Irix11mm f/4.0 Firefly Lens for Nikon - Wide Angle Rectilinear Lens w/Built-in AE Chip for Nikon

Well, it's 11mm! That pretty much sums it up. But here's the rest...I'm reviewing the Firefly version, which is the plastic version. The Blackstone version is the metal version, and I assume it's built better, though with identical optics.It's pretty easy to sum this lens up. So here goes:THE GOOD:1) It's really really wide! I imagine the claimed field of view of 126 degrees and its 11mm designation are legitimate. My ultrawide to this point has been the AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm F2.8G. The Irix 11mm is definitely noticeably wider.2) Distortion is kept pretty well in check. There is some barrel distortion, but it's not very bad.3) It's a fairly sharp lens wide open at F4, sharp at F5.6 and really sharp at F8.4) Nice lens mount. Quick, clean, firm, proper lens mounting.5) Electronics work well so far. Lens is identified properly as an 11mm F4 lens. F-stop shot at shows accurately in EXIF data. Rangefinder focus indicators indicate proper turning direction, contrary to Sigma lenses which have an arrow pointing right, when you have to turn the ring left and vice versa.6) Build quality is pretty good. most of the lens feels solid. But see below regarding the lens hood...THE BAD:1) The focus ring is just overly tight. I tried to break-in the focus ring by sitting with the lens when it first arrived and spun it through several hundred minimum focus to infinity, and back, ring turns. That really didn't seem to help much and focusing takes too much effort and you can certainly forget about 1-finger focusing. At least for anything more than a few millimeters of spin.2) The focus ring rubber has poor feel, and the hump on it that seems arbitrarily positioned is distracting and weird. I will admit that sometimes I find I use that hump for more leverage to turn the focus ring because it requires so much effort to turn that ring. Better rubber with a more traditional grip pattern (like Nikon and almost all other lenses have) would be greatly welcomed. But most of all, ring-turning effort must be drastically reduced. Using this lens on a job is tiresome and frustrating and makes you question whether you really need the extra field of view vs. Nikon AF and 14mm.3) The focus lock ring is VERY poorly implemented. It is far too thin so it is difficult to grip. Plus, it's just thinly grooved plastic, which is not grippy at all. Further, it takes so much effort to tighten the lock ring that you waste a lot of time trying to lock focus, all the while you're grinding your thumb and finger against the lens shade that the ring rests up against. Further still is that because of the ring's thinness, more than 1/4 turn required to actually lock focus, and such aggressive effort for that last 2cm of turning required to tighten, it is inevitable that you're going to turn the focus ring while attempting to lock the focus ring. I can only pull it off about 1 in 4 tries. So, in short, this feature is so difficult to use that not only does it defeat its own purpose, but it wastes a lot of time trying to use it. It's cool if you're trying to lock infinity focus for shooting the sky all night or something. But for shooting real estate interiors, for example, it is not practical at all to try to lock focus for each angle. Besides, it's a redundant feature as the focus ring is so difficult to turn that a lock ring is simply unnecessary, except maybe for astrophotography. I only tried this feature while holding the camera in my lap just to feel it out, and it was awful and I ruled out ever using it. I can only imagine trying to pull this off while actually composing a shot... I'd like to see future versions of this lens omit this unnecessary feature and instead make the focus ring wider.4) This lens vignettes a lot. Irix does have a readily downloadable Adobe Lightroom (works for Camera Raw too, I believe) lens profile that makes quick work of correcting distortion and vignetting. But if you don't use LR or PS, you're going to have to consider the extra workflow, and whether you're willing to deal with that much vignetting if you don't normally spend much, or any, time in post. Also, for film, this could be a dealbreaker.5) The lens cap and built-in lens hood feel REALLY cheap! Like way cheaper than Sigma even! No joke, as I pulled my camera (with lens attached) out of my camera bag just now for this review, the right spring tab that "holds" the cap in place on the hood popped off. I thought I was going to have to make a warranty claim for the cap already. Luckily, I was able to easily click that spring tab back in place, but when you see the design of these tabs, it will be clear to you as it is to me that in no time these tabs will permanently break. I already have some play in my right tab and it's days are numbered. I've only used this lens on about 3 different occasions, not counting right now. I'm thinking the workaround that I'll probably implement now is to remove these tabs, put black electrical tape over the holes that creates, and put some thin felt or cork on the inside of the cap to create a friction-type of retention similar to how the Nikon 14-24mm cap stays on. The focus lock ring, that I suggest you loosen all the way and never use, also feels really cheap, and it is sooo slippery.6) "AF" fine tuning was necessary on my copy. My copy rear-focused noticeably. I dialed in -7 AF Fine Tuning and now the viewfinder rangefinder indicators are pretty much accurate. However, I find that I'm often "correctly focused" for objects 10 feet away when the lens indicates infinity. There is a Focus Calibration screw on the bottom of the lens hood but I haven't messed with it yet. I think it's time to give that a shot though.7) Color is not nearly as accurate as the Nikon 14-24mm. This lens pulls yellow. Pretty easily correctable in post, but still, that's lame. And if you're shooting film, this could be a dealbreaker, especially since you can only use gel filters at the rear of the lens.8) This lens routinely underexposes. This leads me to believe that it's not really an F4 lens. It's more like F5 wide open, maybe F5.6ish even. Or maybe it's a T5 or T5.6 for you techies...BOTTOM LINE:This lens is really really wide, and it's quite sharp, and it's quite straight. It WILL enable you to take spectacular photos that no other Nikon-compatible lens can (though the Canon 11-24mm, and the Voigtlander 10mm rectilinear for Sony FE can). But it's not a great lens. It's not a joy to shoot. It's a chore to shoot with this lens. And because of this, I'm not inspired to go out and shoot things that this lens would excel at. I just received it, and yet it sits in my bag. But in relative terms, it's inexpensive and capable. Time will tell if it's durable, that is, if I ever use it. The way I view it is that it's a tool that can deliver specific photos. I'll use it when it's appropriate. But I'm just not excited about it at all. Frankly, I'm really looking forward to someone else coming along and making a better version. Hopefully Samyang will make an 11mm FF rectilinear, or better, a 10mm if that's physically possible. I'm seriously considering returning this lens and buying the Voigtlander 10mm for my Sony a7rII. But I really hate shooting that body, so, lol, it's a very tough call...

