AstrHori 18mm f/8 Probe Lens Review: Videographers Will EAT IT UP!

Probe lenses can bring a unique perspective to video shots, and the new AstrHori 18mm f/8 is the first one we've seen designed for APS-C/Super35 sensors. How does it compare to the venerable Laowa 24mm f/14? Chris has answers.
Rental equipment provided by The Camera Store
www.thecamerastore.com
0:00 - Intro
1:43 - Why APS-C?
2:18 - Design and build quality
3:38 - Field of view
5:09 - Sharpness
6:06 - Which should you buy?

[@Tryingtobe_matt]

Personally I think it’s perfect that Petta pixel portrays their intro prior to preaching to us about prices and should let Chris play with his own proprietary Petta pixel P word pun

[@falxonPSN]

​@@lfa1908irs positively pernicious.

[@sciencepetr5179]

I will miss the petapixel p-word pun being paralysed permanently for the past present and phuture. It was so phun, perfect and phantastic while it lasted.

[@LoightaFluwid]

stop with the p puns. They’re not phunny at all.

[@Gertol31]

You mean: while it persisted?

[@gitpho]

@@LoightaFluwidpretty presumptuous, but it’s your prerogative to promote your particular perspective 😋

[@JWelsh07]

I was waiting for Peta-philes

[@chipcago309]

They are making a mistake in editing your rapport with your fanbase. You are the ONLY reason I subscribed.

[@ChadSchrandt]

That’s the best thumbnail I’ve ever seen.

[@anthobee]

Chris calling viewers petawhatever is still less offensive than the fact that he games using the arrow keys

[@niccollsvideo]

Aw... You remembered!

[@anthobee]

@@niccollsvideo crime against humanity 👾

[@TimsWildlife]

I'm a lefty and always gamed with the arrow keys using my right hand.

[@RaphyC]

That's some 4D chess having the cold opening end with a lady walking her dog to match with the intro.

[@TheSC20k]

I want more Peta-puns!

[@controllverse4013]

Don’t be a Peta-file. There…I said the word they were trying to avoid at all costs. I think the p-word intro gone for good now lol.

[@ericaceous1652]

I liked the peta puns too

[@2MinuteReview]

This petaprober is disappointed that the thumb nail was click bait. I wanted to see Jordan's uvula

[@STOVL93]

I was just going to comment that!

[@PeteTheGeek196]

I'd appreciate a review of suitable motorized sliders to make full use of these lenses.

[@AxelPironio]

This thumbnail and this intro are the best!

[@AstrHori]

Many thanks to the Peta Pixel platform for the authoritative release, and to Chris Niccolls and Jordan Drake for their hard work. AstrHori will continue to bring you better and more creative photography equipment. Thank you for your support and love. Best.☺☺

[@kudobeats]

Hi there. Very interested in this lens as I use GH6. Have you guys tried using it with a speedbooster? Does it work fine?

[@samohara5187]

So what you're saying is that the powers that be don't like phun. :(

[@billyoung9538]

I'm actually fascinated by the results presented here, because in most of the other reviews the lens tested slightly softer than the Lowa, but the copy shown here tested out incredibly well. Edit: I've been thinking about it and wonder if the difference is all the other reviews I've watched have been of preproduction models and this, being almost two months later, is a production model where they tweaked things a bit.

[@hugomontes1060]

Excellent review!!!

[@ioan.panaite]

Great content, thanx!

[@mlwadester87]

Bring back the p puns, please!

[@TheAmazingCarl]

i havent even clicked play yet, but the thumbnail is hilarious

[@adamwhittingham86]

I'm not sure if that game play intro is new (only joined when Chris and Jordan did) but already feels like an instant classic. Can imagine in the future hearing that and thinking "ahh the petapixel intro!". Hopefully this channel is around for a long time but I've followed these 2 since camerastore days.

[@JWelsh07]

Funny, I find it annoying. To each their own...

[@adamwhittingham86]

@@JWelsh07 it's not something I'll be playing outside of their videos. But find it catchy and instantly recognisable.

[@AB_223]

I skip it every time as the whole 8-bit retro thing has been so overdone on KZbin. But I may be in the minority

[@scottchiang7616]

Astrhori also offers 28mm f/13 probe lens.

[@KnapfordMaster98]

Its so exciting to see an option thats cheaper than the Laowa that actually looks a little better.

