Sirui Sniper 75mm F1.2 Review

Dustin Abbott

July 12th, 2024

Sirui Sniper 75mm F1.2 X-Mount Review

Sirui launched their “Sniper” series of autofocus lenses in late 2023. I’ve done an overview of the series here. The Sniper Series was initially made up of 3 APS-C specific lenses – a 23mm F1.2, 33mm F1.2, and 56mm F1.2 lens, but they have now expanded the series to include both a wider angle option (Sniper 16mm F1.2) and a longer telephoto option (Sniper 75mm F1.2). It is these latter two that I am currently reviewing, and today’s review focuses on the telephoto option – the Sirui Sniper 75mm F1.2 AF lens. These can be purchased individually for $349 USD each (though various discounts will provide a little fluctuation in pricing). These lenses will be available in Fuji X-mount (reviewed here), Sony E-mount, and Nikon Z mount configurations, though in all mounts they are designed to cover the APS-C and not the full frame image circle. Find out by watching my video review below…or just reading on.

Thanks to Sirui for sending me a set of review samples of the lenses. As always, this is a completely independent review. All opinions and conclusions are my own. I’m doing this review on a 40MP Fujifilm X-H2 camera.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Here’s a quick way to access my reviews of each lens in the series:

I’m doing this review on Fuji X-mount since that is what Sirui had available to send me. In many ways this is jumping right into the fire, as there is no platform more optically demanding than the 40MP sensor on my Fujifilm X-H2. This is the equivalent of over 90MP on full frame, a resolution point that is currently 30+MP higher than what is even available on full frame. That creates an extremely demanding optical test that will push this new series to the limits. Is this 75mm F1.2 Sniper lens up to the challenge? As with the other lenses, that answer really depends on your priorities and expectations as a photographer, though I will say that I think that the Sniper 75mm is the best of the bunch optically. It does face very stiff competition from the excellent Viltrox Pro AF 75mm F1.2 (my review here), though the Viltrox is bigger, heavier, and more expensive.

For that size, however, you get more features (aperture ring, AF/MF switch), weather sealing, and it is definitely sharper. But this new Sniper 75mm is no slouch optically, and while it isn’t as transcendently sharp as the Viltrox at F1.2, it helps compensate by both a very useful amount of sharpness along with gorgeous bokeh.

This is definitely the “bokeh monster” of the Sniper series, capable of crushing backgrounds and delivering beautiful subject isolation.

75mm is the least traditional of the focal lengths in the Sniper series. Once you apply the 1.5x crop factor of the APS-C cameras that these lenses are designed for (whether Fuji, Sony, or Nikon), the 16, 23, 35, and 56mm become the full frame equivalents of 24, 35, 50, and 85mm – the most common prime focal lengths you could ask for. 75mm is a much less conventional 112.5mm full frame equivalent, and while that isn’t as flexible a focal length as some of these others, it a really great portrait focal length because you can shoot full length and still have the background blurred out. Viltrox’s Pro AF 75mm F1.2 has proven very popular for that reason.

All of these Sniper lenses have sported an F1.2 maximum aperture. That’s an obvious advantage for the F1.2 in two ways: 1) when shooting in low light conditions that large aperture can suck in more light 2) the depth of field will shallower at F1.2 than F1.4, allowing for larger, softer bokeh highlights and a more blurred out background. The fact that the Sirui Nightwalker 75mm T1.2 exists (my video review here) tells me that the light transmission for the lens is excellent, as the T-stop actually matches the F-stop (fairly rare, in my experience). This is a very bright lens, and that’s going to be useful in a lot of situations. It has no problem when the light gets dim.

The Sniper series has come in three different finish option: a black/grey finish with carbon fiber accents (the lenses I’m testing come in this finish), a white finish, and a silver finish. Each is available for the three different mounts that lens is sold for. These photos cover the three older lenses as I’m reviewing the 16mm and 75mm lenses before public release.

It is great to see Sirui forging their own design path, and I’ve been impressed across the three different lineups that I’ve tested (Sniper, Night Walker, and Saturn). So let’s take a closer look at this 75mm F1.2 lens from Sirui.

Sirui Sniper 75mm Build and Handling

The original Sniper lenses all shared a common outer shell and exterior dimensions though with a slight weight variation due to the larger optical elements in some. There’s a little more variation in the new 16mm and 75mm F1.2 designs, however, as would be expected with these slightly more extreme focal lengths. This Sniper 16mm is the lightest of the series (smallest glass elements), weighing in at 375g (13.2 oz) on my scale. The 16mm and 75mm Sniper lenses share a common length (94mm or 3.7″), but you can see that the 75mm is considerably wider than the 16mm.

I measure the 75mm at nearly 75mm (2.95″), with the 16mm being a slimmer 70mm (2.75″). The 75mm is the heaviest of the group at 466g (16.1 oz), which is unsurprising as it has easily the most glass inside. The 16mm, 23mm, 33mm, and 56mm Sniper lenses all share a common 58mm front filter thread, but the filter threads on the 75mm grow to 67mm to accommodate the wider diameter of the lens.

The weight will very slightly vary according to lens and mount. The X-mount that I’m testing is actually the lightest (by a few grams), due to the X-mount being the smallest of the three in diameter. Nikon’s Z-mount is the largest in diameter, with Sony E-mount in between.

So how does the 75 x 94mm and 466g of the Sniper 75mm F1.2 compares to the Viltrox Pro AF 75mm F1.2? The Viltrox is 87 x 101 mm (3.4 x 4″) and weighs 670g (23.6oz). That makes the Sirui a whopping 200+ grams lighter, which is definitely significant. The Sniper 75mm is just 20g heavier than the Fujinon XF 56mm F1.2 WR (my review here) despite the significantly longer focal length of the Sirui. While the early Sniper lenses were heavier than some of their counterparts, this 75mm is sitting in a nice position when it comes to the size and weight of the lens.

The look of the Sniper lenses is unique. There’s not much here in terms of features, but the lenses do have an upscale look with a variety of textures and finishes. I’m reviewing the lenses labeled as being “black”, but black (at least in the typical lens sense) is not the vibe I get off these lenses. There are two metal sections (one near the lens mount and another in the middle of the lens) that has a traditional anodized satin black finish, but in between there is a section of genuine carbon fiber that looks very cool. Carbon fiber is a more upscale material and it definitely sets these lenses apart.

There are two badges in this section. One is a plate with the Sirui banding in raised metal lettering. The second is on the left side, and there is a another smaller badge that says AF and APS-C. Interestingly the word “Sniper” appears nowhere on the lens.

There are no switches on the lens barrel nor an aperture ring. That’s more noticeable here on Fuji, where aperture rings are fairly standard. Both of the F1.2 lenses that I’ve mentioned have both an aperture ring and weather sealing, so the Sirui is at a serious disadvantage in those areas, though, to be fair, it is between $200 and $600 cheaper than its main competitors.

The Sniper 75mm has a great profile to it on camera, with a nice, squat look that is a nice match to my larger X-H2 body.

The manual focus ring has a diamond pattern akin to Canon’s control rings rather than a typical ribbed finish. It’s one more area where the lenses maintain their own unique look.

The manual focus rings move smoothly and the weight is fairly light. Not so light that you can’t accurately focus, but a bit lighter than what I personally prefer. Sirui states that the focus throw is 360°, so plenty of room for precision.

After the focus ring is a blue accent ring that is nearly turquoise in color. Once again it is little different than other lens that I’ve tested, and it works. The final section at the front of the lens has a titanium colored anodized metal finish, so less than half of the lens surface is actually purely black. Each lens color has some unique ingredient: black = carbon fiber, silver = aluminum alloy, white = ceramic baked paint.

The included lens hoods is nothing special. It is made of plastic and doesn’t feel as premium at the rest of the lens. It doesn’t bayonet on quite as precisely as I would prefer, though it does lock into place tightly. I do appreciate the ribbed section in the hood which gives a little more grip.

It’s worth noting that both the front pinch cap along with the rear cap are quite low profile. The front cap is just a few millimeters thick, and the rear cap too feels slimmer than usual. These little details stood out to me as nothing about the lenses felt generic or “by-the-numbers”. Sirui is doing their own thing here, and I like the attention to detail.

At the rear of the lens we have a metal lens mount complete with the appropriate electronic contacts; aperture will be controlled from the camera. There is a USB-C port there that will allow for future firmware updates. That’s a really important move by Sirui, as they are new to autofocus design. The ability to update the focus algorithms in their lenses will help them to focus better in the future and also allows the lenses to be futureproof.

The aperture iris is made up of a higher-than-average 11 rounded blades. That’s a great choice in a lens with an F1.2 aperture, as it helps assure that the aperture iris stays circular as the lens is stopped down. It also looks really gorgeous in a lens like this that has so much glass to look through in the front.

The minimum focus distances for the Sniper 75mm is fairly high at 70cm. Sirui has not listed the maximum magnification, but it is definitely the highest in the group. I would estimate it in the 0.12x range.

It’s not particularly close, but the magnification can still be useful, and the huge maximum aperture allows for a deep blur of the background.

There are some pros and cons for the design and handling. On the positive side, the lenses look and feel great. There are some premium materials being used in the design and the attention to detail is excellent, and, in this case, the Sniper 75mm is smaller and lighter than the directly competing lens. On the negative side, there are no real features on the lenses outside of the USB-C port for firmware updates.

Autofocus Performance

The Sirui Sniper lenses are all equipped with STM (stepping) focus motors. There is a certain amount of autofocus performance that is camera and camera system specific, so I’ll try to distinguish between the lens performance and the system performance as much as possible. My experience is that third party lenses focus better on Sony and Nikon than they do on Fuji, and that’s largely because Fuji’s autofocus systems in their cameras are not quite as sophisticated as equivalent Sony or Nikon cameras.

That being said, autofocus speed is about average for a modern STM motor on Fuji. The thrust in this AF motor seems a little more impressive than some of the lenses in the series, so I found that AF speed was perhaps better than average for the Sniper lenses despite the focus motor having to push the larger glass elements in this lens. When doing my focus speed tests with the Sniper 75mm from close to distance, I found that focus wasn’t quite instantaneous, but neither was it slow. And in real world shooting I found that focus speed was fast enough that I never really thought about it. This isn’t going to be a lens for shooting sports, but none of these F1.2 lenses on Fuji are.

The actual focus motor makes only a light whirring, but there is more noise caused by the the sound of the aperture blades opening and closing. This happens even when the aperture is set at F1.2, as the aperture blades close partway in between focus on Fuji (for some reason). This happens with all lenses, but the aperture blades on the Sniper lenses are noisier than average, and that does draw your attention to them. It unfortunately makes autofocus feel less sophisticated than it actually is.

Focus accuracy was good. I was able to shoot through layers of the foreground and accurately focus on the lock above.

I could shoot from roughly 2 meters (six feet) away and focus easily locked on these growing plants.

Focus was also good with the lens stopped down, and it produced very nice looking landscape shots.

When I moved around with Eye AF engaged, focus tracked accurately and the green box stayed locked on the “eye” of my little test statue.

I was less satisfied when I had a moving target like Nala moving towards me. Even though eye AF grabbed her eye, it seemed like images tended to be backfocused.

So other than being a little noisy in focus, I actually had no issue with the lens for stills. Like other lenses in the series, autofocus isn’t fast enough to track action, but it does seem to be accurate for more still subjects.

The state of autofocus on Fuji for video remains pretty abysmal relative to other platforms. Add a third party lens from company that has been making autofocus lenses for less than a year, and you’ve got a recipe for a bit of frustration. Focus pulls were quite slow with very obvious steps. The focus pull felt it came in 3-4 stages rather than one smooth arc. Focus also did a bit of settling before a final lock.

My hand test (where I alternately block and then unblock the camera’s view of my face with my hand) was particularly frustrating. The lens didn’t really want to focus on either my face or my hand at first (it acted as if I hadn’t come into the frame), and by the time it eventually decided to focus on me, focus transitions were so slow and non-reactive that I rarely got a decent cycle of focus from my hand to my eye or vice versa.

On a positive note, focus breathing is fairly well controlled.

If you rarely shoot video (or don’t really need autofocus during video recording), then the Sniper 75mm will work fine. It’s not a great choice for video work, however. The frustrating thing is that there doesn’t seem to be many alternatives on Fuji that are much better. I suspect this lens will function much better for video work on either Sony or Nikon from my experience on those platforms.

