Review Nisi Filter System for Fujifilm X100 Series and Other Compact Cameras

js47

js47

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TL;DR: The Nisi filters offer great value, accurate ND stop ratings, no color cast, and no impact on image sharpness. However, the rectangular CPL that comes with the kit makes no sense in practical use (and also takes up one of the two valuable filter slots). I suggest using a normal circular CPL mounted onto a regular X100 filter adapter ring, however the total thickness of the system with the Nisi holder installed results in severe mechanical vignetting. I attempted many things to rectify this, but what worked in the end was the Nisi Filter Holder for Ricoh GR Cameras (and other compact cameras such as Leica Q, Sony RX1, and certain Micro Four Thirds lenses). The Nisi Filter Holder for Ricoh GR Cameras works with my X100F + Filter Adapter Ring + CPL with no vignetting, and there is enough margin that there will not be any vignetting no matter what thickness CPL and adapter ring you use (within reason, of course). If you want to use a CPL and square filters with your X100, my recommendation is to purchase the Ricoh holder, NOT the X100 holder.



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My photography revolves around the use of filters, usually at least a CPL, GND, or ND — and more often than not, all three types in combination. Last autumn I went on a trip to Portugal taking just my Fujifilm X-T3 and the XF23f1.4 lens, but disliked the bulk/weight of it (this was not a photography-focused trip). To reduce the size of the kit I did not bring a tripod or any filters besides a CPL, so I also felt my creativity somewhat constrained.

After returning from that trip I decided to purchase a Fujifilm X100F, since I am in general a fan of Fuji’s products and I did not feel particularly limited by the 35mm equivalent focal length. I did not go for the X100/S/T because I liked that the X100F/V use the same batteries and charger I already use for my X-T3, and I did not go for the X100V because I am not made of money! All-in-all, the X100 offers 95% of the image quality I get from my X-T3+23f1.4, in a much smaller package. For reference, the X-T3+23f1.4 weighs 1041g and the X100F weighs 515g (both weighed with straps attached).

My first step when getting the X100 was to find a CPL filter for it, easier said than done since for some reason Fuji decided to put male threads at the lens base instead of the normal female threads at the end of the lens body. Furthermore, the lens is not internally focusing — it pokes out about 7mm from normal when at minimum focus distance. So the options were either 1, get a really thick PL (not CPL) filter and mount it backwards, or 2, get a filter adapter and a regular slim CPL filter. I tried to go with the first option to maximize compactness whilst minimizing the additional weight, but could not find anything that I was confident would work.

I ended up buying the JJC “doughnut" lens hood for X100 (LH-JX100ii), which is two pieces and allows me to use a normal CPL and the lens hood at the same time. The CPL and JJC lens hood combination adds 44g in weight. My biggest complaint about this setup is that it sticks out quite far from the camera body — it almost may as well be a Leica Q at this point!




 
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I recently discovered that the Chinese filter manufacturer Nisi makes a very compact square filter kit for the X100, including a carry pouch, filter holder, 3-stop GND, 10-stop ND, 6-stop ND, and 3-stop ND. I decided to pick one up and just used it for the first time.

An issue I noticed about this kit before I even purchased it was that it has no provision for using a normal circular-shaped polarizing filter — the filter holder has female threads and screws directly onto the male threads on the X100 body. The kit comes with a rectangular polarizing filter, but that means you can't get full use of it in conjunction with the graduated filter, nor can you use PL+ND+GND at the same time since the filter holder only has two slots. I decided to purchase the kit anyway figuring I'd be able to bodge something together using a 49-49 reverse-mount macro adapter ring and my normal 49mm CPL filter.

Unfortunately with my current setup, the vignetting is quite heavy when combining the circular CPL with the Nisi kit. Cropping in is an option, but assuming centre-crops using the native 3:2 ratio this increases the effective focal length from 35mm to 41mm and reduces the megapixel count from 24MP to 17MP. As far as image quality is concerned, I have not noticed any real reductions using the Nisi filters. There is no colour cast and the images remain sharp no matter what combination of filters I am using.

The entire kit (filter holder, 49-49 male-male adapter for use with my CPL, 5 glass filters, and carry case) weighs 127g and measures 10cm x 9cm x 3.5cm, easily pocketable in a jacket. The filters themselves are approximately 35mm x 50mm and each weigh around 10g. I purchased everything (minus the Breakthrough CPL, lens hood, and macro adapter ring) directly from Nisi UK for £86.10, which seems like a pretty good deal to me — for reference, one single square Firecrest filter for my X-T3 costs between £84.59 and £129.00!!

The second image below was taken using the Nisi 3-stop GND only (no CPL or ND).



 
Here is a shot exhibiting the vignetting. This photo was taken at f8 (vignetting is a little less pronounced at wider apertures, and a little more pronounced at smaller apertures). The Nisi filter holder was installed onto my circular CPL filter for this shot but there were no rectangular filters loaded into the holder.

