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Archive 2019 · Sony 16-35 gm vs batis 18 flare/ghosting?

Zayne12
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Sony 16-35 gm vs batis 18 flare/ghosting?

Hey guys in debating between a Sony 16-45 gm and a batis 18. I would like to know of the Zeiss prime fares better against flare/ghosting as I shoot a lot of photos into the sun for sunrise and sunset photography. I have the 12-24 f4 g and that lens can produce annoying amounts of ghosting that will ruin an image. I also have a Loxia which im happy to say I've never noticed an issue with flare and ghosting. If anyone has shot with either of the two lenses into the sun please let me know I would appreciate it! Thanks!

Jul 14, 2019 at 10:53 PM

rvh23
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Sony 16-35 gm vs batis 18 flare/ghosting?

I've shot both. The Sony GM zoom is much better than the wider 12-24 in terms of flare performance. But modern Zeiss coatings are pretty much as good as it gets. If you don't need the zoom's range or the extra 2mm, the Batis is a great lens.

Jul 15, 2019 at 01:12 AM

Zayne12
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Sony 16-35 gm vs batis 18 flare/ghosting?

rvh23 wrote:
I've shot both. The Sony GM zoom is much better than the wider 12-24 in terms of flare performance. But modern Zeiss coatings are pretty much as good as it gets. If you don't need the zoom's range or the extra 2mm, the Batis is a great lens.

Thanks @rvh23 I appreciate your advice. I had a feeling that the Zeiss would have theupper hand when it comes to flare but I like the flexibility that a zoom provides. One more question do the flares and ghost get as obtrusive as the image I've uploaded. This is the first time I've dealt with a lens that flares this badly to be honest.

Jul 15, 2019 at 05:32 AM

Tora_2097
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Sony 16-35 gm vs batis 18 flare/ghosting?

I had both as well, used the Batis 18 for a good while but sold it to fund the 16-35 GM for its versatility.
Considering flare, the GM is clearly more affected than the Batis. I find that it can be problematic when the sun is on the edge of the frame. Here is an example of mine using the GM:


	https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48288913027_6193b0392e_h.jpg

That is about the worst you can expect from this lens. The Batis is more tame in this regard, I never noticed any flare with it, but confess I have not done any direct comparisions concerning flare when I still had both.
Regards,
Benjamin

Jul 15, 2019 at 05:35 AM

rvh23
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Sony 16-35 gm vs batis 18 flare/ghosting?

Flare is one of the few weak points with the 12-24 for landscape work. It's excellent in most other aspects. You will see a noticeable improvement in that regard with the GM (although don't expect it to be as good as your Loxia).

Jul 15, 2019 at 07:18 AM

Zayne12
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Sony 16-35 gm vs batis 18 flare/ghosting?

@Tora_2097 thank you so much for your input and providing me an example. Just a quick question how does it perform when the sun is in the center and when it it on the line of thirds?

@rvh23
Thank you again and thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. You are amazing people

Jul 15, 2019 at 08:45 PM

phuviano
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Sony 16-35 gm vs batis 18 flare/ghosting?

I've owned both batis 18 and 16-35 gm as well. Batis is definitely better than the GM in terms of flare.

Example of flare. I've taken ones with worst flare, but i don't think i have them on my flickr account, or i may have deleted them. 16-35 GM fyi.

Umbrella by Phu Vong, on Flickr

Jul 15, 2019 at 09:11 PM

Zayne12
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Sony 16-35 gm vs batis 18 flare/ghosting?

phuviano wrote:
I've owned both batis 18 and 16-35 gm as well. Batis is definitely better than the GM in terms of flare.

Example of flare. I've taken ones with worst flare, but i don't think i have them on my flickr account, or i may have deleted them. 16-35 GM fyi.

https://live.staticflickr.com/4839/44382325430_f251547279_b.jpg Umbrella by Phu Vong, on Flickr

Thanks for your example my friend that is helpful. We're you deliberately trying to cause flare or was that the shot you were aiming for? I just picked up the gm today but my copy looks to be poor in the corners and instill haven't tried it for how I plan to have the sun in the frame.

Jul 17, 2019 at 09:09 PM

SoundHound
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Sony 16-35 gm vs batis 18 flare/ghosting?

The wider the lens the tougher it is to maintain IQ comparable to a normal or medium tele FL lens. I have several (adapted) WA zooms and wanted a standard to compare them to. I bought my only Zeiss lens-the Batis 18mm F2.8. I can see the difference in the Sony A9 VF.

