Used IRIX 11mm f/4.0 Blackstone Lens for Nikon DSLR Cameras - Manual Focus

2021-06-01T21:25:34

Exceptional build quality except for the lens cap (I just purchased a Lens Hoodie (medium size) by Lenscoat to make things easier). Ultra-wide at 11mm lenses, by any company, are not as sharp as for example a high end prime 35mm F/1.4 released in the last 5 years with that said this lens is sharp with good colors and good micro contrast in the middle of the frame (check out my photographs they should speak for themselves). The artistic options opened up by this lens are amazing. Photoshop 2021 has lens correction (Optics option in Photoshop 2021 in RAW for Canon Users). Amazing steal of a lens for a small fraction of the price of the competition. On an absolute basis I would rate this lens as a 4-star optically but for the value I rate it 5-stars. Keeper.

Noel A.

2021-05-05T19:21:41

Very cool lens. Super wide rectilinear lens. No fisheye effect. It does stretch the corners of the image a bit but not bad and easily correctable in Lightroom. Does a good job of astro/night photography too. It is built like a tank, will last for many years!

MARK F.

2021-01-06T10:34:26

I am very pleased with this lens. It has a very solid feel and works smoothly. The images are unusually sharp. This lens is at least as good as lenses which are much more expensive. I am eager to see additional lenses from this manufacturer.

WILLIAM P.

2019-07-12T05:06:43

The outside 1/2 of the pictures has heavy CA, streaky distortions, and green cast in snowy pictures. Everything else is great. That makes it an a nice looking amateur toy. It does work on Nikon D8xx cameras with aperture control. The accurate scale (distance to aperture) helps a lot to setup focus. Infinity point is correct. On Nikon Z it works only at f4. Sure wide open this lens has a fall off like about 1 - 1.5 stops. Wouldn't recommend it above a price point of $140.

KO123

2018-07-06T18:22:20

I bought the Nikon version. It is a huge lens with a massive bulbous front element. Needs approx 1.5 f-stops of positive exposure compensation for proper exposure. Not as wide as I had hoped. Compared to my 16mm Nikon fisheye (on D750) it produced slightly less wide images than my fisheye after rectilinear post processing. The fisheye is a tiny lens. MUCH easier to lug around. I prefer a little post processing to lugging around such a huge lens !!!

THOMAS D.

2018-05-11T11:14:39

Super wide angle!

Brad M.

2018-04-04T11:09:12

I bought this for a trip to the Grand Canyon, and couldn't be happier with it. I've found myself pulling this lens out and using it in many situations that I wasn't planning on, it's really opened up a new creative potential that I didn't have before. Build quality so far has been superb. There have been reports of the infinity focus stop being off from the factory, that isn't the case with my piece. Infinity focus is dead on. Chromatic aberration with this lens is also minimal. What is there has been easily fixed in Lightroom. I will keep my eyes on this company, I hope they release more lenses in the future. The quality for the price of this lens can't be beat.

Chris W.

2017-11-03T08:41:56

Primarily purchased for night landscapes with sky elements, there was too many problems in the outer 1/3 of the frame. Might be ok for other uses, I cannot say.

RICHARD C.

2017-08-07T09:13:38

Seems well constructed - nice packing with metal case. Looks quality all around. Not much usage yet but a good addition to the arsenal

DENNIS M.

2017-07-30T20:10:35

As an avid ultra-wide angle lens enthusiast, with my favorite lens being the nikon 14-24mm for the last 5 years, I wanted to give a more detailed opinion about this lens from the perspective of a nature photographer: Overall, this lens surpasses all others as the ultimate choice for dedicated ultra-wide landscape photography and has been a dream come true for me at its current price! Some people appear to have issues with the quality of their version but I believe that to be 100% due to a mis-calibration or other issue related to compatibility. I have checked under multiple settings and at different distances and always get virtually tack sharp pics from corner to corner even wide open. For landscapes I find the chromatic aberration and distortion are not noticeable. The lens compatibility seems flawless with my d750 and the focus indicator is right on target. I'm not new to being disappointed by third party brands so I was fairly skeptical of this lens but reputable sources everywhere started to rave about the quality so I went for it and don't regret it Other than sharpness Its truly impressive how this lens manages to pack such quality into such a small price tag, the build quality is so solid that I fell like I'm carrying a lens that should cost $1000s. Appears better built than most other pro lenses, the focusing ring is particularly nice feeling. Love how it also has a gel filter on the back of the lens. I was worried it would be ages before the same a nikon camera could utilize up to 11mm but the Irix came to the rescue at the perfect time and will end p saving me tons. I have added two images taken with the Irix lens on the D750. The color image of the pepper crop can be view at full size to view image quality.

Conor Q.

2017-07-20T10:16:13

Great price; really solid build and great packaging - VERY IMPRESSIVE!! Just, not the performance; one of the major problems,- chromatic aberration and distortions. The IRIX 11mm coverage seemed 'way-off' (as compared to Canon's EF11-24mm). Well, what can one expect for such price. Perhaps this lens will find some use among hobbyist/ amateur photographers.

A B.

2017-07-05T20:57:30

I have had a full frame Nikkor fisheye lens for my Nikon and have loved it. My hope was that I could eventually find a similar lens for my Canon system and I sure found what I was looking for with the purchase of the Irix 11 mm Blackstone lens. In fact, it has a slightly wider field of view than the Nikkor lens. My biggest concern in using the lens is keeping my toes out of the picture. The lens is sharp and has minimal vignetting and gives me the opportunity to create unique viewing angles (see five samples below). Fit and finish of the Blackstone version is excellent. I heartily recommend this lens, You will not be disappointed and the price is right.

GERALD R.