Just Announced: IRIX 15mm f/2.4 Blackstone and Firefly

[Jan Anne]

IRIX announced two variants of their new 15mm f/2.4 ultra wide-angle lens:
http://irixlens.com/15mm.php

The Blackstone is the all metal version and the Firefly is the lightweight version meant for hiking, etc.

Notable features:
- Front Filter Thread: 95mm
- Removable hood with opening for (polarisation) filter adjustment
- Rear gelatin filter slot
- It focusses beyond infinity but has an adjustable infinity stop
- It can lock focus, for instance at the hyper focal distance
- Weather sealed

[Fons Baerken]

looks expensive

[Jan Anne]

Probably, though it's designed in Switzerland its made in Korea (probably by Samyang), this should make it a little more affordable.

But with the mentioned feature set it might be the best astrophotography and landscape ultra wide-angle out there.

Another competitor for me personally is the Laowa 12mm f/2.8 which claims to have zero distortion:


Some images with the 12/2.8
https://www.flickr.com/photos/68748978@N02/sets/72157664200113000/

[bjornthun]

The lens oviously has anti-reflection coatings, which is named "neutrino coating". This is lame, neutrinos are elementary particles. Hopefully the lens deals better with photons. Swiss engineering?

[Erik Lund]

Looks nice! , now will there be a Nikon F mount,,, ?

[Jan Anne]

Both the IBIX and Laowa come in Nikon F mount, only the former has a CPU though.

[Erik Lund]

Thanks! Price? 

[Ron Scubadiver]

Focus lock is a nice idea.  The difference in mass between the light and metal versions does not seem significant.  If it is made by Samyang, it might not be serviceable.  So far it seems the procedure for Samyang lenses in need of repair is to turn them into paperweights.

[Akira]

Never heard of the brand Irix, but the lens appears to be attractive! 

I hope the distant scale is reliable.  My only complain of Samyang 7.5mm/f3.5 fisheye was that you cannot trust the distant scale for the focusing usint the hyper focal distance method.  Of course, I also hope for the affordable price.

[richardHaw]

Nutrino sounds nutritious 
Looks nice on paper but without an Ai interface this lens is not as appealing unless it chipped. The laowa (old frog) zero d is good as i have tested the lens myself and wonders why nikon did not do this.

[Erik Lund]

JA 12mm without distortion,,, not full frame I guess

[Jan Anne]

The laowa (old frog) zero d is good as i have tested the lens myself and wonders why nikon did not do this.

Is it for sale already?

Did they "shift" the lens permanently as in what you can do with tilt/shift lenses?

[Akira]

The need of the PL filter rotation window is questionable for such a wideangle.

For more practical reason, I would like a compact 20/2.8 lens that replaces Ais Nikkor 20/2.8.  No AF but with a long focus throw.

[Jan Anne]

JA 12mm without distortion,,, not full frame I guess

Specs for the Laowa 12/2.8 ZD

As it doesn't have a CPU I plan to get the Nikon F version if prices are reasonable, with my incoming Techart M adapter I can program in the EXIF for the Sony's.

Their lenses are sold in a variety of mounts, including Canon EF, Nikon F, Pentax K, Sony A and Sony E. They are currently working on a rectilinear, almost distortion-free ultra-wide angle lens for 24x36 cameras: the Laowa Zero-D 12mm f/2.8 (Zero-D symbolizing the absence of distortion). The main specifications of the prototype are the following:


Image circle: 24x36
Field of view: 121.96°
Optical formula: 16 elements, including 2 aspherical elements and 3 elements made of glass with anomalous dispersion, in 10 groups
Number of aperture blades: 7
Aperture range: f/2.8 - f/22
Manual focus
Minimum focusing distance: 0.18m
Maximum magnification: 0.2x
Maximum diameter: 74.8mm
Length: 82.2mm
Weight: circa 570g.

[richardHaw]

Is it for sale already?

Did they shift the lens permanently as you can do with tilt/shift lenses?

yes. They were being sold discounted at cp+ 
The shift lens is the macro one while the zero d is just a regular prime. You can see a sample of it in my blog.

The irix sounds overly complicated. More things that can get broken. Simple is best.