IRIX 150mm f/2.8 Macro 1:1 Reviews
Very Sharp manual focus macro lens
By Eric
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2022-06-17
The 150mm allows 1:1(or 2:1) with the TC, to be pretty far away from bugs. The Sharpness is terrific. Used with the manual helps in a mirrorless camera, its easy to get a sharp image in manual.
nice lens, but not for me
By Chris
Rated 4 out of 5
Date: 2022-01-06
i have to say, that i really did like this lens.
i bought this lens as a fast telephoto w/ macro capabilities. i was using it adapted to the sony a9 w/ the sigma mc-11 adapter, so everything was being passed through.
there were some aspects about adapting the lens that i didn't like, but in the end there was a major reason why i decided i needed to return it.
some of the minor issues was build quality. the lens hood was very stiff and rough taking it off and putting it back on. the tension ring was also very tight and hard to turn it all the way...in fact, i thought it didn't work, but actually it just wasn't turned fully to the lock position. the rubber focusing ring could slide forward and back, and if you put pressure on it wrong while turning, you could press against the tension ring, turning it while you focus.
some other issues was being adapted to the sony system. the aperture didn't close down until the picture was taken, which was common when i used my canon dslr, but not something i was used to with the sony. i liked it stopping down and showing the exact depth of field and focus in real time. the other issue was that it didn't communicate perfectly. unlike my other manual focus lenses, it disabled the focus magnification whenever i half pressed the shutter. i liked half pressing the shutter and taking the picture after making sure everything was in focus...with this, i felt i had to mash the shutter, which isn't ideal.
but the biggest issue i had was the inconsistency of the focus ring resistance. initially, and after doing large focus adjustments, it felt like the grease loosened up. but many times while doing fine tune adjustments, the resistance went up, making it difficult to adjust the focusing ring in small amounts.
this being a manual focus lens, the manual focus experience is the most important thing about this lens.
i loved the focal length and the compression that came with that, the images were pretty sharp, and the price at $500, was nice.
could i have gotten used to the focusing? maybe. but since i could also afford other more expensive macros, did i want to settle with the $500 lens? $500 is a lot that could go towards another lens that i could be even happier with, so i made the decision to return it and try something else.
in summary...
--things i liked--
+ came with a tripod collar
+ 150mm f/2.8 (nice focal length and large aperture for smooth backgrounds)
+ image quality (pretty sharp with nice bokeh)
+ price ($500)
--things i didn't like--
- build quality
- tension ring resistance needed to be loosened up
- focusing resistance was not consistent
- lens hood was not smooth to take off or put back on
- tension ring could tighten while focusing
- not perfect compatibility with sony system (can't really complain too much here, as it wasn't designed for that system, and part of it is sony's implementation anyway)
No Iris Control w Pocket6K
By Tim
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2022-01-05
No f/stop iris adjustments possible with the original Pocket 6K. Iris control works fine with the Pocket 6K Pro.
A. Beautiful lens for Macro lovers
By Ivo
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2021-12-17
One of the best lenses on the market for Macro lovers. It's well built and does the job.
Outstanding lens
By Stanley
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2021-11-19
This is a very sharp, very contrasty lens that is adaptable to both macro work and portraiture (although it cuts rather hard for portraits). The attached photo of the elderly man in the World War II hat (my dear father-in-law) was shot at f/5.6, and the photo of the poinsettia was shot at f/32.0.
My first macro lens, used for more than macro photography
By Florian
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2021-09-20
I am new to photography, and I am not very good at it. However, I am interested with a niche related subject: astrophotography. With the equipment I have I can do both widefield and very narrow shots of the night sky, and I wanted something in between that I could also use on a day-to-day basis.
This was the winner from all my options. Opening the box, the build and materials quality is above my expectations. As far as macros go, I still have lots to learn. The main reason I bought this lens for is astrophotography, and doing this it really shines.
Shooting wide open the distortions are minimal, but stopping down to f/4 there is no noticeable fringing or coma, and the vignetting is manageable.
Manual focus is not something that bothers me, but the extremely shallow depth of field did surprise me, so it took me some time to get used to it.
All-in-all, for my experience level and the applications I use this lens in, it really provides more than I know what to do with.
Excellent Macro Lens
By Fred
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2022-04-03
I use the IRIX 150mm f/2.8 Macro lens on a Nikon D850. The lens is solidly-built, but not very heavy. Since I shoot my macro either on a tripod, a focusing rail or with flash, the lack of image stabilization is never a factor. Additionally, macro is best done with manual focus, so the lack of auto focus is not an issue. The focusing ring is large, smooth and very easy to use at macro/close-up distances. Toward infinity, the range of movement is more limited and it takes some patience to get sharp focus. I have used this lens also for tracked astrophotography with good results, but is best stopped down to f/5 because of some coma at the edges of the full frame. For regular use this lens appears sharpest at f/11, then f/16, then f/4. I have noticed no chromatic aberration. The bokeh is excellent. The tripod collar is handy and works well. So far, I have found little need for the focus lock function and have noticed no evidence of a focus shift with the lens pointed downward when focus stacking. Metering and aperture control in camera works fine. As for the most important aspect, how do the pictures look? The images have been very sharp with good detail, contrast and color all across the frame. I am very satisfied with this lens as well as the excellent and prompt service by B&H. If I were to compare it with another one of my macro lenses I would sat that the images are sharper with this IRIX lens than with my older Nikon 200mm macro lens. This lens is designed for macro as close as 1:1 and it certainly performs as promised.
Love it!
By Rebekah
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2022-03-30
I had been wanting to get this lens for a long time. I decided to reward myself and go ahead and order it. This is my first IRIX lens. The packaging from IRIX is fantastic. It made it feel like my lens was gift wrapped. I have taken it out 2 times already and love how the images turn out. I can't wait to see how the rest of my spring time photos turn out!
credit card.‡