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Archive 2016 · LensRentals: Planar T* FE 50/1.4 ZA is absolutely superb!

Fred Miranda
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · LensRentals: Planar T* FE 50/1.4 ZA is absolutely superb!

LensRentals: FE 50mm F1.4 ZA is absolutely superb!

Roger Cicala at LensRentals just posted MTF and Variance Testing for the new Sony FE 50mm F1.4 ZA lens.
Center and extreme edges are outstanding beating pretty much all 50mm lenses on the market including the Otus 55/1.4!!

Here are some excepts:

"The Sony is phenomenally good in the center; just absolutely superb. The Sony, though, is clearly better than the Otus in the center, and just as good as the Otus away from the center as well."

"If you do need one, it’s worth the money; it’s really superb. The center sharpness in particular is unheard of in a 50mm lens. This seems to be a pattern we’re seeing with some of the new Sony lenses, too: The fine resolution (at higher frequencies) is higher than we’re used to seeing."

Read entire review

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Pre-order link:

B&H Photo | Adorama ($1,498.00)

FE 50mm F1.4 ZA vs Zeiss Otus 55/1.4

FE 50mm F1.4 ZA vs FE 55/1.8 ZA

FE 50mm F1.4 ZA vs Sigma 50/1.4

Jul 18, 2016 at 09:35 AM

GMPhotography
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · LensRentals: Planar T* FE 50/1.4 ZA is absolutely superb!

Okay I'm in. Lol

Jul 18, 2016 at 09:45 AM

MikeEvangelist
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · LensRentals: Planar T* FE 50/1.4 ZA is absolutely superb!

GMPhotography wrote:
Okay I'm in. Lol

I'm shocked Guy. Shocked I tell you!

Jul 18, 2016 at 09:46 AM

AGeoJO
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · LensRentals: Planar T* FE 50/1.4 ZA is absolutely superb!

Sharper than the Otus? Wow!

Jul 18, 2016 at 09:48 AM

GMPhotography
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · LensRentals: Planar T* FE 50/1.4 ZA is absolutely superb!

Yea when you hear that you gotta buy it

AGeoJO wrote:
Sharper than the Otus? Wow!

Jul 18, 2016 at 09:49 AM

GMPhotography
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · LensRentals: Planar T* FE 50/1.4 ZA is absolutely superb!

Yea and I'm so conservative about buying lenses. Who would have thought. Lol

Your buying one too . Im taking you all down with me.

MikeEvangelist wrote:
I'm shocked Guy. Shocked I tell you!

Jul 18, 2016 at 09:51 AM

AGeoJO
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · LensRentals: Planar T* FE 50/1.4 ZA is absolutely superb!

GMPhotography wrote:
Yea when you hear that you gotta buy it

It was in my cart already, pulled my CC out but then I started contemplating..... but I know I am too weak to resist at the end

Jul 18, 2016 at 09:52 AM

Fred Miranda
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · LensRentals: Planar T* FE 50/1.4 ZA is absolutely superb!

GMPhotography wrote:
Okay I'm in. Lol

I don't blame you and also pre-ordered it. This will be my third native 50mm!

I love my Loxia 50/2 and 55/1.8 ZA for different needs and I'm curious how see how the 50/1.4 ZA compares to them.
I'm mostly interested in rendering, colors and bokeh quality as we know they are all capable optically.

The Loxia is amazing for landscapes so I think its place is safe (sunstar, mechanical MF, etc.). However, the new 50/1.4 could replace my 55/1.8 for people and general photography.

Jul 18, 2016 at 09:52 AM

GMPhotography
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · LensRentals: Planar T* FE 50/1.4 ZA is absolutely superb!

ROTFLMAO

AGeoJO wrote:
It was in my cart already, pulled my CC out but then I started contemplating..... but I know I am too weak to resist at the end

Jul 18, 2016 at 09:55 AM

GMPhotography
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · LensRentals: Planar T* FE 50/1.4 ZA is absolutely superb!

I agree bud I think this is going to have wonderfully rendering. Keeps these lenses coming

Fred Miranda wrote:
I don't blame you and also pre-ordered. This will be my third native 50mm!

I love my Loxia 50/2 and 55/1.8 ZA for different needs and I'm curious how see how the 50/1.4 ZA compares to them.
I'm mostly interested in rendering, colors and bokeh quality as we know they are all capable optically.

The Loxia is amazing for landscapes so I think its place is safe. However, the new 50/1.4 could replace my 55/1.8 for people and general photography.

Jul 18, 2016 at 09:56 AM

MikeEvangelist
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · LensRentals: Planar T* FE 50/1.4 ZA is absolutely superb!

GMPhotography wrote:
Your buying one too . Im taking you all down with me.

I've realized recently that I almost never shoot 50mm. So I sold the Loxia 50mm and the Sony 55mm and replaced them with the cheap 50mm (just to have on the shelf in case I absolutely need a 50mm for something.)

So, although this looks like a beauty, it won't be in my cart. ;-)

Jul 18, 2016 at 09:57 AM

Steve Spencer
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · LensRentals: Planar T* FE 50/1.4 ZA is absolutely superb!

Wow! From Roger's comments over the weekend I expected this to look great, but I was still surprised at how good it look. In the centre it is even sharper than the Otus and the variability is not bad at all. I am not really in the market for it, but it looks fantastic.

