The best camera really is the one you have with you, and for a lot of photographers that camera is a premium compact. A Fujifilm X100VI in a jacket pocket. A Ricoh GR that disappears into a pair of jeans. A Leica Q3 on a wrist strap, ready before you have finished deciding whether the light is worth it.
What these cameras have never had is a quick way to use filters. The threads are small and fiddly, the front of the lens sits close to the body, and screwing a polarizer onto a 49mm thread in cold wind is nobody’s idea of a good time. So most compact owners do the sensible thing and shoot without. The glare stays on the water, the midday sky stays washed out, and the shutter speed ceiling quietly decides how wide open you get to shoot.
NiSi JetMag Pro 49MAG is the JetMag Pro magnetic system rebuilt at compact scale. A slim adapter ring lives on the camera. Filters snap on magnetically, then a short twist locks them so they cannot be knocked off. A filter change takes about a second, one handed, without taking your eye off what you are looking at.
This guide covers three things: what fits your camera, exactly which parts you need to buy, and which filters are actually worth carrying in a pocket.
The Short Answer
Three camera families cover most of the questions we get asked, and all three work. What differs is the piece that goes on the camera first.
| Camera | What goes on the camera first | Then |
|---|---|---|
| Fujifilm X100VI and X100V | NiSi NC UV Filter II, 49mm front thread, or Fujifilm’s AR-X100 ring | 49mm-49MAG ring |
| Ricoh GR III, GR IIIx and GR IV | The NiSi 49mm filter adapter made for that exact model | 49mm-49MAG ring |
| Leica Q3, Q3 43 and Q3 Monochrom | Nothing. The lens already has an E49 thread | 49mm-49MAG ring |
Leica owners have the easiest run of it. Fujifilm and Ricoh owners need one camera-specific part before the 49MAG ring goes on, and on the Ricoh side that part is different for every generation. More on that below, because it is the single most common mistake.
How the 49MAG System Works
There are three pieces, and only the first one is camera-specific.
- The camera-side part. Whatever turns the front of your camera into a standard filter thread. On a Leica Q3 there is nothing to buy, because the lens already has one.
- The 49MAG adapter ring. A slim ring that threads onto that filter thread and gives the camera a magnetic mount. It stays there. You fit it once and forget about it.
- The filters. Snap on, twist until the handle lines up with the white mark, and the filter is locked.
The lock is the part that matters more than it sounds. Plain magnetic filters are fast but they are also happy to walk off the front of a lens when a strap catches them or the camera goes into a bag at an angle. JetMag Pro’s twist lock takes a small deliberate movement to engage and the same to release, so the filter is either on or off, never halfway.
One thing worth clearing up early: 49MAG is a filter size, not a camera model. It is the smallest size in the JetMag Pro range, and it is fed by five adapter rings, so a single set of 49MAG glass can serve a whole shelf of small-thread cameras and lenses.
Fujifilm X100VI and X100V
The X100’s lens hides its filter thread behind a decorative trim ring. Unscrew that ring and there is a thread underneath, but it is not 49mm, which is why every X100 filter conversation starts with an adapter.
There are two routes to 49mm, and one of them does a second job at the same time.
The NiSi route, which also seals the lens
The NiSi NC UV Filter II with 49mm Front Thread threads into the trim ring’s place and presents a 49mm front thread. It is a protective UV filter and the adapter in one part, it sits flush enough that the camera still slides into a bag, and it comes in black or silver to match the body. Add the NiSi 49mm-49MAG Adaptor Ring on top and the camera is on the 49MAG system.
If you also want a hood, the NiSi JetMag Pro Lens Hood Kit for the X100 series pairs a version of that filter with a push-on square hood and a magnetic cap. The filter in the kit is very close to the standalone one but is cut slightly differently so the hood can seat on it.
There is a second reason to prefer this route, and it is the one most write-ups get wrong. The X100V and X100VI are only weather sealed once the front of the lens is closed off. Fujifilm’s answer to that is two separate parts, the AR-X100 ring and a PRF-49 protector filter screwed into it, which leaves a join between them. The NC UV Filter II does the same job as a single machined part, so there is no seam for water to work into. Fit it and the lens is closed, and the 49MAG ring and filters then stack on top of a sealed camera rather than in place of one.
The Fujifilm route
Fujifilm’s own AR-X100 adapter ring does the same job of presenting a 49mm thread. If you already own one, the NiSi 49mm-49MAG Adaptor Ring screws straight onto it and you are done.
One caveat if you take this route and weather matters to you. An AR-X100 ring with a 49MAG adapter and a magnetic filter on top is not a sealed front. The seal comes from the part that actually closes the lens, and a magnetic stack sitting on an open adapter ring does not do that. Either add Fujifilm’s PRF-49 protector to close it, or use the NC UV Filter II above, which closes the lens in one piece and still takes the whole 49MAG system on top.
