Circular White Mist

Soft light,
straight out of camera.

White Mist diffuses the strong light entering the lens and spreads it into a gentle glow. Contrast comes down, skin softens, and the picture keeps its clarity and detail. One strength, 1/4, in seven thread sizes.

1/4 strength
7 thread sizes
Brass frame

Shop White Mist vs Black Mist

Before you choose

White Mist or Black Mist Why White Mist Specifications Videos FAQ

White Mist or Black Mist

Two mist filters. One question.

We make both, and they overlap: both lower contrast, both soften wrinkles and blemishes, both sit in a brass frame and screw straight onto the lens. Everything below is what each one does, and where the two ranges actually differ.

This category

White Mist 1/4

Lowers contrast, diffuses the highlights, creates soft light, softens wrinkles and blemishes. Brass frame, and a unique mist appearance.

One strength. White Mist is made in 1/4 and nothing else, in seven thread sizes from 49mm to 95mm. There are no White Mist kits.

49mm 52mm 67mm 72mm 77mm 82mm 95mm

The sibling

Black Mist

It diffuses highlights and softens shadows to balance the tonal range, giving a pastel quality of light and the charm of an old world lens. It is a redevelopment of our cinema range, Allure Mist Black.

Three strengths. 1/8, 1/4 and 1/2, in threads from 40.5mm to 95mm, plus two kits with a case and a dedicated fit for the Fujifilm X100 series.

See the Black Mist range

Side by side
	White Mist	Black Mist
What it does	Diffuses the strong light entering the lens with small particles and spreads it more evenly, so a soft glow appears instead of a sharp, well defined highlight. Lowers contrast and softens wrinkles and blemishes, with little loss of clarity or detail.	Diffuses highlights and softens shadows, balancing the tonal range between the two. Lowers contrast and softens wrinkles, blemishes and imperfections.
The look we call	Dreamy and ethereal. Soft light, softened flared highlights, a unique mist appearance.	Cinematic. A pastel quality of light, a touch of mystery, the charm of an old world lens.
Where it comes from	We do not trace it to a cinema range.	A redevelopment of our cinema range, Allure Mist Black.
Strengths	One: 1/4.	Three: 1/8, 1/4 and 1/2. Start at 1/4 for stills and 1/8 for filming.
Thread sizes	Seven: 49mm, 52mm, 67mm, 72mm, 77mm, 82mm, 95mm.	Single filters 49mm to 95mm, kits 40.5mm to 95mm, plus a dedicated Fujifilm X100 fit in a black or silver frame.
Sold as a kit	No. Single filters only.	Yes. The Kit holds the 1/4 and the 1/8 with a case, the Professional Kit adds the 1/2.
Frame	Brass.	Brass.
Both of them	Lower contrast, soften skin, work for stills and for video, and screw straight onto the front thread of the lens. Neither one changes colour balance.

Reach for White Mist when

You want the glow around a strong light source to be the point of the picture.
You want one considered strength and no decision to make about grades.
You shoot portraits, landscapes or artistic work and want the frame to stay clear and detailed underneath the softening.
Your lens thread is 49mm, 52mm, 67mm, 72mm, 77mm, 82mm or 95mm.

Shop White Mist

Reach for Black Mist when

You want to dial the effect: 1/8 for a hint on video, 1/2 for a full haze.
You want the shadows softened as well as the highlights, for a balanced, pastel tonal range.
Your lens thread is smaller than 49mm, or you shoot a Fujifilm X100.
You want more than one strength in a case.

Shop Black Mist

White MistNiSi Circular White Mist 1/4: soft diffusion, glow and reduced contrast

Black MistIntroducing the NiSi Circular Cinema Black Mist Filter

Close white mist or black mist

Why White Mist

Four things it does to the light.

Lowers contrast, diffuses the highlights, creates soft light, softens wrinkles and blemishes. Every photograph below was shot through the filter.

01 / 06

Highlight diffusion

A small light source stops being a hard white dot. Each bulb in this strip keeps its centre and gains a soft, even halo around it, which is what diffusing the light with small particles means and spreading it more evenly.

A man standing under a rickshaw canopy strung with green, blue and purple LED strips at dusk, every bulb glowing as a soft round point

02 / 06

Creates soft light

Hard, direct light arrives gentler. The sun coming through these garlands flares across the frame as a warm wash rather than a hard edge, which is the ethereal quality we build the filter around.

Marigold garlands backlit by a low sun, the light flaring past them into a soft white wash

03 / 06

Softens wrinkles and blemishes

Skin texture is smoothed at the moment of capture, so a portrait is flattering before anything is retouched. In our words, the filter delicately softens skin tones while retaining remarkable clarity and detail.

A woman smiling and looking down, lit by a bright overcast sky that dissolves into a soft haze beside her

04 / 06

Lowers contrast

Harsh light stops fighting the picture. The gap between the brightest and the darkest part of the frame closes, which is what turns a hazy morning like this one into a single soft field of tone instead of a set of hard shapes.

A garlanded white horse rearing on a wide hazy beach at sunrise, a handler holding its bridle

05 / 06

Not only portraits

Anywhere there is a highlight to spread, the filter has something to do. It suits portraits, landscapes and artistic photography, and the film runs from a city skyline at dusk to neon, floodlights and backlit fields.

