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Archive 2021Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)

  
 
j4nu
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p.91 #1Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
GMPhotography wrote:
sselhtrim wroteI came across a picture taken by the 35gm on flickr, am I alone in thinking that the background rendering behaves quite like the new G series in that the blur of the foliage is not quite the smoothest there is? I think the term used here is "structured" kind of bokeh.

Not here to stir, I just like to look at images and see what people think.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/eternal_ray/51111758796/in/datetaken/
So let’s talk about this as I think folks are expecting miracles from first a wide angle lens and at that kind of distance from subject to start than from subject to background. Just a big distance and even at 1.4 aperture it’s not going to have that bokeh effect. That image would be considered normal

So let’s take that same image if I walked closer to the young lady on the stairs that bokeh would change but so would your framing. Now you can crop a little different but with a wide lens you have to get closer. With a
...Show more →

If we're talking about those overexposed leaves then I also think no 35mm would render them nicely in this situation.

On the other hand, I followed Holger's advice and fixed my pictures :

Apr 13, 2021 at 11:35 AM
sselhtrim
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p.91 #2Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
GMPhotography wrote:
So let’s talk about this as I think folks are expecting miracles from first a wide angle lens and at that kind of distance from subject to start than from subject to background. Just a big distance and even at 1.4 aperture it’s not going to have that bokeh effect. That image would be considered normal

So let’s take that same image if I walked closer to the young lady on the stairs that bokeh would change but so would your framing. Now you can crop a little different but with a wide lens you have to get closer. With a
...Show more →That is sound advice that could be used for any lens. Thanks!
Apr 13, 2021 at 11:49 AM
nehemiahphoto
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p.91 #3Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
Holger wrote:
nehemiahphoto wrote@Holger@@@

Have you ever shot that ZM 35/1.4? If so, did you like it?
Yes, we had two of those, before using the Sigma 1.2 and now the GMs.
AF was fast and rendering often pleasing, but at f1.4 too soft for my taste, I shot the ZM at f2 most of the time. Then it was a lottery to get reasonably centered ones and CAs were very strong. I found black & white images with it to look fantastic, however.

For me the GM is fantastic. We shoot against the sun all the time and it shows hardly any flares. It is sharp, has flat field of view, nice rendering (not perfect), is small, light,
...Show more →

I did mean the ZM, not the ZA. I bet you’d like it—it’s extremely sharp with unreal 3-D and micro-contrast, giving files a very distinct rich modern feel. I enjoyed mine, but for people it could be a bit much, and sometimes OOF could be too structured for me. It’s a glorious b/w lens. You might give it a whirl It’s small for a 1.4, but then again, it’s MF and an RF lens.
Apr 13, 2021 at 11:56 AM
GMPhotography
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p.91 #4Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
j4nu wrote:
GMPhotography wrote
sselhtrim wroteI came across a picture taken by the 35gm on flickr, am I alone in thinking that the background rendering behaves quite like the new G series in that the blur of the foliage is not quite the smoothest there is? I think the term used here is "structured" kind of bokeh.

Not here to stir, I just like to look at images and see what people think.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/eternal_ray/51111758796/in/datetaken/
So let’s talk about this as I think folks are expecting miracles from first a wide angle lens and at that kind of distance from subject to start than from subject to background. Just a big distance and even at 1.4 aperture it’s not going to have that bokeh effect. That image would be considered normal

So let’s take that same image if I walked closer to the young lady on the stairs that bokeh would change but so would your framing. Now you can crop a little different but with a wide lens you have to get closer. With a long lens you compress that distance.

So with a wide lens like a 35mm lens you roughly have to be about 10ft maximum away and there background after them hopefully will be pretty far behind them

To keep this simple the longer the lens the better in regards to distance. If using a wide lens the closer you want to be to subject. Those are your rule of thumbs

Hope that helps
If we're talking about those overexposed leaves then I also think no 35mm would render them nicely in this situation.

On the other hand, I followed Holger's advice and fixed my pictures :

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-Bg9qqtW/0/c06ce403/X4/i-Bg9qqtW-X4.png



No I was more referring to his link of a young lady sitting on steps with a crowd above her on steps. More in general about you, distance to subject and background distance
Apr 13, 2021 at 12:05 PM
GMPhotography
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p.91 #5Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
Just a in general guide to creating bokeh more effectively with a wide prime. Ignore the lens here but it is a 35mm. The iron horse is on my right about three feet , lets say it is human. That right side is very sharp and lovely lets say. that second horse is about 7 ft away . See how that horse is fading away in the OOF which is exactly the effect that folks are looking for than the background you almost dont know what it is.