I will hold back a wholehearted endorsement of the Nisi Filter Kit until I can figure out a way to make it work with my CPL with no vignetting.
EDIT: The Nisi Filter Holder for Ricoh GR Cameras works with my X100F + Filter Adapter Ring + CPL with no vignetting, and there is enough margin that there will not be any vignetting no matter what thickness CPL and adapter ring you use (within reason, of course). My recommendation is to purchase the Ricoh holder, not the X100 holder.



 
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I have not noticed any degradation of the image quality whilst using these filters, though it should be noted that the 24MP sensor is not overly challenging and the 35mm equivalent lens on the X100 is to begin with very good but by no means excellent. It should also be noted that my real world usage of these filters has still been limited — I will update this thread if my feelings change long-term. I will insert sample shots below (taken in my living room), plus one real-world test shot at the end.

I will note that when testing the 10-stop filter, my X100F overheated after 406s which stopped the exposure. I increased the exposure in post to match the other shots to determine that the 10-stop filter is more like 9.33 stops. If the filter had been a true 10-stop the exposure should have taken about 715s, but at 9.33 stops it should have only taken about 450s — so we got decently close with 406s. All other shots are unedited. Click the images for full resolution.



1st photo: No filters


2nd photo: Built-in 3-stop (accurate 3 stops)


3rd photo: Nisi 3-stop (more like 3.33 stops)


4th photo: Nisi 6-stop (accurate 6 stops)


5th photo: Nisi 10-stop (more like 9.33 stops)


6th photo: Nisi 6-stop + Nisi 3-stop GND
 
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I was actually looking at the ND filter set. Very cheap vs what Lee filters costs and it comes with pretty much everything you need.
 
Raymond Lin said:
I was actually looking at the ND filter set. Very cheap vs what Lee filters costs and it comes with pretty much everything you need.
Click to expand...

Were you looking at the Lee Seven5? I don't personally understand that system as it is too small to use with any "real" camera but way bigger and more expensive than this new Nisi system.

I use the Firecrest 85mm system for my Fuji X-T3, and even that is too small to avoid vignetting at 10mm with the 10-24f4 lens (unless the filter is kept perfectly parallel to the ground, which I find is rarely the case at 10mm). If I were doing it again I'd go for a 100mm system for sure.

I used my Firecrest filters with my X100 for a brief trip to Amsterdam before I bought the Nisi set and it worked great with no vignetting, but an X100 certainly looks goofy with 85mm filters on it....
 
js47 said:
Were you looking at the Lee Seven5? I don't personally understand that system as it is too small to use with any "real" camera but way bigger and more expensive than this new Nisi system.

I use the Firecrest 85mm system for my Fuji X-T3, and even that is too small to avoid vignetting at 10mm with the 10-24f4 lens (unless the filter is kept perfectly parallel to the ground, which I find is rarely the case at 10mm). If I were doing it again I'd go for a 100mm system for sure.

I used my Firecrest filters with my X100 for a brief trip to Amsterdam before I bought the Nisi set and it worked great with no vignetting, but an X100 certainly looks goofy with 85mm filters on it....
Click to expand...

For giggles.

 
js47 said:
Were you looking at the Lee Seven5? I don't personally understand that system as it is too small to use with any "real" camera but way bigger and more expensive than this new Nisi system.

I use the Firecrest 85mm system for my Fuji X-T3, and even that is too small to avoid vignetting at 10mm with the 10-24f4 lens (unless the filter is kept perfectly parallel to the ground, which I find is rarely the case at 10mm). If I were doing it again I'd go for a 100mm system for sure.

I used my Firecrest filters with my X100 for a brief trip to Amsterdam before I bought the Nisi set and it worked great with no vignetting, but an X100 certainly looks goofy with 85mm filters on it....
Click to expand...

Noooo, I only have the FF Lee system, like the 100mm.
 
Raymond Lin said:
Noooo, I only have the FF Lee system, like the 100mm.
Click to expand...

That would be massive on an X100. For reference, the big filter in my picture in post #7 is 85mm x 110mm and that is already practically the same size as the camera itself! I think the Lee 100 grad filters are 100mm x 150mm.

Size of the Nisi for reference.

 
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I have taken some measurements and have determined that my setup at 17mm total length (as measured from the base of the male filter threads) is 5mm too long. A bit of vignetting persists if I make it 5mm shorter but it is manageable, only in one corner (bottom right), and only appears when the square filters are tilted at a 45 degree angle. Ideally the setup would be 6mm shorter to avoid the vignetting altogether. Conclusion: the ideal maximum total thickness would be 11mm before adding the Nisi filter holder (but 12mm would be workable).

Because the lens barrel extends at close focus distances, we need to maximise the amount of space between the lens barrel and the glass of the PL filter in order to preserve as much close focus ability as possible. In reality that means we need to get as close as possible to that 11mm total thickness, without exceeding 12mm.


