A Review of the Irix 30mm f/1.4 Dragonfly Lens

Irix has created a name for themselves by manufacturing manual focus prime lenses that are rugged, affordable, and quite sharp, making them a compelling option for any genre where autofocus is not a requirement. This excellent video review takes a look at one of the company's newer lenses, the 30mm f/1.4 Dragonfly, and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice. 

Coming to you from Christopher Frost, this great video review takes a look at the Irix 30mm f/1.4 Dragonfly lens. If you have never used a 30mm or 28mm lens before, it can be quite a fun experience. You get a noticeably wider field of view than a 35mm lens, but you avoid the obvious wide angle look that really begins around 24mm. And on top of that, with an f/1.4 aperture, there is plenty of opportunity for narrow depth of field and low-light work. While the 30mm f/1.4 Dragonfly is made for DSLR mounts, it is worth noting that since it is manual focus only, even the cheapest adapter will allow you to use it on a mirrorless body without issue. Check out the video above for Frost's full thoughts on the lens. 

    Alex Cooke's picture

    Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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    Interesting, I didn't realize that Irix had a 30mm lens now (guess I haven't been paying attention). I have two Irix lenses, the 15mm and 150mm and find them both great lenses. Unfortunately, I don't really use them much any more, since I'm now heavily invested in the Nikon Z system and don't like using adapters. I've been asking Irix about making Z mount lenses, but haven't gotten much of a response.