Sirui Sniper 75mm Image Quality

The Sirui Sniper 16mm F1.2 has an optical design of 13 elements in 9 groups. All of the Sniper lenses have had more of what I call a “classic” sharpness profile, in that they behave like some older large aperture lenses. They are somewhat dreamy (low contrast) wide open and then sharpen up to higher contrast and detail at smaller apertures. The 33mm and 56mm Sniper lenses took this to an extreme, and I wasn’t really a fan of them, but the 16mm and, in particular, this 75mm find a much nicer balance. While it is true that the extreme resolution of the 40MP Fuji APS-C sensor tends to make a lot of lenses look softer than they are in any other application, I feel like the Sniper 75mm is able to handle those demands reasonably well. It isn’t as bitingly sharp and high contrast at F1.2 as the Viltrox, but it does produce enough contrast and detail at F1.2 to be useful. Pair that with gorgeous bokeh and you’ve got a lens that I think will make a lot of people happy.

I like the 16mm and 75mm better than the early lenses in the series because they have more sharpness potential when stopped down…even on the very demanding sensor of my X-H2. When stopped down it delivers high detail images that look great.

Our optical deep dive starts with a look at vignette and distortion, an area where the Sniper lenses have held up quite well. The 75mm is no exception with no distortion there to correct.

Vignette is also well controlled for an F1.2 lens, requiring only a +45 (about 1 1/2 stops) to correct. This is an area of advantage over competing lenses.

The first telephoto in the series (56mm F1.2) was terrible for fringing, but the Sniper 75mm is much better. There is very little longitudinal chromatic aberrations (LoCA_ here.

You can see the advantage of this in this shot of white raspberry blossoms in a high contrast setting. There is very little fringing in this F1.4 shot despite this being prime conditions to seem them.

Lateral chromatic aberrations near the edge of the frame are fairly well controlled. I see some very minor fringing in the transitions from black to white here, but nothing significant.

The Sniper 75mm is holding up MUCH better in these tests than the 56mm did.

So how about resolution? The 40MP Fuji X-Trans sensor tends to make all but the very sharpest of lenses look a little soft under the microscope of my tests. I examine results at a 200% magnification, and that’s a lot to ask of any lens. Here’s a look at the test chart:

And here is a look at F1.2 crops from the center, then mid-frame, and then extreme lower right corner:

The crops reveal that contrast is fairly good even at F1.2 in the center of the frame, and the corners stand out to me as being quite good as well. That’s born out in real world results (particularly outside of close focus range), as the detail even in the corners at F1.2 looks good even on such a high resolution body.

Even at landscape distances, however, I think the sharpness results are quite good.

There is a minor uptick in contrast even at F1.4 along with slightly better detail. Here’s a look at the midframe at 200% magnification.

You’ll see even more improvement from F1.4 to F2:

By F4 to F8, you’ll find sharpness that reaches all across the frame, even to the corners.

Landscape shots in this range will show great detail and contrast all across the frame.

By F11 you will see some softening due to the effect of diffraction, with more rapid deterioration by F16.

The standout quality from the Sniper 75mm, however, is its bokeh, which is pretty fantastic. If you combine the minimum focus distance with F1.2, you’ll end up with a near complete dissolving of the background and gorgeous creaminess.

Add more complex backgrounds and the lens still thrives.

Move back a little further and even close down the the lens a bit, and I still like what I see.

Even this shot of a very complex scene and with the lens stopped down to F2 looks great:

Flare resistance is fairly good for a large aperture telephoto lens. It’s not free of flare artifacts, but the ghosting is minimal. There’s a bit more when stopped down, but not bad.

I was able to test for coma, and found that while there is some minor distorting of star points near the edge of the frame, this is actually a decent lens to use for capturing the stars. No fringing on star points, low amounts of vignette, and obviously the ability to suck in massive amounts of light with that very bright aperture.

All told, this is really a very nice lens optically. The Viltrox 75mm F1.2 is sharper, but the bokeh from the Sniper 75mm may be even nicer.

This is the first of the Sniper lenses that I feel completely positive about in terms of its optics. It is sharp enough to not embarrass itself even on the very high resolution of the Fuji’s 40MP APS-C sensor and has some of the nicest bokeh I’ve seen from any lens on Fuji. This is a very nice lens optically for the price tag of just $350 USD, and should make for a gorgeous portrait lens. You can check out the image gallery to see more photos and see if the rendering from the lens suits you.

Conclusion

The Sirui Sniper 75mm F1.2 AF lens is a welcome addition to the Sniper series. While the focal length is less conventional, the Sniper 75mm more than makes up for it through its beautiful rendering.

Autofocus isn’t great for action or big video pulls, but it worked fine for the majority of my photography subjects.

The optical performance, however, makes this lens a great “bang-for-the buck” value, capable of producing gorgeous images with good color, contrast, detail, and lovely bokeh.

So if you’re sweet spot for a telephoto falls somewhere between Fuji’s 56mm F1.2 and 90mm F2, the Sirui Sniper 75mm F1.2 might just be the lens for you.

Pros:

Unique design that uses premium materials
Bright F1.2 aperture
Ability to upgrade firmware through USB-C port
Smaller and lighter than Viltrox 75mm F1.2
Good focus accuracy for stills
No distortion
Low vignette
Good control of aberrations
Good sharpness even at 40MP
Gorgeous bokeh and rendering
Good coma performance
Optically matched to other Sniper lenses
Well priced

Cons:

Aperture iris clacks a lot during focus
No aperture ring or weather sealing
Focus isn’t fast enough for action
Video focus isn’t great

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

GEAR USED:

Early bird discounted pricing: https://sirui.kckb.me/dabbott

Purchase the Sirui Sniper Lenses @ Sirui (use code DustinA for 5% off) | B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-H2 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-T5 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Find it Used at KEH

Purchase the Fujifilm X-S20 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Want to support this channel? Use these affiliate links to shop at: B&H Photo | Amazon | Adorama | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Ebay | Make a donation via Paypal

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Keywords: Sirui, Sniper, Sirui Sniper, Sirui Sniper 75mm F1.2, 75mm, 23mm, 33mm 56mm, 16mm, F1.2, STM, Carbon Fiber, Review, Fuji X, Sony E, Review, Telephoto, Action, Tracking, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Bokeh, Flare Resistance, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, Sony a6700, Sony a6600, Fujifilm X-T5, Fujifilm X-H2, let the light in, #letthelightin, DA

DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Sirui Sniper 75mm F1.2 Gallery

Dustin Abbott

July 12th, 2024

Sirui Sniper 75mm F1.2 X-Mount Gallery

Sirui launched their “Sniper” series of autofocus lenses in late 2023. I’ve done an overview of the series here. The Sniper Series was initially made up of 3 APS-C specific lenses – a 23mm F1.2, 33mm F1.2, and 56mm F1.2 lens, but they have now expanded the series to include both a wider angle option (Sniper 16mm F1.2) and a longer telephoto option (Sniper 75mm F1.2). It is these latter two that I am currently reviewing, and today’s review focuses on the telephoto option – the Sirui Sniper 75mm F1.2 AF lens. These can be purchased individually for $349 USD each (though various discounts will provide a little fluctuation in pricing). These lenses will be available in Fuji X-mount (reviewed here), Sony E-mount, and Nikon Z mount configurations, though in all mounts they are designed to cover the APS-C and not the full frame image circle. Find out by watching my video review below, reading my text review here, or just by enjoying the photos below.

Sirui Sniper 75mm F1.2 AF Review | The Best of the Snipers?

Thanks to Sirui for sending me a set of review samples of the lenses. As always, this is a completely independent review. All opinions and conclusions are my own. I’m doing this review on a 40MP Fujifilm X-H2 camera.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Here’s a quick way to access my reviews of each lens in the series:

I’m doing this review on Fuji X-mount since that is what Sirui had available to send me. In many ways this is jumping right into the fire, as there is no platform more optically demanding than the 40MP sensor on my Fujifilm X-H2. This is the equivalent of over 90MP on full frame, a resolution point that is currently 30+MP higher than what is even available on full frame. That creates an extremely demanding optical test that will push this new series to the limits. Is this 75mm F1.2 Sniper lens up to the challenge? As with the other lenses, that answer really depends on your priorities and expectations as a photographer, though I will say that I think that the Sniper 75mm is the best of the bunch optically. It does face very stiff competition from the excellent Viltrox Pro AF 75mm F1.2 (my review here), though the Viltrox is bigger, heavier, and more expensive.

For that size, however, you get more features (aperture ring, AF/MF switch), weather sealing, and it is definitely sharper. But this new Sniper 75mm is no slouch optically, and while it isn’t as transcendently sharp as the Viltrox at F1.2, it helps compensate by both a very useful amount of sharpness along with gorgeous bokeh.

This is definitely the “bokeh monster” of the Sniper series, capable of crushing backgrounds and delivering beautiful subject isolation.

75mm is the least traditional of the focal lengths in the Sniper series. Once you apply the 1.5x crop factor of the APS-C cameras that these lenses are designed for (whether Fuji, Sony, or Nikon), the 16, 23, 35, and 56mm become the full frame equivalents of 24, 35, 50, and 85mm – the most common prime focal lengths you could ask for. 75mm is a much less conventional 112.5mm full frame equivalent, and while that isn’t as flexible a focal length as some of these others, it a really great portrait focal length because you can shoot full length and still have the background blurred out. Viltrox’s Pro AF 75mm F1.2 has proven very popular for that reason.

All of these Sniper lenses have sported an F1.2 maximum aperture. That’s an obvious advantage for the F1.2 in two ways: 1) when shooting in low light conditions that large aperture can suck in more light 2) the depth of field will shallower at F1.2 than F1.4, allowing for larger, softer bokeh highlights and a more blurred out background. The fact that the Sirui Nightwalker 75mm T1.2 exists (my video review here) tells me that the light transmission for the lens is excellent, as the T-stop actually matches the F-stop (fairly rare, in my experience). This is a very bright lens, and that’s going to be useful in a lot of situations. It has no problem when the light gets dim.

The Sniper series has come in three different finish option: a black/grey finish with carbon fiber accents (the lenses I’m testing come in this finish), a white finish, and a silver finish. Each is available for the three different mounts that lens is sold for. These photos cover the three older lenses as I’m reviewing the 16mm and 75mm lenses before public release.

It is great to see Sirui forging their own design path, and I’ve been impressed across the three different lineups that I’ve tested (Sniper, Night Walker, and Saturn). So let’s take a closer look at this 75mm F1.2 lens from Sirui.

Photos of the Sirui Sniper 75mm F1.2

Images taken with the Sirui Sniper 75mm F1.2

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

GEAR USED:

Early bird discounted pricing: https://sirui.kckb.me/dabbott

Purchase the Sirui Sniper Lenses @ Sirui (use code DustinA for 5% off) | B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-H2 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-T5 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Find it Used at KEH

Purchase the Fujifilm X-S20 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Want to support this channel? Use these affiliate links to shop at: B&H Photo | Amazon | Adorama | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Ebay | Make a donation via Paypal

Buy DA Merchandise https://bit.ly/TWIMerch

Keywords: Sirui, Sniper, Sirui Sniper, Sirui Sniper 75mm F1.2, 75mm, 23mm, 33mm 56mm, 16mm, F1.2, STM, Carbon Fiber, Review, Fuji X, Sony E, Review, Telephoto, Action, Tracking, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Bokeh, Flare Resistance, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, Sony a6700, Sony a6600, Fujifilm X-T5, Fujifilm X-H2, let the light in, #letthelightin, DA

DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Sirui Sniper 16mm F1.2 X-mount Review

Dustin Abbott

June 27th, 2024

Sirui Sniper 16mm F1.2 X-Mount Review

It is always interesting to see new lensmakers entering the market. Sirui started with cine (video) lenses (all manual – no autofocus or electronics), but they are now releasing their first autofocus lenses – called the “Sniper” series – and I’ve done an overview of the series here. The Sniper Series was initially made up of 3 APS-C specific lenses – a 23mm F1.2, 33mm F1.2, and 56mm F1.2 lens, but they have now expanded the series to include both a wider angle option (Sniper 16mm F1.2) and a longer telephoto option (Sniper 75mm F1.2). It is these latter two that I am currently reviewing, and today’s review focuses on the wide angle option – the Sirui Sniper 16mm F1.2 AF lens. These can be purchased individually for $349 USD each (though various discounts will provide a little fluctuation in pricing). These lenses will be available in Fuji X-mount (reviewed here), Sony E-mount, and Nikon Z mount configurations, though in all mounts they are designed to cover the APS-C and not the full frame image circle. Find out by watching my video review below…or just reading on.

