The forest floor never sleeps. Beneath the tangle of moss and stone, among the withering thistles and dew-heavy sedges, another world moves—quietly, purposefully. The last couple of years I’ve started to explore the world of macro photography. Usually, I use the dedicated M.Zuiko 60mm macro lens for this, but Nisi sent me their Close-up Filter Kit (II) to try out.

How the Nisi Close-up Filter Works

I decided to try the NiSi Close-Up Filter Kit (II) 77mm on my OM System M.Zuiko 100–400mm f/5–6.3 IS II lens. Essentially, the close-up filter allows me to achieve focus on my subject at a closer range than what the lens is capable of on its own. The 100-400mm has a minimum focus distance of 1.3m, but by putting on the Nisi close-up filter, the focus distance is reduced to 22 – 30cm from the subject. This is the recommended distance by Nisi for best results.

Nisi also recommends using focal lengths between 70-300mm and f-stops between f/8 – f/16. With the 100-400mm lens I would usually be at 150mm, which is equivalent to 300mm on a full frame, but I would sometimes try with a longer focal length with decent results.

The 100-400mm has a filter thread size of 72mm, but the Nisi Filter Kit includes two adapter rings, the 67mm – 77mm and 72 – 77mm. Screw the 72 – 77mm adapter onto the lens first and then screw on the close-ip lens and you’re good to go!

Depth of Field

After carefully examining a nettle plant I saw the most amazing shiny green beetle walking on a leaf. I followed the beetle as it explored the plant, taking a few images when I thought the composition was decent and the position of the beetle looked favourable. When it turned to give a side profile and started climbing up the leaf I took a burst of images and ended up with this one that I quite like.

Even at an f-stop of f/13 you can see that its a very narrow depth of field (narrow focus) as the antennae on the back is fading out of focus. That’s one of the challenges when using a telephoto lens so close to the subject. Had the mint leaf beetle sat still I would have probably tried using focus bracketing to get sharpness throughout.

Shortly after I came across two orange ladybirds where one was mounting the other. Again, I had to carefully think of the narrow depth of field. As there were two of them and I wanted to get the eyes sharp, I needed to wait until the were both aligned with their side to me at more or less a 90 degree angle to get my image.

Adaptability

The Nisi close-up filter is a great tool when you don’t want to bring the extra lens, flash and diffuser that I normally would bring for macro photography. Especially if like me, wildlife photography is your main pursuit, but it’s nice to have the option to photograph the very small with the same gear that you’re taking with you anyways.

I like to photograph flies up-close, their eyes are just fantastic with thousands of tiny lenses. They don’t miss much movement so it’s best to approach very slowly.

This wasp was photographed on a birch tree, but I’d also seen a few on my wooden furniture in the garden where I could actually hear them gnawing on the table! They do this to gather material for for their nests, they mix the wood fibres with their own saliva which produces a paste that the wasp moulds with its jaw to make combs of hexagon cells for their nest.

LED Light

One extra item I found handy when it was a bit dark was a small LED light to add some extra light to the subject. This allowed me to use higher f-stops for more depth of field and a faster shutter for beetles that were walking quickly on the leaves. I attached the LED light to a cheap Action camera attachment that is supposed to go around your arm.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Nisi close-up filter kit is a great little tool to use to turn your telephoto lens into a macro lens. If you’re not ready to invest in macro kit just yet, or if you want a small solution for when you travel or pack lightly the Nisi close-up filter fits neatly into your camera bag or in your pocket. Even though the results with the Nisi filter are not as good as a dedicated macro lens with flash and diffuser, you can still get some great macro images with this setup. As the depth of field is very narrow I found it very helpful to use a higher f-stop for more sharpness, and the additional LED light was a neat solution to allow me to do this without needing to use a very high ISO.

Have you tried the Nisi Close-up filter? Let me know your experience below.

Gear Recap:

• Body: OM-1 Mark II (though any OM System body with IBIS works)
• Lens: OM System M.Zuiko 100–400mm f/5–6.3 IS II
• Filter: NiSi Close-Up Filter Kit (II) 77mm
• LED Light: ULANZI VL49