March 2016
Full review
NiSi is a relatively new entrant into the filter system market, which first saw light in France in 1972 as the Cikon system developed by photographer, Jean Coquin. Since then, other companies have developed similar systems, most targeted at professional photographers (although popular with advanced enthusiasts). All systems contain the same basic components: a filter holder that clips onto the camera's lens, adapter rings and various filters. NiSi's claims to fame rest on competitive pricing for high product quality.
The NiSi V5 100mm Filter Holder System Kit. (Source: NiSi.)
NiSi markets a 'starter' kit, containing the V5 100mm filter holder, a slim 82 mm circular polariser and four separate adapter rings (67 mm, 72 mm, 77 mm and 82 mm internal dimensions). All are contained in tan leather storage case with a magnetic closure and rear belt clip that attaches via Velcro and studs.
The contents of the system V5 kit. (Source: NiSi.)
The circular polariser screws into the 82mm adapter ring, which comes attached to the filter holder. Users can attach this combination to any of the separate adapter rings, allowing it to be easily used on any of the four lens sizes included.
The V5 filter holder, shown with the 82mm main adapter ring and circular polariser in place. (Source: NiSi.)
The V5 filter holder is designed to allow the circular polariser filter to rotate independently via a cog on the 82mm main adapter ring without adjusting other filters in use. It can be used with or without the polariser and can hold up to three square filters at a time.
The review kit was supplied with the NiSi 100x100mm Nano IR Neutral Density 3.0 filter, which reduces the incoming light by approximately 10 stops and the 100x150mm Nano IR Soft Graduated Neutral Density filter, which provides a graduated 3-stop light reduction and is specially designed for landscape photographers. We tested it with a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 lens on an EOS 5D Mark II camera.
Our test set-up, showing the V5 filter holder mounted on the EF 24-105mm f/4 lens.
Front view of the camera, showing the circular polariser filter in the holder.
Who's it For?
NiSi's system is particularly suitable for landscape photographers because it includes the types of filters most landscape shooters use: polarisers, graduated neutral density (ND) filters and UV filters. Individual square filters that slip into the holder cost between AU$219 and AU$249.
NiSi's system is particularly suitable for landscape photographers because it includes the types of filters most landscape shooters use: polarisers, graduated neutral density (ND) filters and UV filters. Individual square filters that slip into the holder cost between AU$219 and AU$249.
The adapters should accommodate most popular wide angle and standard zoom lenses including the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM and AF-S DX Nikkor 12-24mm f/4G IF-ED, although not the Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM or AF Nikkor 14mm f/2.8D ED (which use rear-mounted filters), the AF Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED or the Zeiss 15mm f/2.8 Distagon T* lens (which has a 95 mm filter thread).
The kit is supplied with a brief set of printed instructions for attaching the holder and filters to a lens. They are very basic but adequate if you take the time to read them carefully.
All NiSi filters are made from optical glass, sourced from AGC in Japan and Schott in Germany. They have optically flat surfaces with double-sided, Nano anti-reflection coating and are water-, stain- and scratch-resistant. These features enable them to deliver images with minimal colour casts and accurate transmission levels. The holder is compatible with Lee, Cokin, Hitech and Singh-Ray square filters.
Build, Ergonomics and Performance
The V5 filter holder is made from aviation-grade aluminium, using a computerised router that shapes the holder from a single piece of metal. Its matte black frosted surface is smooth to touch and non-reflective. At its widest points (the filter slots) the holder is approximately 22 mm thick, although its inner frame narrows to only 5.2 mm, the thinnest of its type thus far. You can't use a lens hood or fit the lens cap when the holder is in place.
The V5 filter holder is made from aviation-grade aluminium, using a computerised router that shapes the holder from a single piece of metal. Its matte black frosted surface is smooth to touch and non-reflective. At its widest points (the filter slots) the holder is approximately 22 mm thick, although its inner frame narrows to only 5.2 mm, the thinnest of its type thus far. You can't use a lens hood or fit the lens cap when the holder is in place.
The adapter attaches to the filter thread on the camera's lens and the 82mm ring fits into the flat filter holder, with the circular polariser in between them. A knob holds the filter holder onto the 82 mm diameter adapter ring, which screws into the holder. It is pulled out when you align the holder with the adapter and pushed in to stop the holder falling off.
Close-up view of the rear of the V5 filter holder showing the main adjustments (the cog wheel for rotating the polariser, the clamp that holds the filter holder in place and the pull-out knob for releasing and locking the clamp).
Once the clamp is pushed in, the holder appears to stay in place, although the protruding knob could be easy to dislodge and may get caught in an open-weave fabric like a loosely knitted pullover. There's no way to tighten this knob to prevent the holder from rotating and we found it turned very readily; more readily than its main competitor, we discovered. This may not matter much if you have the camera on a tripod and trigger the shutter remotely but it requires you to be careful with alignment of the holder when using graduated filters.
