Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
12-08-2020, 01:38 PM - 1 Like   #1
Pentaxian
CarbonR's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Clermont-Ferrand, France
Posts: 363
Irix lenses - first impressions

My first feelings about the Irix firefly lenses (11/4 and 15/2.4, received today) :
- Clic at infinity on the focusing ring is a good idea
- Feeling of focus ring is horrible compared to Takumar and clearly behind Samyangs. Not unusable, but nothing silk smooth. OK for UWA lenses, we do not use focus ring a lot. It may be better on blackstone versions.
- The bag is not very practical and will not protect against anything rough.
- Filter thread of the 15/2.4 would be better 1-2mm away. I have the feeling of scratching the front lens when screwing a filter.
- Metal box looks good, but only at unboxing. I am not sure of its utility out of unboxing pleasure. I would have prefered a rigid case instead of the metal box.

To summarize, it is not top quality finish when compared to Samyangs (which are far beyond Takumars). If you only look for the functionnality of the lenses (like I was for a 11mm lens or 15mm lens with filter thread), they will be enough, otherwise if you love beautiful items, go for blackstone versions.

To better see what a 11mm lens is capable, three photos at the same point of view, drivers seat set at a normal position :

(shots on Canon 6D, as I went to Canon 10 years ago for FF)


24mm is a good telephoto lens !

Of course, there will be a comprison between Takumar 15/3.5, Samyang 14/2.8 and Irix 15/2.4

12-08-2020, 01:43 PM   #2
Banned




Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: Traveling The US
Posts: 313
Thanks for the detail on this.
12-08-2020, 04:19 PM - 1 Like   #3
Otis Memorial Pentaxian
Otis FanOtis FanOtis FanOtis FanOtis FanOtis Fan
Loyal Site Supporter
clackers's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Melbourne
Photos: Albums
Posts: 16,394
I reckon my Irix 15mm f2.4 is *much* better designed and built than my Samyang 14mm f2.8, CarbonR.

If they're built in the same factory, more effort seems to have gone into the Irix, and fair enough, for the prices.
12-08-2020, 07:13 PM   #4
Senior Member
amstel78's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: NEPA, NYC, and wherever work sends me...
Photos: Albums
Posts: 247
My Irix15mm Blackstone is soft around the edges. It's only marginally better stopped down. It's an OK lens if you know how to work around it. Is it worth 500 bucks? No. I would have bought the Firefly if I had to pay retail. Luckily I didn't so soft edges but great build quality is a compromise I chose to accept.



12-08-2020, 07:55 PM - 2 Likes   #5
Otis Memorial Pentaxian
Otis FanOtis FanOtis FanOtis FanOtis FanOtis Fan
Loyal Site Supporter
clackers's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Melbourne
Photos: Albums
Posts: 16,394
QuoteOriginally posted by amstel78 Quote
My Irix15mm Blackstone is soft around the edges. It's only marginally better stopped down. It's an OK lens if you know how to work around it. Is it worth 500 bucks? No. I would have bought the Firefly if I had to pay retail. Luckily I didn't so soft edges but great build quality is a compromise I chose to accept.
From ePhotozine: "Central sharpness is excellent from f/2.4 all the way through to f/16. It remains very good at f/22 and makes the inclusion of that very small aperture worthwhile. It means we can usefully take advantage of maximum depth of field when necessary.

The edge results are of course not as good at the close test target distances as they are out in the field. Field curvature makes the shooting of a flat test target more difficult for an ultra-wide lens to shine. As a result, f/2.4 and f/4 are relatively soft at the edges, f/5.6 improves to a good level, but it is not till f/8 that sharpness becomes very good. This becomes excellent by f/11 and remains very good at f/16 and f/22. In any event, this is a much better performance than 15mm lenses tried in the past."


