I shot a lot of Astro in 2020 and was getting a bit bored with my large first-party glass collection so I tried a few dozen third-party lenses that interested me throughout 2021. I hope to post more lengthy reviews of each lens in the future but I am still sorting through everything I shot in 2021. You can find more samples on my Instagram.
Sigma 40mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art
The Sigma 40mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art is an amazing lens on the Fujifilm GFX100 with minimal vignetting without a focal reducer and none with. It can resolve an impressive amount of detail and most of my favorite Milkyway captures were made using it on the GFX.
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TTartisan 7.5mm f/2 Fisheye
The TTArtisan 7.5mm f/2 fisheye is incredibly sharp and only a mild fisheye on X-mount cameras. It’s great for single-shot Milkyway photography, but it is also very good up close. The TTArtisan 7.5mm f/2 stands out as one of the easiest to focus third-party lenses I own due to how bitingly sharp the lens can be.
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IRIX 45mm f/1.4
The IRIX 45mm f/1.4 is a great lens that vignettes a little if you have IBIS turned on, but very little with IBIS turned off on the GFX100. You won’t find a wider faster native G-mount lens for the GFX at this time so this lens is unique. I hope we see more lenses like this from IRIX in the future because I have heard good things about IRIX glass on GFX.
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TTArtisan 90mm f/1.25
TTArtisan made some of my favorite lenses this year and the TTArtisan 90mm f/1.25 is one of the more unique because it out Leica’s the Leica Summilux-M 90mm f/1.5 ASPH for a fraction of the price. The TTArtisan 90mm f/1.25 vignettes on the GFX100 a little so it is best to turn IBIS off when using it, but the bokeh can be amazingly creamy and glass this fast can be a lot of fun for low light and astrophotography.
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Venus Optics Laowa Argus 33mm f/0.95 CF APO
Venus Optics made some of my favorite lenses last year, but they didn’t release many impressive lenses this year. The Venus Optics Laowa Argus 33mm f/0.95 CF APO is a lens for photographers that like character and flare. While this lens isn’t perfect it is reliably imperfect and can be used to create some interesting effects with off-center light sources.
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