Thanks to Sirui for sending me a set of review samples of the lenses. As always, this is a completely independent review. All opinions and conclusions are my own. I’m doing this review on a 40MP Fujifilm X-H2 camera.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Here’s a quick way to access my reviews of each lens in the series:

I’m doing this review on Fuji X-mount since that is what Sirui had available to send me. In many ways this is jumping right into the fire, as there is no platform more optically demanding than the 40MP sensor on my Fujifilm X-H2. This is the equivalent of over 90MP on full frame, a resolution point that is currently 30+MP higher than what is even available on full frame. That creates an extremely demanding optical test that will push this new series to the limits. Is this 16mm F1.2 Sniper lens up to the challenge? As with the other lenses, that answer really depends on your priorities and expectations as a photographer, though I will say that I think these two newest Sniper lenses are optically the best of the bunch. It is very rare to get such a bright aperture on a wide angle lens like this, with competing lenses having (at most) a less bright F1.4 aperture. Though the wide angle of the view dictates that depth of field is still not going to be particularly shallow, this does allow you to play with focal points a bit. In this shot, for example, I first focused on the barn and left the foreground trees out of focus:

In this second shot I focused on the foliage in the foreground, leaving the barn slightly out of focus.

In neither case is the amount of blur strong, but it at least allows for some creativity that you don’t always get with a wide angle lens. Getting closer to your subject and shooting at F1.2 does allow for some pretty nice bokeh for a wide angle lens (bokeh has definitely been a strength for this series!)

16mm is obviously a popular wide angle focal length on APS-C, as once you apply the 1.5x crop factor of the camera you mount it on (whether Fuji, Sony, or Nikon), you have a full frame equivalent focal length of 24mm. The Sniper 16mm has an advantage over many competitors due to having a maximum aperture of F1.2, which is about a half stop faster/brighter than F1.4. For example, my X-H2 metered at 1/90th second at F1.2, but 1/60th of a second at F1.4 with the Sniper 16mm F1.2 mounted. That’s an obvious advantage for the F1.2 in two ways: 1) when shooting in low light conditions that large aperture can suck in more light 2) the depth of field will shallower at F1.2 than F1.4, allowing for larger, softer bokeh highlights and a more blurred out background. The fact that the Sirui Nightwalker 16mm T1.2 exists (my video review here) tells me that the light transmission for the lens is excellent, as the T-stop actually matches the F-stop (fairly rare, in my experience). This is a very bright lens, and that’s going to be useful in a lot of situations.

The Sniper series has come in three different finish option: a black/grey finish with carbon fiber accents (the lenses I’m testing come in this finish), a white finish, and a silver finish. Each is available for the three different mounts that lens is sold for. These photos cover the three older lenses as I’m reviewing the 16mm and 75mm lenses before public release.

It is great to see Sirui forging their own design path, and I’ve been impressed across the three different lineups that I’ve tested (Sniper, Night Walker, and Saturn). So let’s take a closer look at this 16mm F1.2 lens from Sirui.

Sirui Sniper 16mm Build and Handling

The original Sniper lenses all shared a common outer shell and exterior dimensions though with a slight weight variation due to the larger optical elements in some. There’s a little more variation in the new 16mm and 75mm F1.2 designs, however, as would be expected with these slightly more extreme focal lengths. This Sniper 16mm is the lightest of the series (smallest glass elements), weighing in at 375g (13.2 oz) on my scale. The 16mm and 75mm Sniper lenses share a common length (94mm or 3.7″), but you can see that the 75mm is considerably wider than the 16mm.

I measure the 75mm at nearly 75mm (2.95″), with the 16mm being a slimmer 70mm (2.75″). The 75mm is the heaviest of the group at 466g (16.1 oz), which is unsurprising as it has easily the most glass inside. The 16mm, 23mm, 33mm, and 56mm Sniper lenses all share a common 58mm front filter thread, but the filter threads on the 75mm grow to 67mm to accommodate the wider diameter of the lens.

The weight will very slightly vary according to lens and mount. The X-mount that I’m testing is actually the lightest (by a few grams), due to the X-mount being the smallest of the three in diameter. Nikon’s Z-mount is the largest in diameter, with Sony E-mount in between.

So how does the 70 x 94mm and 386g of the Sniper 16mm F1.2 compare to the F1.4 competition from Fuji and Sigma? The Fuji 16mm F1.4 WR is a bit smaller (73.4 x 73 mm – wider but shorter) and has an identical 375g weight. The Sigma 16mm F1.4 is both bigger (72.2 x 92.6 mm) and heavier (405g), so the Sniper 16mm is right where it should be in size and weight, particularly considering it is a bit brighter than either of these lenses.

As noted, the look of the Sniper lenses is unique. There’s not much here in terms of features, but the lenses do have an upscale look with a variety of textures and finishes. I’m reviewing the lenses labeled as being “black”, but black (at least in the typical lens sense) is not the vibe I get off these lenses. There are two metal sections (one near the lens mount and another in the middle of the lens) that has a traditional anodized satin black finish, but in between there is a section of genuine carbon fiber that looks very cool. Carbon fiber is a more upscale material and it definitely sets these lenses apart.

There are two badges in this section. One is a plate with the Sirui banding in raised metal lettering.

The second is on the left side, and there is a another smaller badge that says AF and APS-C. Interestingly the word “Sniper” appears nowhere on the lens.

There are no switches on the lens barrel nor an aperture ring. That’s more noticeable here on Fuji, where aperture rings are fairly standard. The Fuji 16mm options (F1.4 and F2.8) both have aperture rings (and weather sealing), though the Sigma does not. Prices range from $399 (Fuji 16mm F2.8) to a whopping $999 (Fuji 16mm F1.4). The Sigma 16mm F1.4 DN is going to be the closest to a direct competitor, costing a little more ($449 USD) but have a more established reputation for performance (my review of the Sigma on E-mount can be found here).

If the Sniper lenses are not set apart by features, then Sirui has attempted to distinguish them by style instead. That middle anodized metal section includes an interesting projection over the carbon fiber section that has the lens designation there, including the focal length and maximum aperture value. This section is important if you own multiple of the Sniper lenses, since they all look the same.

Next comes a manual focus ring with a diamond pattern akin to Canon’s control rings rather than a typical ribbed finish. It’s one more area where the lenses maintain their own unique look.

The manual focus rings move smoothly and the weight is fairly light. Not so light that you can’t accurately focus, but a bit lighter than what I personally prefer. There is no obvious stepping when manually focusing, though I do find (as per usual on Fuji!) that large manual focus changes require a number of rotations. This is particularly true if you are trying to focus towards minimum focus; I counted 6 full rotations to get from 1 meter to minimum focus.

After the focus ring is a blue accent ring that is nearly turquoise in color. Once again it is little different than other lens that I’ve tested, and it works. The final section at the front of the lens has a titanium colored anodized metal finish, so less than half of the lens surface is actually purely black. Each lens color has some unique ingredient: black = carbon fiber, silver = aluminum alloy, white = ceramic baked paint.

A look at the front of the lens shows the 58mm filter threads (in metal), along with a front façade that has the lens designation and the filter size on the opposite side.

The included lens hoods is nothing special. It is made of plastic and doesn’t feel as premium at the rest of the lens. It is petal shaped and flares out away from the lens to prevent vignetting, though this does make it a bit wider for storage when reversed. I do appreciate the ribbed section in the hood which gives a little more grip.

It’s worth noting that both the front pinch cap along with the rear cap are quite low profile. The front cap is just a few millimeters thick, and the rear cap too feels slimmer than usual. These little details stood out to me as nothing about the lenses felt generic or “by-the-numbers”. Sirui is doing their own thing here, and I like the attention to detail.

At the rear of the lens we have a metal lens mount complete with the appropriate electronic contacts; aperture will be controlled from the camera. There is a USB-C port there that will allow for future firmware updates. That’s a really important move by Sirui, as they are new to autofocus design. The ability to update the focus algorithms in their lenses will help them to focus better in the future and also allows the lenses to be futureproof.

The aperture iris is made up of a higher-than-average 11 rounded blades. That’s a great choice in a lens with an F1.2 aperture, as it helps assure that the aperture iris stays circular as the lens is stopped down.

The minimum focus distances for the Sniper 16mm is fair high at 30cm. Sirui has not listed the maximum magnification, but it looks to be in the sub 0.10x range. Here’s a look at the 16mm’s maximum magnification.

The large maximum aperture will allow you still blur out backgrounds, but that’s not because you are particularly close to your subject!

There is no weather sealing gasket on the Sirui Sniper lenses or internal seals. These are not weather resistant lenses.

There are some pros and cons for the design and handling. On the positive side, the lenses look and feel great. There are some premium materials being used in the design and the attention to detail is excellent. On the negative side, there are no real features on the lenses outside of the USB-C port for firmware updates. But also worth considering is that the lenses have a larger maximum aperture than competing lenses while also tending to be less expensive.

Autofocus Performance

The Sirui Sniper lenses are all equipped with STM (stepping) focus motors. There is a certain amount of autofocus performance that is camera and camera system specific, so I’ll try to distinguish between the lens performance and the system performance as much as possible. My experience is that third party lenses focus better on Sony and Nikon than they do on Fuji, and that’s largely because Fuji’s autofocus systems in their cameras are not quite as sophisticated as equivalent Sony or Nikon cameras.

That being said, autofocus speed is a slightly below average for a modern STM motor on Fuji. When doing my focus speed tests with the Sniper 16mm from close to distance, I found that I could see my subject coming into focus rather than just instantly being in focus. When I went outdoors, focus speed picked up, though it still isn’t the instant focus I see with the better modern lenses. There is light clicking sound that I noticed during my focus tests, and it is caused by the the sound of the aperture blades opening and closing. This happens even when the aperture is wide open, as the aperture blades close partway in between focus on Fuji (for some reason). This happens with all lenses, but the aperture blades on the Sniper lenses are really noisy. If I keep the shutter held halfway down in the AF-C mode and move focus around, I hear only a light whirring with my ear near the lens barrel, but if I take my finger on and off the shutter button, there’s a lot of clacking from the aperture blades. It unfortunately makes autofocus feel less sophisticated than it actually is.

Outside of that annoyance, focus is actually pretty good. Wider angle lenses like this have much larger depth of field, so typical focus changes come fairly fast. I also had good focus accuracy as well, even when shooting at F1.2 where depth of field is more shallow (like above).

Equally important to me with a wide angle lens is that it focus well at smaller apertures, as some lenses will pulse a bit when there are many focus possibilities. The Sniper 16mm focused well in these situations.

When I moved around with Eye AF engaged, focus tracked accurately and the green box stayed locked on the “eye” of my little test statue.

So other than being a little noisy in focus, I actually had no issue with the lens for stills. Like other lenses in the series, autofocus isn’t fast, but it does seem to be accurate for stills/photography.

The state of autofocus on Fuji for video remains pretty abysmal relative to other platforms. Add a third party lens from company that has been doing autofocus for less than a year, and you’ve got a recipe for a bit of frustration. Focus pulls were a little more reactive than some of the previous Sniper lenses, though there were still some visible steps and pulses along the way. Focus did a bit of settling before a final lock. The microphone also picked up some faint clicks and whirs during the focus action.

My hand test (where I alternately block and then unblock the camera’s view of my face with my hand) was also frustrating. The lens is not reactive, so there’s a bit of a pause before focus transitions start after the hand is added or removed, and often focus had just not arrived at the destination before it needed to start moving again…even though I was moving slower and more deliberately than usual.

On a positive note, focus breathing is fairly well controlled.

If you rarely shoot video (or don’t really need autofocus during video recording), then the Sniper 16mm will work fine. Just know it isn’t the most sophisticated out there.

Sirui Sniper 16mm Image Quality

The Sirui Sniper 16mm F1.2 has an interesting optical design of 14 elements in 5 groups. Typically the ratio of elements to groups is much closer. Like most of the other lenses in the series, the Sniper 16mm behaves a lot like classic lenses with very large apertures. It is somewhat dreamy (low contrast) wide open and then sharpens up to higher contrast and detail at smaller apertures. This F1.2 image does what I want in terms of creating a more shallow depth of field that hints at the path beyond, but if you look at it critically there isn’t a lot of contrast in the main leaves.

I like the 16mm better than some lenses in the series because I do feel like it has more sharpness potential when stopped down…even on the very demanding sensor of my X-H2. When stopped down it delivers high detail images that look great.

Our optical deep dive starts with a look at vignette and distortion, an area where the Sniper lenses have held up quite well. The 16mm is no exception and is actually a standout in a wide angle prime for essentially having no distortion to speak of.

Vignette is about average for this type of lens, requiring about a +70 correct for (a little over two stops). There is a correct profile available that deals with these automatically. Images look nice and bright with the profile.

