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On November 28th 2020, I ordered a GND0.9/GND8 starter kit from kentfaith.co.uk (in one of their never-ending DFS-type sales) - all went well and it arrived unexpectedly quickly on December 4th.
Seeing as I was pleased with it I resolved to order a reverse grad in exactly the same way the next time there was a promotion on the RGND.
The promotion duly showed up within a week so I ordered the Reverse Grad on December 12th. As before, it was marked as shipped quite quickly (not the next day, day after I think) but the tracking never got beyond "we've received notification of your shipment".
Thinking "ah well it's Christmas" and knowing that things get crazy in China in the run up to Christmas, I contacted support to check it has been shipped and they replied in the affirmative. Left it to January 3rd and asked again (pointing out that the tracking still implied it hadn't reached the carrier). I was promptly refunded in full.
Putting it down to Christmas/New Year but still quite keen to acquire a reverse grad, I waited and ordered again after Lunar New Year (for those that don't know, China essentially stops for at least a week if not a fortnight for LNY). Tracking showed it whistling through Shenzhen to Hong Kong to London and on to me. Unwrapped it to discover I had another Soft GND0.9.
On to support (with a photo) explained the issue and they quickly sent out another. Again, tracking showed it whistling through Shenzhen to Hong Kong to London and on to me. Unwrapped it to discover I had yet another Soft GND0.9.
On to support again who were absolutely insistent that they had sent the Reverse Grad (there was no explanation to exactly why I received two Soft GNDs) and clearly I was mistaken (although you'd think the words like "Soft GND0.9" and the clear graduation from light to dark clearly visible in the side-by-side photos would be a clue, but apparently not - these filters can be reliably transmogrified by the international postal service!)
My next contact, including more side-by-side photos of all three GND0.9 filters in my possession at this point referenced the photos on their website clearly showing the difference - then came a staggering offer... Would I like to resell the (incorrect) filters? Actually, no, I'd rather just have the correct filter that I ordered.
Was laughing about this incompetence with a pal at work who was considering buying himself the Soft GND starter kit (which I now had three of) from KF direct having seen (& borrowed) mine - it rather put him off... when I spotted that as @Nikon_Nick mentioned they're available on Amazon.
How about he buy a reverse grad (filter only) and I swap it for a GND0.9 starter kit? OK, it costs him a tenner or so more but we both are sure to get what we want - I'll even split the tenner difference with him. So he did. Next day he went to collect his (my) parcel from the Amazon locker...
Guess what?? - the Reverse Grad he ordered... They delivered a <many expletives> Soft GND0.9!!! Beginning to think that the reverse grad doesn't actually exist as a tangible product, rather there's a photoshopped mockup on the website, a heap of publicity shots but no actual product.
Straight on the chat to Amazon - explained the problem at great length... Return organised, replacement sent. Back to the locker a couple of days later and <fanfare and choir of angels> an actual reverse grad filter. It is an actual bona fide miracle.
TL-DR: K&F Concept filters - they're fabulous for the money, but if you're at all anxious or have even moderately raised blood pressure they're a hassle to get a hold of - definitely worth the extra to buy via Amazon rather than direct.
Seeing as I was pleased with it I resolved to order a reverse grad in exactly the same way the next time there was a promotion on the RGND.
The promotion duly showed up within a week so I ordered the Reverse Grad on December 12th. As before, it was marked as shipped quite quickly (not the next day, day after I think) but the tracking never got beyond "we've received notification of your shipment".
Thinking "ah well it's Christmas" and knowing that things get crazy in China in the run up to Christmas, I contacted support to check it has been shipped and they replied in the affirmative. Left it to January 3rd and asked again (pointing out that the tracking still implied it hadn't reached the carrier). I was promptly refunded in full.
Putting it down to Christmas/New Year but still quite keen to acquire a reverse grad, I waited and ordered again after Lunar New Year (for those that don't know, China essentially stops for at least a week if not a fortnight for LNY). Tracking showed it whistling through Shenzhen to Hong Kong to London and on to me. Unwrapped it to discover I had another Soft GND0.9.
On to support (with a photo) explained the issue and they quickly sent out another. Again, tracking showed it whistling through Shenzhen to Hong Kong to London and on to me. Unwrapped it to discover I had yet another Soft GND0.9.
On to support again who were absolutely insistent that they had sent the Reverse Grad (there was no explanation to exactly why I received two Soft GNDs) and clearly I was mistaken (although you'd think the words like "Soft GND0.9" and the clear graduation from light to dark clearly visible in the side-by-side photos would be a clue, but apparently not - these filters can be reliably transmogrified by the international postal service!)
My next contact, including more side-by-side photos of all three GND0.9 filters in my possession at this point referenced the photos on their website clearly showing the difference - then came a staggering offer... Would I like to resell the (incorrect) filters? Actually, no, I'd rather just have the correct filter that I ordered.
Was laughing about this incompetence with a pal at work who was considering buying himself the Soft GND starter kit (which I now had three of) from KF direct having seen (& borrowed) mine - it rather put him off... when I spotted that as @Nikon_Nick mentioned they're available on Amazon.
How about he buy a reverse grad (filter only) and I swap it for a GND0.9 starter kit? OK, it costs him a tenner or so more but we both are sure to get what we want - I'll even split the tenner difference with him. So he did. Next day he went to collect his (my) parcel from the Amazon locker...
Guess what?? - the Reverse Grad he ordered... They delivered a <many expletives> Soft GND0.9!!! Beginning to think that the reverse grad doesn't actually exist as a tangible product, rather there's a photoshopped mockup on the website, a heap of publicity shots but no actual product.
Straight on the chat to Amazon - explained the problem at great length... Return organised, replacement sent. Back to the locker a couple of days later and <fanfare and choir of angels> an actual reverse grad filter. It is an actual bona fide miracle.
TL-DR: K&F Concept filters - they're fabulous for the money, but if you're at all anxious or have even moderately raised blood pressure they're a hassle to get a hold of - definitely worth the extra to buy via Amazon rather than direct.
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