Certainly zoom lenses have more elements and moving element groups too. Zeiss are also well known for their excellent, proprietary, lens coatings. No wonder that the a premium prime lens like the Zeiss 18 is better for flare.

Would that the 18 was a F2.0 but then it would have been, for Zeiss, unacceptably large and likely not to their standards at F2.0 (maybe F2.8 too?). As it is it’s sharp wide open-no small feat for a UWA.

Edited on Jul 18, 2019 at 07:52 AM · View previous versions

Jul 18, 2019 at 07:00 AM

Zayne12
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Sony 16-35 gm vs batis 18 flare/ghosting?

I have a feeling I should sell it or return it and get primes from 18mm to 50mm and wait till Sony releases a 14 f2 gm for wide focal lengths and keep the 70-200 f4 for my tele zoom. I love the quality I get from my Loxia and can't get myself to part with it. I might opt for 18-25-35-50 and keep the 70-200 tele zoom as I have no problems with mine. Thanks for your input @soundhound

SoundHound wrote:
The wider the lens the tougher it is to maintain IQ comparable to a normal or medium tele FL lens. I have several (adapted) WA zooms and wanted a standard to compare them to. I bought my only Zeiss lens-the Batis 18mm F2.8. I can see the difference in the Sony A9 VF.

Certainly zoom lenses have more elements and moving element groups too. Zeiss are also well know for their excellent, proprietary, lens coatings. No wonder that the a premium prime lens like the Zeiss 18 is better for flare.

Would that the 18 was a F2.0 but then...Show more →

Jul 18, 2019 at 07:15 AM

phuviano
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Sony 16-35 gm vs batis 18 flare/ghosting?

Zayne12 wrote:
Thanks for your example my friend that is helpful. We're you deliberately trying to cause flare or was that the shot you were aiming for? I just picked up the gm today but my copy looks to be poor in the corners and instill haven't tried it for how I plan to have the sun in the frame.

I never want to create flare. I do like sunstars, and I did try to create that, but didn't compensate for the sun's brighter exposure. This was the intended shot. I'm not one of those people who think flare/ghosting is cool in photos. I mean there are those that can create great photos with flare/ghosting but I am not one of those people.

When I did own the batis 18. I did prefer the photos just a bit more than when shooting with the GM. It has nothing to do with sharpness, as both lenses are very sharp imo. I can't pinpoint what I liked better about the batis. Could have been the color output, contrast, or possibly composition due to being a prime lens. I'm really not sure why I preferred the batis photos just a bit more, but I did.

I kept the GM over the batis because it was more versatile, and I use the 16-30 range quite often. Changing lenses all the time was becoming a chore to me. One of the negatives of the GM is more flare, and being larger and heavier. The batis is much nicer to hold and shoot with. If your focus is mainly flare/ghosting, then definitely stick with the batis.

Here's another example of the sun in the frame, but at a low angle. 16-35 GM.

White Temple by Phu Vong, on Flickr

Jul 19, 2019 at 01:49 AM

Zayne12
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Sony 16-35 gm vs batis 18 flare/ghosting?

Nice job with the composition my friend and thanks for giving me more insight into how the lens handles flare. I tried getting a sunstars with the sun behind the clouds but it didn't quiet work out for me. At what f-stop did you take the pic? I recently picked up the gm so I could have more freedom with zooming as I don't like to constantly change lenses also but I find even for shots at infinity I have to shoot at f8 to get even sharpness below and it just might be field aperture having a strong effect or I got a bad copy of the lens I'm not sure which. This forum is an amazing place and with members like you taking time to help out it becomes even better.

phuviano wrote:
I never want to create flare. I do like sunstars, and I did try to create that, but didn't compensate for the sun's brighter exposure. This was the intended shot. I'm not one of those people who think flare/ghosting is cool in photos. I mean there are those that can create great photos with flare/ghosting but I am not one of those people.

When I did own the batis 18. I did prefer the photos just a bit more than when shooting with the GM. It has nothing to do with sharpness, as both lenses are very sharp imo. I can't...Show more →

Jul 19, 2019 at 05:45 AM

phuviano
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Sony 16-35 gm vs batis 18 flare/ghosting?

That was taken at 35mm though, just an fyi. The aperture was at f16. I usually stop down to f16 to get the star shapes from light sources. By doing this, you do lose sharpness, and can see diffraction.

Jul 19, 2019 at 01:35 PM


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