The Venice Filter Kit

For a long time, filters were one of those pieces of photographic equipment I carried because there were certain photographs I simply couldn't make without them.

I bought this NiSi V5 Pro 100mm system around 2021, and this particular set became my Venice kit.

I have another virtually identical set that travelled with me, while this one generally stayed in Venice. It was used occasionally rather than constantly, mostly when I wanted to work with long exposures, control reflections or balance a bright Venetian sky against the darker city below.

And Venice is probably one of the places where a filter kit like this makes most sense.

Water is everywhere. Reflections change constantly. A ten-stop ND can turn the movement of the lagoon into something almost completely different, while a graduated filter can hold back a bright sky without sacrificing what is happening beneath it. The polariser has its own peculiar relationship with Venice, sometimes removing reflections from the water and sometimes reminding you that the reflection was actually the photograph.

The system itself is wonderfully elaborate.

There is the large 100mm holder, a circular polariser sitting inside it, adapter rings for different lenses, and then three substantial pieces of optical glass: a 5-stop ND, a 10-stop ND and a soft graduated 3-stop filter. Each has its own protective case.

It is very good equipment. It still works perfectly well.

So why is it in The Cabinet?

Because the way I work has changed again.

I increasingly use magnetic Urth filters, which are smaller, quicker and considerably easier to carry. The NiSi system hasn't become obsolete. If anything, the large square and graduated filters still offer a degree of control that the simpler magnetic system cannot completely replace.

But photography is full of these small evolutions. We spend years refining a system until everything works exactly as we want it to, and then somebody finds a way of doing most of the same job with considerably less stuff.

This particular set can now stay together as what it always was:

my Venice filter kit.

THE OBJECT

Object: Professional 100mm photographic filter system
Maker: NiSi
System: V5 Pro
Date: c. 2021
Origin: China
Materials: Optical glass, aluminium, leather/faux-leather protective cases
Use: Long-exposure photography, reflection control and graduated exposure control
Provenance: My dedicated Venice filter set, used occasionally for photographic work in the city.

The set includes: NiSi V5 Pro 100mm holder with Pro C-PL circular polariser; 82mm main adapter plus 77mm, 72mm and 67mm adapter rings; Nano IR ND32 100 × 100mm, 5 stops; Nano IR ND1000 100 × 100mm, 10 stops; Soft Nano IR GND8 100 × 150mm, 3 stops; original protective cases.

Condition: Excellent, with light signs of occasional professional use.

Cabinet price: €275

STATUS: Available
This object is currently for sale at Euro 275 plus shipping ask me for more photo