NiSi filters

E

Edman

Messages
35
Edit My Images
Yes
I'm a Fuji X-T2 user, and I'm thinking of switching from a prime lens kit to a zoom kit for travel, so I'm gonna need bigger filters.

Somebody locally has posted NiSi filters for sale, and for what seems like an astonishing amount no less - €700 for a whole filter set including polarizers, grads, NDs, etc, etc. Chances are the price is negiotiable. Now I need polarizers and NDs, and 2 or 3 of those B+W filters are probably gonna run me a fair bit of money anyway.

There's not a whole lot of information on the internet about these filters. I'm wondering, has anybody used them? Every blog post I read seems to either be from an "ambassador" or got the filters for free (so basically its an ad). How do these compare with the regular B+W or Hoya HD filters? It does seem the whole set is more expensive than buying separate B+W filters.
 
Nisi have a good reputation are good quality filters. Lots of people use them and their solution to mounting the polariser is far better than Lee's IMO (although not unique as several filter companies now have a similar mechanism).
 
trevjm said:
I have Nisi filters and cannot fault them...
Click to expand...
Do you have comparisons with other filters?

Like I have Hoya HD and B+W filters, and I find those pretty good as well.

jerry12953 said:
it's probably a mistake to think that you need a full "set" of filters. Choose carefully!
Click to expand...

Been thinking about this one myself. Likely not much of a point to a large filter pack if I only need 2 or 3.
 
Edman said:
Do you have comparisons with other filters?

Like I have Hoya HD and B+W filters, and I find those pretty good as well.

I have used Hoya screw in filters in the past and found them to be good. I fancied trying square filters and a holder. Researched it and Nisi was given a lot of praise for neutral colours unlike the likes of Lees resin filters (though not tried them out myself). I treated myself to a couple of gradients and a 6 stop filter plus polariser. They seemed to work well.
Click to expand...
 
I don’t know what you get for £600 but I guess a lot of filters. I’d echo what was said earlier about not necessarily needing all that many. I find 1 stop filters useless in all forms. 2 and 3 stop hard and soft gnd’s are handy. I don’t think you need more than a couple of nd’s either. Something mild and something heavy would probably be enough for most.

Despite using lee gear, I must admit I do like the cpl arrangement of the nisi kit. More cost effective too as 105mm cpl’s for lee system are bloody expensive!
 
Nisi filters are good, their holder (V5 Pro) is badly designed and terrible to use.
 
Andy Into The Wild said:
Would you be able to elaborate on that please? Cheers.
Click to expand...

The holder makes it very awkward when using square ND filters when also using grads.

When you put a square ND in it is fully surrounded by the holder ie there are no corners sticking out like on the Lee system to grip to change the filter. That means if you are using a grad filter as well as an ND (such a little/big stopper etc) if you want to change the ND you have to take the grad/s out first.

This is all very well if you have plenty of time but when working around sunrise/sunset with changing light conditions I often change the strength of the ND and don't have time to mess around. There was something else that annoyed me about it but can't remember what.

Also a note if you already own any of the Lee IRND filters such as the big stopper, they do not work in the Nisi holder as the gasket is thicker and stops the polariser turning.
 
Donnie said:
pretty sure all filter holders work exactly the same way in respect to the size of the big/little stoppers??
Click to expand...

The concept is generally the same but that doesn't mean they handle the same, the V5 suffers from vignetting for wider lenses but the Pro fixes this etc.

I think @Jase is complaining about the size of the side holders on the V5 pro, they're take up the full width of a 100mm filter so if you've got three fitted it'll be hard to pull out the middle one etc while on the Lee version the corners are all exposed making it easy to grip any filter.

There's plenty of variations though, Benro, H&Y, Wine Country Camera all have caddy holders if you don't want the Lee or Nisi versions.
 
Last edited:
simonbarker said:
The concept is generally the same but that doesn't mean they handle the same, the V5 suffers from vignetting for wider lenses but the Pro fixes this etc.

I think @Jase is complaining about the size of the side holders on the V5 pro, they're take up the full width of a 100mm filter so if you've got three fitted it'll be hard to pull out the middle one etc while on the Lee version the corners are all exposed making it easy to grip any filter.

There's plenty of variations though, Benro, H&Y, Wine Country Camera all have caddy holders if you don't want the Lee or Nisi versions.
Click to expand...

What I meant was any square 100x100 ND filter (I just used Lee as an example) in the closest slot is almost impossible or at least incredibly awkward to take out if you have any other filters in front of it because there is nothing to grip. It will be something I talk to Nisi about when I see them at the show this year.
 
Jase said:
Nisi filters are good, their holder (V5 Pro) is badly designed and terrible to use.
Click to expand...

I consider my NISI V5 Pro holder and filter set to be superior in build quality and functionality to my older Lee filter holder and filters although I have not tested the more recent next generation Lee filter holder. The NISI filter holder is also compatible with Lee filters and most other brands. The ability to adjust the polarizer using a dial without touching the actual polarizer is a nice feature.

There are several videos on YouTube.com with reviews and tutorials about the NISI filter system. There are a number of detailed reviews on the web with test comparisons of the optical quality and color casts exhibited by various filter brands. NISI takes top honors in these tests.
 
gener said:
I consider my NISI V5 Pro holder and filter set to be superior in build quality and functionality to my older Lee filter holder and filters although I have not tested the more recent next generation Lee filter holder. The NISI filter holder is also compatible with Lee filters and most other brands. The ability to adjust the polarizer using a dial without touching the actual polarizer is a nice feature.

There are several videos on YouTube.com with reviews and tutorials about the NISI filter system. There are a number of detailed reviews on the web with test comparisons of the optical quality and color casts exhibited by various filter brands. NISI takes top honors in these tests.
Click to expand...

Well it appears that Nisi agreed with me as they have redesigned it in the new V6 to address all the problems I found with V5.. I spoke to them at the photography show and they said they changed V6 to address the problems with V5 Pro.
 
Jase said:
Well it appears that Nisi agreed with me as they have redesigned it in the new V6 to address all the problems I found with V5.. I spoke to them at the photography show and they said they changed V6 to address the problems with V5 Pro.
Click to expand...

What did they actually change? All I can recall was they added a locking knob.
 
simonbarker said:
What did they actually change? All I can recall was they added a locking knob.
Click to expand...

In my post in January I said what wrong with it:

Jase said:
The holder makes it very awkward when using square ND filters when also using grads.

When you put a square ND in it is fully surrounded by the holder ie there are no corners sticking out like on the Lee system to grip to change the filter. That means if you are using a grad filter as well as an ND (such a little/big stopper etc) if you want to change the ND you have to take the grad/s out first.

This is all very well if you have plenty of time but when working around sunrise/sunset with changing light conditions I often change the strength of the ND and don't have time to mess around. There was something else that annoyed me about it but can't remember what.

Also a note if you already own any of the Lee IRND filters such as the big stopper, they do not work in the Nisi holder as the gasket is thicker and stops the polariser turning.
Click to expand...

They have changed the design so it now has sloping sides so you can remove the square ND Filter (like a big stopper etc) without having to remove the graduated ND.

They have also made the slots where the filters slide into differently so they go in smoother and I think they said the polariser is now slightly more recessed.

So pretty much they corrected everything that was wrong with the V5 Pro which although good quality was badly designed.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top