NiSi V5 Pro filter holder
Until now i used a filter holder from Lee and i decided not to use a filter holder again, but then i changed my mind.
A filter holder again
Besides the usage of ND filters i’ve used graduated filters in the past to manage high contrast situations between the bright sky and the dark landscape. Meanwhile i prefer to shoot such scenes with an expsoure bracketing from a tripod and merge the resulting images either with an HDR tool or with exposure blending. So for my kind of photography mostly 2 ND filters, a 1.8 and a 3.0 would be enough and of course a polarizing filter. This could have been done with screw-in filters, but since i still had the Haida 3.0 the NiSi filter holder got my attention and i deecided to give it a try.
The NiSi V5 Pro filter holder comes in a set containing the filder holder, 3 adapter rings, a polarizing filter and a box for transportation. The chance to use a combination of a pretty strong ND filter with a polarizing filter seemed to be interesting. The adpter ring with a diameter of 77mm fits my Canon 16-35/4.0 L IS, but i had to order an additional adapter ring with a diameter of 58mm for my Panasonic lenses 2.8/12-35mm and the 2.8/35-100mm. To complete the set i ordered a 100mm square filter Haida ND 1.8
Quality and handling
Quality and manufacturing of the filter holder seems to be very good. And a good solution is the change of the polarizer postion with a thumb wheel. Both Haida ND filters fit pretty tight in the filter holder, so you don’t haveing to worry about a filter sliding out of the holder. The transportation box caontains the filter holder, the polarizing filter and 3 adapter rings. I like to see 1 or 2 additional compartments to carry the 2 ND filters in the box. The Haid ND 1.8 was delivered in metal box, which protects the filter very good.
The polarizing filter is very thin, so you run into the risk of finger prints handling the filter and this is not a filter for handling with golves ,-)
I did my first tests with the Lumix G81 and in this combination the filter holder seems to be a little oversized but this combination works, and this i activated long exposure noise reduction😉
The main advantage of this combination even with a mounted ND 3.0 you still can compose the picture in the eletronic viewfinder, but the combination of both the ND 3.0 and the ND 1.8 is too much for the EVF. .
Practise
So far i didn’t capture too many pictures with this combination, but the quality of the polarizing filter is very good and even in the combination with a ND filter there is no vignetting, but because of the windy situation captures taken wiht both ND filters were shaky because i only had the lightwieght Feisol tripod .
Conclusion
Too me the NiSi V5 Pro is a well done filter holder, with a fair price and a good quality. Assmbling the polarizing filter is a little bit tricky because of the very thin filter.
Do you use a filter holder od do you prefer screw-in filters? Just let me know in the comments or place your questions.
ciao tuxoche