Ricoh GR III, GR IIIx and GR IV
The GR is the camera this system suits best, because the GR is the camera that gets used one handed at the side of a road. It is also the camera where it is easiest to buy the wrong part.
The GR camera-side adapters are not interchangeable. The lens assemblies differ between generations, so a GR III adapter does not fit a GR IIIx, and neither fits a GR IV. Check the model on the box against the model on your camera, not the family name.
| Your camera | The adapter you need | Ricoh equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| GR III and GR III HDF | NiSi 49mm Filter Adapter MKII for GRIII | GA-1 |
| GR IIIx and GR IIIx HDF | NiSi 49mm Filter Adapter MKII for GRIIIx | GA-2 |
| GR IV, GR IV HDF and GR IV Monochrome | NiSi 49mm Filter Adapter for GR IV | GA-3 |
Once the correct adapter is on, every GR takes the same NiSi 49mm-49MAG Adaptor Ring and the same 49MAG filters. If you own two GR bodies, you buy two camera-side adapters and share one set of glass between them.
Ricoh’s own GA-1, GA-2 and GA-3 lens adapters present a 49mm thread as well, so if you already have one fitted for a wide converter, the 49MAG ring will thread onto it.
Leica Q3, Q3 43 and Q3 Monochrom
Nothing to work out here. The Q3, the Q3 43 and the Q3 Monochrom all use an E49 filter thread, which is a 49mm thread. The NiSi 49mm-49MAG Adaptor Ring screws directly onto the lens and the camera is ready.
Two small practical notes. Check your hood clearance once the ring is on, because the Q3’s hood was designed around a bare thread. And the original Leica cap will no longer fit over a mounted filter, which is what the NiSi 49MAG Magnetic Front Cap is for. It snaps onto the same magnets and keeps the whole stack protected in a bag.
Q3 Monochrom owners should skip ahead to the color filters, which do something on a monochrome sensor that no slider in Lightroom can replicate.
Other Compacts That Take 49MAG
The three families above are where the demand is, but 49MAG covers a wider set of small-thread cameras through its five rings. These are the ones worth knowing about.
| Camera | Lens thread | Ring you need |
|---|---|---|
| Sony RX1R III, RX1R II, RX1R and RX1 | 49mm, direct | 49mm-49MAG ring |
| Leica Q2, Q2 Monochrom, Q and Q-P | E49, direct | 49mm-49MAG ring |
| Leica D-Lux 8 | E43, direct | 43mm-49MAG ring |
| Panasonic Lumix LX100 II and LX100 | 43mm, direct | 43mm-49MAG ring |
| Fujifilm GFX100RF | 49mm, with the supplied Fujifilm ring | 49mm-49MAG ring |
| Fujifilm X70 | 49mm, via the AR-X70 or the supplied LH-X70 | 49mm-49MAG ring |
A word of caution about cameras not on this list. Plenty of compacts have no filter thread at all, and some have a decorative ring or a moving lens barrel that looks like it should take one. Never force an adapter onto either. If your camera does not have a real filter thread or a dedicated adapter that creates one, 49MAG is not the answer for it.
Which Filters Are Actually Worth Carrying
A compact camera kit lives or dies on what fits in a pocket, so the honest advice is to start with one filter that solves the problem you hit most often, and add from there. Here is what each one does.
True Color CPL, for glare and color
A polarizer is the one filter whose effect you genuinely cannot recreate afterwards. It cuts reflections off water, glass, wet roads and leaves, and what is left underneath is color that was always there but was being washed out by glare. Skies deepen, foliage stops looking milky, and shop windows turn back into shop interiors.
NiSi’s True Color coating is the reason this one is worth the money on a compact. Ordinary polarizers leave a warm yellow cast that you then spend time correcting. This one does not.
FS ND, for long exposures and open apertures
Neutral density filters buy you two things on a compact: shutter speeds long enough to smooth water and blur crowds, and the ability to shoot at f/2 in daylight without hitting the shutter ceiling. Three strengths cover almost everything.
A gentle slowdown for moving crowds and softened water in daylight.
The one to buy first if you are only buying one. The classic long-exposure density.
Exposures measured in seconds, even in bright sun.
If you shoot video, or if the light changes faster than you want to change filters, the NiSi True Color VND 1 to 5 stops 49MAG covers the same ground with a twist of the ring instead. One filter, one to five stops, no swapping.
X100VI owners already have a four stop ND built into the camera, so an external ND is not a first purchase. It is still worth having for the strengths the internal filter does not reach, and for sharing the same glass with a second camera.
Diffusion, for the look
Diffusion filters bloom the highlights and take the clinical edge off digital rendering. Street lights halo, skin looks kinder, and backlit scenes gain the glow that people usually try and fail to add in post. Compact cameras are where this is most enjoyable, because they are the cameras you have out at night.