I didn't even realize there was a lens this wide that wasn't a fish eye. The difference between this and my Nikon 16-35 @ 16mm is staggering. I've used it in interior real estate and an air museum, it did good, I think it's pretty sharp but I haven't had that much time with it. I like the Nikon chip, it shows when it's in focus and the infinity "lock" works well. I think the build is pretty good, I'm anxious to use it more. I'd buy it again, no problem. Can't use filters on the front, so I bought the gel filters and they're OK. I used the 3 stop and it was fine. 4 stars on picture quality because I haven't used it that much. I think it will be fine.

This lens is much better than I had anticipated or imagined. I really didn't know how much I would like it until I made a few shots that weren't normal for the situation or composition, but it rendered the images far greater than thought possible. The resolution is fantastic. I'm using it on a Nikon D810 and couldn't be more pleased. It has become a staple in my bag whether I'm shooting waterfalls or vistas. I hope to try some astro shots at night, and haven no doubts it will perform remarkably well.The gel filter holder works very well and I keep a 3-stop ND on it almost all the time. This is a keeper.

Did much research on wide angle lenses costing up to $2500 and this IRIX 11mm is wide as can be and creates a nice clean sharp image. Its a big lens for a prime but so far, I am happy with its performance.

Great landscape lens. Almost 120 degree view. Would also be great for churches, museums, etc. Sharp, a little heavy but well worth the price.

I use it primarily for videos from our airplane. I like the rectilinear projection much better than the fish-eye projection used by the action cams (GoPro, etc.) It's a great wide angle lens!

Great build, very sharp, low distortion for 11mm. Cap needs to be carefully placed on and removed. Don't stay very well put. This is an only minor thing. Overal great buy.

Strict dedication to specific shooting

Satisfecho con este objetivo.Necesitaba de un gran angular para completar los 28 mm - 50 mm - 105 mm de lentes fijas que poseo y poder realizar fotografía de arquitectura en interiores de pequeñas dimensiones.Tiene muy poco "efecto barril" y en diafragmas medios (f/8 - 11) la nitidez en las esquinas es bastante notable. Las aberraciones cromáticas no son alarmantes en escenarios de alto contraste entre luces y sombras y son fácilmente corregibles en postproducción. En cuanto a la distorsión de la perspectiva en encuadres picados o contrapicados es muy acusada, por lo que lo más sensato es disparar siempre sobre un plano completamente horizontal, o un plano cenital o nadir en el eje vertical.En cuanto a la construcción, el plástico es bastante resistente pero es muy fácil rozarlo y dejarle marcas, sobretodo en el parasol. Es posible que merezca la pena hacer un esfuerzo económico por adquirir la versión Blackstone, pero no puedo asegurarlo pues no la he tenido en mis manos dicha versión del objetivo.Puede utilizarse también en astrofotografía pese a que ese f/4 de máxima apertura parezca decir lo contrario. Pues por la regla de 500 podemos llegar a realizar exposiciones de hasta 40 segundos y seguir conservando las estrellas como puntos. Eso sí con un pequeño recorte de la imagen pues las estrellas en las esquinas se verán muy estiradas por la deformación.Poco más puedo decir de este objetivo por ahora, pues llevo unas pocas semanas con él pero ya he realizado unas cuantas pruebas.Dejo unas imágenes de estos primeros disparos con él.

