Basically I am really happy with my 21mm Loxia but think to swap it for the new 24mm 1.4 GM. I cannot justify to keep both. I got beside that also the Zeiss 35mm 2.8, Zeiss 50mm 1.4, 85mm 1.4 and 24-105mmG so I think the 24GM would be a perfect addition to my FL collection. I mainly shoot landscape, blue hour and milky way with the Loxia. I just love the Zeiss colors, pop and contrast. So what would be the advantages for the GM in my eyes? AF! Especially for Video work. Running kids where impossible with the Loxia, the AF-Button for Eye AF. Also it looks the GM has a great corner to corner sharpness and lowest possible coma for astro, otherwise Sony PR-Team shouts out louder than necessary. f1.4 vs f2.8 which is quite a difference in any kind of low light situation / not only astro, the well known round bokeh-balls from the GM-Series, a nicer bokeh based on the 1.4/2.8 difference. The GM produces obviously also nice sun-stars which where for my taste a little too pronounced with the Loxia with closed aperture. Sizewise and weight wise they are for me at least quite similar. I can live without the Loxia when it comes to the loose lens hood and swapping it on and off although I save money for the gym in the moment ;-) The problem is would I miss the Loxia at the end? Concerning sharpness I am quite sure the GM meets Loxia's performance. But how are the colors and contrast compared? That's my main problem for a solid decision right now. Are any of you guys in a similar situation?
Mirror wrote:
Concerning sharpness I am quite sure the GM meets Loxia's performance.
I wouldn't be so sure until I see the results from GM that prove it. Loxia 21mm isn't perfect, but the only lens I know around this range that matches and exceeds its resolution and overall crispness is Fujifilm GF 23/4 (and it's not even the same format)
If I were you, I'd at least reconsider the idea of having both lenses. You might still end up selling Loxia based on your experience, but give it at least a few months.
maratus wrote:
I wouldn't be so sure until I see the results from GM that prove it. Loxia 21mm isn't perfect, but the only lens I know around this range that matches and exceeds its resolution and overall crispness is Fujifilm GF 23/4 (and it's not even the same format)
If I were you, I'd at least reconsider the idea of having both lenses. You might still end up selling Loxia based on your experience, but give it at least a few months.
When I shot Canon I spent ages comparing the 24L II v the classic Zeiss 21/2.8. The 24L II is an excellent lens, very sharp, especially stepped down so obviously suitable for landscape use. But the Zeiss gave clearly more saturated and richer colours, more contrast, slightly better sharpness into the corners and of course a wider angle of view. In the SLR world, at least if you want a lens for dedicated landscape use, the 21/2.8 makes sense versus the 24/1.4 options. Likewise it wouldn't shock me to find the Loxia still edges it for landscape use in the mirrorless world.
No, your problem is that this lens isn't out. How can anyone provide any help, other than say that they are looking at the 24mm lens? Of course, the natural comparison is to the Loxia 25mm, or Batis lens.
bwcolor wrote:
No, your problem is that this lens isn't out. How can anyone provide any help, other than say that they are looking at the 24mm lens? Of course, the natural comparison is to the Loxia 25mm, or Batis lens.
I知 also looking forward to the comparison. Hopefully, we won稚 have to wait too long for some real world comparisons. 21 mm would be a more useful fl for me, but af could be useful.
I have the Loxia 21, and I'm selling it even before doing any comparisons because I know it will see very little use after I get the 24 GM. The GM is faster, has AF and is almost guaranteed to perform really well in terms of sharpness, contrast and rendering. But the reason I am selling is not because I believe the Loxia performs in any way worse, it is simply a matter of focal lengths. I have the Batis 18, and the 24 will now be the lens that sits between the 18 and my Batis 40 and CV40. 21 is completely different from 24, and also different from 18 - but I just don't think three lenses between 18 and 24 will see any use, and I'd rather someone else actually use my excellent Loxia 21.