Jul 18, 2016 at 09:57 AM

chrisgibbs
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · LensRentals: Planar T* FE 50/1.4 ZA is absolutely superb!

The 64,000 dollar question, does it render anything like as nice as the OTUS................? Because early tests of the FE 1.8/55 had it pegged as a mini-OTUS from a resolution standpoint, but its rendering is kinda harsh by comparison. ~Chris

Jul 18, 2016 at 09:57 AM

Steve Spencer
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · LensRentals: Planar T* FE 50/1.4 ZA is absolutely superb!

chrisgibbs wrote:
The 64,000 dollar question, does it render anything like as nice as the OTUS................? Because early tests of the FE 1.8/55 had it pegged as a mini-OTUS from a resolution standpoint, but its rendering is kinda harsh by comparison. ~Chris

Well, I am willing to bet that it won't control aberrations as well as the Otus, and if you look at the MTFs, the Sony FE f/1.4 does have a bit of a mid zone dip in resolution, whereas the Otus extends it's excellent sharpness through the mid zone. So, I still think the Otus will have noticeable advantages. That said the FE f/1.4 dip is mostly noticeable because the centre is so sharp, and as sharp as the Sony FE 55 f/1.8 is the FE 50 f/1.4 is even sharper and at 2/3 of a stop wider. So, for sharpness I don't think there will be any question it is great, but sharpness isn't everything. Bokeh looks great too, however, from the samples I have seen, but it is early to judge that. Let's see the rendering, but as Roger said, I will be surprised if this isn't an absolute winner. It might only be 98% of the Otus, but that ain't bad at all.

Jul 18, 2016 at 10:27 AM

chrisgibbs
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · LensRentals: Planar T* FE 50/1.4 ZA is absolutely superb!

Steve Spencer wrote:
Well, I am willing to bet that it won't control aberrations as well as the Otus, and if you look at the MTFs, the Sony FE f/1.4 does have a bit of a mid zone dip in resolution, whereas the Otus extends it's excellent sharpness through the mid zone. So, I still think the Otus will have noticeable advantages. That said the FE f/1.4 dip is mostly noticeable because the centre is so sharp, and as sharp as the Sony FE 55 f/1.8 is the FE 50 f/1.4 is even sharper and at 2/3 of a stop wider. So,...Show more →

I couldn't care less about sharpness these days, they're all (recent Zeiss/Sony FE mounts >$1000) good enough, but after I looked at the Sony 85GM (shot wide-open) noticed something quite special about its rendering style where OOF highlights are concerned. That's what I'll be looking for in the new FE 1.4/50 from Sony, they set the bar really high with the 85GM IMO. ~Chris

Jul 18, 2016 at 10:35 AM

bjornthun
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · LensRentals: Planar T* FE 50/1.4 ZA is absolutely superb!

And it has got AF and full integration with eye AF, which the Otus obviously hasn't got.

Jul 18, 2016 at 10:36 AM

darbo
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · LensRentals: Planar T* FE 50/1.4 ZA is absolutely superb!

Impressive/amazing initial test report!

chrisgibbs wrote:
The 64,000 dollar question, does it render anything like as nice as the OTUS................? Because early tests of the FE 1.8/55 had it pegged as a mini-OTUS from a resolution standpoint, but its rendering is kinda harsh by comparison. ~Chris

Also, I tested a FE 55mm f/1.8 ZA against my Otus 55mm and the color rendition of the Otus was very clearly better to my eyes, so I kept the Otus and returned the FE 55mm.

This new Sony/Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 as well as the Sigma 50mm Art are amazingly sharp. But sharpness is just one aspect of a lens that appeals to me. So far, of all the lenses (of any focal length) I have ever used/tried/rented/purchased the Otus 55mm stands all alone for my personal tastes regarding rendered image quality. But, if the new FE 50mm f/1.4 ZA turns out to be just as good - or even close - in every image-quality way that appeals to me, I would be happy to consider selling my huge/heavy/MFing Otus and make the switch.

Edited on Jul 18, 2016 at 10:49 AM · View previous versions

Jul 18, 2016 at 10:40 AM

chrisgibbs
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · LensRentals: Planar T* FE 50/1.4 ZA is absolutely superb!

bjornthun wrote:
And it has got AF and full integration with eye AF, which the Otus obviously hasn't got.

Yes, that's worth its weight in gold to a lifestyle photographer, and one reason I've never-ever considered the OTUS!

Jul 18, 2016 at 10:45 AM

arduluth
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · LensRentals: Planar T* FE 50/1.4 ZA is absolutely superb!

At some point, Sony should really drop the Zeiss badge and take credit for their work! I'm personally more impressed by the FE 55mm f/1.8 if only because it manages to have such excellent performance while staying small... but would anyone three years ago have believed that this statement would be true in 2016?

The Sony is phenomenally good in the center; just absolutely superb. The Sony, though, is clearly better than the Otus in the center, and just as good as the Otus away from the center as well.

Bonkers!

Jul 18, 2016 at 10:51 AM

chrisgibbs
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · LensRentals: Planar T* FE 50/1.4 ZA is absolutely superb!

arduluth wrote:
At some point, Sony should really drop the Zeiss badge and take credit for their work!!

Absolute agreement here, and I wonder how many discussions the engineers have had with marketing on this! I was kind of perplexed when this lens (obviously a primo lens) appeared minus the GM moniker, as the recent GM's are obviously something special in their rendering. ~Chris

Jul 18, 2016 at 11:03 AM

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