[Music] Hi I'm Dustin Abbott and I'm here today To give you my individual review of the Sirai sniper 33mm F1.2 this is an autofocusing lens it is A part of a series of lenses that Debuted with a 23 mm then this 33 mm and Finally a 56 mm f1.2 I have taken a look At the series as a whole if you want to Check out the kind of overview and how They all work together and I've also Released previously the review of the 23 Mm with the 56 mm review to Follow this lens and the series of Lenses they debut at a quality price Under $350 and available for even less with Some discounts and you can also get them As a series in a case um all prepared to Kind of coordinate together they have Identical builds they're set up to where You can easily swap on a a gimbal or Something similar and they have a Similar color tone throughout and so That the footage or the photos are going To match nicely so some nice thoughts When it comes to using them as a series In a nutshell this is a lens that is Very nicely built it uses premium Materials it has average autofocus for Stills and below average autofocus for Video it has extremely nice bouquet and It does sharpen up when it's sto down But it also has a lot of chromatic
Aberration and it has low contrast at Large apertures it's a modern lens when It comes to the build and the design but The Optics are kind of a retro aesthetic And that is both good and bad depending On what you're looking for in the lens What we'll do in today's review is that I will go through and give you the broad Strokes and then those of you that want A deeper dive into Optical performance Can look at that at the end of the Review and there of course is a shortcut To that in the timestamp below First however a word from our Sponsor today's episode is brought to You by Phantom wallet the minimalist Modern wallet that is now even better With the new Phantom X that is crafted From aluminum right here in Canada it is 22% smaller and 35% lighter while still Making it easy to access your cards and Money when you need them thanks to their Unique Fanning mechanism you could even Customize your wallet due to its modular Design with accessories like a money Clip cash holder ID to And even chipolo and air tag tracking Integration visit store. fanom Wallet.com to check out their unique Sizes Styles and finishes that span from Aluminum to Wood to carbon fiber and use Code Dustin 15 for 15% off when you're Ready to check Out so 33 mm when applied to the various
Apsc crop factors that it's applied for There is it's available in an ncon Z Mount Sony E Mount and then also Fuji X Mount but it is only an apsc lens so in All of these cases I've tested on Fuji Here when you apply that 1.5 times crop Factor you have essentially a 50 mm Equivalent lens obviously a very very Popular focal length for a lot of Reasons now with this series they have Three different very distinctive looks That you can opt from there is the black That has carbon fiber real carbon fiber Accents here there is the silver look That has aluminum alloy accents and then There are is the white look that has a Ceramic baked paint as a part of the Design the lens is 72 mm in diameter by 92 mm in length that's 2.8 x 3.6 in and It weighs in at right under 400 G or 14 Oz I give really high marks to this Series as a whole when it comes to the Design which is actually unique which is Rare in the market there are so many Lenses out there and a lot of them look You know fairly similar but that's not Really true of this sniper series there Is a distinct look to them an aesthetic That is all seriz and so I appreciate That I appreciate the quality materials That are here the focus ring is a little Bit on the light side but it works okay Although I will note there's 360° of Intended rotation on Fuji if you try to
Get down to minimum focus a lot of times It's additional rotations to get it all The way there it's just kind of a Fuji Quirk which is probably not the case on On other Platforms very nice materials as noted But outside of that there's not really a Lot of features there's no AFM switch There's no apertur ring on Fuji that Tends to be missed because some of the Competitors will have it it does have a USBC port on the metal lens mount and That is great because it allows you to Do firmware updates and to make sure That the lens stays current and also you Know maybe we'll see an improvement to The autofocus performance via firmware In the future it does come with this Petal-shaped lens Hood which is made out Of plastic nothing particularly special Though I do appreciate the fact that we Have got a gripped surface that makes it Easier to mount and unmount inside there Are 11 aperture blades and I do Appreciate that because it helps to Maintain a nicely circular shape as you Stop The Lens down lens with a maximum Apture of f1.2 has a lot of potential For stopping down so a high blade count Is welcome in this and a little bit more Of a a better touch that is Included not so POS positive is the Minimum Focus distance it is 40 cm and As you can see the resulting
