These are the best Irix lenses for astrophotography, chosen for how they combine fast apertures, disciplined off-axis control, and weather-sealed “Dragonfly” builds with tactile focusing aids that make night work predictable and precise. Astro is about three things: speed to keep ISO sane, clean corners (low sagittal coma/astigmatism so stars stay round), and mechanics you can set by feel in gloves or the dark. Start with the classic wide hero, Irix 15mm f/2.4 (Firefly/Blackstone/Dragonfly): bright enough for the galactic core, well-controlled coma, a focus lock and hard infinity “click,” rear-gel slot for NDs, and luminous markings that make setup painless—an all-timer for Milky Way arches, airglow, and tracked nightscapes. Add the Irix 21mm f/1.4 Dragonfly when you want more speed for shorter exposures and richer star color—its fast aperture, neutral rendering, and long, damped focus throw make it the low-light storyteller for city-astro, aurora, and blue-hour transitions. For stitched panoramas and dramatic foreground-to-sky scale, the Irix 11mm f/4 gives a sweeping view with rectilinear discipline; while slower, it shines on trackers or in stacked approaches and keeps lines honest for night architecture. Step longer for constellations and compressed star fields with the Irix 30mm f/1.4 and 45mm f/1.4 Dragonfly—both bring generous light intake, smooth bokeh around foreground silhouettes, and restrained longitudinal CA so bright stars don’t fringe magenta/green; the 45/1.4 is a sleeper for moonlit landscapes and tele-Milky-Way tiles. Cine shooters can mirror the stills set with Irix Cine 21/30/45mm T1.5 and the Cine 15mm T2.6: unified 95mm fronts, 0.8-mod gears, long throws, luminous scales, and sealed housings that behave on sliders, gimbals, and time-lapse rigs while keeping focus breathing modest for night video pulls. Image priorities across the Irix lineup are disciplined—neutral color that grades cleanly, modern coatings that resist veiling flare around the moon and city glow, and tactile focusing (infinity detent + lock) that makes micro-tweaks repeatable; Dragonfly construction (metal-reinforced, gasketed) shrugs off dew and dust, while the Blackstone magnesium shells of earlier 15/2.4 copies offer tank-like durability. Workflow turns good glass into great skies—use magnified live view on a bright star, click to infinity then micro-back off, start around f/1.4–f/2.0 (or f/2.4 on the 15, f/4 on the 11 with stacking/track), expose 10–20s by the NPF rule, and consider a lightweight tracker to drop ISO or extend to 60–120s; carry a slim dew heater or hand warmers, tape the focus ring after confirming, and shoot dark-frame subtraction off if you plan to stack. Composition sells the night—anchor rocks, trees, or ruins inches from the 11/15 for scale, keep horizons centered if you want minimal fisheye-like bow, and bracket a lower-ISO land frame to blend clean foregrounds. The practical kit recipe is simple: anchor with the 15mm f/2.4 for all-round Milky Way work, add the 21mm f/1.4 when you need speed and richer star color, bring the 11mm f/4 for stitched ultrawide epics and tracked vistas, and round out with the 30/1.4 or 45/1.4 for constellations, moonlit scenes, and layered tele-astro; cine users can parallel this with 15 T2.6 + 21/30/45 T1.5 for cohesive night motion. Whether you’re chasing the core over desert arches, framing aurora above coastal stacks, or stitching tracked mosaics under alpine skies, the best Irix lenses for astrophotography deliver speed, clean corners, and night-friendly ergonomics that turn clear nights into publish-ready images.