An additional flaw in the design of the holder is that fine particles or dust and grit are likely to get in between the moving surfaces. This is more likely when you're using the system in arid environments or near the coast, where salt spray contains salt that will crystallise as it dries. Fitting the adapters will probably be tricky in cold and wet environments, another situation likely to be popular with landscape photographers.
The polariser supplied in the kit reduces incoming light by about a stop, which is typical of most circular polarisers. We found it to be very effective at cutting glare and reducing veiling flare. although, in common with all filters of this type, it can't subdue specular reflections.
Two semi-recessed cog wheels on the back of the holder unit allow the polariser to be rotated with the tip of the finger, without interfering with the orientation of other filters. They are conveniently positioned and made it easy to rotate the filter without actually touching it, allowing fine-tuning of the degree of polarisation applied.
Individual filters are supplied in boxes which contain a leather pouch similar in design to the pouch containing the holder kit – but much flatter. Each filter is sealed within a plastic sleeve and wrapped in paper.
These filters are pushed into the slots in the front of the holder. The fit is quite tight since friction holds the filter in place. We found the slot nearest the lens to be the tightest, which was problematic for fitting the NiSi 100x100mm Nano IR Neutral Density 3.0 filter, which is 2 mm thick and has a foam gasket on the reverse side to prevent light leaks during long exposures. The gasket is most effective when this filter is fitted into the innermost slot.
Like other filters in the system, this filter is made from optical glass with an anti-reflective and waterproof coating. It has a label etched into one edge.
The NiSi 100x100mm Nano IR Neutral Density 3.0 filter. (Source: NiSi.)
The filter itself is very dark, although not dark enough to prevent you seeing through it in bright conditions. It appears to have a very slight magenta cast but is claimed to be colour neutral. However, we found it added a slight red cast to the colour balance of images. This colour cast was easy to remove with the Auto Colour tool in Photoshop.
The 100x150mm Nano IR Soft Graduated Neutral Density filter. (Source: NiSi.)
The 100x150mm Nano IR Soft Graduated Neutral Density filter is darkest at the top, gradually lightening to clear at the bottom. It is used for preventing over exposure of skies and the 150 mm length allows the transition zone to be moved up and down, depending on the position of the horizon in the frame. It works best when the photographer faces away from the sun but is usable for backlit scenes as long as the sun is well outside of the frame. Flare artefacts can be produced with strongly backlit scenes.
Like the ND 3.0 filter, the Soft Graduated ND filter added a slight magenta cast to the colour balance of images. It was easy to remove most of this cast with the Auto Colour tool in Photoshop, which restored the normal colour balance to foreground areas where the filter was essentially clear. However, traces of magenta remained in the areas covered by the darker part of the filter.
The residual magenta in the filtered areas could be removed by selecting the area where the colouration was visible and creating an adjustment layer. This could be edited to remove the magenta cast without affecting foreground colours.
Conclusion
The NiSi V5 100mm Filter Holder System is competitively priced (for both the basic kit and individual filters) and, although it doesn't offer as wide a range of filters as its main competitors (Cokin, Lee and Hitech), it more than matches them in the quality of the materials used and actual construction. The V5 kit and the individual filters are also supplied in attractive and highly protective wallets that add to their appeal.
The NiSi V5 100mm Filter Holder System is competitively priced (for both the basic kit and individual filters) and, although it doesn't offer as wide a range of filters as its main competitors (Cokin, Lee and Hitech), it more than matches them in the quality of the materials used and actual construction. The V5 kit and the individual filters are also supplied in attractive and highly protective wallets that add to their appeal.
Colour casts are a given with almost any filter you place in front of a camera's lens – except for protective filters that are designed to be completely clear. Interestingly, the NiSi filters were less likely to introduce noticeable colour casts than their main rivals and the slight colour casts they added were easily removed by the Auto Colour tool in Photoshop.
No obvious decline in image sharpness was seen in shots take with any of the filters we tested. Our main issue with the system is that it's quite fiddly to use. Each component much be correctly aligned and locked into place and you must take care not to rotate the holder inadvertently, even by a small amount. This can be difficult in many outdoor situations, where you're most likely to want the filters.
We'd like to see a better clamp for keeping the main filter holder in place. Even though the holder remained fixed during our tests, we always worried about its potential to fall off and shatter the glass filters.
We'd also like to see some kind of replacement lens cap to cover the front of the lens and protect it when it's not in use. With the existing system, you're required to dismantle to holder and remove the filters each time you put your camera away.
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