Bubble wrote:
Guy, it seem like hit and miss QC issue since Fred's copy is surviving the metal grinding while your copy and mine had it. To think of it, the red letter G on the lens mean "GRINDING"
Lol. I'm playing with it now. AF seems a little better. Hmmm noise and tension still there though. It's usable until stock comes in. I'm going to have my dealer send me one and I'll return this one. It's possible this could wear down and become normal. Have to shoot it more and see if that starts to happen. I can't damage it any worse than what it is anyway. What kills me is this thing is so damn good. I'm more bothered by the tension I feel in manual mode, it's like grinding down metal with a nail file
There seems to be an issue with production. Too many screenshots of what it seems to be scratched metal. There's no way to tell the percentage of affected lenses, but there are also lenses out there without issues. My copy is not quiet. I can definitely hear the motor but I don't hear any scratching metal sound. If it wasn't for the complaints, I would think it's normal, just not a quiet AF lens.
I hear noise from the motor moving the elements but nothing out of the ordinary. I don't feel any tension when in MF mode.
I just looked inside my lens with a flashlight and there are no marks on the barrel. What I see is some lubricant residue when the lens is focused at infinity and aperture is wide-open.
Aside from the real lemons, all I can say is that this lens does not seem to have super speed AF and it's for sure not quiet.
GMPhotography wrote:
Lol. I'm playing with it now. AF seems a little better. Hmmm noise and tension still there though. It's usable until stock comes in. I'm going to have my dealer send me one and I'll return this one. It's possible this could wear down and become normal. Have to shoot it more and see if that starts to happen. I can't damage it any worse than what it is anyway. What kills me is this thing is so damn good. I'm more bothered by the tension I feel in manual mode, it's like grinding down metal with a nail file
You mean you can feel the tension in the focussing ring? That's very odd given that it's fly-by-wire, and could be (yet) another problem...
Just think of the one you have got as an evaluation copy, and enjoy it until your real copy arrives!
Yes I can actually feel it when manual focusing from around 2m to almost infinity the tension . It's not a smooth focusing ring . I like that evaluation copy.
Thank you to everyone for the tests. It's a very nice rendering lens. It's like the perfect lens for me, almost made for me but I keep repeating to myself I can resist the gas for it.
The GM 85 actually feels good to me. I don't find it overpowering the body by weight or size. I thought I would miss the Batis 85 because of the weight and size and that's not the case for me. Now I don't use the hood that came with it either. I'm using a 77mm screw in hood that's maybe a inch long.
The zoom is certainly felt but given it abilities it's worth it.
So here's the 2000$ question: How does it compare to 85mm 1.2L? (bokeh-wise)
I'm getting ready to ditch all of my Nikon gear as I've been so smitten with the usability & performance of A7Rii, so now I'm wondering which one would be better as a wedding portrait lens.
The Sony is native and honestly I hate the MB canon thing. Now I get every AF option which I use a lot of different ones . The bokeh and rendering are great but the canon may have a slight edge in bokeh. Have not shot it in years
I can report the same kind of scratches inside of my copy of the lens. There is also lubricant on the inside but none where the scratches are located.
AF was quite noisy in the begining but has improved a bit. Instead of making the sound over the entire focus range it now makes it a certain points and it's less loud.
But that still doesn't make the current behavior acceptable for such an expensive lens!
Pay attention to if folks are feeling tension in manual mode focusing. It's not the noise so much it's the grinding from about 2m to almost if they feel that happening than its grinding on the gears. It may work itself out but I'm not so sure about that I can see deep in side the side walls under the element bare metal.
Think of it as your driving with foot on brake and its grinding the brakes. There is noise as well but people I think are getting confused on the AF motor. It's far more than that
Okay how to test for this issue. Please pass this along to other forums.
Turn camera on with lens. Turn OFF the AF/MF and put to MF . This turns off the AF motor as it has no part of the issue. The problem is the focusing ring rotation. So in MF mode turn the lens back and forth from close to infinity. If you hear no sound or feel no tension your lens does NOT have this issue. Your just hearing normal focus Motor sound on AF. If your feeling the tension and hearing it grinding in MF than you have a faulty lens as it will do it in manual focus and auto focus because your moving the focusing gear and its pushing the element groupon a linear track. It's the inside of the focus ring gearing causing the problem. Those metal shavings I pointed it too down on the side walls between those groves.
Hope that clears things up. People are freaking out over AF motor noise that's not it
OK, one last video to clearly illustrate the noise. People keep saying the audio gain must be too loud (they need to lower the volume on their end -- This is straight from my iphone to youtube with zero production value)
Here is the side by side comparison of the Sigma 50mm Art on my 5D3 vs. the 85mm GM on the A7RII with the latest 3.1 firmware... and having shot with the 85mm all day yesterday. (At the Formula D race in Long Beach, which I am happy to say, you totally can't hear the lens focusing in that environment).
Crispyeaterson wrote:
OK, one last video to clearly illustrate the noise. People keep saying the audio gain must be too loud (they need to lower the volume on their end -- This is straight from my iphone to youtube with zero production value)
Here is the side by side comparison of the Sigma 50mm Art on my 5D3 vs. the 85mm GM on the A7RII with the latest 3.1 firmware... and having shot with the 85mm all day yesterday. (At the Formula D race in Long Beach, which I am happy to say, you totally can't hear the lens focusing in that environment).
For a different test, roll video on the Sony not the iPhone. Let us hear what the camera records internally, you could stand outside with some ambient too for an objective test. I'm super-interested in this lens as I shoot a lot of run & gun video and do use AF and in-camera audio. Thanks, Chris!
Crispyeaterson wrote:
OK, one last video to clearly illustrate the noise. People keep saying the audio gain must be too loud (they need to lower the volume on their end -- This is straight from my iphone to youtube with zero production value)
Here is the side by side comparison of the Sigma 50mm Art on my 5D3 vs. the 85mm GM on the A7RII with the latest 3.1 firmware... and having shot with the 85mm all day yesterday. (At the Formula D race in Long Beach, which I am happy to say, you totally can't hear the lens focusing in that environment).
i don't want to be rude because i don't know anything about 'audio gain' and i appreciate that you've taken the time to produce several videos, but if i listen to your video there is a constant hum (fan, A/C, motor, pump ??) baseline noise in the background which makes it sound like everything is being amplified. If i lower my volume to the point that the background noise is inaudible, i can't hear either lens focusing. if i listen to your video at normal volume the characteristic of the noise your SonyGM is making is similar to mine but that seems 'normal' for this type of motor as Roger Cicala pointed out. This is definitely not a 'silent' motor nor is it a fast AF lens. I think that is another price you pay for all of this very large glass and something to consider. I do not hear any grinding or scratching in your video that Guy is referring to (but that would be for him to confirm), which sounds like a different and more serious issue.
