Irix 45mm f/1.4 GFX hands-on with Przemysław Kuciński!

In addition to the full text in English, there are also downloadable versions below:

 

 

Thanks to NEXT77 I could test the lens for two months. It was my first encounter with a manual lens in years. Not because I’m afraid of manual focus, but it just came out that way. I have been using Fujifilm GFX 50s for over 3 years and so far, I have used their two lenses: 23mm and 63mm. Both with autofocus.

 

 

I’m a professional interior photographer. It’s a very specific niche, it’s hard to speak about luck or quickly catching the moment. Everything that my Fuji captures is in order, carefully placed, and the craziest thing I will do once in a while is placing a throw and let destiny decide how it will shape. My friends are a tripod and computer, which I use for previewing. I’m not in a rush, so I can focus manually, I don’t think the couch will ever run away

 

 

 

Focal length in medium format and its equivalent in relation to full-frame is calculated differently than APS-C. Irix 45mm would be multiplied by 0.81 which places it around 35mm, perfectly in the middle between 18mm and 50mm, which I already have covered. But we need to remember, that not the focal length here is the most impressive, but mainly how fast is the lens, with f/1.4. With such a big sensor, it’s hard not to smile looking at images dumped on the computer. The beautiful separation of planes and bokeh that reminds me of the good old days of analog photography are two characteristics of this lens, that will stick with me for a long time.

 

 

 

 

Along with the beautiful bokeh, and quality finish of this big and solid lens, I can’t skip one problem I had doing indoor photography - vignetting. While in portrait photography it’s a nice addition, giving the “analog feel” to the pictures, for indoor photography, it was a slight annoyance. I’ve noticed, that it does go away once we close down the iris, but eventually I just cropped a few percent of the photo before sending it to the client.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m not an expert when it comes to portrait photography, but while I had Irix 45mm f/1.4 GFX on me for so long, it would be a sin not to try it. When my model had more than 5 years and was able to comply with the simple command “if you could stop moving, daddy is taking a picture” - I was able to perform a fast zoom on the screen, comfortably focus with a large focus ring and snap, we got it. Pictures razor-sharp, you could count each hair on an eyelash. Beautiful souvenir! But with an unruly child or a pet, or someone who just doesn’t cooperate, catching that focus could be hard, but not impossible.

 

 

Two months with Irix will be remembered well. A great surprise after the testing period was the price, it was similar to prices for small format photography, not like medium format, which comes with a 5 digit price tag. For around $800, we get a tool, which won’t be fully universal, but for what it was designed, excellent if not the best. Irix 45mm f/1.4 is right now the fastest lens for the GFX system!

 

You can see more of Przemek’s work here:
Przemysław Kuciński

and learn more about Irix 45mm f/1.4 GFX lens:
Irix 45mm f/1.4 GFX

UPDATE
A new lens correction profile for Lightroom, that deals with vignetting, is available for
download!

Lens correction profile Irix 45mm f/1.4 GFX


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