NiSi Unveils its Second-Ever Lens for APS-C Cameras at $459
News | By Stephan Jukic | September 28, 2022
NiSi is a Chinese brand that’s mostly known for making lens filters, but more recently, the company has moved over into lens creation with some surprisingly good results.
The company’s first-ever optic was a 15mm f/4 model for Sony E-mount, Canon RF-mount, Nikon Z-mount, Micro Four Thirds and Fujifilm X-mount cameras.
This remarkably brand-compatible lens was released in January of 2021 and received some pretty solid reviews in its favor.
Now, to follow up on its first-time success, NiSi is releasing its second-ever lens creation in the form of the 9mm f/2.8 for APS-C camera models from the same brands as those that the 15mm from 2021 could be used for.
This newer NiSi lens offers an even wider viewing angle and is considered ideal for architecture shots, astrophotography or even close-up shooting. NiSi also promises low distortion and crisp, sharp image quality.
The new lens has a 35mm-equivalent focal length of 13.5mm with a 113-degree field of view when used with APS-C cameras and 18mm at a 100-degree field of view if used with Micro Four Thirds sensors.
NiSi first revealed the new 9mm on the company’s Weibo page (a Chinese microblogging social website) and the website Sony Alpha Rumors picked up on the story shortly afterward. According to NiSi, the lens includes include two double-sided aspherical elements along with four extra-low dispersion elements among a total of 14 elements built into it in 12 groups.
This lens has been designed with an f/2.8 to f/16 aperture and a 10-bladed diaphragm. The f/2.8, in particular, is useful for a great bokeh effect due to a straight-blade aperture build according to the company. It can also produce especially elegant sunstar effects if closed down.
What’s more, NiSi also claims that the 9mm f/2.8 lens is optimized to provide strong sharpness and clarity center-to-corner at a high resolution.
Overall, according to the company, the optic creates easy-to-correct low distortion despite lenses with such a wide viewing angle commonly being prone to distorting effects.
Another feature in the lens is NiSi’s own SA+ anti-reflection glass film for superior light transmission with reduced lens flare or stray light artifacts. Other qualities include low vignetting and coma, making the lens ideal for astrophotography according to NiSi.
The minimum focus distance of this lens is just 7.8 inches, or 20 centimeters, and the manufacturer claims that this gives it strong micro-contrast quality.
NiSi has also said that the 9mm f/2.8 lens is weather-sealed and includes a rubber gasket in its bayonet mount for keeping dust or moisture out. The brand hasn’t yet mentioned any other weather-sealing features.
On a final note, we should mention that the NiSi 9mm f/2.8 is a fully manual focus lens because it doesn’t have electronic compatibility with the camera models it’s built for.
NiSi is now selling the 9mm f/2.8 APS-C lens for $459 on its new lens retail website.
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Stephan Jukic is a technology and photography journalist and experimental photographer who spends his time living in both Canada and Mexico. He loves cross-cultural street photo exploration and creating fine art photo compositions.
