Two New NiSi Close-Up lenses - A Review
/NiSi has been making really excellent lens filters for ages…
… and I have been happily using them for about as long. But these little beauties are something entirely different.
77mm and 58mm NiSi Close-Up Lenses
Macro-snobs (moi!?) seem to take a lot of pleasure from slamming close-up filters. It is not hard to see why - most of these filters/lenses are pretty ghastly, single-element, aberration-producing abominations - at least the ones I have collected over the years are. There are exceptions, with some extremely high-quality optics available for a price - a big price. There are also a few very good filters, by companies like Raynox, that are multi-element masterpieces, that do not cost an arm, a leg, and a firstborn child. But these lovely Raynox lenses are not designed for use on large, longer focal length camera lenses. And that is the gap that NiSi seems determined to fill.
The 58mm NiSi even looks promising as a 200mm tube lens!
Before I forget, here are the key formulae to know if you want to get the most out of using close-up filters in your macro photography.
The power of a close-up filter, in diopters, is described by this formula:
D = 1,000 / close-up filter focal length (in mm)
The magnification of the system, at the maximum focus distance, is described by this formula:
Magnification = focal length of camera lens / focal length of close-up filter
You can calculate the minimum working distance using this formula:
Minimum working distance = MFD / D x MFD +1
where MFD is the minimum focus distance of the main lens and D is the diopter power of the close-up lens
77mm NiSi close up lens on Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8
Close-up filters are designed to convert your regular camera lens into something that works a lot like a macro lens. The filter shortens the focal length of the native lens, it pulls back the working distance to right up in front of the camera lens , and significantly enlarges the image produced on your sensor. Like a macro lens!
Until now, that has come at a steep price, in terms of poor image quality, with softening of the image, and both geometric and chromatic aberrations by the boatload. By using a more complex lens design, a lens doublet, and very high quality optical glass, NiSi has managed to produce a close-up filter that produces images you might expect from a top-of-the-line dedicated macro lens.
Taken using the 58mm NiSi lens on a Nikon 85mm macro lens and an APS-C body
In this video, I explain what these lenses do, and point out the features that separate a good a close-up lens from the (far more common) bad one. I describe the contents of these lens kits, discuss the product documentation, and explain how the lenses should be used. I did my testing under “real world” conditions, using the close-up lenses on almost every lens that I own. I used the lenses with camera lenses from 40mm to 300mm, I tested them on kit lenses and on the best professional lenses money can buy, I tried them on macro lenses, and even gave the 58mm, 200mm close-up lens a trial run as a tube lens for infinity corrected microscope objective setups.
NiSi 77mm on Tamron 90mm macro lens and FF body
I even did some bench testing - looking for geometric aberrations with every combination of close-up and camera lens I could think of (there was virtually none).
77mm NiSi filter on Tamron 70-200mm (at 200mm), f/2.8, and Nikon D850
I tried hard to find evidence of chromatic aberrations, but at apertures of f/8 or greater, there were essentially none. In fairness, I could produce some fringing, but only under conditions you would not often encounter in the field (wide open apertures, crazy amounts of contrast, assorted backgrounds, and so forth), but even that was pretty minimal.
58mm NiSi on Nikon 70-300mm (at 300mm) and D750
As expected, the depth of field was punishingly shallow, bordering on criminal at 2:1 with a macro lens at the MFD - but what did you expect!? That is the nature of high magnification photography with close-up lenses. There was some occasional edge softening, but less than expected, and only with the really bargain-basement kit lenses.
2:1 with the NiSi 77mm lens on Tamron’s 90mm macro lens and a full frame body
NiSi recommends sticking with apertures smaller than f/8, which makes having a flash handy a good idea. I shot most of these images between f/8 and f/11, but a few were shot at f/20. Unlike when using extension tubes, there is no effective aperture to worry about, meaning you can shoot at very tight apertures with little if any diffraction softening. A bigger issue is motion blur from slow shutter speeds, which become necessary unless you are prepared to run up the ISO and risk getting a ton of noise in the image.
Extremely shallow DOF using the 58mm lens with a Micro Nikkor 85mm macro lens
My preference with both of these filters was to shoot at 1/250th of a second, ISO 100, and an aperture of f/11, and using a decent ring flash mounted directly to the NiSi lens filter ring. No noise, no motion artifact, no diffraction, and no lens aberrations.
Tremendous detail with the 58mm filter and an 80-140mm kit lens (at 140mm)
I recommend these close-up lenses for just about anyone who wants to take “macro lens quality” close-up photographs - whether they are rank beginners who aren’t ready or able to invest in a macro lens, serious macro photographers interested in boosting their high-end macro lenses to 2:1, and everyone in between.
NiSi 58mm on the Micro Nikkor 85mm and an APS-C body
Here is the full video, which goes into a great deal more detail - hope you enjoy it!
If you are interested in getting a closer look at one of these amazing macro close-up lenses, you can check them out here. Please be aware that some of the following links are paid links and that as an Amazon Affiliate,, I may earn from qualified purchases made using some of these links.
This the 58mm NiSi Close-Up Lens, which comes with the hard case and adapter rings mentioned in the video.
And for use on larger, longer focal length lenses, here is where you can find the 77mm NiSi Close-Up lens - which also comes with a hard case and two adapter rings.
Any good quality ring flash will work, but this one is particularly useful in tight spaces - this is the Canon version, but Yongnuo also makes excellent ring flashes for use with Nikon and Sony cameras.
If you like the idea of an extremely high-quality close-up lens system, but decide to go with a dedicated macro lens instead, I urge you to try the Tamron 90mm (G2), f/2.8 macro lens - it is the sharpest macro lens that I have ever owned, and a dream to use. It is even a bargain, for a top of the line lens!