The original trio of Sniper lenses struggled with fringing – longitudinal chromatic aberrations – but the Sniper 16mm does just fine in this regard.

Lateral chromatic aberrations near the edge of the frame are also very well controlled. There is almost no fringing in the transitions from black and white.

This a big part of the reason why this 16mm has more sharpness potential than the first three lenses from the series that I reviewed.

So how about resolution? The 40MP Fuji X-Trans sensor tends to make all but the very sharpest of lenses look a little soft under the microscope of my tests. I examine results at a 200% magnification, and that’s a lot to ask of any lens. Here’s a look at the test chart:

And here is a look at F1.2 crops from the center, then mid-frame, and then extreme lower right corner:

The crops reveal that contrast is not high at F1.2 (there’s almost like a “film” over the results), but also that resolution is fairly consistent across the frame.

It is possible to shoot landscape images at F1.2 if you don’t pixel peep.

The difference with the 16mm vs the 23mm, 33mm, and 56mm, is that the 16mm sharpens up much faster. Look at how much sharper and high contrast the results are at F2 (100% magnification):

The corners will really sharpen up by F5.6, :

Landscape images shine from F5.6 to F8.

By F11 you will see some softening due to the effect of diffraction, with a rapid deterioration by F16.

The bokeh here is somewhat better than most 16mm lenses. There is a bit of outlining in some situations, but overall it looks pretty good for a wide angle lens.

Things are a little busier if you back up a bit.

If you want creamy bokeh, consider other lenses in the series. The bokeh here is good for a wide angle lens, but the other lenses in the series all have softer bokeh.

The aperture iris produces nice looking sunstar/sunbursts. I particularly like it when shooting through things (like branches) and allowing the sunburst to pop through.

If I allow a bigger amount of light through, there’s more flaring.

Expect to see a bit more ghosting if there is nothing blocking the sun, but nothing too bad.

This is a fairly decent lens for shooting the night sky with. There is some coma at high magnification (as you’ll see below), but it is also very bright at F1.2 and allows you to keep the ISO down for cleaner results.

None of these Sniper lenses have been world beaters optically, but the 16mm F1.2 is one of the better lenses in the series. It is sharp enough when stopped down to cover the very high resolution of the Fuji’s 40MP APS-C sensor, and doesn’t really embarrass itself in any area. Getting an autofocus wide angle prime with an F1.2 aperture is rare, period, but getting one for just $350 USD is unprecedented. You can check out the image gallery to see more photos and see if the rendering from the lens suits you.

Conclusion

The Sirui Sniper 16mm F1.2 AF lens is a welcome addition to the Sniper series. It is a great focal length, is extremely bright, and is still moderate enough in size that it is easy to bring along. When you stop it down it is very sharp, and doesn’t have a lot of extra optical flaws.

The Sniper 16mm is a little less sharp than the Sigma 16mm F1.4 DN, but it also controls aberrations better and has lower distortion

The Sirui Sniper 16mm F1.2 might be the perfect lens for you if you often shoot in lower light conditions aren’t really a pixel peeper anyway, though the Sniper 16mm is fairly sharp. It’s also cheaper than any of the main competitors at 16mm, and that’s always going to be an attractive quality.

Pros:

Unique design that uses premium materials
Bright F1.2 aperture
Ability to upgrade firmware through USB-C port
Good focus accuracy for stills
Low distortion
Good control of aberrations
Nice bokeh and rendering
Optically matched to other Sniper lenses
Well priced

Cons:

Aperture iris clacks a lot during focus
No aperture ring
Low maximum magnification
Video focus isn’t great

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GEAR USED:

Early bird discounted pricing: https://sirui.kckb.me/dabbott

Purchase the Sirui Sniper Lenses @ Sirui (use code DustinA for 5% off) | B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-H2 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-T5 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Find it Used at KEH

Purchase the Fujifilm X-S20 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

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Keywords: Sirui, Sniper, Sirui Sniper, 16mm, 23mm, 33mm 56mm, 75mm, F1.2, STM, Carbon Fiber, Review, Fuji X, Sony E, Review, Telephoto, Action, Tracking, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Bokeh, Flare Resistance, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, Sony a6700, Sony a6600, Fujifilm X-T5, Fujifilm X-H2, let the light in, #letthelightin, DA

DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Sirui Sniper 16mm F1.2 Gallery

Dustin Abbott

June 27th, 2024

Sirui Sniper 16mm F1.2 X-Mount Gallery

It is always interesting to see new lensmakers entering the market. Sirui started with cine (video) lenses (all manual – no autofocus or electronics), but they are now releasing their first autofocus lenses – called the “Sniper” series – and I’ve done an overview of the series here. The Sniper Series was initially made up of 3 APS-C specific lenses – a 23mm F1.2, 33mm F1.2, and 56mm F1.2 lens, but they have now expanded the series to include both a wider angle option (Sniper 16mm F1.2) and a longer telephoto option (Sniper 75mm F1.2). It is these latter two that I am currently reviewing, and today’s review focuses on the wide angle option – the Sirui Sniper 16mm F1.2 AF lens. These can be purchased individually for $349 USD each (though various discounts will provide a little fluctuation in pricing). These lenses will be available in Fuji X-mount (reviewed here), Sony E-mount, and Nikon Z mount configurations, though in all mounts they are designed to cover the APS-C and not the full frame image circle. Find out by watching my video review below, reading the text review here, or just enjoy the photos below.

Sirui Sniper 16mm F1.2 X-mount Review | the Bright Wide Angle You've Been Looking For?

Thanks to Sirui for sending me a set of review samples of the lenses. As always, this is a completely independent review. All opinions and conclusions are my own. I’m doing this review on a 40MP Fujifilm X-H2 camera.

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Here’s a quick way to access my reviews of each lens in the series:

I’m doing this review on Fuji X-mount since that is what Sirui had available to send me. In many ways this is jumping right into the fire, as there is no platform more optically demanding than the 40MP sensor on my Fujifilm X-H2. This is the equivalent of over 90MP on full frame, a resolution point that is currently 30+MP higher than what is even available on full frame. That creates an extremely demanding optical test that will push this new series to the limits. Is this 16mm F1.2 Sniper lens up to the challenge? As with the other lenses, that answer really depends on your priorities and expectations as a photographer, though I will say that I think these two newest Sniper lenses are optically the best of the bunch. It is very rare to get such a bright aperture on a wide angle lens like this, with competing lenses having (at most) a less bright F1.4 aperture. Though the wide angle of the view dictates that depth of field is still not going to be particularly shallow, this does allow you to play with focal points a bit. In this shot, for example, I first focused on the barn and left the foreground trees out of focus:

In this second shot I focused on the foliage in the foreground, leaving the barn slightly out of focus.

In neither case is the amount of blur strong, but it at least allows for some creativity that you don’t always get with a wide angle lens. Getting closer to your subject and shooting at F1.2 does allow for some pretty nice bokeh for a wide angle lens (bokeh has definitely been a strength for this series!)

16mm is obviously a popular wide angle focal length on APS-C, as once you apply the 1.5x crop factor of the camera you mount it on (whether Fuji, Sony, or Nikon), you have a full frame equivalent focal length of 24mm. The Sniper 16mm has an advantage over many competitors due to having a maximum aperture of F1.2, which is about a half stop faster/brighter than F1.4. For example, my X-H2 metered at 1/90th second at F1.2, but 1/60th of a second at F1.4 with the Sniper 16mm F1.2 mounted. That’s an obvious advantage for the F1.2 in two ways: 1) when shooting in low light conditions that large aperture can suck in more light 2) the depth of field will shallower at F1.2 than F1.4, allowing for larger, softer bokeh highlights and a more blurred out background. The fact that the Sirui Nightwalker 16mm T1.2 exists (my video review here) tells me that the light transmission for the lens is excellent, as the T-stop actually matches the F-stop (fairly rare, in my experience). This is a very bright lens, and that’s going to be useful in a lot of situations.

The Sniper series has come in three different finish option: a black/grey finish with carbon fiber accents (the lenses I’m testing come in this finish), a white finish, and a silver finish. Each is available for the three different mounts that lens is sold for. These photos cover the three older lenses as I’m reviewing the 16mm and 75mm lenses before public release.

It is great to see Sirui forging their own design path, and I’ve been impressed across the three different lineups that I’ve tested (Sniper, Night Walker, and Saturn). So let’s take a closer look at this 16mm F1.2 lens from Sirui.

Photos of the Sirui Sniper 16mm F1.2

Photos Taken with the Sirui Sniper 16mm F1.2

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GEAR USED:

Early bird discounted pricing: https://sirui.kckb.me/dabbott

Purchase the Sirui Sniper Lenses @ Sirui (use code DustinA for 5% off) | B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-H2 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-T5 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Find it Used at KEH

Purchase the Fujifilm X-S20 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Want to support this channel? Use these affiliate links to shop at: B&H Photo | Amazon | Adorama | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Ebay | Make a donation via Paypal

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Keywords: Sirui, Sniper, Sirui Sniper, 16mm, 23mm, 33mm 56mm, 75mm, F1.2, STM, Carbon Fiber, Review, Fuji X, Sony E, Review, Telephoto, Action, Tracking, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Bokeh, Flare Resistance, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, Sony a6700, Sony a6600, Fujifilm X-T5, Fujifilm X-H2, let the light in, #letthelightin, DA

DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Sirui Sniper 56mm F1.2 AF Review

Dustin Abbott

December 21st, 2023

It is always interesting to see new lensmakers entering the market. Sirui started with cine (video) lenses (all manual – no autofocus or electronics), but they are now releasing their first autofocus lenses – called the “Sniper” series – and I’ve done an overview of the series here. The Sniper Series is (at least initially) made up of 3 APS-C specific lenses – a 23mm F1.2, 33mm F1.2, and 56mm F1.2 lens, with rumors . These can be purchased individually for $349 USD each (though in the first month a 15% discount will drop the price to $299 USD per lens) or as a set for $999 USD that comes in a custom designed case. These lenses will be available in Fuji X-mount (reviewed here), Sony E-mount, and Nikon Z mount configurations, though in all mounts they are designed to cover the APS-C and not the full frame image circle. Today’s review focuses on the Sirui Sniper 56mm F1.2 AF lens. Find out by watching my video review below…or just reading on.

Thanks to Sirui for sending me a set of review samples of the lenses. As always, this is a completely independent review. All opinions and conclusions are my own. I’m doing this review on a 40MP Fujifilm X-H2 camera.

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I’m doing this review on Fuji X-mount today, as that is what Sirui had available to send me. In many ways this is jumping right into the fire, as there is no platform more optically demanding than the 40MP sensor on my Fujifilm X-H2. This is the equivalent of over 90MP on full frame, a resolution point that is currently 30+MP higher than what is even available on full frame. That creates an extremely demanding optical test that will push this new series to the limits. Is this 56mm F1.2 Sniper lens up to the challenge? As with the other lenses, that answer really depends on your priorities and expectations as a photographer. The 56mm (in particular) allows you to get images with an extremely shallow depth of field and with beautiful bokeh, but it has its own optical quirks and flaws.

56mm is obviously a popular focal length on APS-C (evidenced by the fact that there are a number of competitors at 56mm), as once you apply the 1.5x crop factor of the camera you mount it on (whether Fuji, Sony, or Nikon), you have a full frame equivalent focal length of roughly 85mm. That makes perhaps the most popular portrait focal length of all. The Sniper 56mm has an advantage over many competitors due to having a maximum aperture of F1.2, which is about a half stop faster/brighter than F1.4. In my quick illustrative test, my X-H2 metered at 1/90th second at F1.2, but 1/60th of a second at F1.4 with the Sniper 56mm F1.2 mounted. That’s an obvious advantage for the F1.2 in two ways: 1) when shooting in low light conditions that large aperture can suck in more light 2) the depth of field will shallower at F1.2 than F1.4, allowing for larger, softer bokeh highlights and a more blurred out background. That affords the opportunity to get very effective subject separation.

The Sniper series ambitiously will come in three different finish styles: a black/grey finish with carbon fiber accents (the lenses I’m testing come in this finish), a white finish, and a silver finish. Each is available for the three different mounts that lens is sold for.

We’ll explore the design more thoroughly in the next section, but I want to congratulate Sirui on forging their own design philosophy. These lenses don’t really look like anything else I’ve tested, but the design works and the lenses in person look quite premium. So, does bright F1.2 autofocusing lenses for a reasonable price sound interesting? We’ll explore that in this series of reviews. \

Here’s a quick way to access my reviews of each lens in the series:

Sirui Sniper 56mm Build and Handling

The Sniper series all share a common outer shell and exterior dimensions, though their weight varies due to the fact that the glass elements inside are larger and heavier in the 33mm and particularly the 56mm renditions. *This section will have a certain redundancy to my review of the series and other individual lenses because so much is shared in common, but I will give specifics in the few areas where the lenses vary from one another. The lenses share a common dimension of 72mm (by my measurement) or 2.83″, and in X-mount they are 92.2mm (3.6″) in length. They all share a common 58mm front filter thread, making it easy to share filters across the set. Here’s a look at the individual specifications of each lens.

