30 sec. LE shot at sunrise. Nikon D800E + AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED + NiSi Filter Holder + Soft Nano GND8 (0.9)
The Nikkor AF-S 14-24mm f/2.8G ED is one of my favourite lenses. It is sharp from the widest open, and provides very dramatic perspectives. There is, however, one drawback that could cause photographers to hold back buying this awesome lens, that is, the bulbous front lens prevents users from attaching filters.
The pawls of the SW-150 filter holder are too weak. I had to hammer them out.
The previously popular solution for this problem was getting an SW-150 filter holder system by Lee Filters. I actually own one. But I wasn’t very happy with this product. It takes too much time to attach to or detach it from the 14-24mm. The SW-150 consists of multiple components. You have to detach your 14-24mm from your DSLR and assemble the SW150 components to set it up. It takes minutes to get ready. Honestly speaking, I didn’t get how to assemble it when I got it for the first time and I had to email the company. I initially kept the SW-150 attached with my 14-24mm for the first 6 months or so, then a problem arose. The pawls of the SW150 holder are not robust enough, they got bent, and they ended up damaging the built-in lens hood of my 14-24mm. I gave up using the SW150 filter holder system and had used my 14-24mm without filters.
NiSi 150mm holder attached to the 14-24. You can easily attach the holder when your camera is on a tripod without removing the lens from the body.
I got a NiSi filter holder system for the 14-24mm recently. Honestly speaking, I didn’t expect expect too highly of it. I thought it was similar to the SW150 and the difference would probably be just in the design and price. Oh boy, I’m so happy to find that I was wrong! This product is MUCH BETTER than the Lee SW-150. All problems I encountered with the Lee Filters SW-150 were solved.
It takes only 3 seconds to attach it to the 14-24mm and you don’t need to remove the lens from the camera body to do so.
This is great advantage. You can attach the filter holder system just in seconds only when you needed. Just put it to the 14-24mm from the frontal side and turn the knobs. Voila! So simple.
Another problem I had with the SW-150 was that light coming from the back created unwanted reflections and messed up long exposure shots. To prevent this problem, I needed to shut the light coming from the back using such materials as light-shielding fabrics. It took dozens of minutes for me to prepare taking long exposure shots using the Lee Filters SW-150 and 10-f stop ND filter. I eventually gave up using them altogether although they were quite expensive.
30 sec. LE shot during the daytime. Nikon D800E + AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm + NiSi Holder System + NiSi AR ND1000 (3.0)
You can easily take long exposure shots using the NiSi 10f-stop ND filter without unwanted back reflections.
Felty black materials are pasted to the back of NiSi’s 10f-stop ND filter so that it prevents unwanted back reflections. I was relieved from all the hustle I had to go through with the SW-150 and enjoyed taking long exposure shots at ease.
The NiSi ND1000 (3.0) filter prevents unwanted back reflections when used together with the NiSi 150mm holder system.
Of course you can use any 150mm-width filter with the NiSi holder. I used a Lee Filters ND4 (0.6) Grad Hard together with a NiSi 10f-stop ND filter to capture the following shot.
474 sec. LE shot at sunset. Nikon D800E + AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm + NiSi Holder System + NiSi AR ND1000 (3.0) + Lee Filters ND 0.6 Grad Hard
Bottom Line: The NiSi 150mmm holder system is an ideal product for those who want to use filters with their Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED. Highly recommended!
UPDATE (May 25, 2015)
I met the vice president Tony Kong and sales manager Nancy Jiang of NiSi yesterday and confirmed the following facts:
1) NiSi developed a filter holder system for the Tamron
SP 15-30mm F/2.8 Di VC USD (Model A012) . As far as I know, this is the only option available in the market.
2) The NiSi filter holder system for Nikon 14-24mm can be used with the rest of the trilogy (24-70/70-200 f2.8) via the dedicated adapter they sell.
3) NiSi also provides a 100mm filter holder system for other lenses, which can be used with any lens with a filter thread up to 82mm diameter.
4) If there is no agent handling NiSi product in your company, you can directly purchase their products via their website.
With NiSi Filter Holder + Soft Nano GND8 (0.9) + ND1000
(ISO100, 24mm, f/10, 8.0 sec.)
With no filter
(ISO 100, 24mm, f/10, 1/250 sec.)