INTRODUCTION
For every landscape photographer, neutral density filters are a precious tool in order to block globally or selectively the amount of light desired. This way, we can obtain the correct exposure right on the field in each different scenario. Some years ago the offer available of filters and holders was very short and photographers struggled to get good and reliable equipment.
The search of filters that did not interfere with color and image quality, as well as a holder that could be resistant, lightweight and practical, was almost impossible. However, with the appearance of the NiSi brand, photographers started to have the opportunity to get very good quality gear, which is being perfected year after year.
As a current user of NiSi filters and holders since 2015, I have followed the evolution of the brand and still getting surprised every new year with the advent of new and refined products, maintaining the highest quality as paramount. With the introduction of the circular polarizer filter (CPL) in a position between the lens and the square filters, NiSi revolutionized the filter holder philosophy, allowing the photographer to rotate the CPL without the need to remove the filters in front – this was groundbreaking. With NiSi glass neutral density filters I had in my hands for the first time filters that don't brutally interfere with the natural colors of the scene, even in very long-exposure situations.
In this context, NiSI started to get more and more my affection and recognition in the world of filter brands.
When I was contacted by NiSi to test the new V6 filter holder, I was thrilled but at the same time curious. How could NiSi improve what was already amazing? As a previous user of V5 Pro holder with a variety of NiSi filters, I was a little skeptical of how the new V6 would surprise me. During the last 6 weeks, I have been able to test the V6 holder in different scenarios. In short: the new V6 holder and the Landscape CPL are a real upgrade.
Nisi V6 holder on the field - Santorini, Greece
PACKAGING AND UNBOXING
As usually, NiSi doesn't let anyone down as far as product packaging is concerned. For many users, as for myself, a quality package of the product is mandatory for all high-level brands. In this field, NiSi shows what kind of care they employ in their gear. The holder was very well accommodated in the box, covered outside with an untouched plastic cover. After opening the box you can find:
- the NiSi V6 user and maintenance manual;
- a new designed cover cap for the CPL in an individual plastic bag;
- a newly developed filter bag;
- the V6 2 piece holder with the 82mm main adapter ring;
- an 86mm Landscape Polarizer filter;
- the 67mm, 72m and 77mm adapter rings.
All this fantastic equipment is very well packed on a 15.5 x 16 x 8.5 mm card box. Considering the sale price, it is a lot of gear for one small box.
NiSi kindly includes in this kit a newly designed pouch for accomodating the holder and the adapter rings, however I prefer to carry them with my Terrascape Classi filter bag, where I can place in just one bag all my filters and the holder as well.
CONSTRUCTION AND MATERIALS
As in the previous V5 and V5 Pro holders, all the equipment is very well built and when it is handled in your hands you will get the feeling that this holder will be able to resist against the most extreme natural environments. It has a nice touch of metal and it doesn't have any plastic components. The main holder and the rings are once again made in aeronautical aluminum, which is a very light but resistant material, two important characteristics for the landscape photographers.
Despite its resistance, according to my experience with previous NiSi holders, you have to be cautious with the screws of the main ring as well as the adapter rings. Try to clean them very well when exposed to dust, salty water or sand because when these particles enter the screw threads they can difficult the placement and can damage the metal. If you fulfill these simple measures your holder will keep in great condition for long time.
NEW FEATURES OF V6 HOLDER
NiSi already had an amazing square filter holder available on their portfolio. As a current V5 Pro user I was very happy with this product which already served me very well on multiple environments. So what can NiSi improve on the new V6 holder?
- New holder shape: the new V6 is quite different when comparing with the V5 Pro. In this new holder the corners are reshaped which can help to introduce the filters on the slots. This new design as another great advantage: it allows us to remove the square full ND filter without the necessity of removing the Graduated ND filter in front. This redesign doesn't interfere with critical aspects of the holder, maintaining the same capacity of blocking the light infiltration to the lens front element when the ND filters are placed. Once again NiSi hears the sugsestions of its users, as this issue was already pointed by several photographers, NiSi decided to upgrade the shape of the holder, in my opinion, a big plus of the V6.
