This seems like a gem of a lens for art photography. You shouldn't use it for any shoot where you really can't miss a shot, but the actual images are gorgeous and the lens has a lot of character. Cool.
That close-up image quality was so blurry I thought it was out-of-focus! I mean, there's a dreamy, ethereal look, and then there's this 😂. I wonder why they're bothering to chuck in a black mist filter if you order early when you can achieve the same effect by shooting close!!
True but idk if it really matters. I usually want more depth of field when shooting at mfd anyway. For portrait use, this 85 seems ideal. I'll be curious to see what people think of the autofocus accuracy once they start using this in the wild.
Jjdging solely from the image shown in the video at 2160p I wouldn't call the central sharpness of the chart at f1.4 "sharp". It's rather low contrast kf course but also a bit soft and hazy. The lateral CA at the edges are some of the worst and when combined with the LoCA, choosing your focus point with background blurr would be quite tricky despite the bokeh itself being pretty good.
@@lukakoprivica I think it's a really great value lens, and the picture looks beautiful. Though the picture does look a bit soft comparing to Sigma and Sony lens, I decided to not go with it for now because I do love my control over the sharpness and softness on my photos.
Another informative video, thank you for that. I would also be interested in how the image quality looks at the edges, especially with portrait lenses. I think the corners are negligible, but the edges are quite important. I would find it exciting if you could include something like that :)
Not really related to the video but i love to hear your answer. Iam between R8 and a6700. R8 is a 200$ cheaper here and it will my first full frame the question will i miss the sony incredible autofocus ? Is a6700 image quality a noticable downgrade from r8 ? Much love
@@todanrg3 the r1 and r5ii is above all sony cams by a few percent in af capabilities. The rest is on par or under. The r6ii/8 is slower than the a74 , while the a6700/a7r5 is faster. I dont think you can generalize that statement. Also consider that video af is a bit slower on canon models Source : i own an a6400 , have friends with a6700 , one with an a73 i regularly borrow , an R6ii user im close with and an a7r5 user i hit up once in a while , also has a couple of fuji friends but thats oot
There are plenty reviews of this lens, even though this is really quite comprehensive, well done. However, I'd really like you to test the new Pro series lenses (55&85mm) from Meike, which appear to be much better performer, judging from the few reviews available.
Thanks, Chris. Im a huge fan of your videos. I lived in Wales for while and your pictures of Cardiff, Castell Coch and so on always bring me good memories. Why dont you try taking pictures of Caerphilly castle? That giant fortress is just amazing... Talking about this lens: I reckon if you looking for a good budget 85mm for Sony FF, the best choice is getting a used Zeiss 85mm 1.8. You can easly find a good copy for less then 600 dollars on ebay and used camera gear websites.
I'm sticking with my Viltrox 75mm f1.2 over rhis Sirui Aurora. Sure rhe latter's 85mm. But the bokeh of f1.2 is what attracted me to go for Viltrox versus the f1.4 of Sirui.
The fringing in the charts looked really bad. But in the actual photo's I couldn't even spot it when I was looking for it. Goes to show that charts aren't everything :D That iris setup is absolutely beautiful from a mechanical point of view :o
I’d take the Viltrox 75 1.2 over this for Fuji. It may be a little heavier but the slightly larger aperture and much better CA control and sharpness over the whole sensor especially the corners is better. it also has a pretty quick AF better despite being STM. I also think 75mm for apsc is more versatile than 85 but that might just be me.
I prefer 85 because it's almost 135 and not too close to a 56mm APSC lens. The difference between 1.2 and 1.4 is close to zero from my own experience with 1.2 lenses, but overall the Viltrox is a way better performer for the price. The one big advantage of the Sirui for Fuji is it has way less catseye bokeh than the Viltrox because of it's bigger glass designed for fullframe. But I think this is rather a budget alternative to the 90mm f2. It has a stop more light and center sharpness is already good on the 26mp bodies.
@@drchtct The difference between F1.2 and F1.4 is visible to anyone with eyes. It's clearly visible on my 35mm and my 50mm, so obviously even more on a 85mm. It can make a busy background look less busy. But a 75mm F1.2 is 10mm less than a 85 F1.4. So you lose a bit of separation power anyway, so the F1.2 gets a bit less dramatic. It's all down to lens characteristics. You can have a vintage 50mm F2 that has more interesting bokeh than a modern 50mm F1.2 Personally I don't recommend many people to sell their F1.4 to get a F1.2. Only if they ask for the maximum subject separation or light gathering. There are not a lot of other options.