In the OPs case though I'm not sure. 21 is quite a lot wider than 24, and for landscapes in particular I believe I would keep the Loxia if I didn't also own the Batis 18. The 24 GM could potentially replace your 35/2,8 though, since it is light and compact enough to work well as a walk-around lens that doubles as a 36mm in ASPC-mode.
Edit: Another way to go is to sell the 35/2.8 and the Loxia 21 and get either the excellent 12-24G, Laowa 15 or Batis 18 for your ultra wide angle needs.
I have a 25mm Loxia, and pre-ordered the 24 GM, without any intention of selling the Loxia.
The biggest reason is aurora video; going from f/2.4 to f/1.4 helps a lot with ISO.
I think the GM will have less light falloff in the corners at shared apertures, which is nice for night sky shots. I hope coma will be at least as good as the Loxia.
One thing I'm sure of, is that the GM can't beat the Loxia's focus. And I prefer the 10-point sunstars.
Sorry, forgot to add that I also got the 12-24mm G Zoom so I am pretty sure I will be covered good also without the Loxia. As mentioned at the end for me the dunstars are simply too big, others may love this...
Thanks for all posts here so far, I just preordered the 24GM now.
The draw of the Sony 24/1.4 is that it looks to be small and reasonable in weight. Yes it will be a little bigger than the Loxia, but it's significantly smaller and lighter than the Samyang 24/1.4 I use now. If it can beat the Samyang on coma and astigmatism than I might be tempted to jump. I would never replace my Loxia 21 with the Samyang as the Samyang is just too big and heavy as an everyday lens. It's Astro only for me. But if the Sony beat the Samyang at asteo and it's reasonably close to Loxia weight/quality for landscape, That might then make the Loxia redundant, but it would have to really beat it to part with the Loxia.
While the FLs are similar enough in my opinion, I still don't think it's a fair comparison.
I am also in the same boat as you - I have a Loxia 21 plus a couple of other manual Contax Zeiss lenses, but still need an AF lens. I am considering swapping out the Loxia for the GM, but I am not convinced of the "character" of the 24 GM compared to my CV 35-70 (my current "event" lens). While I always curse at least once at not having autofocus during a group hike or social gathering, I am always greeted by lovely rendering at the end of the day. Sure, I miss focus on a lot of pictures, but the ones that I nail focus on look exactly like the way I would want them to - I believe in the fabled and possibly placebo Zeiss pop/microcontrast/3D effect and am not sure if the GM will replicate that.
I think it comes down to if you need AF at that length, and if you care about "Zeiss rendering." For the latter, I might recommend to wait until some of the guys here do some testing. While Ken Rockwell's review is very positive, the sample pictures from different sources don't seem all that enticing for some reason (on the other hand, I really enjoyed DP's Batis 40 sample pictures)
This is a older thread and see my response above. Funny how things change. My update sold both the Batis 25 and Loxia 25 . Bought the CV 21 for size and weight and bought the Sony. I知 happy and no regrets. Actually it was kind of a major shift in my MF kit at least I知 all CV lenses 15,21,35 and 50. Very small kit for travel and such. My AF kit is Sony 24, Batis 85/135 and trying to figure out if I want to sell my Tammy 28-75 for the Batis 40. I currently have a 800 dollar credit at Adorama so will see. I知 just not the biggest fan of zooms. So the Batis is on my list mostly because there really is nothing else in this range with AF which still after several years is not being addressed by Sony. Like to see Sony shift gears and give us a GM 45 1.4 like the 24mm .
Well, I was planning on buying the Loxia 25 before the Sony came out. I waited for the reviews here on FM before deciding. For awhile, there was a lot of back and forth as to which one to get. In the end, I went with the Loxia.
Sorry to revive an older thread, but I wanted to see if anyone who had the Loxia 21 (or 25) and got the 24 GM is able to chime in on their experiences. Thanks in advance!