As noted, the weight varies according to lens and mount. The X-mount that I’m testing is actually the lightest (by a few grams), due to the X-mount being the smallest of the three in diameter. Nikon’s Z-mount is the largest in diameter, with Sony E-mount in between. The 23mm weighs in at 380g (13.4oz), the 33mm at 398g (14oz), and the 56mm is 419g (14.7oz). That makes these lenses larger and heavier than similar 56mm lenses from Sigma (280g) or Viltrox (290g), though those lenses are F1.4 rather than F1.2. Sirui has taken a bit of a gamble here. Going to a bright F1.2 aperture allows their lenses to stand out from the competition, but those looking to travel small and light might shy away.

As noted, the look of the lenses is unique. There’s not much here in terms of features, but the lenses do have an upscale look with a variety of textures and finishes. I’m reviewing the lenses labeled as being “black”, but black (at least in the typical lens sense) is not the vibe I get off these lenses. There are two metal sections (one near the lens mount and another in the middle of the lens) that has a traditional anodized satin black finish, but in between there is a section of genuine carbon fiber that looks very cool. Carbon fiber is a more upscale material and it definitely sets these lenses apart.

There are two badges in this section. One is a plate with the Sirui banding in raised metal lettering.

The second is on the left side, and there is a another smaller badge that says AF and APS-C. Interestingly the word “Sniper” appears nowhere on the lens.

There are no switches on the lens barrel nor an aperture ring. That’s more noticeable here on Fuji, where aperture rings are fairly standard. The similarly priced Viltrox AF 23/33/56mm F1.4 lenses have aperture rings, and obviously Fuji’s own 23mm and 33mm F1.4 lenses along with the 56mm F1.2 lens have aperture rings, though, to be fair, those lenses cost nearly as much as the whole Sniper series, not one lens. Sigma’s DN prime lenses do not have aperture rings.

The closest competitor on X-mount will be the slightly less expensive Viltrox AF 56mm F1.4 ($292 USD), with the higher performing Sigma 56mm F1.4 coming in at $429 and Fuji’s own premium 56mm F1.2 WR being the top choice at $899 USD. The Viltrox and Sigma lenses are lighter while the Fuji lens is fairly comparable in weight.

That middle anodized metal section includes an interesting projection over the carbon fiber section that has the lens designation there, including the mount (X, on my review samples), focal length, and maximum aperture value. Keeping that section facing forward in the lens case is important as it allows you to easily distinguish which lens is which – important, since they all look the same.

Next comes a manual focus ring with a diamond pattern akin to Canon’s control rings rather than a typical ribbed finish. It’s one more area where the lenses maintain their own unique look.

The manual focus rings move smoothly and the weight is fairly light. Not so light that you can’t accurately focus, but a bit lighter than what I personally prefer. There is no obvious stepping when manually focusing, though I do find (as per usual on Fuji!) that large manual focus changes require a number of rotations. This is particularly true if you are trying to focus towards minimum focus; I counted 6 full rotations to get from 1 meter to minimum focus.

After the focus ring is a blue accent ring that is nearly turquoise in color. Once again it is little different than other lens that I’ve tested, and it works. The final section at the front of the lens has a titanium colored anodized metal finish, so less than half of the lens surface is actually purely black. Each lens color has some unique ingredient: black = carbon fiber, silver = aluminum alloy, white = ceramic baked paint.

A look at the front of the lens shows the 58mm filter threads (in metal), along with a front façade that has the lens designation and the filter size on the opposite side.

The included lens hoods are not quite as special. They are made of plastic and feel considerably cheaper than the lens itself, which feels quite premium. The hoods for the 23mm and 33mm are petal shaped while the hood for the 56mm is deeper and without the scallops. I do appreciate the ribbed section in the hood which gives a little more grip.

It’s worth noting that both the front pinch cap along with the rear cap are quite low profile. The front cap is just a few millimeters thick, and the rear cap too feels slimmer than usual. These little details stood out to me as nothing about the lenses felt generic or “by-the-numbers”. Sirui is doing their own thing here, and I like the attention to detail.

At the rear of the lens we have a metal lens mount complete with the appropriate electronic contacts; aperture will be controlled from the camera. There is a USB-C port there that will allow for future firmware updates. That’s a really important move by Sirui, as they are new to autofocus design. The ability to update the focus algorithms in their lenses will help them to focus better in the future and also allows the lenses to be futureproof.

The aperture iris is made up of a higher-than-average 11 rounded blades. That’s a great choice in a lens with an F1.2 aperture, as it helps assure that the aperture iris stays circular as the lens is stopped down. Here’s a look at the aperture stopped down to F16:

The minimum focus distances varies from lens to lens, with the 23mm focusing as closely as 30cm, the 33mm focusing as close as 40cm, and the 56mm jumping to 60cm. The magnification for each lens looks pretty similar, however. Sirui has not listed the maximum magnification, but it looks to be in the very low 0.10x range. Here’s a look at the 56mm’s maximum magnification.

The large maximum aperture will allow you to strongly blur out backgrounds if you get close, but some competing lenses will allow you to get closer and get a higher level of magnification. You can see from this shot of a lock that I can’t get particularly close to the subject, but the big aperture blurs out the background pretty well anyway.

There is no weather sealing gasket on the Sirui Sniper lenses or internal seals. These are not weather resistant lenses.

There are some pros and cons for the design and handling. On the positive side, the lenses look and feel great. There are some premium materials being used in the design and the attention to detail is excellent. On the negative side, there are no real features on the lenses outside of the USB-C port for firmware updates and the lenses are the largest and heaviest in the class. But also worth considering is that the lenses have a larger maximum aperture than competing lenses and also carry a bargain price tag for autofocusing F1.2 lenses.

Autofocus Performance

The Sirui Sniper lenses are all equipped with STM (stepping) focus motors. There is a certain amount of autofocus performance that is camera and camera system specific, so I’ll try to distinguish between the lens performance and the system performance as much as possible. My experience is that third party lenses focus better on Sony (I don’t test Nikon) than they do on Fuji, and that’s largely because Fuji’s autofocus systems in their cameras are not quite as sophisticated as equivalent Sony cameras.

Autofocus speed is a slightly below average for a modern STM motor. When doing my focus speed tests with the Sniper 56mm from close to distance, I found that I could see my subject coming into focus rather than just instantly being in focus. When I went outdoors, focus speed picked up, though it still isn’t the instant focus I see with the better modern lenses. There is light clicking sound that I noticed during my focus tests, and the cause is pretty obvious with my outdoor test. Whenever I ease off the shutter button (I typically hold it halfway for these tests so that the camera is focusing but not taking photos) the aperture closes down considerably, and opens up again whenever I depress the shutter button again. You can see a pretty radical difference between the degree of background blur when you go to focus if you have a large aperture selected. That clicking sound is the sound of the aperture blades snapped closed.

The shot of Nala above shows in the crop that the autofocus is in fact accurate on the iris, but the combination of a very shallow depth of field and rather low contrast doesn’t make focus “pop”.

When I moved around with Eye AF engaged, focus tracked accurately and the green box stayed locked on the “eye” of my winter statue.

When I did my outdoor hike with the lens, I found that I could grab accurate focus of my various subjects in the woods.

Here’s another example, this one at F1.8:

Like other lenses in the series, autofocus isn’t fast, but it does seem to be accurate for stills/photography.

Turning to the video side of things exposed more serious issues. My autofocus pulls test was pretty much abysmal. The lens often got stuck in just not pulling focus, and when I did coax it to move, focus pulls were very slow and often failed to get to fully focused. There were visible steps and starts along the way. The microphone also picked up some faint clicks and whirs during the focus action.

My hand test (where I alternately block and then unblock the camera’s view of my face with my hand) was also frustrating. The ability to accurately focus was better which is consistent with my experience with Fuji’s recent AF systems; they function best when there is a trackable subject that AI recognizes. The lens is not reactive, so there’s a bit of a pause before focus transitions start after the hand is added or removed, and often focus had just not arrived at the destination before it needed to start moving again…even though I was moving slower and more deliberately than usual. That being said, if you want a reactive autofocusing video lens, this isn’t it.

On a positive note, focus breathing is quite low for a a 56mm lens.

If you rarely shoot video, then this lens will probably work fine, but if regularly doing video is a part of your image gathering, you’ll probably need to consider another 56mm option like the Sigma F1.4 or Fuji 56mm F1.2 lenses.

Sirui Sniper 56mm Image Quality

The Sirui Sniper lenses (surprisingly!) all share a common optical design of 12 elements in 11 groups, though they vary in the special elements in that formula. The 23mm has six HR (high refractive index elements). The 33mm has 1 ED (Extra low dispersion) and 1 HR element, while the 56mm has 1 ED element and 4 HR elements. Sirui claims that all three lenses have a uniform color tone, which adds to their value if you are using them as a set. I tried to get an MTF chart of the lens, but Sirui was a little coy about sharing their MTFs.

Like the other lenses in the series, the Sniper 56mm has somewhat of a dual personality. At large apertures it epitomizes the idea of a “dreamy” rendering, which is the euphemistic way to describe a somewhat soft, low contrast lens (though not as soft as the 33mm). At smaller apertures contrast and detail increases and it becomes a more typical lens. This image, for example, is quite sharp at F5.6 and has good contrast.

I haven’t tested any of the competing 56mm lenses on 40MP as of yet, so I’ll reserve judgment, though I will say the extremely detailed performance of the Sigma 56mm F1.4 on Sony suggests that it will definitely be considerably sharper than this lens. I’ve heard similar things about Fuji’s new WR version of the 56mm F1.2 (which is on my short list of Fuji lenses to test in 2024). I can say that the Viltrox Pro AF 75mm F1.2 (a larger, somewhat more expensive lens at $549) is much sharper while also having very nice bokeh. At large apertures the Sniper 56mm is pretty the anti-Sigma; it isn’t particularly sharp but has lovely bokeh, while the Sigma was incredibly sharp but the quality of the bokeh didn’t particularly impress me. I prefer the Viltrox 75mm for the simple reason that is has both.

There’s more to lens performance than just pure sharpness, though, and this lens does have an advantage over the some alternatives in terms of the aperture. You have the opportunity to get a little bigger, softer bokeh out of the Sirui Sniper 56mm…but that bokeh is going to come at the cost of reduced contrast and some fringing.

Our optical deep dive starts with a look at vignette and distortion, an area where the Sniper lenses have held up quite well. The 56mm is no exception, showing only a bit of pincushion distortion and quite low vignette…particularly for an F1.2 lens. I used only a -4 to correct manually for the distortion, and a +37 for the vignette, which is just a bit more than one stop.

Interestingly, there seems to be a correction profile available in Lightroom already and it seems to do a perfectly capable job of clearing up what little vignette and distortion there is. This F1.2 image shows no vignette, and there isn’t enough distortion to be seen in real world images anyway.

That’s an area where the Sniper lenses have excelled, but our next test unearths a serious weak point for the series – longitudinal chromatic aberrations.

While not quite as bad as the 33mm, you will definitely see plenty of fringing before or after the plane of focus, including noticeable fringing around the specular highlights (bokeh balls):

The heavy fringing issues definitely play a part in reducing the contrast.

Lateral chromatic aberrations show up near the edge of the frame in transitions from dark to light areas. These is some LaCA visible if I turn off corrections, though they also correctly easily.

So how about resolution? The 40MP Fuji X-Trans sensor tends to make all but the very sharpest of lenses look a little soft under the microscope of my tests, so be warned, as this is NOT one of the sharpest of lenses. I examine results at a 200% magnification, and that’s a lot to ask of any lens. Here’s a look at the test chart:

And here is a look at F1.2 crops from the center, then mid-frame, and then extreme lower right corner:

These crops shows us two things. 1) Contrast is very low, producing an end result that looks like Vaseline has been smeared on the lens. 2) There is a reasonable amount of resolution there, but the low contrast masks that.

You may want to sit down for this, but here’s a look at how the Viltrox Pro AF 75mm F1.2 compares at F1.2:

Ouch. That’s a radical, radical difference. The corners aren’t quite as dramatic, but not tremendously different.

