Irix 30mm f/1.4 lens review with samples

It's a little while since we've heard from Irix, and they're continuing to plough the increasingly lonely field of launching lenses for Digital SLR cameras. Let's see what this interesting new lens can do.
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[@matteogallo2689]

It was about time a manufacturer decided to produce a 30mm lens. It's such an underrated focal length!

[@mikkirurk1]

Totally agree, mate. Also this lens looks very promising. Have a good day.

[@timlinssen]

The cine versions of these look awesome, and relatively affordable too.

[@fellowcitizen]

Thanks for reviewing Irix, they are intriguing and making lenses in many mounts

[@jeffreymichael540]

0:05 "...the living daylight out of this new offering from the Irix..." Irix Marketing/ PR officer: visible sweat

[@chrzanik666]

Your reviews are like therapy for me honestly, don't want to be wierd but there's something so soothing in you voice. Big fan 👍😊

[@SatanSupimpa]

I really like Irix lens body design.

[@reg171reg]

Definitely probably the best 30mm full frame lens going around

[@paulsirens7259]

By the looks of a few comments so far, there is going to be plenty of people disturbed by the quality at this price :) Thanks for the review.

[@Qlicky]

Not really sure about that claim. From what I can see here my sigma 35 1.4 A performs just as well, or maybe just a tad worse. Sigma has AF though which makes it at least 3 times more usable in any condition. I'd go so far to say that if my Sigma stopped working tomorrow, I would just get another one without even looking for alternatives. It's on my camera by default, and although it's showing wear and tear after 7-8 years of constant professional use, it still performs flawlessly. Did I mention it has Auto Focus too?

[@OccultDemonCassette]

They don't make a version with a built in emount? Have to use an adapter?

[@ricki-bobby]

I wish they would start producing e-mount versions of these optics. The price to performance is quite good but I am not investing in lenses that have to be adapted anymore

[@Digi20]

i dont understand that logic, especially with manual lenses. if they would offer them in an e-mount version (the cine versions are), the optical design would stay the same, and just a barrel extension added to keep the flange distance. you can do exactly the same with an adapter yourself with no downsides. on the contrary, you keep the option of adapting the lens to any future (mirrorless) camera you might buy.

[@SyntheticFuture]

That's a really sharp lens with really nice bokeh. Impressive. And not for a crazy price as well. Just a shame the aperture is digitally controlled and there is no E-mount :\

[@Paul43210]

How did i never heard of this company? 😳 Theyre lens line up is insane, they offer a 45mm 1.4 for medium format sensors and a 15mm f2.4 for ff and this 30mm's iq is georgeous imo!

[@sloemo4024]

Their 45/1.4 isn’t that great though

[@TechAddict8642]

its a high end samyang

[@Digi20]

@@sloemo4024 the 45 1.4 is very nice on fullframe. for gfx the corners are barely covered though.

[@InterMaus]

If you want real flame wars Chris, you should do a "fanboy review" or "stuff x fans say" video, on what type of meltdown comments you get lol.

[@christopherfrost]

Awesome! I'll keep that on my list of ideas for the future hehe ;-)

[@mikebing9589]

Great review I had been waiting for. Many thanks. Have you tested it on APS-C as well?

[@alandyer910]

Excellent, thank you! When testing for chromatic aberration can you be sure that shooting a subject at close range truly represents how the lens performs on distant subjects and at infinity? Might the lens be corrected for minimum CA only at infinity? Then again, one could say the same for spherical aberration. Could a lens be soft at test chart distances but sharp at infinity? I enjoy your reviews, thank you!

[@NavrajRajLostSouls]

860 gms, wow. Not going to buy one, but its nice to see new ones coming. Nice video as always.

[@OccultDemonCassette]

Focus ring will probably loosen up a bit over time though, right?

[@jc65284]

Would you rank this lens among your sharpest 35mm?

