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Holiday Gift Guide – The best and strangest new lenses of 2022

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It’s December again, which means lots of us are sitting there wondering what to buy for ourselves or the photographer in our lives this holiday season. We’ve been saving up all year to get that something special, but we don’t want to deal with in-store queues – or maybe we’ve just slacked on our Christmas shopping this year. We want to stay at home where it’s nice and warm and see what we can find online that gets delivered straight to our door!

So, this means it’s time for the 2022 DIYP Holiday Gift Guides. It’s Day 2 today, so that means lenses. These are some of our favourite lenses that have been released over the last year. Keep visiting back this week as we release our other guides, including cameras, lighting, tripods, sliders & gimbals, and accessories and gadgets.

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The new NiSi 9mm f/2.8 lens for APS-C and Micro Four Thirds is perfectly imperfect

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NiSi is a popular name when it comes to lens filters, but they’re still a pretty small brand when it comes to the lenses themselves. So far, they’ve only released one, a 15mm f/4 manual focus prime lens for Sony E mount cameras. Well, that’s changed today with the release of the new NiSi 9mm f/2.8 manual focus lens.

This one, though, isn’t a full-frame lens. It’s APS-C and it’s available for Fuji X, Sony E, Canon RF, Nikon Z and Micro Four Thirds mount cameras. I’ve been shooting with the Micro Four Thirds version for a few weeks now, so let’s take a look at what it can do and why I think “perfectly imperfect” is the best way to describe this lens.

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NiSi teases their second lens on Chinese social media – 9mm f/2.8 but for what camera mounts?

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Popular filter manufacturer NiSi has teased a new lens through the Chinese social media platform Weibo. This would be the second lens NiSi has produced since announcing the NiSi 15mm f/4 manual focus lens for full-frame mirrorless cameras last January. There isn’t a whole lot of information about the new lens yet, although we do know that it will have a focal length of 9mm and a maximum aperture of f/2.8.

Beyond that, there isn’t really any other information, although in a second Weibo post, the company did suggest that the new lens will be weather sealed and water resistant. The ring around the bottom of the lens in the photos also appears to be silicone or some other kind of rubber that would also help to prevent dust and water ingress into the camera body.

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NiSi scales down their filter system for their new Smartphone Filter Kit for iPhone

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If we take away all the egotistical hyperbole, one of the big things that stops a lot of people from shooting more (and more serious) photos with their smartphones is the lack of available filters. Sure, there are some polarisers and NDs out there, but when have you ever seen a square filter system comparable to that which you’d use on a DSLR or mirrorless camera?

Well, NiSi’s solving that today, at least for iPhone users, with the release of their new Smartphone Filter Kit for iPhone. Technically, there are three kits. There’s the Landscape Kit, the Filmmaker Kit and the Cinema Kit, each tailored to a different type of user. And the filters themselves appear to be exactly the same (only smaller) as those which NiSi makes for regular cameras, too.

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First review of the new Nisi 15mm f4 lens

Nisi is best known for its high–quality filters. The company recently changed its name to Nisi Optics, showing a new and extended vision geared towards producing quality lenses.

The Nisi 15mm f4 has been long in the making, but these days finally hit the market. The lens is available in full-frame mounts for Nikon Z, Canon RF, and Sony E. It also comes with a Fuji APS-C X mount. The lens offers a whopping 112 degree of field of view for full-frame cameras, which equals a 14,5mm focal length.

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NiSi breaks into the lens market with their new wide-angle 15mm f/4 for mirrorless cameras

NiSi is expanding out into the world of photography lenses with the announcement of their first. It’s an ultra-wide-angle 15mm f/4 manual focus lens designed for full-frame mirrorless cameras. Not Panasonic ones, though. Although, it is also available for Fuji’s APS-C X mount system. The lens offers an aperture with 10 straight blades, to provide that “sunstar” look to light sources for use both during the day and at night.

On a full-frame camera, the lens offers an extremely wide 112° field of view – making its true focal length closer to 14.5mm – with a minimum focus distance of only 20cm. So, if you’re into those distorted close up shots with blurry backgrounds, then this lens may be worth taking a look at.

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NiSi’s getting into the mirrorless lens market and the first photos have leaked

Two images have leaked of an upcoming lens that appears to be from filter-maker NiSi. One image shows the lens mounted to what looks like the Sony A7R III, while the other has it sitting on a Fujifilm body of some kind, possibly the Fuji X-E3.

Not much is shown about the new lens, except that it’s made by NiSi, has a maximum aperture of f/4, with a distance scale behind the focusing ring. It also appears to be a fixed focal length lens, as there are only two dials for the aperture & focus. No zoom.

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S6 – the new Nisi filter holder for ultra wide angle lenses

The Nisi S6 system is designed for landscape photographers who would like to have a filter system for ultra-wide-angle lenses. Specifically for those without a regular filter thread. The system comes with a rotating CPL (circular polarizer), and it allows the use of two more filters. The S6 is a new iteration of a (similarly named) S5, and it features a few improvements.

Let’s first have a look at the improvements and then discuss the handling and use of the S6 system. We will also have a look at a few sample images.

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The NiSi NM-180 Macro Focusing Rail makes shooting for focus stacking a breeze

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While more commonly known for their filters and their upcoming cine lenses, NiSi recently announced their new NM-180 Macro Focusing Rail. Focusing rails are essential pieces of kit for serious macro photographers that allow them to create images that might otherwise be impossible, but how well does the new NiSi NM-180 stack up? Maybe pun intended.

I’ve been using the NiSi Macro Focusing Rail for a few weeks now. The short version of this review is that for what it costs, it’s an extremely well-made device, that has some thoughtful design considerations and does exactly what it’s supposed to. In my opinion, it’s well worth what it costs. But how do focusing rails work and why do you need one?

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NiSi releases its first macro focusing rail for precise focus control

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Lens and filter manufacturer, NiSi is branching out into macro with their brand new NM-180 Macro Focusing Rail. And from looking at the video and visuals sent over to us, it looks pretty good, with a range of features and design choices that are quite interesting.

Macro focusing rails aren’t a new idea, but they haven’t been really updated in a while and there are a lot of terrible ones out there on the market. They’re designed to help you get more precise movements due to the super shallow depth of field you have when shooting macro. And NiSi’s offering appears to have some cool tricks up its sleeve.

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