@@caleidoo At 75mm, I did never see any difference between f1.2 and f1.4, I didn't talk about 35 or 50. And yes, I do have eyes. There is nothing dramatic about f1.2, John Branch & Dylan Goldby both have great comparisons between the 56 1.2 and 56 1.4, even side by side you barely can tell a difference. On a 35, you see more of a difference because the entire screen isn't already a blurry mess of colors, so the tiny difference can take you from a subtle separation to a more visible one, less so at 56 or 75mm on APSC.
For the price this seems pretty amazing! 85mm isn't focal length I use a lot, but I do enough portraiture that at around $500 it might make sense for me.
Think I will stick with my Sigma 85mm f1.4 DG DN ART until I either die, switch systems or need to sell to pay the rent. Great review as always Christopher!
Hmm! A really nice invention, this 85mm f/1.4 lens from Suiri! But want an Improve Version-2 of the Aps-C AF 23mm, 33mm and 56mm f/1.2 to match the beautiful quality of the 16mm and 75mm f/1.2 lens.
I sent mine back almost immediately. There's too many much better options at not much higher price points if you don't mind buying used, which makes sense if you're looking at a product in this price bracket.
Also the included mist is a terrible fit for the focal length of the lens and generally low quality regarding optical and build quality. it's one of those that eventually get stuck.
@@MilesCooperUK thanks for the info. I'm still torn because the Sony costs nearly 150EUR less where i live. Hard to justify buying the Siuri when the only upside seems to be the bokeh. Otherwise Sony appears to be much sharper, has way less fringing, CA, and distortion, especially wide open in the corners - which becomes a problem if my subject is not in the center. If I have to step down to 2.8 to get acceptable results there's no point of getting this lens.
The image quality reminds me of my old Sigma "gold-ring" 85mm HSM lens I used to own a decade ago. Thank god we figured out how to get rid of fringing and chromatic aberrations on modern lenses. Now the Chinese just need to figure out how to copy that as well... Until then, no thanks.
Hum not so convinced by Siri lenses. They do rather cheap anamorphic lenses for video but for spherical lenses for cameras I do think viltrox is better.
It's a shame that you only show the sharpness in the center at the widest aperture, and the rest in the corners. Usually it's the middle that is the interesting thing on a portrait lens. Would love to see the sharpness in the middle of all apertures
There's no need. As I said in the review, straight from f/1.4, the lens is razor sharp in the middle of the image. It can't get any better on a 42mp sensor, even if you stop down, and it's obviously not going to get softer until diffraction kicks in at around f/11 (and I show the softness difference in the image corners at that point)
Budget lens with budget image quality. Slow focusing, unusable for close ups, extensive fringing, unusable wide opened on APS-C. But the bokeh is rather mild and pleasing and for full frame shooters of more distant subjects this might be a good option.
Creo que es un lente para nada recomendable, esa falta de nitidez y calidad en las lentes se hace notar mucho. Prefiero mil veces mas un viltrox que este lente de baja calidad
The number of weaknesses plus the unfinished software, making it basically an unfinished product in today’s standards. There are better choices out there. I’d rather get a second hand.
Excuse moi. . . how the fk can a lens be both compatible with "movie" and just partially compatible with photo mode at the same bloody time. How the fk a lens with E mount can be partially compatible with E mount camera, its compatible with some full frames yet not the others . . . what the actual f. This lens should get 3/10 just because of stupidity.
@@AndreiDimaReviewsokay, so if you only care about the centre of the image, and only at long focus distances, and don't care about colour fringing, then it's usable at f/1.4
You can give a bad lens to a great photograph and he can create breathtaking work and you can give the best lens to a horrible photographer and he’ll still take bad photos
@@hoatd1993 I’ve taken photos on a $58 7Artisan lens and still booked 10’s of thousands dollars worth of clients. It’s not the gear that you use but how you use the gear. If this lens has zero focus breathing which is pretty hard to find on an 85mm then that would be beneficial to someone who knows how to use it.
This seems like a gem of a lens for art photography. You shouldn't use it for any shoot where you really can't miss a shot, but the actual images are gorgeous and the lens has a lot of character. Cool.
I saw the new sirui lens, and I was looking for the review. Guess it finally came out. Thanks!
The out of focus areas look beautiful and surprisingly sharp!