[@HumblyNeil]

Suggestion: Christopher, your channel is great, I often use it as a reference for lenses, but could you put in the title the camera/mount your reviewing on. As a viewer, I have to get 1 minute in before realising the lens is not available for my camera. I'm sure Nikon users don't want to hear about Canon glass, as much as myself being a Sony user don't care much to hear about lenses that won't work for the FE system. Many thanks

[@christopherfrost]

I do tend to put it in the description most of the time - I'll think about your comment though :-)

[@Axonteer]

Why do i always get james bond vibes from your intros.... man that would be a funny intro, you walking into a rounded frame, turning and shooting with a camera - and then instead of the red effect we have aperture blades closing :D

[@Regenrad]

is there an advantage of this lens over the sigma art 28mm 1.4. others then price? the irix costs around 30% less but lacks af and features a quite uncommon filtersize. physically both are hefty lenses. any others benefits for the irix?

[@synura8086]

No focus breathing. Irix also sells this as a 30 mm cinema lens. That's worth it alone for those who need it.

[@antasosam8486]

Only Sigma all the way

[@galor7954]

Waiting for you to take an examination for a Tokina 16-28 lens because without your review I will not buy a new len

[@adden2242]

I tried using manual lens before, my eyes hurt! im not sure if my subject is in focus or not.

[@-szega]

I got the Irix 150/2.8 macro lens and while it's optically superb, the ergonomics are not that good, the bayonet fit is poor and it's not a "D-style" lens - the aperture is non-compensating and has to be manually adjusted when refocusing. Also, because it's not a D-lens, there is zero information about reproduction ratio in the EXIF data. Would be a much better lens if Irix worked more on the non-optics parts.

[@-szega]

Oh and the lens coatings are pretty bad - worse than old Tokina lenses. Contrast is very low in contra-light and it's susceptible to light sources outside the frame. Careful with the strobes in a studio.

[@Al.j.Vasquez]

"Reviewing the living daylight" 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@celeronwu1122]

hi，Chris :) I wonder if you are willing to test the new fuji 70-300 lens? I am looking for a light weight bird-shooting system, so I'd like to know which is better: sony 70-350 or fuji 70-300 :)

[@catcatcatcatcatcatcatcatcatca]

I kind of question if this is at all a photography lens to begin with. The minimal focus breathing, bulky design and filter size and manual focus all sound like optimisations for cine-lens. So I wonder if one should consider buying the version with follow focus rail just for resell value if nothing else.

[@Digi20]

you can totaly buy the cine version, even if you only use it for photography. the focus theeth wont be as nice to touch and operate though.

[@csimet]

I'd like to see astro samples of this lens at f1.4 or f2... any coma or fringing?

[@al7067]

Hello, love your reviews and was wondering, would you be interested in reviewing a copy of the amazing EF 35-350 L lens and if so how would I go about lending it/for how long

[@christopherfrost]

Tempting! But it's a bit too old of a lens, now, lovely though I'm sure it is.

[@dushyantbhatt9345]

can these lens be used for movie ??

[@benjaminmesa1089]

I wish this lens was compatible with the Canon R7 adapted :(

[@UH82NVME]

I have the 15mm, 21mm and the 30mm. All of them work on my R6 and R6II? Is the R7 different somehow? (I had to send all 3 of them in to update the firmware at Irix to get them to work on my R6II though)

[@dennisvanderben2719]

Budget milvus?

[@robinehrenhofer8202]

Does this lens work on an a7Riii with the MC-11 adapter or does it behave strange? I had most EF lenses working with the MC-11, but some behave strange (like only registering after some time, or the aperture not working, ...)

[@christopherfrost]

Hmm, I don't know. If I still had the lens with my I would check for you :-( it's so random, which lenses work and which don't...

[@benjaminmesa1089]

It's terribly annoying how little info there is to find online about this lens on various systems....

[@PhotographerSen]

I feel Irix needs to add E/RF/Z mounts and go for more wide angle and macro lenses instead of mid-range ones, which works better with manual focus. So many small-size large aperture af primes in bw 24-85mm range are there that having a manual focusing lens is quite needless.

[@tomastuoma]

Do they not offer that for the still lenses? Im pretty sure the cine lenses are available in both E and Z mount at least.

[@XylophonEichel]

Neutrino coating 😂

[@explodingheavens]

neutrino? wut? feels like new lvl.

[@kissgergo8815]

👁

[@antasosam8486]

Sigma is better in any way.

[@peterpan2444]

The chromatic Aberrations are one of the worst i have seen