Real world results at a kinder 100% magnification aren’t radically better. The crop below shows that the image is still pretty low contrast.

If your priority is sharp results at F2 or larger, you may want to consider a different lens. That being said, I’ve learned over my career as a reviewer that not all photographers value the same things. Some people prefer the “Sigma approach” where the lens design is highly corrected for aberrations and shows high contrast and detail at wide apertures. Others prefer the “dual nature” approach that is a little more old school: the lens is “dreamy” at large apertures (lower contrast and detail) and gets sharp and higher contrast when stopped down to small apertures. The classic Zeiss Planar 50mm F1.4 and the Voigtlander Nokton 40mm F1.2 are great examples of this approach, and they are both lenses that people still love. The softer rendering can be very flattering for people shots as they don’t expose as many skin flaws.

There is no great leap ahead in contrast at F1.4, though there is a bigger improvement at F1.8.

As I’ve done with other lenses in the series, I took a few photos at different apertures and blended them. The bokeh at F1.2 is wonderfully creamy, and I took an F2 shot for the subject to give both more sharpness and depth of field. The end result is a great looking image; creamy bokeh, nice detail, and a great retro vibe…which suits the subject.

F2.8 looks a bit better, and by F4 I would start to call the center sharp. By F5.6 the mid-frame is starting to look sharp, though the corners still aren’t there.

That allows landscape images to look good. I’m satisfied by the detail and contrast I’m seeing in this image.

Corner sharpness peaks at F8 (looking quite good). After F8 diffraction will start to soften the image, though frankly it isn’t as pronounced here because the lens doesn’t have amazing contrast at larger apertures anyway.

Here’s one more landscape style image that shows the better contrast and detail at smaller apertures.

Where I feel like the lens shines is when it comes to bokeh rendering. It can really blur out a background, leaving a nice subject separation. The falloff from focus to defocus is handled nicely.

When you are closer, it’s easy to blur the background out even when shooting at an aperture like F2 (below).

Even when shooting in the transition zone (where a lot of the image is partway between focus and defocus), the results look pretty good.

Flare resistance is pretty much non-existent. If there are bright lights in the frame, this lens will do all the things. Flashes, veiling, ghosting, streaks…all of it. That can look really cool, like in this shot where multicolor light floods the image (at F1.2):

That looks great, to my eye.

This flash of light also looks pretty cool:

Most of what I liked, however, was at large apertures. At smaller apertures the streaks and rays become longer and potentially more destructive.

Here’s a variety of images depicting these various flare phenomena at a few different apertures and positions.

Your opinion on all of that will largely depend on what you’re looking for from the lens – corrections or character. If it is corrections of flaws you want, then look elsewhere, but if you want some character, then the Sniper 56mm might just be your “cup of tea”. This personality of this lens is definitely weighted more towards “vintage” than “modern”. It does give you a variety of different “looks” if you want that kind of versatility. Even the variety of flares could be used to artistic effect by a talented photographer.

This is not a “modern” perfectly corrected lens; it has aberrations and flaws, and you’ll either love it or hate it depending on your tastes as a photographer. You can check out the image gallery to see more photos and see if the rendering from the lens suits you.

Conclusion

The Sirui Sniper 56mm F1.2 AF lens is a throwback in so many despite its thoroughly modern appearance. It has a character more like some of my old M42 mount film era lenses that I like to pull out when I’m feeling particularly creative. This lens has none of the typical modern corrections, so there are aberrations, flares, and low contrast at larger apertures. Yet all of that may actually appeal to a certain audience.

I hear all the time from photographers who are tired of perfectly corrected modern lenses which they feel have no character. If you happen to be one of those people, then the Sirui Sniper series may really appeal to you. They are a little soft for my tastes, yet I definitely took images with the Sniper 56mm that I really liked. Perfection isn’t everything…

The Sirui Sniper 56mm F1.2 AF is definitely the kind of lens that is designed for the person who cares more about the look of images globally than they do of pixel peeping, and, if that describes you, then the Sniper 56mm offers a fair amount of value at its MSRP of $349 (you can save another 5% by using the code DustinA at Sirui). This is a short telephoto lens that can deliver artistic images that have some personality…or sharpen up nicely if you stop it down.

Pros:

Unique design that uses premium materials
Bright F1.2 aperture
Ability to upgrade firmware through USB-C port
Good focus accuracy for stills
Focus motor reasonably quiet
Low distortion and vignette
Nice bokeh and rendering
Good “look” and character to images
Option to buy as a set
Well priced

Cons:

Larger and heavier than most competing lenses
Low maximum magnification
Video focus is pretty terrible
Strong fringing
Low contrast through F4
Fairly soft at large apertures
Very flare prone

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GEAR USED:

Purchase the Sirui Sniper Lenses @ Sirui (use code DustinA for 5% off) | B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

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Purchase the Fujifilm X-T5 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Find it Used at KEH

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Keywords: Sirui, Sniper, Sirui Sniper, 23mm, 33mm 56mm, F1.2, STM, Carbon Fiber, Review, Fuji X, Sony E, Review, Telephoto, Action, Tracking, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Bokeh, Flare Resistance, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, Sony a6700, Sony a6600, Fujifilm X-T5, Fujifilm X-H2, let the light in, #letthelightin, DA

DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Sirui Sniper AF 56mm F1.2 Image Gallery

Dustin Abbott

December 21st, 2023

It is always interesting to see new lensmakers entering the market. Sirui started with cine (video) lenses (all manual – no autofocus or electronics), but they are now releasing their first autofocus lenses – called the “Sniper” series – and I’ve done an overview of the series here. The Sniper Series is (at least initially) made up of 3 APS-C specific lenses – a 23mm F1.2, 33mm F1.2, and 56mm F1.2 lens, with rumors . These can be purchased individually for $349 USD each (though in the first month a 15% discount will drop the price to $299 USD per lens) or as a set for $999 USD that comes in a custom designed case. These lenses will be available in Fuji X-mount (reviewed here), Sony E-mount, and Nikon Z mount configurations, though in all mounts they are designed to cover the APS-C and not the full frame image circle. Today’s review focuses on the Sirui Sniper 56mm F1.2 AF lens. Find out by watching my video review below o reading the text review here.

Sirui Sniper AF 56mm F1.2 Review | The Dual Personality Portrait Lens

Thanks to Sirui for sending me a set of review samples of the lenses. As always, this is a completely independent review. All opinions and conclusions are my own. I’m doing this review on a 40MP Fujifilm X-H2 camera.

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I’m doing this review on Fuji X-mount today, as that is what Sirui had available to send me. In many ways this is jumping right into the fire, as there is no platform more optically demanding than the 40MP sensor on my Fujifilm X-H2. This is the equivalent of over 90MP on full frame, a resolution point that is currently 30+MP higher than what is even available on full frame. That creates an extremely demanding optical test that will push this new series to the limits. Is this 56mm F1.2 Sniper lens up to the challenge? As with the other lenses, that answer really depends on your priorities and expectations as a photographer. The 56mm (in particular) allows you to get images with an extremely shallow depth of field and with beautiful bokeh, but it has its own optical quirks and flaws.

56mm is obviously a popular focal length on APS-C (evidenced by the fact that there are a number of competitors at 56mm), as once you apply the 1.5x crop factor of the camera you mount it on (whether Fuji, Sony, or Nikon), you have a full frame equivalent focal length of roughly 85mm. That makes perhaps the most popular portrait focal length of all. The Sniper 56mm has an advantage over many competitors due to having a maximum aperture of F1.2, which is about a half stop faster/brighter than F1.4. In my quick illustrative test, my X-H2 metered at 1/90th second at F1.2, but 1/60th of a second at F1.4 with the Sniper 56mm F1.2 mounted. That’s an obvious advantage for the F1.2 in two ways: 1) when shooting in low light conditions that large aperture can suck in more light 2) the depth of field will shallower at F1.2 than F1.4, allowing for larger, softer bokeh highlights and a more blurred out background. That affords the opportunity to get very effective subject separation.

The Sniper series ambitiously will come in three different finish styles: a black/grey finish with carbon fiber accents (the lenses I’m testing come in this finish), a white finish, and a silver finish. Each is available for the three different mounts that lens is sold for.

We’ll explore the design more thoroughly in the next section, but I want to congratulate Sirui on forging their own design philosophy. These lenses don’t really look like anything else I’ve tested, but the design works and the lenses in person look quite premium. So, does bright F1.2 autofocusing lenses for a reasonable price sound interesting? Here’s a quick link to the individual reviews of each lens:

Photos of the Sirui Sniper 56mm F1.2

Photos taken with the Sirui Sniper 56mm F1.2

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

GEAR USED:

Purchase the Sirui Sniper Lenses @ Sirui (use code DustinA for 5% off) | B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-H2 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-T5 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Find it Used at KEH

Purchase the Fujifilm X-S20 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Want to support this channel? Use these affiliate links to shop at: B&H Photo | Amazon | Adorama | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Ebay | Make a donation via Paypal

Buy DA Merchandise https://bit.ly/TWIMerch

Keywords: Sirui, Sniper, Sirui Sniper, 23mm, 33mm 56mm, F1.2, STM, Carbon Fiber, Review, Fuji X, Sony E, Review, Telephoto, Action, Tracking, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Bokeh, Flare Resistance, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, Sony a6700, Sony a6600, Fujifilm X-T5, Fujifilm X-H2, let the light in, #letthelightin, DA

DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Sirui Sniper 33mm F1.2 X-Mount Review

Dustin Abbott

December 15th, 2023

It is always interesting to see new lensmakers entering the market. Sirui started with cine (video) lenses (all manual – no autofocus or electronics), but they are now releasing their first autofocus lenses – called the “Sniper” series – and I’ve done an overview of the series here. The Sniper Series is (at least initially) made up of 3 APS-C specific lenses – a 23mm F1.2, 33mm F1.2, and 56mm F1.2 lens, with rumors . These can be purchased individually for $349 USD each (though in the first month a 15% discount will drop the price to $299 USD per lens) or as a set for $999 USD that comes in a custom designed case. These lenses will be available in Fuji X-mount (reviewed here), Sony E-mount, and Nikon Z mount configurations, though in all mounts they are designed to cover the APS-C and not the full frame image circle. Today’s review focuses on the Sirui Sniper 33mm F1.2 AF lens. Find out by watching my video review below…or just reading on.

Thanks to Sirui for sending me a set of review samples of the lenses. As always, this is a completely independent review. All opinions and conclusions are my own. I’m doing this review on a 40MP Fujifilm X-H2 camera.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

I’m doing this review on Fuji X-mount today, as that is what Sirui had available to send me. In many ways this is jumping right into the fire, as there is no platform more optically demanding than the 40MP sensor on my Fujifilm X-H2. This is the equivalent of over 90MP on full frame, a resolution point that is currently 30+MP higher than what is even available on full frame. That creates an extremely demanding optical test that will push this new series to the limits. Is this 33mm F1.2 Sniper lens up to the challenge? The answer really depends on your priorities and expectations as a photographer. One thing is certain, however, and that is that you can create beautiful images with this lens.

33mm is a popular focal length on APS-C, as once you apply the 1.5x crop factor of the camera you mount it on (whether Fuji, Sony, or Nikon), you have a full frame equivalent focal length of roughly 50mm. That “normal” angle of view is perhaps the most popular focal length in a prime lens. What’s different here is that rather than having a maximum aperture of F1.4 like competing lenses, the Sniper 33mm pushes the envelop to F1.2, which is about a half stop faster/brighter than F1.4. In my quick illustrative test, my X-H2 metered at 1/90th second at F1.2, but 1/60th of a second at F1.4 with the Sniper 33mm F1.2 mounted. That’s an obvious advantage for the F1.2 in two ways: 1) when shooting in low light conditions that large aperture can suck in more light 2) the depth of field will shallower at F1.2 than F1.4, allowing for larger, softer bokeh highlights and a more blurred out background.

The Sniper series ambitiously will come in three different finish styles: a black/grey finish with carbon fiber accents (the lenses I’m testing come in this finish), a white finish, and a silver finish. Each is available for the three different mounts that lens is sold for.

We’ll explore the design more thoroughly in the next section, but I want to congratulate Sirui on forging their own design philosophy. These lenses don’t really look like anything else I’ve tested, but the design works and the lenses in person look quite premium. So, does bright F1.2 autofocusing lenses for a reasonable price sound interesting? We’ll explore that in this series of reviews. Here’s a quick link to the individual reviews of each lens:

Sirui Sniper 33mm Build and Handling

The Sniper series all share a common outer shell and exterior dimensions, though their weight varies due to the fact that the glass elements inside are larger and heavier in the 33mm and particularly the 56mm renditions. *This section will have a certain redundancy to my review of the series and other individual lenses because so much is shared in common, but I will give specifics in the few areas where the lenses vary from one another. The lenses share a common dimension of 72mm (by my measurement) or 2.83″, and in X-mount they are 92.2mm (3.6″) in length. They all share a common 58mm front filter thread, making it easy to share filters across the set. Here’s a look at the individual specifications of each lens.

