Irix Announces the 21mm f/1.4 for Nikon F, Canon EF, and Pentax K Mounts
Optics manufacturer Irix has announced the release of a stills version of its 21mm T1.5 cinema lens the company announced in February, for Canon, Nikon, and Pentax DSLRs. As with the other lenses in Irix’s cine and stills lineups, this lens remains optically unchanged from its cine counterpart, with the only difference being the external design and more traditional focus ring.
This new manual focus lens is constructed of 15 elements in 11 groups and features four ultra-low dispersion elements, four high refractive elements, and two aspherical elements. The company says that the optical structure fulfills two major goals. The first is that distortion is very well minimized (under 2%) to the degree that it is not visible. Irix says that the lens is therefore ideal for photographing subjects where distortions can ruin an image, like with architecture. The second is coma, which Irix says the lens keeps minimized which allows it to be used for astrophotography. The 21mm f/1.4 lens features electronic aperture control. Other features include an aperture range of f/1.4 through f/16, an 11-blade aperture diaphragm, and a minimum focusing distance of 30cm.
The new 21mm f/1.4 lens uses the Dragonfly construction, a standard it had previously used in earlier Irix models. This designation means it uses a reinforced internal structure based on metal parts, a scratch-resistant lens finish, an anti-skid sharpening ring, engraved marking filled with UV-reactive ink, water, and dust resistance, and an included rigid carrying case. The lens also has Irix’s focus lock feature which allows the photographer to lock the focusing ring in a specific position.
The lens is chipped to provide full EXIF data transfer and focus confirmation support for compatible cameras.
Here are some sample pictures:
The Irix 21mm f/1.4 lens is available for 906$.
More info on Irix’s website.