Magnification is quite low 0.10 times You can still create a lot of background Blur but that has much more to do with The f1.2 aperture than what it does to The ability to focus close you're not Going to mistake this for a macro lens In any way shape or form so overall it Is a little bit on the larger and Heavier side compared to some Competitors however it doesn't have a Lot going going on in terms of features Other than a price which is quite Reasonable particularly for an Autofocusing f1.2 lens now on the note Of autofocus this has an STM or a Stepping Focus motor you can see from The focus pull test that Focus speed is Not bad I would say it's slightly below Average but of course average has Improved over time and I'm used to Really really fast autofocus at this Point so slightly before average but I Think adequate in speed for a lot of Different applications Overall Focus noise is fairly low if you Put your ear next to it or if you're Filming you can hear some light clicks And wors but what you will hear is if You're at a larger aperture in between Um holding down you know either Depressing the shutter or half pressing It down the apture blades actually close Down when not in use and they open up Whenever you're actually focusing for
The photo and so as a byproduct you will Hear a little bit of clicking noise as Those apture blades close and and open Back up and so that's actually the Primary sound that you hear during Focus I actually found that the quality of Focus is generally good now as we're Going to see this lens is really low Contrast wide open as a byproduct could Be a little bit hard to tell that images Are well focused until you really look In at a pixel level and distinguish that Even though something is not amazingly Sharp it is actually in Focus but as I Did that I realized that Focus accuracy Was actually quite good you can see here That it's tracking the eye of my dead Eyed model there quite well no issues There and as I move around the box is Staying locked in on the eye so all of Those are good results and I would say That for Stills I have no complaints About autofocus I was able to shoot Everything that I wanted without any Kind of issue when it comes to the video AF side of things this actually is the Best of the series but unfortunately That's not saying a lot because this is Not a great series when it comes to Video AF as you can see from the focus Pools the focus pools are not fast and They're not always particularly Confident there is some settling issues But you can see the positive is is that
It is a smooth transition without Visible steps we did see some visible Stepping on the 23 mm and the 56 mm is a Whole other uh can of worms which we'll Get to later but overall it's not bad Also I found that when I did the hand Test it was the most reactive of the Three lenses in that but you do do see That there is some hesitation before Focus transitions are made there's a Little bit of lag there for actual Focus Shift begins to take place on a positive Note Focus breathing was quite low and What I will say about the focus pools is They're slow and they're deliberate but They're smooth enough that combine with The low Focus breathing they have a Slightly cinematic look to them which is Not bad at the same time though this is Certainly not a top video choice and the Focus is also not reactive enough if You're wanting if your goal is to Capture fast action you need to look Elsewhere so when it comes to the image Quality I'll give you a quick overview Of performance and then if you want to Hang around for the Deep dive you're Welcome to do so this lens has 12 Elements in 11 groups including one Ed Element one HR element this is a lens With what I would call an extreme dual Personality wide open it has very high Chromatic aberration and so as a Byproduct it is quite dreamy bloomy wide
Open without a lot of of contrast and so Sharpness at at wide apertures is not Great bokeh on the other hand is Extremely nice much softer and creamier Than what you're going to see from some Competing lenses and so very good in That regard the lens will sharpen up When it is stopped down and starting at About F4 to f5.6 it gets sharp enough That I would say that I was satisfied With the sharpness of results they're More typical and modern looking whereas The lens has kind of a a vintage look to It Wide Open positive things for various Aspects of that is that it does have low Distortion almost no Distortion it has Fairly low vignette no issue there but Uh chromatic aberration particularly of The longitudinal type are really really Obvious and persistent probably even to F2 and a little bit beyond and so they Don't clear up particularly fast and so That would be one of the negative issues There the lens also does exhibit quite a Lot of flare artifacts um of a variety Of things some of them can be artistic And if you use them wisely you might Look them look like them but very very Likely most people will be put off by Them and so in an overall conclusion I Would say that the 33mm is maybe my Least favorite of the series there are Too many aberration the contrast is just A little bit too low and the autof focus
