Associated Youtube video is here : https://youtu.be/_PM69DgVYOo

High-resolution sample photos from lens review with photos from all 3 lenses https://shorturl.at/3cfiJ

About a week ago, I got my hands on my first ever pre-release lens… yes, thank you very much to Sirui Malaysia and Sirui for trusting me with this little lens.

It is the Sirui 85mm f/1.4 FE-mount, full-frame lens and it’s part of their Aurora family of lenses. Yea, Sirui loves naming their lens families, they had one that is called Sniper, one called Night Walker, etc.

Allow me to talk a bit about Sirui Imaging, now… what I am going to tell you is based on my own information, Sirui didn’t send me any press notes, in fact, any notes of any kind. They basically just dropped the lens on me and say, “Go test it and review it if you want”

Sirui Imaging started as Sirui Tripods, AFAIK and I think they are based in Shenzhen? Or Guangzhou (edit : They are based in Zhong-shan).

Anyway, I have no idea. Back then, they were one of the more well-known tripod companies in China and eventually, started going global with them.

In recent years, they have shifted their focus and in fact, even renamed their company Sirui Imaging and just like when they were making tripods, they have their own manufacturing facility in China for their lenses.

Launch Day Update
Release Date : 18 Nov 2024
Price : USD499 (Est. MYR 2,299)
Available Mounts :
Sony FE
Nikon Z
L-mount (possible)

The Lens

Okay, enough about the company, let’s get into the lens. Now, this is the Sirui 85mm f/1.4 full-frame auto-focus Sony mount lens and it isn’t heavy in my hands but feels quite well-built.

Yes, it’s made mainly with plastic and it has quite a small filter size for a 85mm, a 67mm front filter size. It has a minimum focus distance of 0.85m or 2.75ft and I have no idea what it’s maximum magnification is as they didn’t tell me 😛

It has a de-clickable aperture ring, AF-MF switch and an extra button (I think). It also has a USB-C port at the mount for firmware update (I presume) and a rather thin rubber gasket. Now, I do not know if Sirui claims it has any dust or moisture resistance, maybe check their website? LOL

Image Quality

First of all, the image quality. Now, the main reason Sirui Malaysia gave me the lens to test and review is that they know I have quite a lot of experience with 85mm lenses, especially that I am current owner of a Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN; which they deem to be a worthy comparison to their Sirui Aurora 85mm.

So, when my main job was to compare it with the Sigma 85mm and honestly, I was and still am impressed by what Sirui achieved here on the Aurora 85mm.

That being said, here is what I observed about the photos taken with the Sirui and Sigma.

Sharpness	Sigma is sharper by a noticeable margin at 67%+ crop
Distortion	Sigma has less distortion both before and after applying manufacturer’s profile; Sirui 85mm still has noticeable distortion even after correction using the manufacturer’s profile in Capture One or in JPEGs
LoCA	Longtudinal CA is slightly better controlled on the Sigma
Sunstars	From my limited tested, sunstars seem to larger on the Sigma
Colors	Both lenses render colors rather pleasingly most of the time with no noticeable issues
Bokeh	Both lenses render out of focus backgrounds well and I cannot pick one from another

Just to add that I did bring the Sigma & Sirui 85mms to test with the Sony 85mm GM II… and lo and behold, I actually found that the Sigma and Sony lenses perform quite similarly wrt image quality during my non-scientific testing at my local Sony Center.

Other Pros

Now, let’s talk about the pros.

#1, the Aurora 85mm is actually smaller and lighter than the Sigma.

#2, it will probably be cheaper. I do not know what price it will launch at the time of recording but I was told they should be cheaper than Sigma but more about this later.

Cons

Auto-Focus Tracking

You didn’t think it was going to be all sunshine and roses for the Sirui, right? Hahaha… the Sirui’s achilles heel is AF accuracy, IMHO.

Again, I really do not have the equipment to test this conclusively but I did test it in as many variations as I think I can do in the limited time I am given.

The Sirui performs less well compared to the Sigma in AF-C and is especially noticeable in low-light and/or difficult conditions such as when the subject moves in and out of shade.

Also, most notably, it has lots of issues tracking Kylo Ren’s mask when he is waving 2 light-sabers about even if he is stationary; it’s weirdly specific, right? LOL

Jokes aside, the Sigma 85mm DG DN also has issues tracking subjects in low-light in AF-C but although it loses track sometimes at the max frame-rate of my A7 IV; it loses track less often and quickly regains tracking at most 2 shots after it lost tracking. The Sigma lens would get around a 60%+ hit rate in these conditions, while the Sirui can drop to as low as 40% in such demanding situations.

In better conditions like where the area is more evenly lit, the Sirui does fares better, although nearly never better than the Sigma in terms of AF-C and tracking. The Sirui got around a 60%+ hit rate in better conditions; while the Sigma hits around 80%.

Aperture Ring

#2, is a little bit of nitpick but it affects the usability of the lens. The aperture ring has a Ä position which is meant to give back the aperture control to the camera and it’s right after F/16. There is a “notch”or resistance between F/16 and Ä but it is too little, making it too easy to övershoot or switch away from A when you don’t intend to.

Other Cons

#3, when you try to MF with the lens, the angle between minimum focus distance and infinity is small, making fine focus adjustments nearly impossible.

#4, the tiny thin rubber gasket at the mount gives me little confidence that it is well-sealed against moisture or dust.

And finally, the price. I have a suspicion it is only maybe RM1k cheaper than the used Sigma 85mm on the market making it possibly not such an easy budget-orientated choice; especially considering I have no idea how long a warranty they offer for their lenses.

Summary

And as usual, I present you the facts and photos; and leave it at that.

Feel free to ask if you have any questions in the comments section.

Now, I am off to return this lens to Sirui Malaysia and I hope more companies will make more lenses for every mirrorless mount (ahem… especially Canon RF AUTO-FOCUS). Competition is always good.