Put some glasses man, sharpness is not everything. The out of focus area is simply flat, lifeless, absolutely not existing depth of field...
Will you review the Nikon version?
@dicekolev5360 just don't get it, simple as that. Other people will buy it so your nagging falls on deaf ears
@@dicekolev5360 I didn’t say sharpness was everything. What makes a good out of focus area in your opinion? If you can be polite
That close-up image quality was so blurry I thought it was out-of-focus! I mean, there's a dreamy, ethereal look, and then there's this 😂. I wonder why they're bothering to chuck in a black mist filter if you order early when you can achieve the same effect by shooting close!!
That's due to halation. Sigma 45mm have this too.
True but idk if it really matters. I usually want more depth of field when shooting at mfd anyway. For portrait use, this 85 seems ideal. I'll be curious to see what people think of the autofocus accuracy once they start using this in the wild.
Almost all lens if not labeled as macro produce pretty soft image at wide open at minimal focus distance.
How would you rate it against Meike 85mm f/1.4? Thanks.
I had basically written this off, but that bokeh was actually one of the nicer I've seen lately.
Yes the bokeh is very good. Clearly they had spent time on it
Hoz does it compare to the samyang?
Thank you for your thorough review!
Okay, I'm convinced. I'm saving up for this lens starting today.
Jjdging solely from the image shown in the video at 2160p I wouldn't call the central sharpness of the chart at f1.4 "sharp". It's rather low contrast kf course but also a bit soft and hazy. The lateral CA at the edges are some of the worst and when combined with the LoCA, choosing your focus point with background blurr would be quite tricky despite the bokeh itself being pretty good.
Been waiting for your review on this lens since it came out! I'm excited to see what this lens can do
Now that you've seen it, do you have any comment?
@@lukakoprivica I think it's a really great value lens, and the picture looks beautiful. Though the picture does look a bit soft comparing to Sigma and Sony lens, I decided to not go with it for now because I do love my control over the sharpness and softness on my photos.
Another informative video, thank you for that. I would also be interested in how the image quality looks at the edges, especially with portrait lenses. I think the corners are negligible, but the edges are quite important. I would find it exciting if you could include something like that :)
Thank you very much for your review, Chris.
thank you so much Chris for the great review.
Not really related to the video but i love to hear your answer. Iam between R8 and a6700. R8 is a 200$ cheaper here and it will my first full frame the question will i miss the sony incredible autofocus ? Is a6700 image quality a noticable downgrade from r8 ? Much love
Do you need ibis and a usable battery life ? If so go for the a6700
If you find the lenses you need and can afford, R8 all day long.
R8, sony ibis only good for photo
The Canon has incredible autofocus too, in some areas better than the Sony.
@@todanrg3 the r1 and r5ii is above all sony cams by a few percent in af capabilities.
The rest is on par or under. The r6ii/8 is slower than the a74 , while the a6700/a7r5 is faster.
I dont think you can generalize that statement.
Also consider that video af is a bit slower on canon models
Source : i own an a6400 , have friends with a6700 , one with an a73 i regularly borrow , an R6ii user im close with and an a7r5 user i hit up once in a while , also has a couple of fuji friends but thats oot
It says Partial compatible for Photos my Sony A7S3 camera. What does that mean? Will it work with camera for photography?
My camera as well - A7III. Has this/will this be addressed in a firmware update? I have written to Sirui, but no answer as yet.
I received an answer from Sirui saying that their engineers are working on this. No additional info, time frame, etc.
There are plenty reviews of this lens, even though this is really quite comprehensive, well done. However, I'd really like you to test the new Pro series lenses (55&85mm) from Meike, which appear to be much better performer, judging from the few reviews available.
Thanks, Chris. Im a huge fan of your videos. I lived in Wales for while and your pictures of Cardiff, Castell Coch and so on always bring me good memories. Why dont you try taking pictures of Caerphilly castle? That giant fortress is just amazing...
Talking about this lens: I reckon if you looking for a good budget 85mm for Sony FF, the best choice is getting a used Zeiss 85mm 1.8. You can easly find a good copy for less then 600 dollars on ebay and used camera gear websites.
I'm sticking with my Viltrox 75mm f1.2 over rhis Sirui Aurora. Sure rhe latter's 85mm. But the bokeh of f1.2 is what attracted me to go for Viltrox versus the f1.4 of Sirui.
