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Archive 2017 · Your experience with the FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA

SoundHound
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p.3 #1 · p.3 #1 · Your experience with the FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA

Some sharp independent company could do very well testing and/or repairing such lenses. I, for one, would be willing to pay extra rather than a lens carousel of buying, testing, rejecting, returning again and again.

Sep 11, 2017 at 05:20 AM

chiron
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p.3 #2 · p.3 #2 · Your experience with the FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA

chiron wrote:
I would buy this lens to try it if it weren't so big. 35mm is a length I like very much, and I would like a fast AF 35mm. But I am put off by the size of this lens.

Two of the things I shoot with a 35 are people and travel. And the humongous size of the lens is ill-suited for either application. The Loxia 35mm is my preferred 35 at this point. I haven't warmed up to the Sony 35 2.8. I liked the Canon 35mm f/2. I sold mine, but I sometimes think about getting another...Show more →

I may be changing my mind about some of this.

Fred did his own comparison of the Sony 35mm f/2.8 on the A7RII to the 24mm f/1.8 on the a6500. He found their rendering and bokeh characteristics to be hard to tell apart. Since I have like the 24mm f/1.8, I now distrust my own sense of the 35 f/2.8 (since I think Fred does a better job of seeing lens characteristics than I do).

If I could be more satisfied with the 35 2.8, then maybe I would consider the 35 1.4 for when carrying it would be an acceptable burden.

Sep 11, 2017 at 08:42 AM

GMPhotography
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p.3 #3 · p.3 #3 · Your experience with the FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA

I'm going to test my CV 35 1.7 when I get it today but I was going to test my FE 35 1.4 along with it. I can post the FE results if folks want to see that with Big Bronco. Have results Tuesday. My copy is 98 percent perfect.

Sep 11, 2017 at 09:10 AM

DavidBM
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p.3 #4 · p.3 #4 · Your experience with the FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA

philip_pj wrote:
It's the flawed genius of the Sony family, lol. [put another way, if I was the designer I'd be very disturbed at how the production of the lens was handled; he probably left the company in disgust.]

Maybe; but he or she has the blame too.
Modern lenses do not get their optical design in isolation. The manufacturing design is done in tandem and the designer is thinking in terms of how it is made. The difference between the various lenses in terms of variability for one manufacturer is not, I suspect, that some production lines are sloppier: its that the total design (opto-mechanical and production) is one which produces variability or lack thereof when it goes into production.

Sep 11, 2017 at 07:54 PM

GMPhotography
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p.3 #5 · p.3 #5 · Your experience with the FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA

The only thing I can think of us a small element group is just a touch off in production because it is always the right side. But that's a guess too. I tested a bunch of them and that was the issue every time.

Sep 11, 2017 at 09:24 PM

genji
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p.3 #6 · p.3 #6 · Your experience with the FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA

GMPhotography wrote:
I'm going to test my CV 35 1.7 when I get it today but I was going to test my FE 35 1.4 along with it. I can post the FE results if folks want to see that with Big Bronco. Have results Tuesday. My copy is 98 percent perfect.

It would also be helpful if you could tell us the formula that you use to calculate the perfection score.

Sep 11, 2017 at 09:39 PM

GMPhotography
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p.3 #7 · p.3 #7 · Your experience with the FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA

It's just shooting the Big Bronco wall on each test . The left side is pretty crisp even close to wide open and the whole right side is like 3 stops behind it. It's really obvious. This copy I have now is really close to the left side. I'll post those results this week as I'm testing it against the CV 35 1.7. If you want the Raws just let me know. I'll load them up.

I go by that wall. It's really a torture test on lenses. I can pick up a lot of data from it.

Than I do a infinity test and it always jives with the wall test.

I hope I can test this soon my lens is currently lost in Katy Texas. I ordered from California so it's 4 states away. Someone please tell USPS that Arizona is next door to California not several states away. It was supposed to be here Saturday. Maybe I need to send up some flares

genji wrote:
It would also be helpful if you could tell us the formula that you use to calculate the perfection score.

