Just got mine in today. It's not nearly as heavy as most make one think and the focus noise is not nearly as bad as I expected as well. It's definitely a bit larger than my Sony FE 85mm 1.8 but no where drastically enough that I would notice or dislike it as a result.
I'm using it on an A6500 at the moment as I am waiting for the A7III announcement to go back to full frame Sony. I bugged my wife into letting me take a few pictures, think I managed to get a decently sharp copy of the lens. You guys be the judge. This is at f1.4
Wife is doing her best to play model but isn't thrilled about it so mind the impatient glare she's giving
Also, am I right in assuming that if this copy of the lens is sharp(ish) on a a6500 aps-c camera it should technically be even sharper on a full frame?
Love the bokeh on this thing and personally feel the sweet spot is F1.6 up to 2.0 / 2.8.
Elusivesouls wrote:
Just got mine in today. It's not nearly as heavy as most make one think and the focus noise is not nearly as bad as I expected as well. It's definitely a bit larger than my Sony FE 85mm 1.8 but no where drastically enough that I would notice or dislike it as a result.
I'm using it on an A6500 at the moment as I am waiting for the A7III announcement to go back to full frame Sony. I bugged my wife into letting me take a few pictures, think I managed to get a decently sharp copy of the lens. You guys be the judge. This is at f1.4
Wife is doing her best to play model but isn't thrilled about it so mind the impatient glare she's giving
Also, am I right in assuming that if this copy of the lens is sharp(ish) on a a6500 aps-c camera it should technically be even sharper on a full frame?
Love the bokeh on this thing and personally feel the sweet spot is F1.6 up to 2.0 / 2.8. ...Show more →
mm either you missed the eyes or its a bit too soft compared to my copy of the GM. Or maybe is just the compression posting on the thread
GabrielPhoto wrote:
mm either you missed the eyes or its a bit too soft compared to my copy of the GM. Or maybe is just the compression posting on the thread
Elusivesouls wrote:
Well, that's not good to hear...
sorry, I shoulnt have mention this but still could be just the one photo or the compression. It seems to be the focus is a bit in front of the eyes so ignore my comment
GabrielPhoto wrote:
sorry, I shoulnt have mention this but still could be just the one photo or the compression. It seems to be the focus is a bit in front of the eyes so ignore my comment
Nah, it's OK. No need to apologize. It does appear focus is on the eyelashes and not the eyes. I will take a few more shots today and see.
I was worried about Sony's QC on its products especially its higher end stuff such as this lens. I had an A9 that was returned due to a misalignment of the back lcd screen (noticeable gap between the panel and LCD screen in which you could see the components on the inside through it) and a few other issues...then this lens... so it's frustrating is all.
Perhaps I should have went with the Batis instead.
GabrielPhoto wrote:
sorry, I shoulnt have mention this but still could be just the one photo or the compression. It seems to be the focus is a bit in front of the eyes so ignore my comment
Also, out of curiosity, do you think that there would be a difference in this copy of the lens being shot on a6500 vs a A7R2 in regards to sharpness?
Is it more likely to compound the issue (make it worse) by using a softer copy of the lens on a A7RII or improve it is what I'm trying to understand. I know full frame is generally accepted to be sharper (i know there are variables) but does it make the issue worse or improve it versus a aps-c sensor?
Just curious as I've never actually directly tested the difference in sharpness between full frame and aps-c on a particular lens that I own.
Gotcha, yeah, the iris is definitely more in focus on yours than mine. I did a few more test to day and compared it to my 85mm 1.8 with the GM at 1.7 AND 2.0. The 85mm FE was still sharper at 1.8 than the GM was at 2.0. I know the FE 85mm is considered and tested to be sharper than the GM, but it was the only hands on comparison that I could conduct myself at home.
I compared the GM shots to others online and determined it didn't seem to be up to par so it was returned today. The new one will be here Wednesday.
Hopefully I have better luck with that copy. Thanks for taking the time to show the crop
Elusivesouls wrote:
Also, out of curiosity, do you think that there would be a difference in this copy of the lens being shot on a6500 vs a A7R2 in regards to sharpness?
Is it more likely to compound the issue (make it worse) by using a softer copy of the lens on a A7RII or improve it is what I'm trying to understand. I know full frame is generally accepted to be sharper (i know there are variables) but does it make the issue worse or improve it versus a aps-c sensor?
Just curious as I've never actually directly tested the difference in sharpness between full frame and aps-c on a particular lens that I own. ...Show more →
Usually, on a crop body, lens defects are less noticeable as the crop body does not use the outer portion of the lens--usually the weakest areas of the lens. Having said that, crop bodies are a bit more demanding of the center as they usually have higher pixel densities....
Luvwine wrote:
Usually, on a crop body, lens defects are less noticeable as the crop body does not use the outer portion of the lens--usually the weakest areas of the lens. Having said that, crop bodies are a bit more demanding of the center as they usually have higher pixel densities....
Yeah, that's what I figured. So its safe to assume that if it was soft on an aps-c it would most likely be far softer when I go back to full frame in a few months.
I've read through most of this thread and wanted to chime in. I just bought an 85mm GM and wanted to post a sample of this lens' "noises." Yeah, I know it's a photo and not an audio forum
I know the topic of the noise this lens makes has been discussed in great detail on various forums, but I don't think there was a decent recording of said noise.
I close-miked the lens' operation sounds with a Rode NTG-2. I had to crank up the gain on my audio interface quite a bit to get decent audio levels, so there is some expected hiss.
The clip contains the following sounds, in the order listed:
1. Lens hunting for focus - unable to achieve focus (this to me sounds like other lenses I've used, perhaps a bit louder, but not "unpleasant")
2. Aperture stopping down from f1.4 to f/13 in Manual Focus while half-pressing shutter button (this noise is somewhat bothersome and has a very "rough" quality, to my ears)
3. AF-C mode - focus achieved, half-pressing shutter button for continuous focus (again, this noise is bothersome and unexpected, the lens also exhibits noticeable vibration while this is happening)
I don't have any problems with #1, but I wish #2 and #3 weren't so pronounced. I haven't noticed any problems with the image quality (which is amazing, by the way) due to #2 - focusing seems to work as expected, but still wanted to get some feedback from other owners of this lens. Does your copy sound similar? Less noisy? More noisy?