A tram coming down a city street at night, its headlights and the street lamps spreading into soft round halos through a NiSi White Mist filter

06 / 06

Done in camera

The glow is on the file, not added afterward. A lit display case and a strip light behind a counter are already soft when the shutter closes, which is a different thing from a softening pass applied to a hard frame later.

A man behind the counter of a night food stall, the lit glass display case and the strip light above it glowing softly

In the field

Six more frames from our White Mist film, all shot through the 1/4.

A woman in a green dress walking along a beach at dusk, a wooded headland behind her

A player controlling a soccer ball on a street at night, a car's blue and red lights glowing behind

Freestyle soccer players in front of a Free the Game mural at dusk, their lamps flaring into the frame

An indoor soccer match under long strip lights, teammates watching from the touchline

A decorated bus at night, its purple bulbs spreading into wide soft halos

A man in a cap at sunrise, the low sun flaring past him and a garlanded horse behind

Close why white mist

Specifications

The details.

White Mist or Black Mist

Type	White mist diffusion filter, screw-on
Strength	One grade, 1/4. There is no lighter or heavier White Mist
What it does	Lowers contrast, highlight diffusion, creates soft light, softens wrinkles and blemishes
How it works	Small particles in the glass diffuse the light entering the lens and spread it more evenly, so a soft glow forms in place of a sharp, well defined highlight
Detail	The image reads softer and more ethereal with little loss of clarity or detail
Frame	Brass
Thread sizes	49mm, 52mm, 67mm, 72mm, 77mm, 82mm, 95mm
Fitting	Screws onto the front filter thread of the lens. For a thread we do not make, a step up ring puts a larger filter on a smaller lens
Kits	None. White Mist is sold as single filters
Exposure	We publish no exposure figure. A diffusion grade is not a stop rating
In the same family	Circular Black Mist in 1/8, 1/4 and 1/2, and the rest of the Circular Mist range

Close specifications

Watch

White Mist on video.

Our White Mist film, and the Black Mist introduction beside it so you can judge the two looks against each other. Videos load only when you press play, so the page stays fast.

White MistNiSi Circular White Mist 1/4: soft diffusion, glow and reduced contrast

Black MistIntroducing the NiSi Circular Cinema Black Mist Filter

Close videos

Questions

Before you buy.

What is a NiSi White Mist filter?

A diffusion filter that screws onto the front of your lens. It diffuses the strong light entering the lens with small particles: by spreading that light more evenly, a soft glow forms in place of the sharp, well defined highlight you would get without a filter. Contrast comes down and skin softens, and the image stays clear and detailed underneath.

What is the difference between White Mist and Black Mist?

Both lower contrast and both soften wrinkles and blemishes, so the question is what each one is aimed at. White Mist diffuses strong light into an even, dreamy glow while keeping clarity and detail. Black Mist diffuses highlights and softening shadows to balance the whole tonal range, for a pastel, old world cinema look, and it is a redevelopment of our cinema range Allure Mist Black. The ranges differ as well: White Mist is one strength, 1/4, in seven thread sizes, while Black Mist comes in 1/8, 1/4 and 1/2, in threads from 40.5mm to 95mm, in two kits with a case, and in a dedicated Fujifilm X100 fit.

Is a White Mist 1/4 the same strength as a Black Mist 1/4?

We do not claim that it is. Each range numbers its own grades and we publish no figure comparing one line against the other. White Mist is sold in 1/4 only, so there is no lighter or heavier White Mist to step to. If you want the option to dial the effect up or down, that is what Black Mist is for.

Does it soften the whole picture?

No. In our description, the image appears softer and more ethereal with little loss of clarity or detail. The filter works on the light rather than on resolution, so the frame keeps its detail while the highlights spread and the contrast falls.

How much exposure does it cost?

We publish no exposure figure for the White Mist, and a diffusion grade is not a stop rating. The 1/4 describes the strength of the diffusion, not light loss. Meter the scene as you normally would and check the result on the back of the camera.

Which size do I need?

Match the filter thread of your lens, which is printed on the front of the lens or inside the lens cap next to the diameter symbol. White Mist is made in 49mm, 52mm, 67mm, 72mm, 77mm, 82mm and 95mm. If your thread is not on that list, a step up ring lets a larger filter sit on a smaller lens.

Can I use it for video?

Yes. Our White Mist film is shot through the filter from beginning to end, across night streets, neon, floodlit sport and backlit portraits. The look is optical, so it behaves the same whether the shutter fires once or twenty four times a second.

What is the frame made of?

Brass. It holds its thread rather than deforming under a knock, and brass against a lens's aluminium thread does not seize the way aluminium against aluminium can, so the filter comes off as easily as it went on.

Why buy a NiSi White Mist filter?

Because the glow goes into the picture at the moment of capture instead of into an edit afterward. The four claims for it are highlight diffusion, soft light, lower contrast and softer wrinkles and blemishes, and all four are on the file before you open it.

Close faq

49mmCircular White Mist 1/4 52mmCircular White Mist 1/4 67mmCircular White Mist 1/4 72mmCircular White Mist 1/4 77mmCircular White Mist 1/4 82mmCircular White Mist 1/4 95mmCircular White Mist 1/4

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