Sep 11, 2017 at 10:00 PM

philip_pj
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p.3 #8 · p.3 #8 · Your experience with the FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA

Then, David, the design committee would have made the decision not to proceed ahead of time - in the prototype stage - had they had sufficient expertise in the matter. You don't back gifted yet ambitious designs of top tier lenses you are uncertain of manufacturing to market-acceptable tolerances. Probably a lot of new lenses are rushed out the door.

Having said all this, perspective is important. Nikon and Canon have had plenty of issues even with their core pro zoom lenses, over the years.

Sep 11, 2017 at 10:48 PM

Jonathan Brady
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p.3 #9 · p.3 #9 · Your experience with the FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA

Well... because I got a fairly good deal on a new copy I decided to go ahead and take the gamble and order the 35mm f/1.4. I am going to test the bejesus out of it before the return period is over, not only by itself but also in comparison to the Canon 35L II. If it stands up to scrutiny I'll be ecstatic as this is the last lens tying me to Canon. If the Sony 35mm f/1.4 works out I will be able to sell my Canon 5D Mark 4 + 35L II.
Wish me luck!

Sep 15, 2017 at 12:56 PM

Fred Miranda
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p.3 #10 · p.3 #10 · Your experience with the FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA

Jonathan Brady wrote:
Well... because I got a fairly good deal on a new copy I decided to go ahead and take the gamble and order the 35mm f/1.4. I am going to test the bejesus out of it before the return period is over, not only by itself but also in comparison to the Canon 35L II. If it stands up to scrutiny I'll be ecstatic as this is the last lens tying me to Canon. If the Sony 35mm f/1.4 works out I will be able to sell my Canon 5D Mark 4 + 35L II.
Wish me luck!

Good luck!
Post some side by side comparisons showing the rendering between the two lenses if you can!

Sep 15, 2017 at 01:03 PM

Jonathan Brady
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p.3 #11 · p.3 #11 · Your experience with the FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA

Will do!

Sep 15, 2017 at 01:04 PM

GabrielPhoto
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p.3 #12 · p.3 #12 · Your experience with the FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA

Jonathan Brady wrote:
Well... because I got a fairly good deal on a new copy I decided to go ahead and take the gamble and order the 35mm f/1.4. I am going to test the bejesus out of it before the return period is over, not only by itself but also in comparison to the Canon 35L II. If it stands up to scrutiny I'll be ecstatic as this is the last lens tying me to Canon. If the Sony 35mm f/1.4 works out I will be able to sell my Canon 5D Mark 4 + 35L II.
Wish me luck!
I have had 3 copies of the Zeiss and tested them against the Canon 35mm 1.4 L ii and the Sigma as well. I know what my results were so I am intrigue of what you think about them.

Sep 15, 2017 at 01:05 PM

Jonathan Brady
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p.3 #13 · p.3 #13 · Your experience with the FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA

GabrielPhoto wrote:
I have had 3 copies of the Zeiss and tested them against the Canon 35mm 1.4 L ii and the Sigma as well. I know what my results were so I am intrigue of what you think about them.

I'm hoping I don't see what DxO suggests I should see, and that's that the 35L II is substantially sharper. I'm hoping that the FE 35mm f/1.4 I get is a ridiculously good copy. I REALLY would love to have only native lenses and not have to worry about the size/weight of adapters.