If you didn't find this, Amstel, you should've returned it within the period your vendor allowed. I always test my purchased lenses for decentreing and focus calibration when they arrive at my house, I don't throw the packaging away until I know the copy sent to me is up to the spec.
12-09-2020, 02:53 AM - 1 Like   #6
Senior Member
amstel78's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: NEPA, NYC, and wherever work sends me...
Photos: Albums
Posts: 247
Yes, I saw that article. My sample is moderately sharp in the center at f2.8 but improves greatly past f5.6. I usually shoot this lens at f8 or higher. Decentering doesn't appear to be an issue with mine. The corners are still fairly soft in relation to the rest of the image irrespective of aperture size. I think it's just the particular design of this lens to be honest and not something actually wrong.

The fact that it's used on my K1-II which has a tendency to really exacerbate lens flaws makes the edge softness even more apparent. I don't take pictures to look at corners though, just wanted to point out how my particular copy behaves.

I took the below with my K1-II and the Blackstone 15mm. Sorry for the poor image quality as I'm on my phone. You can see the full size image on my website.

Last edited by amstel78; 12-09-2020 at 03:01 AM.
12-09-2020, 03:34 AM - 1 Like   #7
dlhawes
Guest




I got the 11mm Blackstone, and feel like I must have gotten the GOOD copy. I've seen lots of complaints about softness and decentering, but I love mine.

Attached Images
View Picture EXIF
PENTAX K-1  Photo 
View Picture EXIF
PENTAX K-1  Photo 
12-09-2020, 05:09 AM   #8
Veteran Member
MJKoski's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 1,784
Well, there have never been critically sharp 10-12mm FF hyperwides except now Sony 12-24 f/2.8 GM. But even that is not 11mm so maybe the 11mm Irix has its purpose for now. 15mm Irix is not useful, it has rather extreme field curvature and compared to Samyang 14mm it loses in corner sharpness, flare resistance and is more expensive. Both Samyang and Irix have internal build which is not meant to be repaired afterwards. There are no adjustments, just pieces of plastic and molded lenses. Both have questionable build quality considering aperture actuation spring lever mechanism which looses its tension in the long run and aperture gets sticky.
12-09-2020, 02:24 PM   #9
Pentaxian
CarbonR's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Clermont-Ferrand, France
Posts: 363
Original Poster
QuoteOriginally posted by clackers Quote
I reckon my Irix 15mm f2.4 is *much* better designed and built than my Samyang 14mm f2.8, CarbonR.

If they're built in the same factory, more effort seems to have gone into the Irix, and fair enough, for the prices.
I have the opposite feeling. The focusing ring of the Samyang (and I also have the 24/1.4 and 35/1.4, the 14/2.8 is not my only Samyang), aloutgh being less good than a Takumar, is very acceptable, while the two Irix feel like if everything was in plastic with a poor grease.


QuoteOriginally posted by amstel78 Quote
My Irix15mm Blackstone is soft around the edges. It's only marginally better stopped down. It's an OK lens if you know how to work around it. Is it worth 500 bucks? No. I would have bought the Firefly if I had to pay retail. Luckily I didn't so soft edges but great build quality is a compromise I chose to accept.
I got a black friday offer and paid 410 EUR for the 15/2.4. Used lenses in France were at almost the same price so I went for new lens. I would say that 400-500 bucks is not a low price, but is a cheap price, at least for my 6D. The only cheaper solution is the Samyang 14/2.8 (I paid my used one at a good price, 150 EUR), but it does not accept filter like the Irix, this is why I wanted to test the Irix. I bought a ND32000 filter for it (yes, 15 stops reduction, I will be able to expose for minutes in sunny day )


QuoteOriginally posted by MJKoski Quote
Well, there have never been critically sharp 10-12mm FF hyperwides except now Sony 12-24 f/2.8 GM. But even that is not 11mm so maybe the 11mm Irix has its purpose for now. 15mm Irix is not useful, it has rather extreme field curvature and compared to Samyang 14mm it loses in corner sharpness, flare resistance and is more expensive. Both Samyang and Irix have internal build which is not meant to be repaired afterwards. There are no adjustments, just pieces of plastic and molded lenses. Both have questionable build quality considering aperture actuation spring lever mechanism which looses its tension in the long run and aperture gets sticky.
No adjustment... first time I heard this as a real cons. I never had to adjust any lens. And the Irix have a "clic" at infinity that can be adjusted with a screwdriver, and I already partially disassembled my Samyang 35/1.4 to repair the aperture system that failed after dropping both lens and camera on the ground !

