| Review of: Irix 150mm F2.8 Macro 1:1 by newmikey on Sat June 5, 2021 | Rating: 0 | View more reviews | |
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Reviews: 12
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Coming from a Tamron 90mm/f2.8 (version 172E) which is no slouch, I wanted a step up in macro capabilities. I doubted long and hard between the Irix and the Laowa 100mm/f2.8
What eventually caused me to decide against the Laowa and for the Irix were the fact I can take the Irix out in any weather, even to the beach or sandy dunes whereas the Laowa's construction with the sliding inner parts and the makeshift front filter seemed a bit flimsy to me.
Now, 2:1 macro seems enticing at first but I often used the Tammy beyond 1:1 using both the HD-DA1.4 converter as well as a 25mm extension tube but I found it too finicky and subjects hard to find if one does not take a particular liking to insects. A full 90% of my shots were with the "naked" Tamron so a bit more distance to subject, improved sharpness and less aberrations were really my ticket.
The Irix has not disappointed so far. I've had it for less than a week but it was really easy to get used to. The focusring is so precise and has such a long throw that even stacking using focus-peaking is possible without a rail. The contrast and color is up there with the best of the best (really fairly similar to my DA*50-135) and the bokeh is soft and very smooth (unlike my Sigma 85mm/f1.4 which is very "nervous").
The sharpnes and microcontrast is nothing short of spectacular. The amount of detail when focused correctly at f5.6-f8.0 is truly amazing. Even when closing the aperture to diffraction-inducing levels the lens still leaves sufficient sharpness for an occasional hand-held insect shot at f22 or f32 - amazing!
All in all, I wish it were not as massive, heavy and looked a bit more at home on my KP (I'm sure it looks better on the K-1) but there's no arguing with the results. A few samples (also one at non-macro distance) below.
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| Review of: Lensbaby Burnside 35mm F2.8 by newmikey on Sun February 14, 2021 | Rating: 8 | View more reviews | |
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Reviews: 1
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I wasn't expecting too much of this lens (LBA got the better of me) and I had experience with a Helios 44 (as well as other Lensbaby products) before which were not hopeful but this lens surpassed my expectations. This is not your typical plasticky Lensbaby 'toy" with a gadgety feel and photographic result you can only hope to use once in every 10000 shots. I could very well see me take this lens out for street- or nature-shooting and leave it on the body the whole day.
The center of the image has a very large sweet spot of very good sharpness which increases as you stop down. At the wide end, if the gods are in a good mood, the lovely swirly bokeh jumps out at you. Getting the swirl to show up is a bit of hit and miss (and I suppose a bit longer experience with the lens) but when it does, it's unmistakable and lovely.
Overall, the lens renders an almost 3D-like image (as long as you're good with having edges and corners contribute to that feel by being soft) where the central subject really stands out. Can't say much about colour rendering as I shoot raw generally and manipulate it to my own liking anyway. The lens is decently resistant to flare, possibly because of the second aperture iris up front. As one can close the secondary iris and create some intentional vignetting, I found it very nice to avoid clouds totally going to white on landscape pictures.
   
[EDIT]Two added examples after some careful thinking. The first seems to be the optimum result to be had with this lens on APS-C, the second is a bit dizzying to my taste.
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| Review of: Revuenon MC 55mm F1.2 by newmikey on Sun February 5, 2017 | Rating: 10 | View more reviews | |
Views: 81733
Reviews: 15
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I had some time with both this lens and the Porst 55mm/f1.2 and this one won out in the end. What I would recommend to all in order to squeeze the maximum contrast out of this lens is to buy one of those metal screw-in hoods - it makes an incredible difference to the output.
Razor-thin DOF so extra hard to focus but I've managed to get around 50% keepers out of it and for an MF lens wide open, that is pretty good. It is built like a tank, all-metal and the focus is smooth (I sometimes operate it with one finger). The output outperforms the 50mm A and F lenses I've owned in the past.
 Bicycle bokeh by Mike Bing, on Flickr
 Victor by Mike Bing, on Flickr
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