Photography News 88 Newsletter

First test

Irix 45mmf/1.4GFX PRICE: £845 Swiss-designed, Korean-made Irix lenses offer photographers excellent manual focus options. The latest arrival is for the Fujifilm GFX System – and its f/1.4 maximum aperture is sure to appeal

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SPECS › Price £845 › In the box Lens, hard case, ILH-45 lens hood, back and front caps › Format Fujifilm 44x33mm › Compatibility Fujifilm GFX › Filter size 77mm › Construction 11 elements in nine groups › Special lens elements One aspherical element › Coating Neutrino › Aperture range F/1.4-22, stepless aperture ring, marked in 0.3EV steps › Diaphragm Nine blades › Autofocus No › Manual focusing ring Yes, focus lock › Minimum focus 40cm › Weather-sealed Yes, in five areas. Dragonfly finish › Dimensions (dxl) 87x144mm › Weight 1120g › Contact swains.co.uk With the camera in its Classic Neg film simulation mode, I got nicely desaturated shots with mood enhanced by the natural vignetting and very shallow depth-of-field, even though the lens is a wide-angle. WC

takes a 180° rotation to get from infinity to the useful 40cmminimum, and the focus barrel has a progressive lock option – if you prefer a more taut action than normal, that’s possible. Unlocked, the action of the focus ring is smooth, and there’s a ridge that was perfectly placed for my thumb. The Irix has a manual lens diaphragm, so while you get a real-time depth-of-field check and the camera’s EVF stays bright as the lens is stopped down, focusing is easier and more critical at the wider apertures. I used the camera’s focus check magnifier, too. The aperture ring itself is marked in 0.3EV steps with full values marked as normal, and its action is stepless. There’s no clickless/clicked option Three things to note. There is no camera/lens linkage, so you don’t get any aperture EXIF data and there’s no f/stop readout in the viewfinder, just

f/0. However, you still see the shutter speed adjust in tune with the aperture setting in aperture-priority AE. The lens also doesn’t have an A setting, so program and shutter-priority AE are not options. Finally, there’s no form of image stabilisation, but Fujifilm GFX100 and 100S owners have the benefit of IBIS. Optical performance rated highly, with good sharpness throughout its aperture range, including wide open. You can enjoy f/1.4 knowing the results will be solid, especially at the frame centre. Sharpness and resolution both improve with stopping down and performance builds from that decent start at f/1.4 to reach a peak at f/4 and f/5.6, before gradually tapering off to a respectable standard by f/11 onwards. There is some vignetting at the wide apertures, but this balances out from f/4 and it’s not off-putting at any point. The same can be said of the gentle barrel

EVERY CAMERA BRAND has a supporting lens system, but in any range there are always gaps for enterprising independent brands. Take Irix’s latest arrival: a 45mm f/1.4 in the Fujifilm GFX fitting. It’s a fast aperture, manual focus prime lens coming in at an attractive price, and its focal length gives a field of view equivalent to 36mm in the 35mm format, meaning it’s well suited to all-round, general photography. With its fast aperture, you won’t be surprised to learn that it’s a beefy lens with a solid build. It meets the Irix ‘Dragonfly standard’, which means lenses are weather sealed, the internal structure is robust and there’s a non-slip focus barrel. I used it with the Fujifilm GFX 50R and the pair were a well- balanced combination. Focusing is internal, meaning the lens size stays constant, with a long focus throw delivering precision. It

distortion the lens exhibits – and both can be corrected in software. I found this lens a delight to use. Yes, it’s quite a weight and the focusing demands care, but this lens gives wonderful images with their own character, especially at wider apertures. On a woodland walk, I got addicted to shooting almost everything at f/1.4, because of the look I was getting.

ONTEST

Test pictures taken on a Fujifilm GFX 50R, with the pair mounted on a Leofoto LS-365C and an Arca-Swiss ball head. Raws were processed in Lightroom with only default sharpening added.

F/1.4

F/2

ABOVE Shoot wide open and depth-of-field is minimal – you can see how little you get here with the branches facing the lens – and the backgrounds are nicely vignetted, too. This is an out-of-camera JPEG from the Irix 45mm f/1.4 and Fujifilm GFX 50R with an exposure of 1/2200sec at f/1.4, ISO 200

F/2.8

F/4

Verdict

F/5.6

F/8

PROS Fast aperture, smooth focusing action, lockable focus barrel, stepless aperture ring (for smooth and quiet operation), long focus throw, produces lovely pictures at wider apertures CONS It’s a hefty lens, no EXIF data, stepless aperture ring (the option of click-stops would be nice) There’s no doubt the Irix 45mm f/1.4 is a capable lens, covering a valuable focal length. I also loved the ‘look’ this lens produced, especially at its widest apertures, where you get lovely, blurred backgrounds and vignetting that imparts its own stamp on shots. With lots of positives, including a nice price, GFX owners should give it a look.

F/11

F/16

38 Photography News | Issue 88

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