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Irix 150mm f/2.8 Macro

Darin Marcus

Well-known member
I've waited a few years for Cosina to release a new Voigtländer macro lens 90mm or longer in F mount... an updated 90mm SLII S, an updated 125mm SLII, or even an F mount version of the 110mm released for Sony.
Alas, nothing happened, and the deadline I set for myself - CP+ 2019 - passed with no announcement whatsoever.

So I decided to look elsewhere, and the new Irix 150mm macro (manual focus) caught my interest.
The lens arrived yesterday from B&H, and today I was able to try it on my D810. It was a cloudy day here, so I had to bump the ISO more than I wanted. The lens is big but handles fine on a D810-like body. It came with the hood attached in reversed position. It took me a while to figure out how to unscrew it :D

Focusing this lens while handholding is quite challenging due to the very small depth of field at normal distances. I will definitely need more practice with it.
The first tests look quite promising...
 

Darin Marcus

Well-known member
Two other reviews I read before ordering this lens:

- ePHOTOzine: https://www.ephotozine.com/article/irix-150mm-f-2-8-macro-1-1-dragonfly-review-33078

- Ken Rockwell - contains some very useful info I am glad I knew before using this lens for the first time: https://kenrockwell.com/tech/irix/150mm.htm

Focusing based on the green dot is not very accurate on the D810, so I am trying to use my eyes to decide when to press the shutter. I will try this lens on the Df next, where I have a DK-17M Magnifying Eyepiece that proved helpful with manual focusing the Cosina Voigtlander 58mm f/1.4. Although I don't expect the Irix to balance as well on the Df as it does on the D810...
 

Darin Marcus

Well-known member
The Df + DK-17M combination worked great with the Irix 150mm f/2.8 Macro!

I was able to focus by looking only at the subject, without even a single glance at the green dot :)



Nikon Df, Irix 150mm f/2.8 Macro, 1/250, f/16, ISO 400

This is the first time I dialed f/16 on my Df. To my dismay, I discovered and had to remove 5 dust spots from this image. The sensor needs cleaning...
 
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