Der Bildwinkel ist wirklich beeindruckend und stellt z.Zt. das max. Machbare im Vollformat dar. Der Aufbau ist mechanisch gut, nur die Feststellung für den Focus ist etwas hakelig. Nun aber zu den Mankos. Bei offener Blende sind die Ecken unscharf, bei Blende 8 ist alles i.O. Blende 11 bringt nicht mehr viel und 5,6 reicht nicht. Das Problem der falschen Focusangabe war bei mir ebenfalls bei 2 Exemplaren deutlich feststellbar. Die Unendlicheinstellung, die zwar schön einrastet, stimmt nicht. Der richtige Focus liegt ca. bei 1/3 von Unendlich nach 2m. Nimmt man diese Einstellung und Blende 8 braucht man in 90% der Fälle nichts mehr ändern. Es ist alles vom Nahbereich bis Unendlich scharf. An die Justierung der Focuseinstellung, ist ja möglich, habe ich mich noch nicht getraut. Ob das Blackstone besser ist, kann ich nicht sagen.

Viel gibt es zu diesem Objektiv gar nicht zu schreiben: Das ist ein sehr gutes Ultraweitwinkelobjektiv in einer ausgezeichneten Kunststofffassung für Nikon-Vollformatkameras. Es muss manuell scharfgestellt werden, besitzt aber eine elektronisch einstellbare Blende. Meines Wissens - ich lasse mich gerne korrigieren - ist es das aktuell weinwinkligste Objektiv für Vollformatkameras am Markt mit geraden Kanten und so gesehen fast konkurrenzlos. Mir genügt die Kunststofffassung, es gibt dieselbe Optik auch noch einer schweren Metallfassung.Bei Offenbarende schwächelt es in den Ecken etwas, dass wird bis Blende 8 besser, ohne ganz scharf/kontrastreich zu werden. Die Sonnenblende ist fest verbaut, Fremdfilter können aktuell keine montiert werden. Ab Blende 11 wird es wieder schwächer. Es spricht natürlich nichts dagegen, dass Objektiv auch einer APS-C / DX-Kamera einzusetzen.Der Entfernungseinstellring geht über unendlich hinaus und kann fixiert und kalibriert werden. Daneben läuft er auch verhältnismäßig streng, für mich ist das kein Nachteil, sondern eher ein Anzeichen von Wertigkeit.Konkurrenz hat das Objektiv natürlich schon, wenn man sich mit 12 mm begnügen will: Hier gibt es das Venus Laowa mit f/2.8 - besser für Astroaufnahmen geeignet - und das Sigma Art 12-24 mm mit f/4.0, deutlich teurerer, mit AF ausgestattet und vielseitiger. Entwickelt worden ist das Objektiv in der Schweiz, gebaut wird es in Korea.Für mich ist das Irin 11 mm das Objektiv meiner Wahl aufgrund seines angenehmen Gewicht, um neben meinem Nikon 14-24 mm f/2.8 noch einmal mehr Weitwinkelwirkung zu haben. Da nehme ich auch gerne den manuellen Fokus in Kauf.

Das Objektiv habe ich mir für eine winterliche Reise mit beeindruckenden Höhlen und Polarlichtern gekauft. Leider ist es am 2. Urlaubstag schon kaputt gegangen, an einem der Kontakte hat die Federung nicht mehr funktioniert, so konnte ich die Blende an der Kampera nicht mehr einstellen. Jedes Bild wurde dann anscheinend mit max. geschloßener Blende aufgenommen. Sehr ärgerlich - zum Glück hatte ich noch ein 20er originales Nikon dabei, damit sind mir auch noch gute Fotos gelungen...Zu der Bildqualität: sehr anfällig auf Streulichter, schäfe mit Blende 8 schon ordentlich aber die Fotos wirken ein wenig flau.. mit originalen Nikon Festbrennweiten hat man schon etwas mehr Schärfe und die Bilder wirken knackiger.Wäre das Objektiv nicht kaputtgegangen würde ich sagen, dass es zu dem Preis schon ganz gut ist, aber ein Teil was schon so schnell kaputt geht ist ein no-go!

Después de usarlo en un par de sesiones de fotografía inmobiliaria puedo decir que he quedado muy satisfecho con él. Tengo pendiente probarlo en paisaje.Me echaba para atrás el tener que enfocar manualmente, pero no me arrepiento. Hasta ahora he estado usando un 15mm de otra marca y la diferencia en ángulo de visión es bastante y viene perfecto para estancias pequeñas. Más adelante subiré alguna foto de comparación.La poca distorsión que crea se corrige con un simple click en lightroom que ya viene con los ajustes de IRIX.