Chinese accessories company NiSi is still a newcomer to the British photography market, and its UK online store only opened a virtual door last year. Its operating basis is different from that of many other companies. It designs and manufactures its own products and then sells them directly to customers. In principle, this should allow it to provide high-quality accessories at favorable prices, but the downside is that you can't check them in the store before buying.

NiSi V6 filter holder used near Blackfriars Bridge in London

Last year, we named the company's NM-180 Macro Focus Guide as one of the accessories of the year. We were also impressed by the unique compact filter system of Fuji X100, Sony RX100 and Ricoh GR series cameras. Therefore, we have been looking forward to testing its latest 100mm filter holder kit V6. NiSi claims that it is "developed by photographers, developed for photographers", so we want to understand how it can compete with similarly priced competitors such as Kase K9 and Benro FH100M3.

The NiSi V6 kit includes a filter holder, an 82mm threaded adapter ring, and a booster ring for attaching it to a lens with 77mm, 72mm, and 67mm threads. There is also a plastic lens cover that can be pushed onto the adapter ring, and a beautifully designed nylon shell.

NiSi’s V6 kit fits perfectly with the included housing

Uniquely, the kit provided by the company can choose between two different polarizers: the standard version is priced at 155 pounds, and the landscape version is priced at 189 pounds. NiSi sells 100mm square ND filters with up to 11 densities at a price of 122 pounds each, as well as 15-speed and 20-speed options for 133 pounds and 149 pounds, respectively. At the same time, the price of a 100 x 150mm ND gradient filter is 129-137 pounds.

This shows that the filter holder, adapter ring and polarizer are all installed together

The accessory bracket is clamped to the adapter ring by a small spring pin. It has a screw lock for fixing the angle, which must be fully opened when the bracket is installed in place

The two small wheels on the opposite sides of the polarizer adapter ring are used to adjust the polarizer from behind the camera: you can see them at the four o'clock and ten o'clock positions in the picture above

Broadly speaking, NiSi V6 is combined in a similar way to other high-end filter systems. It is based on two main components, one is an adapter ring screwed on the lens with a polarizing filter, and a bracket part that can accommodate three 2 mm thick and 100 mm wide filters. But as always, it has some specific characteristics.

Here you can see the adapter ring mounted on the lens, in this case through a 77 mm booster ring

First look at the adapter ring. It has an 82 mm thread for attaching to your lens. For those users who accept smaller filters, NiSi offers 67 mm, 72 mm and 77 mm booster rings. On the front of it, it has an 86 mm thread. You can screw the ultra-thin matching polarizer into it, and then you can use a pair of small wheels placed diametrically on the edge of the adapter to rotate it.

The polarizer is screwed into the adapter ring. It has a very slim knurled handle

To minimize the risk of vignetting, the rotating mechanism protrudes backwards behind the front of the lens. However, this makes it physically incompatible with a few selected optical devices. NiSi lists Panasonic Lumix S 70-200mm f/2.8, and Tokina's 11-20mm f/2.8 and 17-35mm f/4 wide-angle zoom lenses. A 10-pound spacer ring solves this problem, but at the cost of the latter's vignetting.

The holder for the 100 mm wide filter is clamped on the lens adapter ring

The filter holder is clamped on the adapter ring by a spring pull-out pin. Above this, there is a second screw-in locking pin that allows you to fix the graduated filter at an angle of your choice. However, the latter is not fixed and can be completely unscrewed from the bracket, which always worries me because I lost many non-fixed tripod parts when I walked between different locations.

The ND filter should be used in the slot closest to the camera. If you look closely, you can almost see the foam lamp seal on the back of the filter

Unlike several competitors, the filter holder itself does not have a light seal. In contrast, NiSi's Neutral Density (ND) filter is pre-installed with a foam seal to prevent light leakage and fogging during long exposures. As usual, ND should be used in the slot closest to the camera, with graduated filters placed in front of them.

Uniquely, NiSi offers two choices of polarizing filters. The standard option is similar to the options provided by other systems, and NiSi says it provides approximately 95% polarization efficiency. In contrast, the Landscape version has a higher efficiency (designated as 99.5%), and has been treated with a waterproof and oil-repellent coating.

NiSi offers a variety of polarizers, lateral and standard polarizers, with significantly different characteristics

The cost of this efficiency improvement is lower optical transmission. Compared with the standard 1st gear, the filter coefficient is about 1.7 gears. Landscape polarizers also provide a blue shift of about 600K, although the latter is easy to fix in the original process. As the name suggests, if you prefer to shoot outdoors with plenty of light, NiSi recommends that you choose a landscape polarizer.

Due to its slightly weird design, I found that the NiSi V6 system needs to be handled carefully on site. Once you are familiar with how everything fits together, it is not difficult to use, but it does require a specific working method. Fortunately, there is absolutely no problem with the build quality. Everything is well-made and runs smoothly. A useful touch is that this box can be attached to the strap of a shoulder bag, or it can be attached to the Molle-type connecting ring on the backpack and the bag.

