Review Nisi Vario 1.5–5 Stop Filter
Attaching the Nisi Vario filter to a lens basically means that we have added a fourth dimension to our camera. The exposure triangle; aperture, iso, shutter speed, has been expanded with a fourth variable with which we can play to achieve a desired effect or outcome. This of course opens up for new creative opportunities in our photography, and also adds a lot of flexibility to our shooting.
This is a screw-on filter and comes in a multitude of sizes up to 82mm. The adjusting knob makes it super easy to set the filter to a desired effect. Let us assume I would like a 30 sec sunrise exposure where my main goal is to smooth the water. My initial camera settings are f11 and iso 100. I set my camera to Live View with the histogram enabled and adjust the transparency of the filter until I am around 30 secs. It may of course be necessary to fine tune aperture and iso settings to perfectly achieve the exposure I am after — including having a decent histogram. As it becomes increasingly brighter I simply adjust the filter to maintain my 30 sec limit.
Sunrises this far north come in at least three stages where the first warm colors appear when it still is pretty dark and a 5 stop or 6 stop filter are way too dark, whereas 1.5 stops may be just perfect.
Personally I find smoothed water of waterfalls and rivers aesthetic and pleasing to the eye. However, there are instances when smoothing a waterfall may have a converse effect — some of its sheer power and wildness are lost. Assume I would like to preserve these qualities of a waterfall, but smooth the water in the ensuing river. With a Nisi Vario filter attached to the lens this double effect can be obtained with a minimum of effort. The two resulting images can easily be blended in for instance Photoshop.
In the example below the river and waterfalls are a shutter speed blend of 1/4 and 5 sec using the Nisi Vario 1.5–5 filter. The longer exposure to smooth the water and create directional lines whereas the shorter to preserve textures and details in specific parts of the water.
Needless to say perhaps that the filter conforms to regular Nisi standards which means no color cast and no loss of details. In other words, the optical performance is excellent. In usual Nisi fashion the filter is furnished with various nano coatings. The filter comes in a padded box for safe storage when not in use.