As noted, the weight varies according to lens and mount. The X-mount that I’m testing is actually the lightest (by a few grams), due to the X-mount being the smallest of the three in diameter. Nikon’s Z-mount is the largest in diameter, with Sony E-mount in between. The 23mm weighs in at 380g (13.4oz), the 33mm at 398g (14oz), and the 56mm is 419g (14.7oz). That makes these lenses larger and heavier than similar 56mm lenses from Sigma (280g) or Viltrox (290g), though those lenses are F1.4 rather than F1.2. Sirui has taken a bit of a gamble here. Going to a bright F1.2 aperture allows their lenses to stand out from the competition, but those looking to travel small and light might shy away.

As noted, the look of the lenses is unique. There’s not much here in terms of features, but the lenses do have an upscale look with a variety of textures and finishes. I’m reviewing the lenses labeled as being “black”, but black (at least in the typical lens sense) is not the vibe I get off these lenses. There are two metal sections (one near the lens mount and another in the middle of the lens) that has a traditional anodized satin black finish, but in between there is a section of genuine carbon fiber that looks very cool. Carbon fiber is a more upscale material and it definitely sets these lenses apart.

There are two badges in this section. One is a plate with the Sirui banding in raised metal lettering.

The second is on the left side, and there is a another smaller badge that says AF and APS-C. Interestingly the word “Sniper” appears nowhere on the lens.

There are no switches on the lens barrel nor an aperture ring. That’s more noticeable here on Fuji, where aperture rings are fairly standard. The similarly priced Viltrox AF 23/33/56mm F1.4 lenses have aperture rings, and obviously Fuji’s own 23mm and 33mm F1.4 lenses along with the 56mm F1.2 lens have aperture rings, though, to be fair, those lenses cost nearly as much as the whole Sniper series, not one lens.

That middle anodized metal section includes an interesting projection over the carbon fiber section that has the lens designation there, including the mount (X, on my review samples), focal length, and maximum aperture value. Keeping that section facing forward in the lens case is important as it allows you to easily distinguish which lens is which – important, since they all look the same.

Next comes a manual focus ring with a diamond pattern akin to Canon’s control rings rather than a typical ribbed finish. It’s one more area where the lenses maintain their own unique look.

The manual focus rings move smoothly and the weight is fairly light. Not so light that you can’t accurately focus, but a bit lighter than what I personally prefer. There is no obvious stepping when manually focusing, though I do find (as per usual on Fuji!) that large manual focus changes require a number of rotations. This is particularly true if you are trying to focus towards minimum focus; I counted 6 full rotations to get from 1 meter to minimum focus.

After the focus ring is a blue accent ring that is nearly turquoise in color. Once again it is little different than other lens that I’ve tested, and it works. The final section at the front of the lens has a titanium colored anodized metal finish, so less than half of the lens surface is actually purely black. Each lens color has some unique ingredient: black = carbon fiber, silver = aluminum alloy, white = ceramic baked paint.

A look at the front of the lens shows the 58mm filter threads (in metal), along with a front façade that has the lens designation and the filter size on the opposite side.

The included lens hoods are not quite as special. They are made of plastic and feel considerably cheaper than the lens itself, which feels quite premium. The hoods for the 23mm and 33mm are petal shaped while the hood for the 56mm is deeper and without the scallops. I do appreciate the ribbed section in the hood which gives a little more grip.

It’s worth noting that both the front pinch cap along with the rear cap are quite low profile. The front cap is just a few millimeters thick, and the rear cap too feels slimmer than usual. These little details stood out to me as nothing about the lenses felt generic or “by-the-numbers”. Sirui is doing their own thing here, and I like the attention to detail.

At the rear of the lens we have a metal lens mount complete with the appropriate electronic contacts; aperture will be controlled from the camera. There is a USB-C port there that will allow for future firmware updates. That’s a really important move by Sirui, as they are new to autofocus design. The ability to update the focus algorithms in their lenses will help them to focus better in the future and also allows the lenses to be futureproof.

The aperture iris is made up of a higher-than-average 11 rounded blades. That’s a great choice in a lens with an F1.2 aperture, as it helps assure that the aperture iris stays circular as the lens is stopped down. Here’s a look at the aperture stopped down to F4:

The minimum focus distances varies from lens to lens, with the 23mm focusing as closely as 30cm, the 33mm focusing as close as 40cm, and the 56mm jumping to 60cm. The magnification for each lens looks pretty similar, however. Sirui has not listed the maximum magnification, but it looks to be in the very low 0.10x range. Here’s a look at the 33mm’s maximum magnification.

The large maximum aperture will allow you to strongly blur out backgrounds if you get close, but some competing lenses will allow you to get closer and get a higher level of magnification. You can see from this shot of a lock that I can’t get particularly close to the subject, but the big aperture blurs out the background pretty well anyway.

There is no weather sealing gasket on the Sirui Sniper lenses or internal seals. These are not weather resistant lenses.

There are some pros and cons for the design and handling. On the positive side, the lenses look and feel great. There are some premium materials being used in the design and the attention to detail is excellent. On the negative side, there are no real features on the lenses outside of the USB-C port for firmware updates and the lenses are the largest and heaviest in the class. But also worth considering is that the lenses have a larger maximum aperture than competing lenses and also carry a bargain price tag for autofocusing F1.2 lenses.

Autofocus Performance

The Sirui Sniper lenses are all equipped with STM (stepping) focus motors. There is a certain amount of autofocus performance that is camera and camera system specific, so I’ll try to distinguish between the lens performance and the system performance as much as possible. My experience is that third party lenses focus better on Sony (I don’t test Nikon) than they do on Fuji, and that’s largely because Fuji’s autofocus systems in their cameras are not quite as sophisticated as equivalent Sony cameras.

Autofocus speed is a little below average for a modern STM motor. When doing my focus speed tests with the Sniper 33mm from close to distance, I found that focus transitions were fairly deliberate. The 23mm was actually faster to focus. When I went outdoors focus speed picked up, though it still isn’t the instant focus I see with the better modern lenses. There is light clicking sound that I noticed during my focus tests, and the cause is pretty obvious with my outdoor test. Whenever I ease off the shutter button (I typically hold it halfway for these tests so that the camera is focusing but not taking photos) the aperture closes down to F5.6 or so, and opens up again whenever I depress the shutter button again. That clicking sound is the sound of the aperture blades snapped closed.

I took the shot above during my outdoor focus test, and, as you can see from the crop, while autofocus accuracy was fairly good, the lower contrast at F1.2 makes you question at times if focus is actually accurate.

You can see in the shot below what I’m talking about. I shot with a slightly smaller aperture of F2 to try to have both ladies faces in focus, which they are, but the lower contrast of the lens makes it seem that focus is a little off.

At least they don’t have the “dead eyes” of my previous subject!

When I look closely, I do realize that focus is accurately nailing these shots. The follow shot is a very good illustration of this. When I looked at the photo at large, it looks like it isn’t accurately focused.

But if I zoom in to a pixel and look at Nala’s iris, I see that focus is actually accurate.

The combination of the shallow depth of field and the low contrast just make it appear that nothing is in focus.

My conclusion is that while autofocus isn’t fast, it does seem to be accurate.

Turning to the video side of things reveals more contrasts and contradictions. The Sniper 33mm actually handled my video pull tests better than the other two lenses in the series. The 23mm focuses faster, but video focus pulls were a series of visible steps. The 33mm isn’t fast, but it does pull focus more consistently; focusing happens in a slow but consistent sweep of movement without visible steps. There’s still a bit of settling at the end, but I prefer this result to what I saw with the 23mm. The microphone did pick up some faint clicks and whirs during the focus action.

My hand test (where I alternately block and then unblock the camera’s view of my face with my hand) was also the best of the bunch. The lens is not reactive, so there’s a bit of a pause before focus transitions start after the hand is added or removed, but the focus to the next subject was fairly smooth. Focus accuracy on my eye seemed much more confident than during my focus pulls (no settling), but my experience with Fuji’s recent AF systems tells me that they function best when there is a trackable subject that AI recognizes. Focus isn’t nearly as good when there isn’t, which explains the difference here. That being said, if you want a reactive autofocusing video lens, this isn’t it.

On a positive note, focus breathing is quite low, and the slow but smooth focus transitions do look relatively little cinematic.

Autofocus does get the job done, but it isn’t nearly as sophisticated as what I’m seeing from some alternative brands. Not surprising since autofocus design is new for Sirui.

I wouldn’t be surprised if those testing the Sirui Sniper lenses on Sony and or Nikon have a slightly more positive autofocus experience, but I’m also comfortable in saying that alternative lenses on the Fuji platform like the Fuji 33mm F1.4 or the Viltrox Pro AF 27mm F1.2 are likely (at least at this stage) to provide a better autofocus experience…particularly for video. If your creative style is more focused on stills than video, you’ll probably be okay.

Sirui Sniper 33mm Image Quality

The Sirui Sniper lenses (surprisingly!) all share a common optical design of 12 elements in 11 groups, though they vary in the special elements in that formula. The 23mm has six HR (high refractive index elements). The 33mm has 1 ED (Extra low dispersion) and 1 HR element, while the 56mm has 1 ED element and 4 HR elements. Sirui claims that all three lenses have a uniform color tone, which adds to their value if you are using them as a set. I tried to get an MTF chart of the lens, but Sirui was a little coy about sharing their MTFs.

The Sniper 33mm is a lens with two different personalities. At large apertures it epitomizes the idea of a “dreamy” rendering, which is the euphemistic way to describe a somewhat soft, low contrast lens. At smaller apertures it drastically improves on the contrast and is able to provide detailed, contrast images. My current background on my computer workstation is this image which I took with the Sniper 33mm.

The Sirui Sniper 33mm F1.2 is not as sharp as either the Fujinon XF 33mm F1.4 (click hyperlink for my review) or the Viltrox Pro AF 27mm F1.2. It is more like the older Viltrox AF 33mm F1.4 in performance, which makes sense, as the Viltrox is the only one of the three similar in price to the Sirui. The Fuji lens is twice as expensive, while the Viltrox Pro lens costs about $200 more.

There’s more to lens performance than just pure sharpness, though, and this lens does have an advantage over the some alternatives in terms of the aperture. You have the opportunity to get a little bigger, softer bokeh out of the Sirui Sniper 33mm…but that bokeh is going to come at the cost of reduced contrast and some fringing.

Our optical deep dive starts with a look at vignette and distortion, and this is actually an area where the Sniper 33mm starts with a win. There is almost no distortion at all (I used only a -1 to correct manually for the tiny bit that was there). Vignette was also not bad at all, requiring a +53 to correct (about two stops). That’s really insignificant for an F1.2 lens.

Interestingly, there seems to be a correction profile available in Lightroom already and it seems to do a perfectly capable job of clearing up what little vignette and distortion there is. This F1.2 image shows no vignette, and there isn’t enough distortion to be seen in real world images anyway.

So that’s a win, but our next test is a giant fail. Longitudinal chromatic aberrations are a major issue here. You can definitely see some pronounced fringing before and after the plane of focus.

This shot with shiny surfaces is a mess of fringing at F1.2, with fringing on the shiny bits of the camera and noticeable fringing around the specular highlights (bokeh balls):

The heavy fringing issues definitely play a part in reducing the contrast.

Lateral chromatic aberrations show up near the edge of the frame in transitions from dark to light areas. These are much better controlled on the Sniper 33mm; I saw no real issue with them in either my tests or real world shots.

So how about resolution? The 40MP Fuji X-Trans sensor tends to make all but the very sharpest of lenses look a little soft under the microscope of my tests, so be warned, as this is NOT one of the sharpest of lenses. I examine results at a 200% magnification, and that’s a lot to ask of any lens. Here’s a look at the test chart:

And here is a look at F1.2 crops from the center, then mid-frame, and then extreme lower right corner:

Wow, that is bad!

Our real world examples to this point haven’t lied to us; this lens is very soft at wide apertures. And there is more to this story than just the demands of a 40MP APS-C sensor. I took a real world F1.2 shot into Photoshop and downsampled it to the equivalent of 24Mp (6000×4000 pixels), which is the most common resolution point of the APS-C mirrorless cameras on the market. But that does not magically fix the image; it still looks very soft.