[@hdmi_studio6640]

Greetings! Thanks for the video, very detailed and interesting to watch! I have a question about choosing a lens, I would be glad to get advice. I have a BMPCC 4K and a speedbooster, resulting in a crop factor of 1.35x. If I take the 18mm version of Asrhori for APS, will there be a lot of vignetting? Or is it better to take the 28mm version of the lens, which is designed for full frame cameras?

[@POVwithRC]

I could certainly see how this would work better with a robot of some kind. Such a neat lens.

[@clabart]

You didn't show us the decay on Jordan's tooth 🦷

[@D1N02]

Petesticle intro again Chris

[@GregBadabinski]

I want to be called a petastical person again. I was absolutely shocked when I first heard that and I want that again :|

[@July71820]

So cool ❤

[@Valleedbrume]

This my understanding that the AstrHori is also available for full frame E mount.?

[@joedickson6754]

Bring back the Peta Puns! Always a good laugh before a good review

[@MDMiller60]

Regarding the lens, I wish you would have shown how to use the 90° attachment. Regarding the site, where will you go? Where can we find you?

[@MoonProds]

I love how in the background at the beginning, there's a woman walking her dog that appears right after in the intro

[@jlwilliams]

You don't want to see how that dog participated in the lens test a few moments later. Fortunately they edited that out...

[@PopTartHeaven]

I had to give this video a like just for the thumbnail.

[@andrewt3023]

so what happens when you mount it on a full frame slr like a Canon 5D?

[@Orkel2]

That is a powerful thumbnail

[@pjw2000]

So PetaProbers is off the table?

[@TDCIYB77]

Yes!!! Finally a cheaper alternative! 🎉

[@pete_au]

I think the bosses at PP are behaving like Peta-Party-Poopers. Or perhaps Peta-Plonkers. Or maybe Peta-Putzes? Please bring back the Peta-Pandemonium.

[@mihovilkatic3484]

But is it compatible with a 1995 Ford Probe? Probably not, but still worth checking.

[@HaiTomVlog]

I don’t even care about the product I just came here to ask about that thumbnail 🤣🤣🤣

[@ElGrecoDaGeek]

Firefly or other insect flying across the frame at around 84 seconds - flies across Chris' shirt?? @1:23

[@scdecade]

At first from the thumbnail I thought he was holding a fishing rod

[@UrbaneHobbit]

Sunstars?

[@gunnmetal115]

Hey! Do you know the diameter of the end tip of the lens?

[@staiain]

22 mm

[@madisontenorio5055]

guys where is your Fuji xs-20 review hehe

[@jlwilliams]

00:07 That was petty, PetaPixel...

[@abavariannormiepleb9470]

Has anyone seen a lens for Canon EF with something like a 10 feet flexible tube? Want to use it for renovations and Amazon et al. offer all-in-one solutions with a display for as low as a hundred bucks. Their optical quality is quite bad and am wondering to get something for a camcorder to get better image quality.

[@AndyBrooks]

Probe lens + StockCam = Chris's ultimate fantasy

[@kudobeats]

When mounted to MFT with speedbooster, the AstroHori should give a wider FOV right?

[@oneeyedphotographer]

That might not be possible. The flange distance may be too small.

[@kudobeats]

@@oneeyedphotographer they have a MFT version for this lens, but not speedboosted. Canon EF with speedbooster seems to be the play here

[@KNAPPAID]

I dont think you can boost an apsc lens

[@kudobeats]

@@KNAPPAID sigma 18-35 gets boosted all the time

[@maxipadthai]

Hello, my fellow petaphiles!

[@cryptofitnessandgaming-cfg]

That thumbnail 😂😂

[@DavidKhabinsky]

We demand more petapuns!

[@BenjaminSandness]

I wish there was a Ford probe somewhere in there.

[@56floorer]

Don't mess with C&J's vibe PetaPixel, that's their attraction. (you guys don't want to lose who you are either, if you need to move on you still want to be wanted)

[@AlbertStewart]

The thumbnail though lol

[@staiain]

I find this lens to be so soft that it's nearly unusable unless stopped down to f14, even then image i am getting out of it looks like someone went overboard with mist filters. I don't agree at all that this lens can resolve 6k, at its optimal settings the video barely looks sharper than 1080p. I have a hard time telling 4k video shot with this lens exported to 4k apart from exported to 1080p. I'm safely assuming you guys got sent a golden sample.

[@amdredlambda]

yep, we never got to see Jordan's tonsils shoot 😂 close enough!

[@alanjones4333]

Err guys what are you doing in the thumbnail 😂

[@oneeyedphotographer]

Mounts? We've not had $AU notes for a lot of decades.

[@NotAnotherChannel_Channel]

Um, I was led to believe we’d be probing Jordan’s mouth. Great review.

