NiSi Star Soft Astrophotography Filter (150 x 170mm)

Interesting filter

This glass filter does what it says: it makes stars soft, and it makes prominent stars brighter while diminishing the presence of less bright stars. This is a great filter to use to accentuate constellations like the Big Dipper. It also makes astro shots from dark locations less busy because it lowers the number of stars in your shots. I got this filter to fit in my large 150mm Nisi filter holder, but due to the size of the filter holder, I don't always bring it with me. This means hand-holding the filter in front of my camera lens. There are issues with this in the cons, below. The cons. The glass is very reflective, so you need to be careful when shooting around any light sources - my intervalometer has a red light that reflected on the filter. I got the larger (150x170) sized filter for use with my 14mm lens, but it is hard to manage due to the size and slipperiness of the glass - I solved this (sorta) by putting white gaffer tape on the corners of the clear side, which makes it easier to grip. The glow effect is created by patterns on the glow side, but if you keep the filter steady through your long night exposures, there will be a slight pattern. The solution to this is to hand-hold the filter and move it around in front of your camera lens so the glow pattern becomes more diffuse. This is difficult to do because this filter is large in size. Also, if you are shooting in very dark locations, you need to be careful that you do not knock the filter into your camera lens. If I could do it all over again, I would get the 100x150 filter, which easier to manage and easier to waive around in front of my 14mm lens. I don't think I will use it with my Nisi 150mm filter holder because of the pattern that emerges around stars when the filter is static. Bottom line: the filter does what it is supposed to do, but there are caveats.