- Lighter holder: the V6 system (main adapter ring, holder and polarizer) now weights just 142g. When compared with the 168g of the V5 Pro, it can be considered a small difference however, any gram reduction of weight is welcomed in every landscape photographer backpack.
- Holder rotation lock: another critic regarding the previous NiSi holder systems was the absence of a mechanism for locking the position of the filter holder. Sometimes when introducing or removing a second or third filter you can displace the holder orientation that was already carefully positioned previously. Now the V6 has a side metal locking screw that can prevent this from happening. When fully screwed, it completely blocks the rotation of the holder securing its position when changing filters. Be careful to not unscrew this completely because when it's to loose it can fall and be lost. One suggestion for NiSi developers: it would be useful to have a stopper on the screw to prevent it to accidentally fall.
- New Landscape circular polarizer filter: the analysis of this new CPL deserves an individual section. This will be available ahead on this review.
- New designed CPL cap: the old CPL plastic cover cap has some limitations. Besides its poor design, it was very difficult to remove when adapted, which was impossible when wearing gloves. With the new design, the V6 CPL cover cap now has a rubber circumference on the periphery which can facilitate its placement.
- New filter slots: the new configuration of the holder slots allows a much smoother introduction of the filters, keeping at the same time the necessary tension to handle them on the holder with all the security as in the previous models.
IN THE FIELD USAGE
Like with the previous holders, the new V6 holder is a joy to use on the field. During the last 6 weeks, I had the opportunity of using the holder in different environments on my landscape and cityscape photography trips and the V6 behaves like a champion. The filter introduction and removal are smooth and easy and the new corner shape design is a big upgrade. Now I can remove the square full ND filter (that I normally place on the first slot) without the need of removing the graduated NDs in front. The rotation lock screw is a very useful addition, we know how easy can be to accidentally misalign the holder after a careful positioning of the GND filters. The CPL rotation is very soft like in the previous V5 Pro model.
The main advantage of the NiSi holders remains unchanged: we don't have any vignette at all at 16mm focal distance.
During the time of my testing I didn't see any sign of metal corrosion or screws deterioration even in different saltwater environments.
Santorini, Greece
Senhor da Pedra chapel, Portugal
LANDSCAPE CIRCULAR POLARIZER FILTER
NiSi kindly included on this package a new circular polarizer filter. The filter architecture is the same as well as the mount and rotation mechanism. When comparing it with the Pro CPL that was included on my previous V5 Pro kit, I immediately recognize a different coloration of the glass, with the Landscape CPL getting a blue-ish color. But how will it perform when compared with the previous Pro CPL?
To start, I did some "home tests": I photographed the same outdoor scene with my Sony a7RIV and Sony FE Sonnar T* 55mm F1.8 ZA placed on a sturdy tripod. 2-second shutter timer and camera a dn lens stabilization was turned off. White balance fixed on 5600K. The RAWs were processed in Lightroom 8.4.1 edition. The same settings were applied for the 3 photos: Contrast +15; Clarity +15; Sharpening +50, Noise Reduction Luminance +10. Distortion and chromatic aberration lens profiles were activated. The polarizers were rotated in order to get the full polarization power.
No CPL | f/8 ISO 100 1/80s
Pro CPL | f/8 ISO 100 1/30 s
Landscape CPL | f/8 ISO 100 1/30s
As with the old Pro CPL, the new Landscape CPL filter also blocks a small amount of received light. On my different tests, any of those polarizers darken the picture at a value of 1 to 1,3 EV stops. It is pretty obvious consulting the EXIFs of each picture that on both CPL's images the shutter speed is slower (1/30s) when compared with the picture without filter (1/80s), compnensating the CPL darkening.
Regarding the color rendition, it was already know that the NiSi Pro CPL has a small warm color cast, which is perfectly visible on the test shots. The new Landscape CPL seems to have resolved this issue. Analyzing the pictures, to my eyes the Landscape CPL has just a very little blue color cast on this test, which in my opinion disturbs much less the natural color rendition than the Pro CPL. If you prefer the warmer red and orange rendition, which can be useful on sunrise/sunset colors, you probably should get the Pro CPL filter. This filter can accentuate even more the warmer colors of these environments.