If you want higher contrast results at large apertures, consider the Viltrox Pro AF 27mm F1.2 instead. It is a more balanced lens.

I’ve learned over my career as a reviewer that not all photographers value the same things. Some people prefer the “Sigma approach” where the lens design is highly corrected for aberrations and shows high contrast and detail at wide apertures. Others prefer the “dual nature” approach that is a little more old school: the lens is “dreamy” at large apertures (lower contrast and detail) and gets sharp and higher contrast when stopped down to small apertures. The classic Zeiss Planar 50mm F1.4 and the Voigtlander Nokton 40mm F1.2 are great examples of this approach, and they are both lenses that people still love. The Sirui Sniper 33mm F1.2 is definitely more similar to these lenses than to most modern lenses. Some people prefer the softer rendering on faces and the overall softer look to backgrounds that this kind of lens produces. It’s “kinder” by that logic. The fly in the ointment to that approach here is the amount of fringing. This is a lens that frankly will work better for those who both prefer “dreamy” and monochrome.

Things don’t change much at F1.4, though there is some improvement of contrast at F1.8 and F2…though things still don’t look great even in the center of the frame.

Real world images look better than this if you are looking globally and not at a pixel level, but if you get in close things still look pretty rough. Here’s an image and crop at F1.6:

F2.8 looks a bit better, and F4 a bit better still, but even at F5.6 the lens is not what I would call “tack-sharp” even in the center of the frame.

If we look over the corners, however, they look relatively quite good.

And that essentially sums up my real world findings. The lens gets acceptably sharp but never razer sharp for landscape type images.

Don’t get me wrong – I liked my landscape style images when viewed at a global level (like the one on my monitors), but I’m not wow when I zoom into them…and I LIKE being wowed when shooting landscapes.

That being said, I did happen to road trip with the Sirui 33mm and the Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 zoom in my bag. I shot some of the same scenes, though without attempting to frame the scenes identically. But when I reviewed the photos side by side, I did instinctively prefer the shots from the Sirui. The combination of color and contrast looked a little better on the Sniper 33mm, and examining the images at a pixel level made me slightly favor the results from the Sirui.

Sharpness seems to peak at F8, and after that diffraction will start to soften the image again. This is the rare lens that is softer at maximum aperture than minimum aperture (F16), however.

I would say in general that purchasing the Sniper series will be more for the rendering and bokeh quality than the sharpness. If you can look past the fringing and low contrast, you’ll find a LOT of creamy bokeh. The second shot here is at F2.8, and it has less fringing and more sharpness on the subject…but less bokeh.

Those of you who are really enterprising can take two shots like this and layer them, taking the sharper, higher contrast shot on the subject from the F2.8 version and getting that wonderful, creamy bokeh from the F1.2 version. I did this and then did a little toning in Exposure 7, and got this lovely result.

That’s a lot of work, however.

This is a lens that works best for those that don’t pixel peep and just enjoy the nice looking images that aren’t technically perfect.

There is more to image quality than pure resolution, and I would say that the less than ideal contrast has a payoff in the form of bokeh quality. The bokeh is generally nicer than most lenses in this class, with the only real negatives being some fringing around bright specular highlights along with some geometric deformation near the edges of the frame. The bokeh looks pretty good most of the time.

The flare resistance is also pretty vintage. It’s clear that the Sniper lenses don’t have all of the high end modern coatings, as flare is pretty strong. This includes some veiling, streaks, and ghosting artifacts. The veiling is more pronounced at wide apertures, but the streaks and ghosting pattern becomes more defined at smaller apertures. I actually liked the various flare effects the most on the 33mm, however, as I often felt they looked artistic rather than destructive, like here:

Here’s a variety of images depicting these various flare phenomena at a few different apertures and positions.

Your opinion on all of that will largely depend on what you’re looking for from the lens – corrections or character. If it is corrections of flaws you want, then look elsewhere, but if you want some character, then the Sniper 33mm might just be your “cup of tea”. This personality of this lens is definitely weighted more towards “vintage” than “modern”.

There is definitely some give and take when it comes to the optical performance. This is not a “modern” perfectly corrected lens; it has aberrations and flaws, and you’ll either love it or hate it depending on your taste as a photographer. I’ve tried to accurately present the strengths and weaknesses so that you can decide for yourself whether or not it works for you.

You can check out the image gallery to see more photos and see if the rendering from the lens suits you.

Conclusion

The Sirui Sniper 33mm F1.2 AF lens has presented a real challenge to me as a reviewer, as it exhibits many of the things that I typically look for and criticize if they are present. And yet I also realize from long experience that there are photographers who prefer a deeply flawed lens like this one to an overcorrected modern lens. A lot of photography is subjective, and it is difficult as a reviewer to chronicle the issues while also leaving room for the artistic interpretation of them.

I probably enjoyed taking pictures OF this lens more than taking pictures WITH it, but because of the nature of my work I do tend to be more of a “pixel peeper” than the average photographer. I can appreciate the “personality” of a lens like the Sniper 33mm, but it’s difficult to turn off the part of my brain that sees more optical flaws and quirks than most modern lenses. Be sure that this is the style of lens that suits your own vision/style as a photographer.

The Sirui Sniper 33mm F1.2 AF is definitely the kind of lens that is designed for the person who cares more about the look of images globally than they do of pixel peeping, and, if that describes you, then the Sniper 33mm offers a fair amount of value at its MSRP of $349 (you can save another 5% by using the code DustinA at Sirui). It’s an autofocusing F1.2 lens, and there still isn’t a lot of those out there. There are lenses in and around this focal length that I prefer personally, but if the Sniper 33 ignites your artistic side…have fun!

Pros:

Unique design that uses premium materials
Bright F1.2 aperture
Ability to upgrade firmware through USB-C port
Good focus accuracy for stills
Focus motor reasonably quiet
Low distortion and vignette
Nice bokeh and rendering
Good “look” and character to images
Option to buy as a set
Well priced

Cons:

Larger and heavier than most competing lenses
Low maximum magnification
Video focus has some quirks
Strong fringing
Low contrast through F4
Fairly soft at large apertures
Somewhat flare prone

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GEAR USED:

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Keywords: Sirui, Sniper, Sirui Sniper, 23mm, 33mm 56mm, F1.2, STM, Carbon Fiber, Review, Fuji X, Sony E, Review, Telephoto, Action, Tracking, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Bokeh, Flare Resistance, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, Sony a6700, Sony a6600, Fujifilm X-T5, Fujifilm X-H2, let the light in, #letthelightin, DA

DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Sirui Sniper 33mm F1.2 Image Gallery

Dustin Abbott

December 15th, 2023

It is always interesting to see new lensmakers entering the market. Sirui started with cine (video) lenses (all manual – no autofocus or electronics), but they are now releasing their first autofocus lenses – called the “Sniper” series – and I’ve done an overview of the series here. The Sniper Series is (at least initially) made up of 3 APS-C specific lenses – a 23mm F1.2, 33mm F1.2, and 56mm F1.2 lens, with rumors . These can be purchased individually for $349 USD each (though in the first month a 15% discount will drop the price to $299 USD per lens) or as a set for $999 USD that comes in a custom designed case. These lenses will be available in Fuji X-mount (reviewed here), Sony E-mount, and Nikon Z mount configurations, though in all mounts they are designed to cover the APS-C and not the full frame image circle. Today’s review focuses on the Sirui Sniper 33mm F1.2 AF lens. Find out by watching my video review below or by reading the text review.

Sirui Sniper AF 33mm F1.2 Review | Modern Build, Vintage Aesthetic

Thanks to Sirui for sending me a set of review samples of the lenses. As always, this is a completely independent review. All opinions and conclusions are my own. I’m doing this review on a 40MP Fujifilm X-H2 camera.

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I’m doing this review on Fuji X-mount today, as that is what Sirui had available to send me. In many ways this is jumping right into the fire, as there is no platform more optically demanding than the 40MP sensor on my Fujifilm X-H2. This is the equivalent of over 90MP on full frame, a resolution point that is currently 30+MP higher than what is even available on full frame. That creates an extremely demanding optical test that will push this new series to the limits. Is this 33mm F1.2 Sniper lens up to the challenge? The answer really depends on your priorities and expectations as a photographer. One thing is certain, however, and that is that you can create beautiful images with this lens.

33mm is a popular focal length on APS-C, as once you apply the 1.5x crop factor of the camera you mount it on (whether Fuji, Sony, or Nikon), you have a full frame equivalent focal length of roughly 50mm. That “normal” angle of view is perhaps the most popular focal length in a prime lens. What’s different here is that rather than having a maximum aperture of F1.4 like competing lenses, the Sniper 33mm pushes the envelop to F1.2, which is about a half stop faster/brighter than F1.4. In my quick illustrative test, my X-H2 metered at 1/90th second at F1.2, but 1/60th of a second at F1.4 with the Sniper 33mm F1.2 mounted. That’s an obvious advantage for the F1.2 in two ways: 1) when shooting in low light conditions that large aperture can suck in more light 2) the depth of field will shallower at F1.2 than F1.4, allowing for larger, softer bokeh highlights and a more blurred out background.

The Sniper series ambitiously will come in three different finish styles: a black/grey finish with carbon fiber accents (the lenses I’m testing come in this finish), a white finish, and a silver finish. Each is available for the three different mounts that lens is sold for.

We’ll explore the design more thoroughly in the next section, but I want to congratulate Sirui on forging their own design philosophy. These lenses don’t really look like anything else I’ve tested, but the design works and the lenses in person look quite premium. So, does bright F1.2 autofocusing lenses for a reasonable price sound interesting?

Here’s a quick way to access my reviews of each lens in the series:

Photos of the Sirui Sniper 33mm F1.2

Photos taken with the Sirui Sniper 33mm F1.2

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GEAR USED:

Purchase the Sirui Sniper Lenses @ Sirui (use code DustinA for 5% off) | B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

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Purchase the Fujifilm X-T5 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Find it Used at KEH

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Keywords: Sirui, Sniper, Sirui Sniper, 23mm, 33mm 56mm, F1.2, STM, Carbon Fiber, Review, Fuji X, Sony E, Review, Telephoto, Action, Tracking, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Bokeh, Flare Resistance, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, Sony a6700, Sony a6600, Fujifilm X-T5, Fujifilm X-H2, let the light in, #letthelightin, DA

DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Sirui Sniper 75mm F1.2 Review

Dustin Abbott

July 12th, 2024

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Sirui Sniper 75mm Build and Handling

Autofocus Performance

Sirui Sniper 75mm Image Quality

Conclusion

Pros:

Cons:

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GEAR USED:

Early bird discounted pricing: https://sirui.kckb.me/dabbott

Purchase the Sirui Sniper Lenses @ Sirui (use code DustinA for 5% off) | B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-H2 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-T5 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Find it Used at KEH

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Sirui Sniper 75mm F1.2 Gallery

Dustin Abbott

July 12th, 2024

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Photos of the Sirui Sniper 75mm F1.2

Images taken with the Sirui Sniper 75mm F1.2

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

GEAR USED:

Early bird discounted pricing: https://sirui.kckb.me/dabbott

Purchase the Sirui Sniper Lenses @ Sirui (use code DustinA for 5% off) | B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-H2 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-T5 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Find it Used at KEH

Purchase the Fujifilm X-S20 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

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Sirui Sniper 16mm F1.2 X-mount Review

Dustin Abbott

June 27th, 2024

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Sirui Sniper 16mm Build and Handling

Autofocus Performance

Sirui Sniper 16mm Image Quality

Conclusion

Pros:

Cons:

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

GEAR USED:

Early bird discounted pricing: https://sirui.kckb.me/dabbott

Purchase the Sirui Sniper Lenses @ Sirui (use code DustinA for 5% off) | B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-H2 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-T5 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Find it Used at KEH

Purchase the Fujifilm X-S20 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

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Sirui Sniper 16mm F1.2 Gallery

Dustin Abbott

June 27th, 2024

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Photos of the Sirui Sniper 16mm F1.2

Photos Taken with the Sirui Sniper 16mm F1.2

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

GEAR USED:

Early bird discounted pricing: https://sirui.kckb.me/dabbott

Purchase the Sirui Sniper Lenses @ Sirui (use code DustinA for 5% off) | B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-H2 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-T5 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Find it Used at KEH

Purchase the Fujifilm X-S20 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

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Sirui Sniper 56mm F1.2 AF Review

Dustin Abbott

December 21st, 2023

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Sirui Sniper 56mm Build and Handling

Autofocus Performance

Sirui Sniper 56mm Image Quality

Conclusion

Pros:

Cons:

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GEAR USED: