IRIX 11mm f/4 - Affordable Ultra Wide & Rear Filters Suck
/
A review of the ultra wide-angle 11mm f/4 lens from Irix. This fully manual lens delivers impressive results for the cost but those rear filters SUCK.
Irix 11mm f/4.0
IRIX 15mm f/2.4
Irix Edge Gelatin Filter Set
The IRIX 11mm f/4 Blackstone lens is a great deal for those wanting to shoot wide angle. As with the 15mm IRIX we reviewed last year it comes in the metal built Blackstone version and plastic Firefly. Optically they are the same lens, you'll just get a better build quality with Blackstone. For the price point, it's a great lens, the corners look great wide open at F/4 for distortion and there's very little chromatic aberration. It's nice to use with a handy stop for infinity built into the focus ring, which you'll be using frequently with a lens this wide. The only complaint so far is the rear filters, which we recommend you picking up a set of Nisi filters instead. The IRIX 11mm f/4 Blackstone is a manual focus lens, but for the price, it's the best option at the moment.Buy the IRIX 11mm f/4: https://bhpho.to/2ojJbSVBuy the IRIX 15mm f/2.4:https://bhpho.to/2occZkZWatch the Irix 15mm f/2.4 ReviewRear Filters from IRIX: https://storeeu.irixlens.com
You trade off some features for the smaller size of the Spark. While the Mavic is capable of 24 minutes flight time, closer to 30 with the new Platinum. The Spark offers just 16 minutes in ideal conditions and in flying both of these - I am almost always done with getting the shots I need with the Mavic and have plenty of battery left. With the Spark, it feels fairly urgent to get the shots I need in that shorter timeframe. The Mavic is faster and while you can switch the Spark into sports mode I have struggled to get very cinematic looking shots when it that mode, the Mavic in normal mode is fast enough and remains smoothly controllable. You also sacrifice range - the Mavic can be flown nearly 4 miles away, the Spark just over a mile when using the controllers for each- honestly here in the United States, you need to keep them both in sight at all times so the difference doesn’t bother me much. And it’s important to mention that the spark at $500 does not come with a controller - you control with the DJI app on your phone - that range is much more limited, just 100 meters and while the Mavic is capable of this too it’s really not something I recommend. The lack of tactile feedback and trying to keep your eyes on the drone plus the screen that your fingers are partially obscuring just make it awkward.
Difference in the external controllers too with the Mavic providing an LCD screen with some basic info (though everything important is also displayed through the app so you don’t really miss out on info but I find it nice to have my altitude and distance in a dedicated spot), you also have a 5 way configurable stick that is replaced by a simple button on the Spark controller and a few additional customizable buttons on the Mavic controller.
But of course the Spark can be flown without any controller at all via gesture mode and not something available on the Mavic - it feels a bit gimmicky and at times I struggled to get it to do much other than take off and land on my palm but when it works it is fun to use and certainly impresses your friends.
Both cameras share the same sensor though the mavic is capable of shooting RAW stills that gives you more editing capabilities, offers a slightly wider fixed aperture f/2.2 vs f/2.6 in the spark and, shooting 4k video with 3 axis gimbal support vs just 1080 and 2 axis gimbal in the Spark at a lower bit rate. I my testing I certainly see an advantage with the Mavic in stills and video quality, especially in lower light. The spark isn’t bad - it just feels a touch behind what the Mavic provides in quality. I haven’t really noticed a difference between the 2 axis and 3 axis gimbals - the spark video looks just as stable smooth.
You do see a noticeable difference in control options for both photos and video in the app - Not only does the Mavic provide the RAW shooting you have color profiles for video and you can customize the speed of the gimbal for very controlled, cinematic looking shots - not possible on the Spark.
The Spark is cheaper, lighter, smaller and in some ways more fun to fly but does not provide 4k and its image quality/video quality is decent but not quite as good as the Mavic.The Mavic costs more but offers image and video quality that I love using in my travel videos along with the extended flight time and faster speed while remaining cinematic and still being portable enough to bring along just about everywhere.I think the Spark makes a great first drone but the Mavic has those additional advantages that make it worthwhile for the serious content creators that need to travel.I recommend the Fly More Combo for both drones - the extra batteries are useful and having the multi-charger for both drones makes a big difference in how quickly you can get flying again. I recommend buying from B&H Photo - no sales tax outside of NY state.
Shop all the DJI Spark colors at B&H Photo
Buy the Panasonic G85 
Buy the Canon 80D
I want to at least briefly match this up against the canon 80D priced similarly. I think the 80D is for many people a default choice when they want a video capable camera especially a high quality vlogging setup - the flip out touch screen, the lovely dual pixel AF that makes focus smooth and capable of accurate tracking. The 80D is also a very solid still camera. Let’s look at how these two compareSensor - The 80D offers a larger aps-c sensor with 24mp vs the micro 4/3rds 16MP on the G85 and this of course translates to a fairly noticeable resolution difference but not as much of a low light noise difference as you might expect. And the G85 is helped by the absence of an AA filter - providing nicely detailed images. I will give the win to the 80D but it is very close. For stills I found AF to be very similar between both - the G85 in Af-s is fast though I would rather the 80D in my hands for any more serious wildlife photos, especially tracking action or birds in flight.
All the individual shots were placed in Final Cut Pro - :04 seconds in a 30fps video. Notice the shorter exposure shots capture a bit more of the detail but the difference isn't huge between a 4 and 30 second exposure!
