[Music] Greetings everyone and today I'm testing Something seriously unusual for all of You the Astra hori 28 millimeter f13 two Times probe macro lens this is a very Interesting lens that Astra Warrior Brought out to compete with a similar Lower optic and who doesn't like a bit Of competition to make things more Affordable and at 739 US dollars or About 620 pounds here in the UK this Thing is relatively affordable for such A specialist piece of equipment I'd like To thank Astro hori for sending me a Copy of this lens for evaluation Although as usual this is a totally Independent review it's a totally manual Lens which offers a full-frame image Circle and it'll be available for Sony E Fiji X Nikon Z Canon RF L Mount Nikon F Canon EF and pl Mount cine cameras so It's pretty Universal the lens can focus To infinity and be used for Stills Photography if you you really need to But this thing is clearly focused on Video production getting close-up images In tight spaces it actually has an Amazing two to one macro capability Although realistically you'll never be Getting that close to your subject it'd Have to be right up against the front Element at the front of the lens the Entire front end of the probe is Waterproof though able to be submerged
Up to 25 centimeters mind your camera When shooting around water though and to Top it all off there are a series of LED Lights at the end which can be adjusted To various strengths unfortunately They're not powered by your camera Though you will need a separate USB Battery pack to power them which plugs In at the rear any USB power source will Do such as a small portable recharger Those lights are really helpful though As you'd expect they have a dramatic Impact on your final image for better or Sometimes For Worse The build quality of the lens itself is Real nice metallic tough and tightly Assembled it even comes with its own Carry case the rear of the lens is not Weather sealed but as I mentioned the Front probe is waterproof at the rear There's a metallic geared Focus ring That turns very precisely and a little Heavily in front of that comes the Aperturing enabling you to adjust Between f13 and F40 for extra adaptive Field although obviously because of Diffraction the lens is never going to Be especially sharp at those very dark Apertures the lens as you can see is Easy to use you will want to have a Sturdy rig with a decent slider to take Full advantage of it though handheld Video work won't look good okay well This isn't a typical camera lens by any
Means but let's run it through my normal Tests all the same first let's take a Look at sharpness at normal distances Although admittedly that's not going to Be the top priority of most of its end Users I'll be testing the lens on a Sony A7r3 camera with its full frame 42 Megapixel sensor in-camera Corrections Are not available with this lens at f13 Sharpness is reasonably good in the Middle of the image but contrast is Definitely low and there's just a touch Of visible chromatic aberration on Contrasting edges and the corner image Quality a little softer but still Acceptable it's just a shame about that Low contrast but you can always add some More in post stopping down the lens to F16 makes the corners slightly brighter Due to reduced vignetting but a touch Softer due to increased diffraction F22 Is soft F40 unusable although if you're Shooting 1080p video it'll just about be Enough let's take a look at Vignettingen's Distortion now on a Full-frame camera there's a pinch of pin Cushion Distortion in the very corners Of your images and some rather Noticeable vignetting there too at f13 At F16 and F22 that vignetting is Reduced but it never entirely goes away And now close up image quality these Pictures were taken at almost two times Magnification as you can see the image
Is noticeably soft at f13 but that's not Surprising as at such close distances Diffraction begins to affect image Quality worse than ever F16 looks about The same but F22 is very soft let's see How well the lens works against bright Light now although that's not often Going to be a major problem when Shooting up close the good news here is That flaring is under control and Finally boca no problems here honestly Whether shoot and close up or at normal Distances overall well I've done my Normal photographic tests on this thing Which was fun but at the end of the day It really is a lens for video work where The unique shot it's able to get you Combined with its relatively affordable Price make it highly recommend visible To anyone interested in this kind of Specialist macro movie making work Ah you know I love testing out unusual Camera lenses even if it takes me a While to get my head around to them at First hope you enjoyed the review and I'd like to say another big thank you to My patreon supporters who helped to keep This channel Trucking on checking out in The description below for all kinds of Bonus content and ciao for now