Start light. NiSi Black Mist 1/8 49MAG is subtle enough to leave on. NiSi Black Mist 1/4 49MAG is the more obvious cinematic version. NiSi Pure Mist 1/4 49MAG keeps contrast cleaner while still softening, and NiSi Film Glow Diffusion 1/4 49MAG and NiSi HDF 49MAG take it further again.
Color filters, for black and white
This is the section for anyone shooting a Q3 Monochrom, a GR IV Monochrome, or a color camera set to a black and white profile. A color filter changes which colors become which shades of gray at the moment of capture. A yellow filter separates a pale sky from white cloud. Orange pushes it further. Red is dramatic, and on a hazy day it is the difference between a flat photograph and a striking one.
On a true monochrome sensor this is the only way to control that separation, because there is no color data left to work with afterwards.
Separates a pale sky from white cloud. The gentlest of the three.
More separation again, and it cuts through haze.
The dramatic one. Darkest skies, strongest clouds.
All three are also sold together in the NiSi JetMag Pro Monochrome Filter Kit 49MAG.
Protection and the odd creative one
The NiSi NC UV 49MAG is a clear protective filter for when the camera is going somewhere dusty or salty. The NiSi Cross Screen 4x 49MAG turns points of light into four point stars, which is a night-time novelty that is genuinely fun on a compact.
Every filter in the range uses NiSi optical glass in a slim aluminum frame, with a nano coating on both sides that repels water and oil and resists fingerprints. On a camera that lives in a pocket rather than a padded case, that last part matters more than the spec sheet suggests.
A Pocket Kit That Actually Gets Carried
If you want a shopping list rather than a menu, this is the one we would build.
- The camera-side part for your body, from the tables above.
- NiSi 49mm-49MAG Adaptor Ring, which then stays on the camera permanently.
- NiSi True Color CPL 49MAG, the filter you will reach for most and the one you cannot fake later.
- NiSi FS ND64 49MAG (6 stop) for stills, or NiSi True Color VND 1 to 5 stops 49MAG if you shoot video or changing light.
- NiSi Black Mist 1/8 49MAG, subtle enough that you will leave it on more often than you expect.
- NiSi 49MAG Magnetic Front Cap and the NiSi Caddy Pouch for JetMag Pro 49MAG, so the whole set travels as one small puck.
That is a complete filter system that takes up less bag space than a spare battery and a lens cloth. If you would rather buy it in one go, the NiSi JetMag Pro Landscape Filter Kit 49MAG and the NiSi JetMag Pro Monochrome Filter Kit 49MAG bundle the common combinations.
Common Questions
Can I leave the adapter ring on the camera?
Yes, and you should. That is the whole idea. Fit it once to a real filter thread or to the correct camera-specific adapter, then leave it there and use the NiSi 49MAG Magnetic Front Cap for protection. The only thing to avoid is forcing a ring onto a decorative trim ring or a moving lens barrel that was never designed to carry one.
Will a 49MAG filter cause vignetting?
A single filter on a compact is a slim stack and is the safest place to start. Every additional filter adds height in front of the lens, so the more you stack the more likely you are to see the corners darken, particularly at the widest field of view. Mount what you plan to use, take a frame of a plain bright surface, and check the corners before you rely on it.
Can 49MAG filters be stacked?
Yes. They are designed to stack and each one locks to the one below it, which is exactly why the twist lock exists. A polarizer under an ND is the common pairing. Just check the corners, as above.
Does the Q3 43 use the same size as the standard Q3?
It does. The Q3, the Q3 43 and the Q3 Monochrom all use an E49 thread, so the same NiSi 49mm-49MAG Adaptor Ring and the same filters serve all three.
Is every small camera compatible?
No, and it is worth being direct about that. 49MAG covers 39mm, 40.5mm, 43mm, 46mm and 49mm threads. A camera needs one of those threads, or a dedicated adapter that creates one, before any of this applies. A great many compacts have no filter thread at all.
I own an X100VI and a Ricoh GR. Do I need two sets of filters?
No. You need the camera-side adapter for each body and a NiSi 49mm-49MAG Adaptor Ring for each, then one set of 49MAG filters shared between them. The rings are the cheap part.
Getting Started
Work out which camera-side part your body needs from the tables above, add the NiSi 49mm-49MAG Adaptor Ring, and pick the one filter that solves the problem you actually run into. For most people that is the polarizer. Fit it, leave the ring on, and the next time the light does something worth photographing you will not be standing there unscrewing anything.
Every 49MAG filter and adapter ships free within the USA.
Shop the NiSi JetMag Pro 49MAG range
Camera specifications and adapter compatibility can change between production runs. Check your camera’s manual and the current product page before ordering, particularly for the Ricoh GR camera-side adapters, which are model-specific.
