Cokin NX Filter Holder

The Cokin NX System is designed to work with super-wide-angle lenses up to 16mm wide and hold a dedicated circular polarizer* and (2) 100mm wide square or rectangular filters without vignetting. Vignetting or darkening of the corners is caused by added holders and filters are placed in front of the lens, causing the camera to see them. The most common ways to solve this problem are to use fewer filters or larger ones.

Cokin designers took a different route and engineered a thin but strong aluminium holder that maximizes functionality in the least amount of space while using common 100mm wide filters like Cokin’s Nuances Extreme Neutral Density series.

The NX Holder cleverly houses the dedicated all-glass NX Circular Polarizer within the skeletal frame, yet is easy to mount and remove without touching the glass. Polarization is controlled by spinning a wheel on the outside of the holder. This means the polarizer does not add extra bulk to the system when it is used.

Next, they opted to eliminate the traditional filter slots that waste space between filters for micro ball-bearings on the inside of the holder. These bearings are precisely positioned to accept the small grooves on the sides of the NX filter frames designed exclusively for the NX system.

The all-aluminium, lightweight NX filter frames provide two specific benefits:

They protect the sides and corners of your glass filters and allow you to handle them without touching the glass.

They make it possible to stack the filters directly on top of each other which reduces bulk and prevents stray light reflections.

All of these carefully considered design elements allow photographers to use 100mm wide filters with super-wide angles like the Sony and Canon 16-35mm lenses without vignetting.