Options I will start with (in order):
  1. Thick polarising filter reverse-mounted (must be able to polarise in reverse — all CPLs and some LPLs are unidirectional. Alternatively any thick polarising filter is ok if the glass can easily be removed and reinstalled backwards). Vignetting is not likely with this method, but close focus may be compromised.
    • Issues: Might still not be thick enough to prevent the lens barrel from bumping into the filter at minimum focus distance. It is tricky to find a sufficiently deep filter. Thick filters like this are typically old filters which lack anti reflective coatings.
  2. Knock out the glass of an old/cheap 49mm UV filter to use as a spacer, then reverse-mount a linear polarising filter onto that (in this case the polariser does not need to be extra chunky). The UV filter would be 4-5mm thick and the polariser would be 4-8mm thick yielding 6-7mm clearance from the PL glass to the lens base, and 8-13mm length overall.
    • Issues: Linear polarisers are typically old and therefore it is difficult to find them slimmer than about 8mm, which would still result in vignetting. Even in the thickest scenario, the lens is still likely still bump the PL glass at close focus. But in anything other than the thinnest scenario, vignetting is likely.
  3. I can try to bring my JJC filter adapter ring to a machine shop to have them shave a few mm off of it.
    • Issues: It will be hard to find a machine shop to take such a small job. If they do manage to trim it down I will probably still run into the issue where the lens barrel hits the polariser glass at close focus.

Options which I do not think will work:
  1. Step up/down rings. A 49-55 step up plus a 55-49 step down would be 5-7mm thick (total) and might permit the use of the factory push-on lens cap. Total thickness would be about 14mm at the minimum (assuming I can find a 4mm thick linear polarising filter).
    • Issue: I'd still have to mount the polarising filter backwards. In the slimmest scenario this would be 3mm thinner than my current setup but the corners will still be dark enough to require slight cropping.
  2. Other filter adapter rings. The common many-brand 49-49 female-female adapter widely available on eBay is 7mm thick. Total thickness would be 15mm.
    • Issue: This is only 2mm thinner than my current adapter ring so vignetting will still be severe enough to require cropping.


 
I used to have the Lee Seven 5 system for my Fuji xt3. Also had a adapter on my x100.but it did look a bit big. Now i have went to full frame Canon.Still have the filters kicking about the house.
 

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I haven't used the Nisi filter set for the X100 but did purchase the pouched set in anticipation of buying a X100. This never happened so I have a brand new, never used Nisi filter set which I can put on the classifieds if there's any interest.
 
I've bought this super chunky old Pentax linear PL filter (10mm thick). Unfortunately, clearance to the lens front is barely better than it is with my super slim Breakthrough CPL (4mm thick) mounted in reverse, though of course the CPL does not polarise when mounted backwards. Close focus is still not possible at distances closer than 7" as measured from the base of the X100's filter threads. There is, however, no vignetting when using this Pentax filter in combination with the Nisi system.

The issue is that the glass in the Pentax filter is mounted in the centre of the filter, leaving 5mm clearance to the front of the filter. Subtracting the X100's 3mm thread depth leaves only 2mm of clearance to the lens front when screwed onto the X100. The Breakthrough filter is so slim that it doesn't screw all the way onto the X100, still leaving 1-2mm clearance to the lens front when installed.








 
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At this time I think the best solution to square filters + PL filter for the X100 series is to buy the Nisi kit for the Ricoh GR3 or GR3x instead of the Nisi kit for the Fujifilm X100. I'll confirm this once I get one.

The GR3 version has male 49mm threads on the back with no spacer, versus the X100 version which has female 49mm threads plus a 5mm spacer. As a result, the GR3 version should have worked with my original setup (total thickness would be the equivalent of 11-12mm — no vignetting and close focus would be unaffected). This thickness can be further reduced by ~2mm by using one of the aforementioned 7mm many-brand eBay 49mm-49mm female-female adapter rings, at the expense of no lens hood and not being able to use the OEM push-on lens cap. You’d still be able to use a regular 49mm pinch cap.

An image showing the thickness of the GRIII/GRIIIx version is below (apologies for the poor quality — it is a screenshot from a YouTube video).


 
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Pictures to eventually follow, but I can now confirm that there is no vignetting when using the X100F + Filter Adapter Ring + CPL + Nisi 49mm Square Filter Holder for Ricoh GR3.

It is MUCH slimmer than the “X100” version. I tested for vignetting with my very svelte Breakthrough CPL (the holder doesn’t even screw in all the way, so not taking full advantage of its slimness) and there is absolutely zero vignetting. I replaced the Breakthrough filter with the incredibly chunky NOS Pentax filter (pictured above) and there was very slight regular (non-mechanical) vignetting in the bottom right corner that would be correctable in post.

Conclusion: the GR holder should work with no vignetting on the X100, X100S, X100T, and X100F using any combination of adapter ring and CPL (thicknesses should be practically irrelevant). Can’t say for certain regarding the X100V since it uses a different lens but I’d suspect it would be the same.
 
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