Irix 30mm f/1.4 Dragonfly review

The Irix 30mm f/1.4 Dragonfly is a wide-angle, wide-aperture prime for under 700 bucks – the best value street lens ever?

Future
(Image: © Future)

Digital Camera World Verdict

The Irix 30mm f/1.4 Dragonfly is a sharp, well-built lens that is beautifully crafted. Resolution is lovely and contrast adds a natural punch to images. Overall the optics succeed in fulfilling the Irix promise to offer cinematic qualities in still images – though the lack of autofocus, and extremely tight focus ring, may be problematic for some.

Pros

  • +

    Great build quality

  • +

    Outstanding sharpness

  • +

    Beautiful bokeh

  • +

    Electronic contacts

Cons

  • -

    Focus ring resistance

  • -

    No autofocus

Why you can trust Digital Camera World Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out how we test.

The Irix 30mm f/1.4 Dragonfly is everything we've come to expect from Irix lenses. These optics are usually well built, high quality products which, if you can accept the lack of autofocus capability, offer a genuinely unique proposition… well, mostly.

You see, the Irix 30mm f/1.4 Dragonfly is a photographic equivalent to the Irix 30mm T1.5 Cine – a well-established model and popular choice for videographers. The fact that Irix has chosen to release a stills version makes sense, and looking at the spec sheet it seems the only significant technical difference between the two is in the external design and minor transmission variance. 

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Peter Fenech

As the Editor for  Digital Photographer magazine, Peter is a specialist in camera tutorials and creative projects to help you get the most out of your camera, lens, tripod, filters, gimbal, lighting and other imaging equipment.

After cutting his teeth working in retail for camera specialists like Jessops, he has spent 11 years as a photography journalist and freelance writer – and he is a Getty Images-registered photographer, to boot.

No matter what you want to shoot, Peter can help you sharpen your skills and elevate your ability, whether it’s taking portraits, capturing landscapes, shooting architecture, creating macro and still life, photographing action… he can help you learn and improve.