Big problem when starting off with a very difficult background like those twigs its very hard to make them a complete blur even at 3 ft your still going to see twigs. So with a 35mm your really almost immediately in trouble , longer lens is so much easier to deal with

Rule of thumb with wides get close than get closer.
Totally try to get the background far far away from subject . The further the better blur
Also make that background simple in structure as best you can. If you can move subject to do that even better and usually you can as your shooting people they move

Now this image is kinda the situation your after subject close background far but a fairly simple background so when the blur or OOF comes in its just a glob of nothing




Apr 13, 2021 at 12:17 PM
j4nu
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p.91 #6Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
GMPhotography wrote:
j4nu wrote
GMPhotography wrote
sselhtrim wroteI came across a picture taken by the 35gm on flickr, am I alone in thinking that the background rendering behaves quite like the new G series in that the blur of the foliage is not quite the smoothest there is? I think the term used here is "structured" kind of bokeh.

Not here to stir, I just like to look at images and see what people think.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/eternal_ray/51111758796/in/datetaken/
So let’s talk about this as I think folks are expecting miracles from first a wide angle lens and at that kind of distance from subject to start than from subject to background. Just a big distance and even at 1.4 aperture it’s not going to have that bokeh effect. That image would be considered normal

So let’s take that same image if I walked closer to the young lady on the stairs that bokeh would change but so would your framing. Now you can crop a little different but with a wide lens you have to get closer. With a long lens you compress that distance.

So with a wide lens like a 35mm lens you roughly have to be about 10ft maximum away and there background after them hopefully will be pretty far behind them

To keep this simple the longer the lens the better in regards to distance. If using a wide lens the closer you want to be to subject. Those are your rule of thumbs

Hope that helps
If we're talking about those overexposed leaves then I also think no 35mm would render them nicely in this situation.

On the other hand, I followed Holger's advice and fixed my pictures :

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-Bg9qqtW/0/c06ce403/X4/i-Bg9qqtW-X4.png
No I was more referring to his link of a young lady sitting on steps with a crowd above her on steps. More in general about you, distance to subject and background distance


Right, I should have made a separate post.
Apr 13, 2021 at 12:19 PM
GMPhotography
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p.91 #7Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
But even as soft as that is it still has structure to it which the longer the lens this goes away better

I love 35 1.4 lenses but you just cant pick anything and make it a wonderful example of bokeh. You can with a 100mm lens 5 times easier.

Just passing down my experience at this . These are things that you need to learn but more important understand and use it to your advantage
Apr 13, 2021 at 12:20 PM
GMPhotography
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p.91 #8Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
j4nu wrote:
GMPhotography wrote
j4nu wrote
GMPhotography wrote
sselhtrim wroteI came across a picture taken by the 35gm on flickr, am I alone in thinking that the background rendering behaves quite like the new G series in that the blur of the foliage is not quite the smoothest there is? I think the term used here is "structured" kind of bokeh.

Not here to stir, I just like to look at images and see what people think.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/eternal_ray/51111758796/in/datetaken/
So let’s talk about this as I think folks are expecting miracles from first a wide angle lens and at that kind of distance from subject to start than from subject to background. Just a big distance and even at 1.4 aperture it’s not going to have that bokeh effect. That image would be considered normal

So let’s take that same image if I walked closer to the young lady on the stairs that bokeh would change but so would your framing. Now you can crop a little different but with a wide lens you have to get closer. With a long lens you compress that distance.

So with a wide lens like a 35mm lens you roughly have to be about 10ft maximum away and there background after them hopefully will be pretty far behind them

To keep this simple the longer the lens the better in regards to distance. If using a wide lens the closer you want to be to subject. Those are your rule of thumbs

Hope that helps
If we're talking about those overexposed leaves then I also think no 35mm would render them nicely in this situation.

On the other hand, I followed Holger's advice and fixed my pictures :

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-Bg9qqtW/0/c06ce403/X4/i-Bg9qqtW-X4.png
No I was more referring to his link of a young lady sitting on steps with a crowd above her on steps. More in general about you, distance to subject and background distance
Right, I should have made a separate post.


