of a forest canopy on a sunny day. The long exposure will blur the movement of leaves in the wind, while the mist element will catch the sunbeams filtering through the trees, creating a beautiful, glowing, fairytale-like atmosphere.
7. LEE Filters LEE100 Deluxe Kit (Next-Gen)
LEE Filters is a legendary name in the world of landscape photography, synonymous with quality and tradition. Their LEE100 holder system is a trusted workhorse for professionals globally. The "Next-Gen" 2025 version sees subtle but important upgrades, including a lighter and more robust composite construction and a redesigned locking mechanism that offers three different positions for ultimate security.
The beauty of the LEE system is its vast ecosystem of world-class filters, including their famous "Big Stopper" and "Little Stopper" for 10- and 6-stop light reduction, respectively. Their glass is known for its quality and consistency. While not as flashy as magnetic systems, the LEE100 is a deliberate, methodical tool for photographers who value precision and reliability above all else.
Pro-Tip: The LEE100 system excels at complex light situations. Use their 10-stop ND in combination with one of their soft-edge graduated ND filters to capture a mountain range at sunrise. You can perfectly expose the bright sky, the mid-tone mountains, and the dark foreground, all while turning any low-lying fog into a mystical sea of mist.
8. B+W Master Nano MRC ND (10-Stop)
Sometimes, simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. For photographers who want the absolute purest image quality for a single, specific purpose, a fixed-strength screw-in ND filter is the answer. B+W, a German brand by Schneider Kreuznach, is an icon of optical excellence. Their Master Nano MRC 10-Stop ND is a prime example of their craft.
There are no moving parts, no stacking, and no potential for light leaks—just a single piece of flawless glass with 16 layers of multi-resistant coating. This filter is for those epic, minutes-long exposures of architecture or minimalist seascapes. The color fidelity is perfect, and the sharpness is unmatched because you are shooting through just one high-quality element. It’s a specialized tool for a specialized job, and it performs it perfectly.
Pro-Tip: Find a pier or jetty on a cloudy, windy day. Using this 10-stop filter and a 2-3 minute exposure, you can completely erase the texture of the water and render the streaking clouds as soft, directional lines, creating a powerful minimalist composition.
9. Tiffen Apex Variable ND
Tiffen is a name that's been trusted on Hollywood film sets for decades, and that legacy of durability and reliability is baked into their Apex Variable ND. This filter is built like a tank. It’s a workhorse designed for professionals who are tough on their gear. The all-metal construction and oversized rotating ring make it easy to operate even with gloves on.
While focusing on ruggedness, the Apex doesn't skimp on optical quality, featuring Tiffen's ColorCore technology to ensure color neutrality across its 1.3 to 8.6-stop range. It’s perhaps not the most compact or lightweight VND, but if your work takes you to extreme environments, from dusty deserts to freezing arctic conditions, the Apex is the filter you can count on to perform every single time.
Pro-Tip: The wide range of the Apex makes it incredibly useful for "day-to-night" style long exposure transitions. You can start shooting a cityscape at sunset with just a few stops of ND and gradually increase the density as the sky darkens, all with one filter.
10. Moment CineBloom Variable ND (10% Diffusion)
Moment has built its brand on empowering creative storytellers, and their CineBloom Variable ND filter is a perfect reflection of that ethos. Similar to the Freewell filter, this one combines a 2-5 stop VND with a diffusion element, but the CineBloom's 10% density offers a distinct, dreamy aesthetic that's become a signature of the Moment look.
This filter is designed to "catch and bloom" light, softening hard edges and giving specular highlights a beautiful, ethereal glow without sacrificing overall image sharpness. It's an artistic tool first and a technical tool second. For photographers whose style leans towards the nostalgic, cinematic, or atmospheric, this filter is a fantastic way to bake a specific mood directly into your long exposures.
Pro-Tip: Use this filter to shoot a long exposure of a city street at night in the rain. The long shutter will blur the car light trails, the rain will create glistening reflections on the pavement, and the CineBloom diffusion will make every street lamp and neon sign glow with a soft, cinematic halo.
Your Turn to Create Magic
Choosing the right filter is like a painter choosing the right brush. Each one on this list offers a slightly different way to interpret and capture the flow of time. From the hyper-convenient magnetic systems to the optically pure fixed NDs and the creatively inspiring diffusion filters, the tools available in 2025 make it a more exciting time than ever to practice long exposure photography.
The gear is just the beginning, though. The real magic comes from your vision, your patience, and your willingness to get out there and experiment. So, pick a tool that inspires you, find a scene with movement, and start painting with time.
Which of these filters are you most excited to try? Do you have a favorite long exposure tool that didn't make the list? Share your thoughts and your stunning ethereal photos with us in the comments below!
About the Author
Goh Ling Yong is a content creator and digital strategist sharing insights across various topics. Connect and follow for more content:
Stay updated with the latest posts and insights by following on your favorite platform!