The fringing in the charts looked really bad. But in the actual photo's I couldn't even spot it when I was looking for it. Goes to show that charts aren't everything :D That iris setup is absolutely beautiful from a mechanical point of view :o
Hello Chris, please do review of fujifilm new 16-55 f2.8 mark 2. we are waiting for this please.
Is this better than the Viltrox 85mm F1.8 FE lens?
Fascinating. Do you prefer the Sigma 85mm f/1.4? Thank you.
I’d take the Viltrox 75 1.2 over this for Fuji. It may be a little heavier but the slightly larger aperture and much better CA control and sharpness over the whole sensor especially the corners is better. it also has a pretty quick AF better despite being STM. I also think 75mm for apsc is more versatile than 85 but that might just be me.
I prefer 85 because it's almost 135 and not too close to a 56mm APSC lens. The difference between 1.2 and 1.4 is close to zero from my own experience with 1.2 lenses, but overall the Viltrox is a way better performer for the price. The one big advantage of the Sirui for Fuji is it has way less catseye bokeh than the Viltrox because of it's bigger glass designed for fullframe. But I think this is rather a budget alternative to the 90mm f2. It has a stop more light and center sharpness is already good on the 26mp bodies.
@ true. I guess it’s always good to have a nice alternative.
@@drchtct The difference between F1.2 and F1.4 is visible to anyone with eyes. It's clearly visible on my 35mm and my 50mm, so obviously even more on a 85mm. It can make a busy background look less busy. But a 75mm F1.2 is 10mm less than a 85 F1.4. So you lose a bit of separation power anyway, so the F1.2 gets a bit less dramatic. It's all down to lens characteristics. You can have a vintage 50mm F2 that has more interesting bokeh than a modern 50mm F1.2 Personally I don't recommend many people to sell their F1.4 to get a F1.2. Only if they ask for the maximum subject separation or light gathering. There are not a lot of other options.
@@caleidoo At 75mm, I did never see any difference between f1.2 and f1.4, I didn't talk about 35 or 50. And yes, I do have eyes. There is nothing dramatic about f1.2, John Branch & Dylan Goldby both have great comparisons between the 56 1.2 and 56 1.4, even side by side you barely can tell a difference. On a 35, you see more of a difference because the entire screen isn't already a blurry mess of colors, so the tiny difference can take you from a subtle separation to a more visible one, less so at 56 or 75mm on APSC.
@drchct I prefer the much better image quality of the Viltrox (for a similar price!) over 10mm focal length difference.
For the price this seems pretty amazing! 85mm isn't focal length I use a lot, but I do enough portraiture that at around $500 it might make sense for me.
would you take this over an 85mm Samyang/Rokinon AF?
how does it compare to samyang mark ii
Think I will stick with my Sigma 85mm f1.4 DG DN ART until I either die, switch systems or need to sell to pay the rent. Great review as always Christopher!
I have the same lens too but at least according to the samples the bokeh is better on this lens
I also have the Sigma, but think this lens is a cool alternative. The Sigma is also gorgeous, but in a totally different way.
Hmm! A really nice invention, this 85mm f/1.4 lens from Suiri! But want an Improve Version-2 of the Aps-C AF 23mm, 33mm and 56mm f/1.2 to match the beautiful quality of the 16mm and 75mm f/1.2 lens.
Thanks!
This is a lens I would not buy. Not Good enough for me. Thanks for the review, Christopher. I am a Patreon member. 👍📸
please canon 28-70 2.8 stm full review 🙏🙏
I sent mine back almost immediately. There's too many much better options at not much higher price points if you don't mind buying used, which makes sense if you're looking at a product in this price bracket.
Also the included mist is a terrible fit for the focal length of the lens and generally low quality regarding optical and build quality. it's one of those that eventually get stuck.
Opted for 7artisans 85mm 1.8 2 months ago and I have been very happy. 60% price than this so it didn't break my bank either
Seems like a better effort than the "Sniper" range, but the fringing and corner performance is a little mediocre
I was just wondering what does "partial*" on the compatability table?
Nice lens. Im waiting for the Canon 28-70, 24,35 and 50 mm lens tests
Better than the old sony 1.8 85? Availabile at 345 currently...
wondering about the same
@westerling9088 I pulled the trigger on the Sirui. So far I'm not convinced about its performance, but I'll reply again after more usage.
@@MilesCooperUK thanks for the info. I'm still torn because the Sony costs nearly 150EUR less where i live. Hard to justify buying the Siuri when the only upside seems to be the bokeh. Otherwise Sony appears to be much sharper, has way less fringing, CA, and distortion, especially wide open in the corners - which becomes a problem if my subject is not in the center. If I have to step down to 2.8 to get acceptable results there's no point of getting this lens.
