Irix 21mm f1.4 Dragonfly Pentax

Irix 21mm f1.4 Dragonfly Pentax

The Irix 21mm f/1.4 is another lens in a series of photo lenses derived from the Cine line, which was developed for a much more professional and demanding audience in the cinema market. Both the photo and film versions of this lens have exactly the same optical construction. The main differences concern the outer housing and the available mounts.

Optics of the highest quality

The optical design of the Irix 21mm f/1.4 lens is based on 4 extra low dispersion glass elements, 4 highly reflective elements and 2 aspherical lenses. This results in a total of 15 elements in 11 optical blocks. The lens is designed for the latest generation of 35 mm full-frame sensors and therefore for high resolution. Great care has been taken to keep distortion to a necessary minimum, not exceeding 2%, so that it is imperceptible in practice. So you can use this design successfully for all types of architectural photography. The combination of very large aperture - f/1.4 - and well-controlled coma makes it an ideal tool for astrophotography. Also worth mentioning is the new design of the 11-blade diaphragm with rounded edges, which provides a pleasant and very plastic background blur. It works from f/1.4 to f/16.

The lens body meets the Dragonfly processing standard known from previous Irix models. Its most important aspects include:

• Reinforced internal construction based on metal elements
• Anti-slip sharpening ring with special surface for easy sharpening
• Scratch-resistant glass surface
• Engraved marking, filled with UV-reactive ink

Compatible electronics

The Irix 21mm f/1.4 lens has electronic controls that allow the aperture to be controlled directly from the camera. This enables the popular semi-automatic modes (PASM) and the recording of EXIF data. This makes work easier and faster and also enables the use of correction profiles in post-production. By using electronics in the lens, the lens can also be equipped with focus confirmation - the camera informs you of the correct focus (in the form of an icon in the viewfinder or a sound) as soon as you have focused correctly.