Nisi Filter Case Study

NiSi ND-Vario, a variable ND filter without the X

Users of variable ND filters have grown used to the X marking the extreme of the usable density. NiSi claims its new ND-Vario filter does not suffer from the same problem.

As any other ND-Vario filter, the NiSi filter offers a variation in neutral density by rotating two polarizers, one over the other, in this case reaching a maximum of 5 stops. Videographers may be interested in the solution.

NiSi presents its new filter, the NiSi Pro Nano 1.5-5 Stops Enhance ND-VARIO, noting that “to date, most photographers have had bad experiences using variable ND filters. Despite their high cost, image quality has often not met photographers’ demands” and points as one of the reasons the appearance of an X effect when the filter is rotated to its extreme.

So, what NiSi apparently has done is limit the rotation of its filter, so it never goes beyond the 5 stops the company says the filter offers. Nothing special here, I believe, so I see no reason to use the “X effect” for marketing purposes. There is, I believe, no magic trick or special technology associated with the NiSi Pro Nano 1.5-5 Stops Enhance ND-VARIO, it just does automatically, through a limitation created while manufacturing it, what owners of other variable ND filters have done for years now: stop before the X!

Having clarified this aspect, there are other reasons you may want to look at NiSi’s filter: its “image definition” and “color cast”, which lead us to things photographers and videographers either hate to lose or have. In fact, some – mostly cheap - filters show a lack of definition and /or introduce a color cast. NiSi claims its filter does work well around those problems and while it would be necessary to try the filter to confirm it is true, it is not hard to believe the NiSi Pro Nano 1.5-5 Stops Enhance ND-VARIO will behave as