Your fine no worries and you gave me a nice chance to help. I did teach workshops and I miss it.
Apr 13, 2021 at 12:21 PM
Younjulius
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p.91 #9Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
What's your opinion on smoothness of GM among other 35mm lenses?

GMPhotography wrote:
But even as soft as that is it still has structure to it which the longer the lens this goes away better

I love 35 1.4 lenses but you just cant pick anything and make it a wonderful example of bokeh. You can with a 100mm lens 5 times easier.

Just passing down my experience at this . These are things that you need to learn but more important understand and use it to your advantage

Apr 13, 2021 at 12:34 PM
GMPhotography
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p.91 #10Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
Younjulius wrote:
What's your opinion on smoothness of GM among other 35mm lenses?

GMPhotography wroteBut even as soft as that is it still has structure to it which the longer the lens this goes away better

I love 35 1.4 lenses but you just cant pick anything and make it a wonderful example of bokeh. You can with a 100mm lens 5 times easier.

Just passing down my experience at this . These are things that you need to learn but more important understand and use it to your advantage


I honestly don’t think it’s it strong suit.

Sony and others are on this mission and it’s dictated by the buying public (us). You hear a lot on this very forum I want sharp as hell right at 1.4 and that’s a very common comment but with that there going to make their optical design to do that. I know you hear this term modern. Or someone like me will say a lens is sterile and definition of that sharp as hell but really does not render that smoothly and that’s pretty much this lens. It’s sharp and I’d say on the level as Sony’s 135 which is a killer lens. But that lens is long and bokeh is easily to achieve than a wide like this. So you may see a comment on the 135 a laser with a great look. That look is it’s length that can create a nice bokeh

You have to make somewhat of a choice with a wide like this as the design goals are different.

Take me I just grabbed the Sigma 35 F2 and it’s general plus plus is it renders very nicely , but I won’t say it’s a freaking laser like I would for the Sony 135 which I have btw. You kinda can’t get both in one lens. Now back to me I bought the Sigma but I also bought a CV 35 Apo for more landscape work as that’s not really the sigma 35 goal

The goal of this Sony is I wanna be sharp and defined. It won’t IMHO Abe the best rendering type lens. Not sure why they look like they did that as maybe the 35 1.8 might be just fine. I would have thought Sony would go after there 50 1.4 , 85 1.4 and even there 24 1.4 look more.
I’m not sure they went after those renderings here. That’s where testing comes in to play. Now I bailed on the pre order as I just was not seeing that mojo on rendering.

I say that but that don’t mean this lens is bad in anyway just there design direction went more to the sharp as shit side of things
Apr 13, 2021 at 12:49 PM
DaveFP
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p.91 #11Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
GMPhotography wrote:
Younjulius wroteWhat's your opinion on smoothness of GM among other 35mm lenses?

GMPhotography wroteBut even as soft as that is it still has structure to it which the longer the lens this goes away better

I love 35 1.4 lenses but you just cant pick anything and make it a wonderful example of bokeh. You can with a 100mm lens 5 times easier.

Just passing down my experience at this . These are things that you need to learn but more important understand and use it to your advantage
I honestly don’t think it’s it strong suit.

Sony and others are on this mission and it’s dictated by the buying public (us). You hear a lot on this very forum I want sharp as hell right at 1.4 and that’s a very common comment but with that there going to make their optical design to do that. I know you hear this term modern. Or someone like me will say a lens is sterile and definition of that sharp as hell but really does not render that smoothly and that’s pretty much this lens. It’s sharp and I’d say
...Show more →

Nice summation.

You make an excellent point.

These lenses are what the public wants- not necessarily what Sony feels compelled to sell.

Heck, Sony would sell lenses smeared with vaseline if they knew they would be popular.

Guaranteed that even within Sony there are divisions over what constitutes desirable rendering.

In the end the bean counters consult the poll-takers and away we go......

We need to influence the influencers !
Apr 13, 2021 at 01:11 PM
GMPhotography
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p.91 #12Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
Seriously I always liked Sony as they are forward thinking g but they screwed up on the marketing or let's say planning their lineups

Let's take the GM all of these lenses should be almost exactly the same design goals except the focal length

The 50 1.4 should be a GM

But we can't fault them too much

They changed lens polishing , AF systems, different lens formulas all along so hard to be consistent

I don't complain but like to see them tightening it up better
Apr 13, 2021 at 01:33 PM
LeeRatters
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p.91 #13Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
grahamgibson wrote:
LeeRatters wroteGot mine today!!
Looking forward to your impressions vs. the CV40...


