It looks like last week’s rumours of a couple of new AstrHori lenses proved out. Not only that, but there’s a third one, too, and all three are full-frame lenses. All in, we’ve got the AstrHori 12mm f/2.8 Fisheye for Z, L, E, RF and GFX mount, a super compact and lightweight AstrHori 18mm f/8 Wide-Angle Shift for Z, L E and RF mount, and an 85mm f/1.8 Autofocus lens for E mount.
Each of the three full-frame lenses targets a very different type of photographer, with each providing a very different set of use cases, from astrophotography, through product and landscapes all the way to portraits, and they’re all extremely low-budget, too. But in order of longest to shortest, here are all the details on the new AstrHori lenses.
AstrHori 85mm f/1.8 Autofocus Portrait Lens – $276
As the name suggests, the AstrHori 85mm f/1.8 Autofocus Portrait Lens is targeted towards portrait photographers that want that telephoto look and shallow depth of field that the wide f/1.8 aperture offers. At $276, it’s priced significantly lower than Sony’s own Sony FE 75mm f/1.8 lens at $598, and it’s even cheaper than the Viltrox AF 85mm f/1.8 FE II lens for Sony E Mount. How the image quality stacks up against those two remains to be seen once it starts getting into the hands of reviewers, but it’s difficult to ignore at this price.
| Focal length | 85mm |
|---|---|
| Max aperture | f/1.8 |
| Min aperture | f/16 |
| Angle of view | 28.4° |
| Format | Full-Frame |
| Mount | Sony E |
| Focus type | Autofocus |
| Lens type | Rectilinear |
| Optics | 9 elements in 8 groups |
| Aperture blades | Unspecified |
| Filter thread | 72mm |
| Min focus distance | 79cm |
| Dimensions | 80 x 93.5mm |
| Weight | 628g |
The AstrHori 85mm f/1.8 Autofocus Portrait Lens for Sony E mount cameras is available to buy now for $276. Shipping is expected to begin in January 2023.
AstrHori 18mm f/8 Shift Lens – $119
The AstrHori is a super-low-budget shift lens designed for full-frame mirrorless cameras. It’s essentially one-half of the more typical tilt-shift lens. You’ve got up to 6mm shift travel in either direction, allowing you to shift the centre axis of the lens away from the centre of the sensor, which lets you get some interesting and creative perspectives. With an aperture of f/8, you’re not going to be using this in low light situations unless you’re shooting long exposures, but at $119, it looks like a fun little lens to experiment with, especially for landscapes and product photography, even if it’s not a lens you find yourself using a lot.
| Focal length | 18mm |
|---|---|
| Max aperture | f/8 |
| Min aperture | f/8 |
| Angle of view | 99.2° |
| Format | Full-Frame |
| Mount | Sony E, Nikon Z, Canon RF, Leica L |
| Focus type | Manual Focus |
| Lens type | Rectilinear Shift |
| Optics | 9 elements in 9 groups |
| Aperture blades | Unspecified |
| Filter thread | 58mm |
| Min focus distance | 34cm |
| Dimensions | 62 x 36mm |
| Weight | 164g |
The AstrHori 18mm f/8 Shift Lens is available to buy now for $119 in Sony E, Nikon Z, Canon RF and Leica L mounts and ships at the end of December 2022.
AstrHori 12mm f/2.8 Fisheye Lens – $256
The AstrHori 12mm f/2.8 Fisheye lens offers a wide 185° field of view and is designed specifically for full-frame cameras. With a wide f/2.8 aperture, it’s bright enough to be used in relatively dim environments for general use, especially with the ISO capabilities of most mirrorless cameras today, and particularly on a tripod for some night time astrophotography. It also has a very close focusing distance of only 20cm, allowing for some very surreal imagery. A stepped aperture ring offers noticeable 1-stop clicks and an all-metal barrel with engraved depth of field and focus scales.
| Focal length | 12mm |
|---|---|
| Max aperture | f/2.8 |
| Min aperture | f/16 |
| Angle of view | 185° |
| Format | Full-Frame |
| Mount | Sony E, Nikon Z, Canon RF, Leica L, Fuji GFX |
| Focus type | Manual Focus |
| Lens type | Fisheye |
| Optics | 11 elements in 8 groups |
| Aperture blades | 5 |
| Filter thread | N/A |
| Min focus distance | 20cm |
| Dimensions | 90 x 100mm |
| Weight | 757.5g |
The AstrHori 12mm f/2.8 Fisheye Lens is available to buy now for $259 in Sony E, Nikon Z, Canon RF, Leica L and even Fuji GFX mounts. Shipping begins at the end of December 2022.
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