This Budget Fast Prime Goes Beyond Expectations: Sirui Sniper 75mm f/1.2 Review

You don’t get good fast prime lenses at a bargain price—definitely not below $400. That’s what we thought. But this lens from Sirui seems to be an absolute hidden gem that we need to talk about.

For the longest time, photographers have known that if you want good-quality lenses with large, fast apertures, you’re going to have to spend an arm and a leg for one. Every now and then, a good one comes along that’s more affordable than most, but this lens from Sirui—a brand better known for tripods—is significantly cheaper than what we used to call affordable.

The Sirui Sniper 75mm f/1.2

Sirui’s Sniper series lens lineup comprises five fast prime lenses for APS-C mirrorless cameras, available in Sony E, Fuji X, and Nikon Z mount. Along with the 75mm are the 16mm f/1.2, the 23mm f/1.2, the 33mm f/1.2, and a 56mm f/1.2, all of which individually sell below $350 and are available in white, gray, or black.

The Sirui Sniper 75mm f/1.2 is a 93 mm x 80 mm (3.7 x 3.1 inches) lens with a barrel made of a mix of plastic and metal and weighs 466 grams (1.02 lbs). The lens has a reversible plastic hood that mounts around the 67mm filter thread on the frontmost part. About 40% of the length of the barrel toward the distal end is made up of a textured focus ring, while the rest is a blank surface since the lens does not come with any physical switches. On the most proximal end is a metal lens mount with electronic contacts for autofocus and data.

This fixed focal length 75mm has an aperture range of f/1.2 to f/16, with aperture control only available through the camera body’s assigned dial or wheel. Its minimum focusing distance is 0.7 m, which is something you would expect from a relatively tight prime lens.

Unexpected Performance

It’s remarkably good that prime lenses with autofocus capabilities are now more available and accessible, especially for photographers on a budget or those who are just starting out and want to try different focal lengths and aperture combinations. One of the things that was surprising about this lens is that it doesn’t only have autofocus—the speed and accuracy can actually catch up with most non-flagship line lenses, even from the main camera brands. While the speed might not be the best for shooting fast action such as in sports, for any other regular use that might involve some usual movement, the autofocus keeps up and is compatible with subject recognition and tracking, at least in the Sony system for this particular lens. This functionality is consistent for use in both photo and video applications.

More than the focus speed and accuracy, an even more pleasant surprise is seeing the overall sharpness that this lens offers. It can resolve small details very well even at f/1.2, in combination, of course, with accurate focusing. It achieves its peak sharpness at around f/2, which is consistent until f/4, where it declines minimally throughout the aperture range. Moreover, even in backlit situations at maximum aperture, no issues with chromatic aberration were seen, which makes the performance of this budget prime lens even more surprising.

One aspect that makes the 75mm variant stand out from the other lenses in the Sirui Sniper line is the unmentioned fact that it is actually compatible with full frame cameras. When used with a full frame camera body, it allows you to maximize the depth of field at uncropped 75mm, giving impressively creamy background blur in the right situations. The combination of this lens’s capabilities, the image quality and focusing performance, plus the fact that it’s probably the cheapest lens of its kind, makes it one of the best budget lenses for mirrorless cameras we’ve seen so far.

Application

While lenses are, of course, generally not limited to just a few applications, because of the focal length—especially with the APS-C crop factor—it is undeniable that the Sirui Sniper 75mm f/1.2 best shines in shooting portraits. The fact that it offers great image quality even when wide open, plus the fact that it can offer appealing background (and foreground) blur, makes it a lens that can offer great results when used in the right context and environment. Because of the large f/1.2 opening, it can, of course, perform very well in low light, and when paired with a capable camera’s autofocus system, it can be very helpful in shooting both stills and video in low light situations.

In a similar way, this lens can also be quite useful in shooting still life or products, as long as it does not require very close focusing on small details. With the isolation and detail, it can be great in photographing objects both in indoor and outdoor settings.

Perhaps the only foreseeable situations where this lens might not be optimal are for photographing very fast movement, such as in sports. While the autofocus does well in controlled situations, the speed at which it tracks subjects might leave room for missed shots.

Conclusion

All the strengths and weaknesses of this lens considered, we can definitely say that this is still quite the offering, especially considering the $320 price tag (may vary depending on the retailer). For an affordable price, this lens offers great low light performance and the benefits of a large aperture prime suitable for a wide range of applications. It could benefit from having physical switches and even customizable buttons, but regardless of that, the availability of such a lens at such a price can definitely enable photographers, videographers, or content creators who are on a budget or are just starting out.

What I Liked

• Large f/1.2 aperture
• Effective and accurate autofocus
• Compatible with full frame cameras
• Affordable price tag

What I Didn’t Like

• Glossy finish on the barrel
• No physical af/mf switch
• Lens hood is rather soft and rubbery