Irix 21mm f/1.4 Dragonfly review

The focal length is unusual, but the Irix 21mm f/1.4 is a quality lens that performs brilliantly

5 Star Rating
Irix 21mm f/1.4
(Image: © Future)

Digital Camera World Verdict

With a great combination of wide perspective and shallow depth-of-field, the Irix 21mm f/1.4 Dragonfly is a superb option for portrait and travel photographers. The manual focus is always going to be a challenge at such wide apertures, but with practice, this can be a powerful tool in your arsenal.

Pros

  • +

    Solid build and handling

  • +

    Bright max aperture

  • +

    Superb bokeh quality

  • +

    Top sharpness

Cons

  • -

    Manual focus only

  • -

    No filter thread

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Combining Swiss precision, Korean ingenuity and Japanese glass, the Irix 21mm f/1.4 Dragonfly is built for professional use and promises to deliver sharp images with minimal distortion or aberrations.

This super-fast, wide-angle prime is ideal for shooting anything from astrophotography to interiors, landscapes, architecture, or even weddings. It benefits from internal focusing, a weather-sealed design, and a rigid, durable casing. Fifteen lens elements in eleven groups include four ultra-low dispersion elements, four high refractive elements and two aspherical elements.

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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.