p.93 #1 · Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
SpecFoto wrote:
Just talked to B&H and good news for those who placed an order late for the 35mm GM, like me. They are expecting to receive 2,000 units next week and their backorders are only a bit more than half of that, so all backorders should ship by the 16th or so.
Definitely not the huge pre-order rush the 24GM had.
I ordered January 27th from B&H and still no word. This is crazy.
p.93 #2 · Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
Mine arrived this afternoon from B&H. I was able to do a brick wall test and a brief comparison against the Bigma. I think the GM is going to be my choice whenever I am taking multiple lenses and 35mm is just one of them; the size and weight are much more appealing. I also see the GM as the better choice for the flatlay food photography I do because it has much lower distortion and less field curvature that makes it better for shooting any planar surface. I also see the GM as better for landscape photography where it's easier to judge what will be sharp without having to overcome as much field curvature.
That said, the Bigma would be my choice if I am only taking one lens and for any kind of portrait or shooting an isolated object against a background. Its rendering of OOF areas at wide apertures is smoother in the transition zone and behind. The images at 1.2 have a real special look to them through the combination of the way it handles OOF backgrounds and the distortion in the image. Out of the five 35-40mm lenses I have shot with the Bigma is by far my favorite for the look of the images wide open.
p.93 #4 · Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
I ordered with B&H on March 10th. Got an email today, they wanted me to know the M42 to E mount adaptor was still out of stock. No mention of the 35GM, but for a moment I was pretty exicted. Oh well. tommorow is another day. Hopefully I can enjoy photos from others while I wait.
p.93 #5 · Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
ketang wrote:
Mine arrived this afternoon from B&H. I was able to do a brick wall test and a brief comparison against the Bigma. I think the GM is going to be my choice whenever I am taking multiple lenses and 35mm is just one of them; the size and weight are much more appealing. I also see the GM as the better choice for the flatlay food photography I do because it has much lower distortion and less field curvature that makes it better for shooting any planar surface. I also see the GM as better for landscape photography where it's easier to judge what will be sharp without having to overcome as much field curvature.
That said, the Bigma would be my choice if I am only taking one lens and for any kind of portrait or shooting an isolated object against a background. Its rendering of OOF areas at wide apertures is smoother in the transition zone and behind. The images at 1.2 have a real special look to them through the combination of the way it handles OOF backgrounds and the distortion in the image. Out of the five 35-40mm lenses I have shot with the Bigma is by far my favorite for the look of the images wide open....Show more →
What's amazing about the Bigma is that it retains sharpness at close distances (though not as well as the GM) while also keeping the smooth background rendering at longer distances.
What's amazing about the GM is its sharpness (and the "bite" it provides) and joy to use (I just can't get myself to unmount it from the camera ). Wide open the vignetting also seems significantly less visible on the GM (but that's part of Bigma's charm @f1.2 I guess).
I also shot some non-torture test scenes with the two and I can't really say I see the difference in background rendering in such casual shoots. That is all of course only my opinion so YMMV .
I'm still thinking if I should keep the Bigma...
p.93 #6 · Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
j4nu wrote:
What's amazing about the Bigma is that it retains sharpness at close distances (though not as well as the GM) while also keeping the smooth background rendering at longer distances.
What's amazing about the GM is its sharpness (and the "bite" it provides) and joy to use (I just can't get myself to unmount it from the camera ). Wide open the vignetting also seems significantly less visible on the GM (but that's part of Bigma's charm @f1.2@ I guess).
I also shot some non-torture test scenes with the two and I can't really say I see the difference in background rendering in such casual shoots. That is all of course only my opinion so YMMV .
I'm still thinking if I should keep the Bigma......Show more →
p.93 #8 · Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
Fred Miranda wrote:
Just got my FE 35/1.4 GM and tested it for centering. Got lucky and it's perfect on my A7R IV.
On my centering test, the corners look already very crispy at f/1.4. Impressive!
Low variation for this design has been the consensus here?
The problem with centering is that everytime I say I have a centered lens or, god forbid, seemingly perfectly centered copy, there is always that one guy that claims I'm wrong .
I give up...
p.93 #9 · Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
j4nu wrote:
The problem with centering is that everytime I say I have a centered lens or, god forbid, seemingly perfectly centered copy, there is always that one guy that claims I'm wrong .
I give up...
Having said that, your camera must be centered as well. (mount)
I just like to make sure I have an optical copy because I will be testing against other lenses (Sigma 35/2 and Voigt 35/2 APO)
Yes, yes - I understand, it's just that I don't know what perfect is anymore (100% crop, 200% crop on what sensor, etc.) .
You can check left corners of my 35GM 100% crop on the left side of the picture here (the right side of the picture shows left corners of my Bigma): https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1673762/84#15561213
Bigger size is in the linked SmugMug gallery.
p.93 #11 · Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
Fred Miranda wrote:
Just got my FE 35/1.4 GM and tested it for centering. Got lucky and it's perfect on my A7R IV.
On my centering test, the corners look already very crispy at f/1.4. Impressive!
Low variation for this design has been the consensus here?
Great. As I said before, all 3 copies I got to use and test (two my own) are perfectly centered on my A7riv (to my standards). Many here are very positive about this, too.
I think Sony upped their game lately with their lenses.
p.93 #12 · Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
I've just did a comparison (rendering) between 35/1.4 GM, Sigma 35/2 DG DN and Voigt 35/2 APO. I have to say the FE 35/1.4 GM did very well. I think some images posted online have tons of processing which increases contrast/sharpness too much. Out of the camera, I like the rendering so far. The 35/1.4 GM has wider FOV than the Voigt 35/2 APO. The Sigma is just a little wider than the GM. (especially at infinity)
I will post the rendering comparison at different distances as soon as I start the 35/1.4 GM's review thread.
It's hard to believe it's pretty much the size of the FE 24/1.4 GM.
p.93 #14 · Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
Fred Miranda wrote:
Just got my FE 35/1.4 GM and tested it for centering. Got lucky and it's perfect on my A7R IV.
On my centering test, the corners look already very crispy at f/1.4. Impressive!
Low variation for this design has been the consensus here?
So far so good it seems for variation, my copy appears to be well centered. I am also very impressed by corner sharpness at f/1.4! Looking forward to your findings.
p.93 #15 · Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
j4nu wrote:
The problem with centering is that everytime I say I have a centered lens or, god forbid, seemingly perfectly centered copy, there is always that one guy that claims I'm wrong .
I give up...
Why would you care about that "one guy" if your happy with it?
p.93 #16 · Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
Definitely equipped with a floating group. Exceptional resolution at close distance and pleasant rendering to my eyes, especially at f/2 where specular highlights are round at the edges.
p.93 #17 · Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
Fred Miranda wrote:
Definitely equipped with a floating group. Exceptional resolution at close distance and pleasant rendering to my eyes, especially at f/2 where specular highlights are round at the edges.
Agreed! It’s great at f1.4 by the standard of the best f1.4 lenses wide open, but at f2 it’s magic. Better rendering than any f2 lens wide open, and super sharp at any distance. And in some ways it’s better than a floating group, it has multiple independently controlled focussing groups, which the software can make perform a merry dance beyond the abilities of a floating group controlled by a helicoid...
p.93 #20 · Pre-order: Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,399)
Fred Miranda wrote:
This one is wide open. (wow resolution)
Agree. Another wow is for flare resistance and then again for the AF. And a couple more.
CA, manual focusing and perhaps the feel of the aperture ring are less wowing. I'm still not sure about the 35GM and may have to try the CV35APO before finally deciding what to keep.
The 35GM is a solid performer though, it delivers.