Sep 15, 2017 at 01:31 PM

GabrielPhoto
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p.3 #14 · p.3 #14 · Your experience with the FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA

Jonathan Brady wrote:
I'm hoping I don't see what DxO suggests I should see, and that's that the 35L II is substantially sharper. I'm hoping that the FE 35mm f/1.4 I get is a ridiculously good copy. I REALLY would love to have only native lenses and not have to worry about the size/weight of adapters.
Well..if you have read my comments before I probably already spoiled the results for you

Sep 15, 2017 at 03:13 PM

Jonathan Brady
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p.3 #15 · p.3 #15 · Your experience with the FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA

I actually don't think I have. I may have to seek them out :-)

Sep 15, 2017 at 03:14 PM

GabrielPhoto
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p.3 #16 · p.3 #16 · Your experience with the FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA

Jonathan Brady wrote:
I actually don't think I have. I may have to seek them out :-)

Well I can tell you...I was just thinking you wanted to go completely unbiased although you already saw the DXO results.

Of course it will also depend on how good your copies are for each lens.

Sep 15, 2017 at 03:26 PM

Jonathan Brady
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p.3 #17 · p.3 #17 · Your experience with the FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA

I looked here and DPR for threads you started and also on your YouTube channel and didn't see anything. Did you provide the info as a response in a thread?

Sep 15, 2017 at 03:30 PM

GabrielPhoto
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p.3 #18 · p.3 #18 · Your experience with the FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA

Jonathan Brady wrote:
I looked here and DPR for threads you started and also on your YouTube channel and didn't see anything. Did you provide the info as a response in a thread?

Yes usually just went the topic comes up comparing them or asking for 35mm recommendations etc, I mention it.

Basically my needs for a 35mm 1.4 are sharpness across the frame, not necessary to be flatout sharp but since I use it for environmental portraits, my subject is usually not centered so been able to get great detail whenever I place my subject at 1.4 was crucial.
Also, bokeh of course matters a lot for me.
So...the Zeiss as you know has beautiful rendering but the first time I took it on the field...I came home with one of our favorite shots from the session but I knew things were bad when I was looking through the EVF when focusing and was not able to achieve the sharpness I wanted.
To me that was very bad because with a 42MP camera, I love the flexibility of taking any shot and cropping for different looks. Is multiple shots in one, and still having great detail.
So I tried the Sigma 35mm 1.4 Art and while it was sharper away from the center, the Bokeh was for MY taste..just BAD. With odd rendering of background objects.
Then I tried the Canon 35mm 1.4 L ii and I was blown away by it. Just like the Field Maps from DXO show..it has amazing sharpness across the frame at 1.4 and not only that...CA/LOCA is pretty much nothing!
On top of that, the bokeh is actually in my book, as good as the Zeiss because depending on the background, one may have an advantage over the other so if its able to trade blows with the Zeiss in bokeh, then that is more than enough for me.

Still, at the time there was not Continous Eye AF option with Metabones so I still wanted to try more copies of the Zeiss...I was able to try 2 more and the results were always the same (and all 3 had a worst right side btw) with the Canon just proving superior to a all of them.
With that said, if my needs were different I would have been happy with it and there are plenty of happy owners out there so the above statement is just my particular views based on my requierements

Sep 15, 2017 at 03:54 PM

GMPhotography
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p.3 #19 · p.3 #19 · Your experience with the FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA

I just tested mine against the VC 35 if you want to use as a comparison or what you should expect from the FE 35 1.4 you might want to use this as a comparison to your copy. Maybe it may help

Even though mostly the left side my right side matches identical to it

https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1508560

Sep 15, 2017 at 04:29 PM

Jonathan Brady
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p.3 #20 · p.3 #20 · Your experience with the FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA

Thanks for the link vs the VC. I'll check it out!

Gabriel - like you, I use mine for environmental portraits so sharpness across the frame is important and to me, you buy a fast wide angle lens (if you're shooting portraits) to shoot it wide open, at least a significant proportion of the time. This is my favorite shot so far with the 35L II on the α7RII, and I did it with Eye AF


	https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4307/35474283484_2fe3da4453_b.jpg

And here's the image at full size... click here

Edited on Sep 15, 2017 at 04:41 PM · View previous versions

Sep 15, 2017 at 04:40 PM

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