@westerling9088 made a wee short with a few test images on pal. Not very comprehensive, but have a look if you like.
Is sad that nowadays we consider $800 lens a low-budget option...
I think I will stay with my good old Sigma 85mm 1.4 Art. It is still a good lens...
This lens seems like an f2.8 that they allowed to work at 1.4 just in case you needed it.
The image quality reminds me of my old Sigma "gold-ring" 85mm HSM lens I used to own a decade ago. Thank god we figured out how to get rid of fringing and chromatic aberrations on modern lenses. Now the Chinese just need to figure out how to copy that as well... Until then, no thanks.
NEW CHRISTOPHER FROST VIDEO !!!
Before criticising, do the research 😉
Both Canon and Nikon stop down before you focus, if you know how to do it. Albeit, Nikon only down to 5.6.
Samyang 85/1.4 II weights 509g.
But the Samyang 85mm f/1.4 is manual-focus...at least in Fuji X mount.
Not ripping off Nikon at all with the design😆
Man, doesn't seem too good for a Fujifilm X-T5 and its 40MP sensor.
For Fuji, the Viltrox 75mm 1,2 is the far better choice. Especially on 40 MP.
Hum not so convinced by Siri lenses. They do rather cheap anamorphic lenses for video but for spherical lenses for cameras I do think viltrox is better.
Beautiful lens, but it's very small
Focus shift....
It's a shame that you only show the sharpness in the center at the widest aperture, and the rest in the corners. Usually it's the middle that is the interesting thing on a portrait lens. Would love to see the sharpness in the middle of all apertures
There's no need. As I said in the review, straight from f/1.4, the lens is razor sharp in the middle of the image. It can't get any better on a 42mp sensor, even if you stop down, and it's obviously not going to get softer until diffraction kicks in at around f/11 (and I show the softness difference in the image corners at that point)
Budget lens with budget image quality. Slow focusing, unusable for close ups, extensive fringing, unusable wide opened on APS-C. But the bokeh is rather mild and pleasing and for full frame shooters of more distant subjects this might be a good option.
I want to hate it, but its actually pretty good. Like the big 'full frame' on it, you begin to wonder if apsc is on the decline..
Creo que es un lente para nada recomendable, esa falta de nitidez y calidad en las lentes se hace notar mucho. Prefiero mil veces mas un viltrox que este lente de baja calidad
Not bad for a first effort, but that CA, slow AF and poor IQ at mfd is deal breaker. I'll get the Samyang or Sigma.
The number of weaknesses plus the unfinished software, making it basically an unfinished product in today’s standards. There are better choices out there. I’d rather get a second hand.
Excuse moi. . . how the fk can a lens be both compatible with "movie" and just partially compatible with photo mode at the same bloody time. How the fk a lens with E mount can be partially compatible with E mount camera, its compatible with some full frames yet not the others . . . what the actual f. This lens should get 3/10 just because of stupidity.
I guess it could it be said that the Sirui 85mm f/1.4 is a pretty good 85mm f/2.8 lens.
Why, he said it is razor sharp in the middle at f1.4?
@@AndreiDimaReviewsokay, so if you only care about the centre of the image, and only at long focus distances, and don't care about colour fringing, then it's usable at f/1.4
This is not just usable. That center sharpness is amazing at f1.4.
@@nightdonutstudio sharpness isn't the only thing that matters.
@@StephenStrangways theres been far worse lenses wide open here from proper brands. Some canon lenses are pretty poor
for 250$ not a bad lense. for 500$ it is a scam.
It's better than previous generation DSLR F1.4 lenses, at about 30% of the price.
Agreeeed
@caleidoo
Agreed Cal.
Reason & logic arent applicable to haters & trolls..
this is really bad lens
You can give a bad lens to a great photograph and he can create breathtaking work and you can give the best lens to a horrible photographer and he’ll still take bad photos
yup, the old digital rev videos proof that
Lol
@@Tonyrizk13but who spend money for a bad lens?
@@hoatd1993 I’ve taken photos on a $58 7Artisan lens and still booked 10’s of thousands dollars worth of clients. It’s not the gear that you use but how you use the gear. If this lens has zero focus breathing which is pretty hard to find on an 85mm then that would be beneficial to someone who knows how to use it.