I also have the Samyang 14/2.8, but as said above, I wanted to test the possibility of an ultra wide angle lens that accept filters. No internet-test (especially when shooting charts) can replace me using the lens on field t see if it can meet my requirements. I am more exploring that being 100% sure of what I want. Other lenses that interested me :

- Samyang 10/3.5 but 2.5 times more expensive than the Irix
- Samyang 20/1.8, but 20mm, what a teleobjective compared to a 15mm
- Laowa 15/4 shift+macro, but more expensive and if I remember correctly, strong distorsion
- An other expensive Laowa lens (12.28 zero D ?)
12-09-2020, 03:00 PM   #10
Senior Member
amstel78's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: NEPA, NYC, and wherever work sends me...
Photos: Albums
Posts: 247
@CarbonR I paid about $350 USD for my 15mm Blackstone. It was a store demo from B&H or Adorama; can't remember exactly which one now. But, the lens as received was brand new as far as I could tell. No dust, dirt, or handling marks at all. Didn't look like the lens was ever mounted. So despite the soft edges, I kept it.

It's not the best optically but it does what I need it to do. As long as you know its limitations and shoot around it, you can get some very nice pictures from it especially if you take the time to touch things up in post.

I don't use it as often as it probably deserves because much of what I photograph doesn't call for a 15mm or wider perspective. If I had to buy an ultrawide now, I'd probably purchase a Sony body first due to more choices.
12-09-2020, 04:44 PM   #11
Otis Memorial Pentaxian
Otis FanOtis FanOtis FanOtis FanOtis FanOtis Fan
Loyal Site Supporter
clackers's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Melbourne
Photos: Albums
Posts: 16,394
Well, as ePhotozine concluded:

"The Irix 15mm f/2.4 lens is a powerful photographic tool. This new lens from Irix lifts the performance for such lenses way beyond the first early 1970s offerings and gives us a lens that is free from flare, and very sharp. This Swiss design is an excellent one, built in Korea to very high standards."

I reckon a great showcase of this lens and the pictures it takes is this guy's photo tour of the Balkans ...

Discover Balkans with Irix 15mm - Irix lenses were designed with both the effort and experience, of not only engineers, but also photographers. Swiss precision and Korean innovation create
12-10-2020, 02:16 AM   #12
Veteran Member
MJKoski's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 1,784
My K-mount Samyang & Irix experience:

-Samyang 10/2.8: Aperture spring failed twice, repaired twice
-Samyang 14/2.8: Aperture spring failed, returned the lens under warranty and bought Irix 15mm firefly from same retailer
-Samyang 35/1.4: Has worked ~3 years, aperture spring has now lost its tension
-Irix 15mm: Aperture spring failed in 6 months from purchase, self repaired twice after that

Same lackluster build quality inside. Irix just looks nice.
Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
11mm, box, canon, filter, focus, irix, irix lenses, k-mount, lens, lenses, metal, pentax lens, slr lens
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
For Sale - Sold: Irix 15mm f/2.4 Blackstone with Irix 100mm filter holder and Light pollution filter valimyr Sold Items 3 10-26-2018 03:17 PM
Experiences with IRIX filter holder IFH-100 and IRIX 100/100x150-Filters? acoufap Pentax Camera and Field Accessories 1 10-23-2018 12:10 PM
Ultra wide angle Irix 15mm or Irix 11mm matroxication Pentax K-1 & K-1 II 67 09-19-2018 10:01 PM
Pentax IRIX Blackstone 15mm for the price of the FireFly on IRIX USA Site (475$) Weevil Pentax Price Watch 7 11-25-2017 03:51 PM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 02:28 PM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top