Is not amazingly sophisticated I think It's good enough for photos but and and It's good enough for most people but not A great option for video the lens is Competitively priced for an autofocusing F1.2 lens and I would say that it fits Best for those that really like more of A vintage kind of look you like lower Contrast maybe find it flattering for Portraits or for your general purpose Shots and you prefer kind of the look of Images rather than pixel uh peeping at a Detail and so if you like the ability to Have different kinds of looks wide open And then a different look when stop down The lens might suit your purposes there For me I would say that on Fuji the 33mm F1.4 Fuji non lens is worth the extra Money or as a compromise the vro pro AF 27mm f1.2 just does a lot of things Really really well and would probably be My top budget pick there now if you want More information you can either look at The description down below and catch my Full text review or the image gallery There there's buying links there and if You want more information Stay tuned right after this and we'll do Our deep dive into the optical Performance of the Lens our examination of the 33 mm starts With a definite win when it comes to Vignette and Distortion you can see the Distortion is pretty close to
Non-existent those lines are straight Enough that they really need no actual Correction and also vignette while Present is really quite low for an f1.2 Lens now there is actually a correction Profile available in Lightroom already Which surprised me but if we turn that Off and just look at the manual Correction you can see I've dialed in a Minus one to correct what little bit of Pin cushion Distortion was there and Then vignette is about two stops a plus 53 and then sliding the midpoint over For an f1.2 lens this is low vignette And obviously that's a really desirable Distortion level there now unfortunately Our next test is much less Rosy you can See that there are very significant Levels of longitudinal chromatic Aberration so both fringing before and Major fringing after the plane of focus That is going to show up in real world Results you can see here that contrast Is definitely reduced due to fringing in Various places and then also in boka Highlights you're going to see that Fringing uh likewise here you can see That as we transition away from the Plane of focus so for you've got some of The you know the magenta fringing is a Little bit lighter though it's obviously Present and then as you transition away There's definitely a lot of that green Blue fringing that is present now
Lateral chromatic aberration are Essentially a nonissue you can see that Even with corrections turned off we have Very little in terms of any kind of Fringing on either side of the black and White transitions there so no problem There now taking a look at our Resolution in contrast obviously this is A a a tremendous torture test for a lens Like this in that 40 megapixels on apsc Is an extremely dense pixel resolution And I examine these when I do these Reviews I examine at 200% magnification So any and all flaws will be on display And there are definitely some flaws here You can see that there is very low Contrast and thus the inability to Really sharply Define the details here In the text the various textures that Are there The mid-frame also is continuing that Trend you can just see as we kind of pan Down over these various bills it's Almost like a smear of Vaseline over it Going into the corners you can see that That low contrast is there and then you Can see the detail drops off even Further towards the edge of the frame That low contrast does affect real world World images now this is actually Stopped down to F2 for depth the field But you can see that while it is Accurately focused on the first face Here here overall contrast makes it seem
Like the image is not really fully in Focus now I also note that some people Prefer that lower contrast in that it Just is a little more flattering to any Kind of skin imperfections we can see Here from one of my test shots when I Was doing the testing for autofocus that Again focus is accurate here but you can Also see that because of that lower Contrast it's can be a little bit hard To tell at the same time also you can See looking ahead that the bouquet is Really really nice from the lens another Shot here we can see that it doesn't Look like it's in Focus now if you go Into a pixel level you can see that it Actually is accurately focused on the Iris of Nala there but because you know The it's both a shallow depth field and Then also contrast is low it's hard to See without going into a pixel level if Anything is actually in Focus stopping Down a little bit to f1.6 does slightly Improve contrast but you can see here We're actually focused on the far eye There you can see that in the textures Of the fur around the eyes there's just Nothing that's really really crisp that Is there now stopping down to f1.4 on The right you can see that contrast does Improve a little bit but not enough to Make kind of a massive difference when It comes to our Textures in the Mid-frame there's a little bit darker
