Gear & Reviews
September 25th 2020
Testing the NiSi
Q150 filter system
The Q series was specially designed for ultra-wideangle lenses, which usually have a curved front lens and fixed lens hood instead of a front thread. However, this prohibits the use of screw filters or the V6 filter holder. But in order that filters can also be attached to these lenses, NiSi has come up with a special system that is individually adapted to different lenses. The filter holders of the Q-series consist of one piece of milled aviation aluminum and offer space for two filters measuring 150x150 or 150x170 millimeters. Lenses such as the Nikon 14-24 f / 2.8, Tamron 15-30 f / 2.8, Sigma 14 f / 1.4 or Sony 12-24 f / 2.8 are supported. A complete list can be found at www.nisioptics.at.
The filter holder for my Samyang 14mm can be easily attached to the front of the lens using a rotatable lock. Due to the construction of this lens, there is a slight vignetting, which cannot be avoided with an ultra-wide angle and can also be reduced by correcting the lens distortion. The surface of the Q150 is coated in matt black to minimize unwanted reflections. In addition, it can be rotated flexibly in any direction, which makes aligning the filters very easy. It weighs 250 grams and can be easily stowed in any photo backpack.
Up to two filters can be used at the same time, in my case I opted for the NiSi Nano IR ND 1000 (150x150mm), as well as the NiSi Nano IR GND 8 Soft (150x170mm). These two filters form the basic structure of my NiSi equipment and are ideal for most lighting conditions. I use the soft graduated filter in almost all of my shots to darken the sky and get more dynamics in the pictures. The ND filter can be used to take long exposures that darken the image by ten f-stops. What I particularly like about the filters is the nano-coating on both sides, which has an oil and water-repellent effect and makes cleaning much easier. Especially in landscape photography you often work under extreme conditions and there are constant drops of water from rivers, seawater or rain on the filters. Therefore, a quick and streak-free cleaning is a great advantage! The filters are stored in the robust, stylish hard case.
The slight vignetting in the corners of the image is visible, but can easily be corrected in post-processing.
On the left there's a shot with the GND 8 Soft, unprocessed jpeg out of camera.
Conclusion
I have tested the Q150mm system and the two filters in the French Alps and my home in Bavaria. Given the usual high NiSi quality, I am not surprised when it comes to their performance. The system is robust and easy to use, which makes working with it in nature a pleasure. Although I had to get used to the handling, as the filters are a bit larger than my V6 100mm system, the changeover does not cause any difficulties. The already mentioned vignetting can be seen clearly at the corners of the pictures, but is easy to fix. I noticed a minimal green cast with the GND graduated filter, which I was able to correct just as quickly in raw editing. Overall, I am very happy to be able to use NiSi filters for my ultra wideangle lens as well!
Comparison images
Here are two shots with/without filters to make the difference visible. Move the sliders to see the before and after.
Copyright © 2024 - Laura Oppelt Photography