Below are the 100% crops of a section of the same photos. it is clear that none of the CPLs disturbs the picture quality and sharpness.
No CPL 100% crop
Pro CPL 100% crop
Landscape CPL 100% crop
After the "home tests" I wanted to see how the Landscape CPL performs on the field so I tested it in 2 different scenarios:
- In the first test at the beach, I compared 3 pictures taken on the same spot with the same composition with no CPL, the Pro CPL and the Landscape CPL. Both pictures were taken with the Sony a7RIV and the Zeiss Loxia 21mm at f/11 and ISO 100. The shutter speed is different according to the light block by the CPLs as seen in the previous tests. All the RAWs were edited in Lightroom with the same settings and white balance values in temperature and tint. The CPLs were rotated to a full power polarization position. The goal of this tests is to evaluate each CPL power as well as the color rendition.
It is pretty obvious that both of CPLs have a huge effect on the elimination of the reflections on the rocks and the water, an effect that could be very useful when we want to accentuate the rocks contrast, texture and colors. It seems to me that the "polarization power" of both CPLs is comparable.
Like in the previous "home tests" it is pretty obvious again that the Pro CPL has a small warm color cast. This effect doesn't seem to happen with the Landscape CPL where the colors appear to be much more natural.
No CPL | f/11 ISO 11 1/4s
Pro CPL | f/11 ISO 100 1s
Landscape CPL | f/11 ISO 100 1s
In the second test on the river, I took 2 pictures with the Sony a7RIV and the Sony FE 16-35mm at 17mm and fully edited them according to my usual workflow. The post-processing steps were completely replicated in both pictures. The only difference is that the first picture was taken without any polarizing filter and the second picture with the Landscape CPL activated in the full "polarization power". With this test, I want to show you that a good quality CPL is an essential piece of gear in any landscape photographer kit. The effect of a physical polarizing filter used on the field is hardly replicated with any digital post-production technique, mainly its ability to block reflections when they are not desired.
Note the much more saturated and contrasted colors on the right picture where the Landscape CPL was used. In practice, I don´t see any color cast with the Landscape CPL. The result is fantastic, it is an amazing piece of gear! Congratulations NiSi, great upgrade!
No CPL | f/11 ISO 100 0,5s
Landscape CPL | f/11 ISO 100 1 s
CONCLUSIONS
Normally, in the landscape photography area, we are flooded with lots of newly developed equipment that can be used to improve our photographing performance. Most of the photographers have to be highly selective where they will decide to spend their limited budget. We want high quality and reliable gear that can last long, be resistant to high demanding weather conditions and lightweight and practical to use.
NiSi has been releasing high-quality gear, which year after year is being tested by the most demanding public: the landscape photographer with its in-field everyday usage. In this setting, the new V6 holders appear as great choice for the frequent users of square ND filters systems. With this system, we can get all the great achievements of previous NiSi in addition with the new very useful upgrades.
For the price you pay, the V6 kit gives you on the same package a high quality 2 piece holder system complemented with the best CPL NiSi has ever produced. In my opinion, it is the best offer when considering the quality/price ratio. NiSi also likes to please the user with a bunch of nice extras like the new pouch and the CPL cap included as well in this kit. This attention to detail makes the difference in a very competitive market.
All wrapped up: I find the NiSi V6 holder kit and the Landscape CPL a truly amazing piece of gear. Nowadays I am using it myself on my landscape and cityscape photos, replacing my previous V5 Pro kit.
In Portugal and Spain you can buy the V6 holder kit with the Landscape CPL, as well as other NiSi products, in the following links:
- www.nisioptics.pt
You can get a 10% imediate discount in all NiSi products using the code NISI-NMORAIS
PS: I would like to thank NiSi brand in the person of Viola Xu for sending me this V6 filter kit to test.
Meteora - Greece
Thank you!