You can see that so that contrast has Improved the the Shadows but not Necessarily enough to We The Deep Details are really visible and present Likewise down here into the corner again It's mostly that the dark areas have Become a little bit darker but not that The ability to resolve the fine details Has improved yet now price-wise it may Be a an unfair comparison But the lens That I have on hand well not on hand but That I've tested at the same resolution Level that is exactly a 33mm lens is Fuji Zone XF 33mm f1.4 and so so you can See that on that 40 megapixel sensor it Is a it's a radical difference uh in Terms of the performance at f1.4 this is Both lenses at f1.4 in the mid-frame and Then down into the corner and so the Siri lens is definitely at a Disadvantage when it comes to the Ability to have good resolution at a Large aperture so stopping down another Stop to F2 there on the right again it Does give us a little bit of boost in Contrast you can see the Tex is starting To resolve a little bit better but we're Still a far cry off from where that Fuji Lens was even at F1.4 most of what we're seeing still is Just a a slight Improvement of that Contrast but not enough to where it Makes a radical difference yet from F2 To f2.8 shows a similar level of
Improvement to where again it's starting To get better this is getting to where It might be an acceptable wide open Performance if you're you know Evaluating detail and contrast mid-frame Is starting to look Fair fairly Confident now Corners are improving but Still not super sharp yet now by F4 the Corners are starting to sharpen up and We're starting to look more like a Modern lens in terms of the resolution And detail by f5.6 we're now looking Pretty confident there uh resolution is Looking nice and crisp and so you Definitely have very much a dual Personality to this lens where it is Softer and dreamy wide open and then Sharpens down and improves contrast at Small apertures now in many ways Sharpness and contrast Peaks at f8 and Then after that defraction is going to Start softening the image however Because the lens is fairly soft to begin With I find that defraction doesn't Impact things quite as much as usual Because the contrast is low at large Apertures anyway and so I would say that You can probably use this lens Throughout the zoom range without taking Or EXC throughout the apture range Without taking too big of a hit as you Can see here I mean it is reduced Somewhat but it's not terrible it's Still very usable and actually better
Than what we saw at large apertures now Despite you know the kind of dreamy look Wide open this image is actually Currently my desktop back background Because I really liked it and as you can See at a pixel level it actually looks Quite good all across the frame that There's good detail that is resolved There it's an intriguing image to me and So it shows again that dual personality Now what's also interesting to me is That at smaller apertures when I Compared this lens with the Sigma 18 to 50 mm f2.8 a lens that I actually think Is is really competent for a zoom lens On this high resolution sensor actually Instinctively preferred the images off Of the prime lens when it came to Various details they were just a little Bit crisper um you can see in this Zone Here it's just a little bit better a Little bit better contrast and also I Found like the color rendition was just Slightly better here's another shot here And if you actually pop in and look now Obviously this is not shot at the same Focal length looking in this Zone However you can see if you compare the Two that the kind of micro contrast you Know contrast in that general area is Actually a little bit better and thus The details are a little bit crisper Looking at the 33 mm versus the zoom Lens now our up close performance is you
Know at this is at f1.2 is just about What you would expect it's really not That fantastic it's it kind of be out But the trade-off is is that the lower Contrast from the cens allows it to Really have a very very soft out of Focus rendering sharper higher contrast Lenses you know which like the sigma Approach a lot of times the bouqu to me Is only okay from them because it does Tend to have a little bit more outlining A little too much contrast in those Areas now of course the downside here is If you have bright specular highlights It doesn't do so great in that you can See just lots of fringing here and of Course fringing in the specular Highlights the shape of them geometry is Not too bad and so and you can see Looking into the bocast circles there's None of those concentric Rings or any Kind of busyness like that but that Fringing is going to be a factor but if You look beyond that the ability to just Kind of blur out backgrounds is really Quite nice so the strength of this lens Is going to be in those that really Prefer the ability to really blur out Backgrounds and to have a more pleasing Bouquet then what a lot of the more Modern more corrected lenses can produce Now flare resistance is also pretty Vintage in its performance and that this Lens will produce a lot of different
Flare artifacts as you can see here um You can see there's you know there's Some Blobs of color here but if you Shoot at larger apertures you will just Get kind of flooded with with light and Uh and also it will exhibit some Flashing and if we pan back and forth You can see that there's just a wide Variety of different flare effects that Are quite vintage in the performance There can be used to Artistic effect if You're very careful or if you like that Look but for some people that are just Looking for the ability to shoot into Bright Lights without any kind of flare Artifacts this is not going to be your Lens those of you that are stuck to the End thanks for watching have a great day And let the light [Music] In
