SIRUI Sniper 16mm and 75mm f/1.2 Autofocus Lenses for APS-C Cameras Announced

Lens News

by Jakub HanJune 24^th, 2024

SIRUI is expanding their Sniper series of fast APS-C prime lenses with autofocus. The company launched 16mm and 75mm f/1.2 focal lengths for FUJIFILM X, Nikon Z, and Sony E cameras. Both lenses are now available via SIRUI’s crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. Let’s take a look!

Last year in November, the Chinese lens & accessories manufacturer SIRUI announced the Sniper line of prime lenses – the company’s first autofocus lenses. These three APS-C primes – 23mm, 33mm, and 56mm – offer a fast f/1.2 aperture with AF capability for FUJIFILM, Nikon, and Sony mirrorless cameras. Earlier this year, CineD visited the SIRUI factory and peeked behind the scenes of the lens production including the Sniper primes. In case you missed it, make sure to check out the factory tour article and video!

Now, SIRUI is expanding their Sniper prime lens series with two new focal lengths – 16mm f/1.2 and 75mm f/1.2. Let’s take a quick look at the details.

SIRUI Sniper 16mm and 75mm f/1.2 lenses

With the addition of these two new focal lengths, the SIRUI Sniper APS-C lens series will include the following models:

• 16mm f/1.2 (full-frame equivalent of 24mm f/1.8 – approximately)
• 23mm f/1.2 (full-frame equivalent of 35mm f/1.8 – approximately)
• 33mm f/1.2 (full-frame equivalent of 50mm f/1.8 – approximately)
• 56mm f/1.2 (full-frame equivalent of 84mm f/1.8 – approximately)
• 75mm f/1.2 (full-frame equivalent of 113mm f/1.8 – approximately)

The aperture of the 16mm lens features 13 blades (15 blades for the 75mm lens) and is available between f/1.2 and f/16. The minimum focusing distance for the 16mm lens is 0.3m and for the 75mm it is 0.7m.

Optics and autofocus

The lenses include ED and high refractive index glass elements as well as an HD nano-coating to suppress flare and ghosting. Distortion and optical aberration are well controlled according to SIRUI. The 16mm wide-angle lens features an extra pair of aspherical lenses to reduce lens size further.

The autofocus mechanism in these lenses utilizes an STM motor. SIRUI claims, the AF is accurate, quick, and silent and that it’s suitable both for stills and video. The overall AF performance will, of course, also depend on the camera body. The focus breathing should also be minimal according to the manufacturer.

Located at the front of the lens, the wide focusing ring has a texturized finish for a better grip and it features electronic manual focus with 360° focus throw.

Physical specs, filter thread, lens mounts

Physically, these two new lenses are designed to be similar in size and weight to the existing focal lengths. The weight of each lens is 384g/0.8 lbs (16mm f/1.2) and 466g/1 lbs (75mm f/1.2). The length is 94mm (3.7″). Each lens features a USB-C port integrated into the mount which can be used for firmware updates. The front filter thread size is 58mm (16mm f/1.2) and 67mm (75mm f/1.2).

Just like the first three Sniper primes, the two new focal lengths will also be available for three different lens mounts – FUJIFILM X, Nikon Z, and Sony E. There will be three color options – black, silver, and white.

Price and availability

As I already mentioned at the beginning, the new SIRUI Sniper 16mm and 75mm f/1.2 lenses are available via SIRUI’s crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. During the campaign, the company is offering early bird prices at 20% off. That means each lens costs $319 (instead of $399 at full retail price) and a set of both lenses costs $638 (instead of $798 at full retail price). Each lens comes with both lens caps, a matching-color lens hood, and a carrying pouch (lens case for the 2-lens kits).

Please note: Unlike other crowdfunded products that are often in the development stage, SIRUI claims, their lenses are finalized, assembled, tested, and ready for shipping. The company has been traditionally using Indiegogo as a platform to sell the first batch of newly launched lenses. The current campaign is running until July 18, so there is still some time to take advantage of the early bird price. I suppose after that, the lenses will be available in SIRUI’s online shop, and through regular vendors.

Do you use any of the SIRUI Sniper lenses for your projects? How do you like the image quality and performance? What do you think about the two new focal lengths? Let us know in the comments section underneath the article.