The NiSi V6 kit can be easily attached to your camera bag or backpack

It’s worth noting that it’s best to install or remove the polarizing filter with the adapter ring detached from the camera-otherwise its ultra-thin profile means it will fall too easily. The easiest way is to lay the adapter flat in your hand and grasp the two adjusting wheels with your thumb and index finger at the same time. But this does mean that if you want to try a lens without a polarizer, you cannot remove it quickly; in contrast, the magnetic system used by Kase and Benro works better. It is also a bit awkward to remove the booster ring stuck on the adapter, which will slow you down when changing lenses.

Sony Alpha 7 III, Sony FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS 24mm. 20 seconds at f/11, ISO 100. Landscape polarizer, 10 gears ND, 3 gears ND gradient. Corrected perspective in Photoshop.

In terms of operation, the biggest quirk of NiSi V6 is that the two polarizer adjustment wheels will eventually be in different positions depending on the lens you are using, which may be on the side, top and bottom, or anywhere in between. Therefore, it is not as neat and easy to use as the alternative using a single wheel on the side of the filter holder. However, in practice, this did not bother me as I expected. I also appreciate the fact that you can use the polarizer alone without the filter holder and use the push-in lens cap to protect it between shots. But you can also use the Kase K9 system to perform this operation.

When not in use, you can use this push-in cap to protect the polarizer

Generally speaking, it is easy to clip the filter holder to the lens ring, then adjust the angle and lock it in place. However, the instructions on the bracket state that the locking pin must always be fully opened before connecting it to the adapter ring, and I can attest that it is important to heed this warning after my test sample almost fell into the Thames. After this near disaster, I quickly got used to checking it automatically all the time, but other systems were not bothered by the same problem.

Sony Alpha 7 III, Sony 16-35 mm F4 ZA 19 mm. 13 seconds at f/11 and ISO 100. Landscape polarizer and 10-speed ND. Correct perspective in Photoshop

One aspect NiSi V6 excels at is lens compatibility, because the 86mm polarizer is very close to the front of the lens. I used it with a full-frame optical system as wide as the Lao Frog 15mm f/2 Zero-D. No matter the angle, I did not see any signs of vignetting. This is good news when you need to position the ND gradient to handle a slanted skyline or horizon.

This test photo confirms that the Lao Frog 15mm f/2 full-frame lens has no vignetting. Sony Alpha 7 III, Lao Frog 15mm f/2 Zero-D. 1.3 seconds at f/11 and ISO 100. Landscape polarizer and 3 stops of ND gradient.

NiSi's 100mm filter is housed in an ultra-thin faux leather box with a magnetic closure, which takes up very little space in your bag, which is very popular compared to the bulky design used by some other companies. I tested the V6 system with 10-speed ND and 3-speed ND mid-range, and found that they are firmly installed in the bracket and can slide up and down fairly smoothly. You can't get the extremely precise adjustment provided by Benro's gear FH100M3 bracket, but in return, the NiSi V6 is more compact and does not require every filter to be placed in a £12 frame.

The NiSi filter uses a slim shell, does not take up much space, and has a label on the back

I tested the landscape polarizer and it did provide spectacular results with strong colors, rich greens, and strong blue skies. Therefore, it is a great tool for photographers who like to shoot landscapes with deep saturated colors; in essence, Fujichrome Velvia slides are the first popular appearance. You can see its effect in the lens below; click here to see a comparison photo without a polarizer. However, some people may find that its effect is a little overdone, while the standard version will provide better service.

Landscape polarizers give saturated colors and particularly rich greens. Sony Alpha 7 II, Sony FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS 64mm. 1/4 second at f/16, ISO 100. Landscape polarizer.

I have to say that the square filter is also excellent. I did not see annoying surprises in terms of blurring of details, loss of contrast due to glare, or unpleasant color casts caused by infrared pollution, all of which may be problems with cheap ND filters. They seem to match other high-end glass filters such as Kase, Benro, or Formatt Hitech that I have used.

Landscape photographers who require the use of polarized light, neutral density, and graduated filters to manipulate light currently have a range of excellent systems to choose from. NiSi's V6 must be there, if not very high, then it must be among the chasers. Only design quirks are disappointing. For example, the polarizer adjusting wheel finally uses different lenses in different places, and the temperament angle locking pin. Replacing a polarizer on site is also painful, in fact, depending on the light, you might better commit to using it or not.

The polarizer can be easily used alone, without the support part for the 100m filter. Sony Alpha 7 III, Sony FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS 48mm. 0.6 seconds at f/16 and ISO 100. Landscape polarizer

I suspect that many users will quickly make up for these problems by adjusting their work practices, but again, you don't have to tolerate them elsewhere, such as Kase's K9 system. However, NiSi's trump card is its landscape polarizer, which is likely to be a good reason for some users to buy.

Receive the latest product news and technical tips from amateur photographers.

Kelsey Media Ltd The Granary, Downs Court Yalding Hill Yalding Kent ME18 6AL 01959 541444 www.kelsey.co.uk

WordPress Designer and Developer at TILT Digital Agency, Kent