Review of AstrHori 14mm 1:4.5 ASPH (aka RockStar R)

Many thanks for the provided RockStar R 14/4.5 lens Nikita (check out his Instagram).

Navigation

1. In short
2. Main Specifications
3. Assembly
4. Focusing
5. Image quality
6. Sample Photos
7. My experience
8. Price
9. Video review
10. Results
11. User Comments
12. Add your review or question on the lens

In this review, I will call the AstrHori lens (aka the former RockStar R) 14mm 1:4.5 ASPH for short - 'AstrHori 14/4.5'.

Please note that the AstrHori 14/4.5 lens is available in different mounts. This review shows the AstrHori 14/4.5 version for mirrorless cameras Sony E with APS-C sensor. At the same time, AstrHori 14 / 4.5 is also available with mounts Nikon Z, fujifilm x, Canon EF-M и Micro 4 / 3.

In short

AstrHori 14/4.5 is a modern manual ultra-wide-angle lens for cropped mirrorless cameras. Interesting due to its compact size and fairly low price (around $ 80). AstrHori 14/4.5 was announced in the summer of 2023.

Overall, the AstrHori 14/4.5 is very sharp in the center of the image, with low distortion, which is very important for a wide-angle lens.

It's important: AstrHori 14/4.5 does not have the ability to change the aperture value and always shoots exclusively at the F/4.5 aperture. The lens does not have an aperture control ring and the aperture value is always fixed.

It's important: AstrHori 14/4.5 exists in two modifications, with a filter diameter of 62 mm (view) and 55 mm (from this review).

List of all lenses AstrHori you can see here.

Main technical characteristics of RockStar R 14mm 1:4.5 ASPH:

Review Instance Name	Near the front lens: R 14/4.5 ⌀55 On body: ROCKSTAR 14mm 1:4.5 ASPH Mount side: E-00022
Basic properties	Lens uses Sony E mount and suitable for mirrorless cameras Sony with APS-C sensor Manual focus only Metal mount, metal body ASPH - aspherical elements in the optical scheme Available in two body colors: black and silver Fixed aperture Compact size
Front Filter Diameter	55 mm (there is a 62 mm version/subversion)
Focal length	14 mm EGF for cameras Nikon Z, Fujifilm x, Sony E with APS-C sensor is 21 mm EGF for cameras Canon EF-M with APS-C sensor is 22.4 mm EGF for system cameras Micro 4/3 is 28 mm
Zoom ratio	1 X (this is a fixed lens, it does not have a zoom)
Designed by	for cropped mirrorless cameras Sony E. This lens also exists with mounts of other systems: Nikon Z, Fujifilm x, Canon EF-M и Micro 4 / 3
Number of aperture blades	no (no aperture mechanism), fixed aperture value used
Tags	bayonet mount mark (red dot) focusing distance scale in meters only, markers available for 0.23, 0.5, 1, 2 meters and infinity mark
Diaphragm	a fixed aperture value of 1:4.5 is used
MDF	0.23 meters, maximum magnification ratio is approximately 1:20
The weight	99.4 grams (according to the official website) 100 grams (according to my measurements, lens without caps, Sony E mount) 124 grams (according to my measurements, lens with caps, Sony E mount)
	6 elements in 5 groups, including 1 aspherical element. The diagram is clickable. The complex shape of an aspherical lens is most likely due to the fact that it is cast or stamped. In the image, this helps avoid creating concentric “onion” circles in the blur disks.
Lens hood	Must screw into the front filter thread
Manufacturer country	Lens made in China
Period	Announced summer 2023
Price	About 80-90 dollars, can be viewed on Aliexpress from an official dealer

The F/4.5 aperture of the AstrHori 14/4.5 gives light transmission in the region of T/5.0-T/5.3.

Assembly

In general, the lens is well built. AstrHori 14/4.5 has metal mount for bayonet, and the lens body itself is completely made of metal, including a metal focusing ring. The metal is painted silver, visually it seems that plastic is used - but this is not the case. The case design resembles the original one Sony E 2.8 / 16 (SEL16F28) or Astrhori 27/2.8.

The weight of the AstrHori 14/4.5 lens itself is about 100 grams. In your hands, the lens feels like a solid thing.

The lens itself is very compact, ideal for small cameras Sony with APS-C sensor. The front filter diameter is 55mm, which is small for an ultra-wide-angle lens.

The front lens cap is metal, without latches, just fits snugly against the body frame. There is a special fabric seal on the inside of the lid. The cover is fixed tightly. Removing and installing the cover is pleasant.

All marks and labels on lenses engraved.

Focusing

The focus ring is not very wide, metal, ribbed. The ring rotates on 45 degrees. Focusing is smooth and pleasant, the ring rotates easily.

