Raining, sunny and raining, not raining but breezy. Just a few shots from Kilgore where weather wasn't cooperating. Was a nice little hike with my youngest son though.
Sony a7R V & Sigma 28-45mm f/1.8 DG DN Art and Zeiss Loxia 25mm f/2.4
Peire wrote:
Sony GM 85/1.4 Mk2 reminds me of Sigma 85/1.4 DG DN.A bit sharper,contrastier,has more vivid colour rendition,faster autofocus and virtually no CA (as does Sigma).Sharp/very sharp even wide open,but without buttery smooth bokeh of the GM 85/1.4 Mk1 and with no it's painterly look.
Thank you Piotr for sharing all your excellent sample images and honest appraisal of your latest 85mm GM lens (congrats btw)...much appreciated
Cheers Barry
A few older images reworked today with the older Sony GM 85mm f1.4 lens together with Topaz Sharpen Ai
A small set of Nepal and Tibet images taken with the Voigtlander VM Heliar 50/3.5 that I use on my Sony cameras. These are dedicated to a Leicaphile named Jimmy Cheng. Jimmy recently reviewed the new VM 50/3.5 APO-Lanthar. That APO lens is a little better than the very good Heliar I used here:
Jimmy began his review with the words: "Now the keyword here is 3.5, which really bothered me. I struggled to find a reason for this lens to exist." So these f3.5 lens images are for Jimmy and his ilk. His YouTube video - a study in patronizing condescension - has this title: 'Voigtlander 50mm f3.5 APO Review'.
BO MONO wrote:
Thank you Pietr for sharing all your excellent sample images and honest appraisal of your latest 85mm GM lens (congrats btw)...much appreciated
Cheers Barry
A few older images reworked today with the older Sony GM 85mm f1.4 lens together with Topaz Sharpen Ai
Thank you very much for your kind words.
BTW:Topaz does an excellent job with 85/1.4 Mk1 in your pictures,separating objects from background while still keeping the whole of the picture painterly smooth.
Peire wrote:
Thank you very much for your kind words.
BTW:Topaz does an excellent job with 85/1.4 Mk1 in your pictures,separating objects from background while still keeping the whole of the picture painterly smooth.
Thanks again Piotr, you are most kind and are always willing to share your honest findings of your new lenses
As it has been said before 'No perfect lens exists, as there are always compromises'....You and Fred probably have more experience with different lenses than most of us...Letting us know what their true strength and weaknesses are
As I am still gathering....The new Mk2 Sony GM 85mm f1.4 ticks more boxes than most previous generation fast 85mm lenses for us Sony users and addresses the numerous AF issues of the old GM Mk1 whilst being sharper - The Sigma Art 85mm f1.4 (which I also previously owned....an excellent lens BTW) is not that far behind at a great price.
Sharpening with Topaz Ai works really well for me with old GM Mk1 to help boost the sharpness at the point of focus, whilst still retaining that classic painterly OoF background bokeh rendering at f1.4...For that reason I shall still keep the old GM Mk1 for now and perhaps add the GM Mk2 later on....Thanks again for all....much appreciated...Cheers Barry
BO MONO wrote:
Thanks again Piotr, you are most kind and are always willing to share your honest findings of your new lenses
As it has been said before 'No perfect lens exists, as there are always compromises'....You and Fred probably have more experience with different lenses than most of us...Letting us know what their true strength and weaknesses are
As I am still gathering....The new Mk2 Sony GM 85mm f1.4 ticks more boxes than most previous generation fast 85mm lenses for us Sony users and addresses the numerous AF issues of the old GM Mk1 whilst being sharper - The Sigma Art 85mm f1.4 (which I also previously owned....an excellent lens BTW) is not that far behind at a great price.
Sharpening with Topaz Ai works really well for me with old GM Mk1 to help boost the sharpness at the point of focus, whilst still retaining that classic painterly OoF background bokeh rendering at f1.4...For that reason I shall still keep the old GM Mk1 for now and perhaps add the GM Mk2 later on....Thanks again for all....much appreciated...Cheers Barry
Sony GM 85mm at f8 with Topaz Ai sharpening
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54032461750_8575a4926d_k.jpg CHAPEL ROCK
Thank you very much Barry.I agree with you opinion and appreciate your very kind answer.I decided to keep both Mk1 and Mk2 for the same reasons as you pointed out.
BO MONO wrote:
Thank you Piotr for sharing all your excellent sample images and honest appraisal of your latest 85mm GM lens (congrats btw)...much appreciated
Cheers Barry
A few older images reworked today with the older Sony GM 85mm f1.4 lens together with Topaz Sharpen Ai
Barry, these have a beautiful feel, and make me want to get a copy of the version 1. The rendering is gentle and welcoming. A large part of that is due to your excellent photography and image developing.
Ross Martin wrote:
Barry, these have a beautiful feel, and make me want to get a copy of the version 1. The rendering is gentle and welcoming. A large part of that is due to your excellent photography and image developing.
Thanks Ross for that...appreciated buddy
I honestly believe the old lens will end up being a classic over time (A bit like the old Leica 75mm Summilux f1.4 has become for it's WO rendering), once the desire settles down for the Mk2....I love the rendering WO of the Mk1 lens but I'm in absolutely no doubt that the Mk2 is better in every other respect, as Piotr confirms.
Please be aware that the 85mm GM Mk1 AF side of things completely stinks, if AF is important to you....It's AF is frustrating as it hunts/searches and doesn't always lock on properly in low light...So I end up using mine in MF mode probably more than AF...The AF motor is noisy and grinds away (That's pretty much normal even if you get a good copy).
Prices are going to plummet now that the Mk2 has been released, probably never ever a better time to buy, as shops discount heavily to shift their old stock and the second hand market becomes flooded with Mk1's...I will probably end up with the Mk2 as well like Piotr and have the best of both worlds.
I will put a link below to the original 3300 x 2300px finished image of the "BREAD" shot so you can see what a decent job Topaz Ai sharpening does at the point of focus...Topaz Ai sharpening was the reason I ended up selling my 85mm Sigma Art 85mm f1.4 lens because otherwise the Sigma is also pretty much a better lens than the Mk1 in every respect other than the bokeh shot WO.
His YouTube video - a study in patronizing condescension - has this title: 'Voigtlander 50mm f3.5 APO Review'.