[@anulearntech]

Chris and Jordan will review any random Chinese manual focus lens but wont touch a Samyang/Rokinon. #rant 😞☹️ Let me know if they have reviewed any Samyang glass.

[@df98156]

No

[@NotAnotherChannel_Channel]

Probe-a-pixel?

[@frankmeunier1949]

Any particular reason you use a 50 year old Canadian dollar for your tests?

[@philippGM]

Who else noticed the woman with the dog to appear in the Pixel and real video intro?

[@wonteeforty2338]

Sorry, I came for the thumbnail🤣

[@funkmon]

I absolutely love probes as a devout Petaphile

[@UnconventionalReasoning]

Thank you for punting the peta p-word pun party.

[@pasapucha]

Caught cold ? get well soon

[@chunbuntan5148]

Personality I think PetaPixel means PerfectPartner🎉

[@CS90]

#SaveThePWordPunParty

[@headphoneboy]

Having recently rewatched the majority of the Alien franchise, that thumbnail is very triggering 😂

[@yuka-youtube]

i strongly prefer chris and jodan physically together and appear in the same video.

[@neilmarshall9408]

😅

[@alexanderhartmann7950]

Peta Pixel peeps want the P!

[@tomdchi12]

Prevented from punning? Preposterous!

[@puppet_master]

Peta Peepers?

[@Ryan-Payne]

Peta-People?

[@blakberi]

Absolutely EVERYBODY knows what a lens of this shape and capability will be used for...

[@marcel9568]

The Porn industry.

[@xmlthegreat]

@@marcel9568 Goddamnit 🤣🤣

[@jlwilliams]

Probably was originally designed for state-sponsored intelligence agencies to use for through-wall recording (which is one scenario in which non-macro distances would be important) so yeah, a certain amount of IRL pr()n-ish activity might have been captured with one...

[@johnnytwo-shoes9798]

I found the peta puns phunny albeit risque in today's overpoliticised US driven apologist PC climate. Has no-one who complained watched a south park episode and laughed ? As Terrence and Phillip would say, " What's that all aboot, eh?" Sawry not sawry ;) I ridicule my own accent too it's ok. Thankyou for pronouncing Zed correctly. Love your and Jordans work. Keep it up =)

[@myownirvana]

For fans of photography and colonoscopies. 🤣

[@billbrown994]

"Keep probing gently" Petapixel.😅

[@lakristopher]

Phee Phi Pho Phum...

[@56floorer]

I smell the blood of a Canadian

[@Samhertzog]

We are Peta Pixies and will accept no less!

[@TungstenOvergaard]

I think AstrHori will eat all of them.

[@KyleClements]

NOOOOO!!! Bring back the Peta puns!

[@incee_netinai]

bring back the puns :(

[@thedarkslide]

If this was a Kai W review, the end of the lens would have gone into a different body opening...

[@dylanglynn5703]

i vote for peta pun freedom!

[@peterlechowski2691]

Is this for proctologists?

[@janbroekema]

I am sorry...i lost interst in Chris and Jordan since the PP move!

[@bobfarley4102]

Wow, you two need to start your own channel. This PetaPixel thing isn't working out. I mean Fuji didn't even lend you an X-S20 to review. That should tell you all you need to know.

[@vasilios1994]

After seeing that thumbnail, I understand why it was called DP review

[@michaelwhiles5282]

Yes, but are you the REAL Chris N ???? These deep fakes are so good …:😵

[@niccollsvideo]

The real Chris Niccolls has become a full time pickle maker. He lives in the Garden State and makes his own vinegar. But of course you already knew this.

[@michaelwhiles5282]

@@niccollsvideo - love you Chris - give Jordon (there could only ever be one) a hug for me and many of his fans.

[@kuroexmachina]

pp viewers

[@Daniel_Ilyich]

Proctologists will eat this up, too.

[@Stjerneklang528]

Re thumbnail. If you want to take nice holiday picture of the inside of the stomach you are going about it the wrong way. Try again and good luck.

[@whatwelearned]

If you name your channel Peta-something, you're gonna have a bad time...!

[@rupertkingsley]

if you would just pronounce the hard T in peTapixel instead of peDa.... you'd have been fine

[@BrendanMacWade]

No more puns, please. Also, I eagerly await your next video! Fujifilm SX-20.

[@marknathan7744]

what 's wrong with peta pixies ? Is the boss with the european union?

[@davegrenier1160]

"Probe" lens? A phallic "P" word lens? Just when you've been told to avoid the punning?