During focusing, the “trunk” moves forward 1-2 millimeters, the thread for the filters rotates. Focusing is done by moving the entire lens unit.

There is a scale on the ring with the focusing distance in meters. The focusing distance scale is not very detailed.

The minimum focusing distance is 23 centimeters. The maximum magnification ratio is approximately 1:20 (according to my measurements).

AstrHori 14/4.5 has a noticeably pronounced 'Focus Breathing' effect (changing the viewing angle while focusing). When focusing towards the MDF, the viewing angle decreases.

There is no hard stop (hard infinity mechanical stop) for fast and accurate focusing under any operating temperature conditions. The focus ring has a significant “overshoot/overshoot” beyond infinity.

While AstrHori 14/4.5 is running on the camera Sony a3500 problems with focusing or metering exposure did not have. Focus-peaking (emphasizing sharp edges) and rapidly enlarging the central area of ​​the image greatly simplifies the operation of the lens.

Image quality

The AstrHori 14/4.5 turned out to be a good lens, although there are some significant drawbacks.

Sharpness

1. in the center of the frame the lens shows high resolution
2. high resolution in the center of the frame does not depend on focusing distance
3. there is a significant drop in resolution towards the far edges and far corners of the frame
4. good contrast
5. small coma

Distortion

1. there is a small barrel distortion
2. easily fixable in the editor

Vignetting

1. significant vignetting
2. vignetting practically independent of focusing distance
3. vignetting quite easily fixable in the editor

Aberration

1. chromatic aberration well corrected in the center of the frame
2. tangible amount HA there is only at the edges of the image

Rest

1. The lens tolerates back and side light well, with a low amount of glare
2. neutral bokeh (weakly pronounced due to the combination of such focal length, aperture and MDF)

Important: At the time of writing this review, there was no AstrHori 14/4.5 profile for popular RAW converters. You can create a profile yourself or wait for its release.

Sample Photos

Camera used Sony α3500 (Sony ILCE-3500) based on the EXMOR APS-C CMOS 20 MP sensor. All photos in this review are shown without processing, according to the principles ZEROJPEG.

It's important: on my camera Sony a3500, most likely on some others, the camera sensor suffers greatly from color shift. The edges of the image appear pink/pink purple. The color shift does not depend on the focusing distance. This is a drawback of the camera sensor; the lens has nothing to do with it.

RAW (Sony '.ARW') original photos can be view / download from this link (20 files, 400 MB, Google Drive gallery).

My experience

AstrHori 14/4.5 is a fun little ultra-wide. You can always take it with you; its compact size and light weight fully contribute to this. Sometimes it is better to have such a “simple” ultra-wide than not to have it at all.

True, if you have universal zoom lenses of the type Sony 16-50mm, Sony 16-55mm, Sony 16-70mm, I don’t see much point in buying AstrHori 14/4.5. The difference between 14mm and 16mm is not that important for many photography tasks.

I would also recommend looking at used, and therefore not particularly expensive, autofocus options such as Sony E 2.8 / 16 (SEL16F28).

My short video review here.

Price

AstrHori 14/4.5 costs around $90. The easiest way buy AstrHori 14/4.5 on Aliexpress from the official dealer of AstrHori.

Results

AstrHori 14/4.5 is a very “simple” and budget wide-angle/ultra-wide-angle pancake lens for mirrorless cameras with an APS-C sensor with a fixed aperture of F/4.5. High resolution in the center of the frame and low distortion. Overall, the AstrHori 14/4.5 can serve as the first starting point into the world of ultra-wide-angle lenses.

10 main advantages

1. low cost (around $ 80)
2. compact size, pancake lens
3. light weight
4. metal case
5. Available in black or silver body color
6. the lens is manufactured for most modern popular cropped mirrorless systems
7. smooth focus ring
8. the optical design uses special optical elements (including aspherical ones)
9. good/high resolution in the center of the frame
10. low distortion

10 main disadvantages

1. no aperture mechanism, always uses a fixed aperture value
2. during focusing, the thread for the filter rotates (and the trunk moves forward a little)
3. low aperture (for example, “similar” MEIKE 12/2 significantly “lighter”)
4. there are no CPU contacts for pairing with the camera
5. no depth of field scale
6. focal length is only 14 mm (I would like a wider viewing angle, for example, like many 12 mm solutions, like TTArtisan 10 / 2 or 7Artisans 12 / 2.8)
7. lack of data about the lens in modern cameras, which makes it difficult to automatically correct some types of optical distortion (distortion, vignetting etc.), no lens profile for popular RAW converters
8. front cover without latches
9. very poor resolution in the far corners and edges of the image
10. strong chromatic aberration around the edges and corners of the frame

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Material prepared Arkady Shapoval.