Yeah... I'm not sure what's going to happen in that regard further down the line......!
Apr 13, 2021 at 01:53 PM
Holger
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p.91 #14Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
darrellc wrote:
Holger wrote
nehemiahphoto wrote@Holger@@@@

Have you ever shot that ZM 35/1.4? If so, did you like it?
Yes, we had two of those, before using the Sigma 1.2 and now the GMs.
AF was fast and rendering often pleasing, but at f1.4 too soft for my taste, I shot the ZM at f2 most of the time. Then it was a lottery to get reasonably centered ones and CAs were very strong. I found black & white images with it to look fantastic, however.

For me the GM is fantastic. We shoot against the sun all the time and it shows hardly any flares. It is sharp, has flat field of view, nice rendering (not perfect), is small, light, has fast AF, reasonably low CAs.
I tested now 3 copies (one from Sony when we tested it for them with the A1), and we have two in possession right now (bought one and won one in a Sony competition). All 3 were equally sharp and well centered (I saw differences only when zooming to 200-300% on the A7riv). So Sony seems to have improved copy to copy variation now, too. Other people have other preferences. The Sigma, in my opinion, renders a bit nicer. But I want 100% reliability at weddings and trust the GM more.
Holger, ZM 35/1.4 and ZA 35/1.4 are different lenses - ZM is a Zeiss manual focus lens for M mount, ZA is the Sony/Zeiss branded FE mount 35/1.4 which I think you are referring to in your response

Oh, my bad, did not look closely, yes, mixed them up!
Apr 13, 2021 at 01:54 PM
JVan_02
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p.91 #15Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
tzhang4284 wrote:
The reason the Nikon 35mm is perfect is because there aren't any other choices.


I mean, not really? It's a well corrected lens with good cross frame sharpness, soft bokeh, no SA (and therefore no IQ penalty up close WO), with competent sealing, modern AF motors, a good MFD, and a useful moderate max aperture that helps it keep the weight down.

Is it the best lens in any of these categories? I can't think of a single area where it is the exemplar when comparing it to extant Sony options. But its the only lens I can think of that does literally everything right, is under 400g, and is also comfortably under $1k.

tzhang4284 wrote:
The other issue is the lack of consistency in Sony branded lenses - the GM lenses are all very good but large, the G lenses are hit or miss depending on which lenses, the regular Sony lenses are mostly ok.


Is there actually a bad G lens? I think they've all been good, with the 20 G being basically perfect, and the 24/40/50 trio looking pretty good if you can accept the aperture.
Apr 13, 2021 at 02:05 PM
j4nu
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p.91 #16Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
JVan_02 wrote:
tzhang4284 wroteThe reason the Nikon 35mm is perfect is because there aren't any other choices.
I mean, not really? It's a well corrected lens with good cross frame sharpness, soft bokeh, no SA (and therefore no IQ penalty up close WO), with competent sealing, modern AF motors, a good MFD, and a useful moderate max aperture that helps it keep the weight down.

Is it the best lens in any of these categories? I can't think of a single area where it is the exemplar when comparing it to extant Sony options. But its the only lens I can think of that does literally everything right, is under 400g, and is also comfortably under $1k.
...Show more →
I'll believe it when I see it ...
Apr 13, 2021 at 02:34 PM
LBJ2
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p.91 #17Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
Something happening?

My B&H order status has changed from Back Ordered to Order In Progress....
Apr 13, 2021 at 02:35 PM
Hodie
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p.91 #18Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
I decided to cancel my preorder with a non-local local shop and went with B&H given that B&H seems to have a lot more info on when the next batch will become available. Hopefully, I will get mine next week.
Apr 13, 2021 at 02:51 PM
RSSmith
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p.91 #19Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
Mine arrived from Adorama this afternoon.
Haven't had time to do anything with it, other than fondle and look at it.
Feels nice.
Apr 13, 2021 at 03:08 PM
Surfnsun
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p.91 #20Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
My local camera shop has no updates whatsoever from Sony.
Apr 13, 2021 at 03:09 PM
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