NiSi Filters Review
All photographers that start to approach to landscape photography sooner or later decide to use special photographic filters to emphasize in a better way the scene that has to be imprinted.
The main brands of photo filters are Lee and Formatt-HiTech, but recently a new brand has come on the market: NiSi.
Like the other brands, the latter has developed screw and plate filters.
Recently I was contacted by NiSi to review some of their products.
Here I will write a review on the products developed by them.
The review will be made on:
The main brands of photo filters are Lee and Formatt-HiTech, but recently a new brand has come on the market: NiSi.
Like the other brands, the latter has developed screw and plate filters.
Recently I was contacted by NiSi to review some of their products.
Here I will write a review on the products developed by them.
The review will be made on:
- NiSi Nano IR ND 10 Stops
- NiSi Medium GND (8) 0.9 3 Stops
- NiSi Holder Tamron 15-30
- NiSi Filter Holder
Holder
The entire NiSi kit is made of matt black aluminum, which makes it very robust, light and elegant.
Unlike other brands that use adapters to connect the lens to the holder, this can simply be inserted on the lens by screwing two small screws in a few seconds.
It is possible to easily move the whole set-up (for example, when the polarizer is mounted), because it moves smoothly while offering resistance.
The NiSi holder is able to mount a total of 3 filters: in fact, the tests were performed by combining the NiSi ND 10 stops filter together with the NiSi GND Medium and the HD Polarizer.
The entire NiSi kit is made of matt black aluminum, which makes it very robust, light and elegant.
Unlike other brands that use adapters to connect the lens to the holder, this can simply be inserted on the lens by screwing two small screws in a few seconds.
It is possible to easily move the whole set-up (for example, when the polarizer is mounted), because it moves smoothly while offering resistance.
The NiSi holder is able to mount a total of 3 filters: in fact, the tests were performed by combining the NiSi ND 10 stops filter together with the NiSi GND Medium and the HD Polarizer.
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Filters
Each filter is marked by the brand and the nomenclature of the filter in question.
The quality of NiSi filters is very high because, unlike other brands, the latter develops glass filters instead of resin.
Although the glass offers excellent optical quality, on the other hand it is more prone to bumps and scratches, so it is necessary to preserve and protect it.
Among these filters analyzed, only the ND filter has a seal around the glass in such a way as to fix it more to the holder to prevent light dispersion.
Each NiSi filter is accompanied by a special leather filter holder, unfortunately fragile if worn together with other photographic gadgets, so it is very useful to bring the filters in the NiSi case that can be purchased separately.
Each filter is marked by the brand and the nomenclature of the filter in question.
The quality of NiSi filters is very high because, unlike other brands, the latter develops glass filters instead of resin.
Although the glass offers excellent optical quality, on the other hand it is more prone to bumps and scratches, so it is necessary to preserve and protect it.
Among these filters analyzed, only the ND filter has a seal around the glass in such a way as to fix it more to the holder to prevent light dispersion.
Each NiSi filter is accompanied by a special leather filter holder, unfortunately fragile if worn together with other photographic gadgets, so it is very useful to bring the filters in the NiSi case that can be purchased separately.
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Filter case
The filter holder is compact and can contain a maximum of six filters measuring 150x150 or 150x170. Also included in the package are resin spacers that allow you to take the square filters out without having to topple the case.
Personally, however, I do not bring more than 5 filters in the package because it seems that the case does not close completely and also to avoid that too much pressure is exerted if hit with other elements in the backpack.
The filter holder is compact and can contain a maximum of six filters measuring 150x150 or 150x170. Also included in the package are resin spacers that allow you to take the square filters out without having to topple the case.
Personally, however, I do not bring more than 5 filters in the package because it seems that the case does not close completely and also to avoid that too much pressure is exerted if hit with other elements in the backpack.
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After examining these filters, I decided to proceed with some tests on the field by analyzing each filter individually and combining them in the appropriate holder.
The tests were performed with a Nikon D750 and a Tamron 15-30.
The photos I made were imported into Lightroom only to correct the chromatic aberration and removing small spots.
The tests were performed with a Nikon D750 and a Tamron 15-30.
The photos I made were imported into Lightroom only to correct the chromatic aberration and removing small spots.
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Those who have used 10-stop filters from other brands know that it is very common to find a strong blue cast on the realized shot. The NiSi filter does not present this problem, as you can see in the photos above.
Nowadays, despite being able to manage a large dynamic range, cameras are not able to manage the darkest shadows and the brightest lights in a single shot. In fact, while taking photographs, you decide whether to expose for lights or shadows. The NiSi GND Medium filter was created for this reason: in order to be able, that is, to manage these two factors in a single shot, thus avoiding having to spend time on Photoshop to manage multiple exposures taken on the field.
Being a Soft filter, the transition zone between the dark part and the transparent part of the filter appears very soft, which is convenient to us when we do not have a perfectly flat horizon, for example when buildings or obstacles are present. Below are some examples:
Nowadays, despite being able to manage a large dynamic range, cameras are not able to manage the darkest shadows and the brightest lights in a single shot. In fact, while taking photographs, you decide whether to expose for lights or shadows. The NiSi GND Medium filter was created for this reason: in order to be able, that is, to manage these two factors in a single shot, thus avoiding having to spend time on Photoshop to manage multiple exposures taken on the field.
Being a Soft filter, the transition zone between the dark part and the transparent part of the filter appears very soft, which is convenient to us when we do not have a perfectly flat horizon, for example when buildings or obstacles are present. Below are some examples:
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The latest tests that have been carried out in the field show the result of the combination of the two filters, as well as how to lengthen the exposure thanks to the ND filter and, at the same time, balancing the brightest and darkest areas of the frame to have images more faithful to reality.
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Conclusion
After using NiSi filters for different photographic outputs, I can only be satisfied with their work and their quality. As can be seen in the long exposures made by me, there are no dominants of blue colors and the detail remains almost the same, as if there had been no layer of glass in front of the filter. This helps making the job easier in post-production and saving precious time.
For anyone interested in NiSi products you can find all the information on the products sold by them on their website en.nisifilters.com or in their ebay store.
