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 p.37 #9 · Pre-order: Sigma 24mm f/3.5, 35mm f/2 and 65mm f/2 DG DN lenses | |
Frederik0711 wrote:
I'm not sure if you misread my comment, but I never stated that the Voigtländer is the sharpest 50mm in center at f/2 compared to other 50mm lenses in this aperture range. I'm sure we would even need sensors of higher resolution to determine the actual divergent between these lenses, as they are very close to, if not reaching the barrier of the Sony a7R IV's sensor. At least that would be necessary if one would want to inspect the absolute difference in potential, as we aren't sure if this is the actual limit of the potential of the given lenses. A lot of upcoming options seem to be able to be very close to if not outresolve the a7R IV already, at least to some degree as in either all over the frame, or just the center, so expectations do increase, and higher resolution is needed to differentiate potential. Although I haven't tested all of those lenses, I do agree with you that both the 50mm f/1.4 ZA and CV 50mm f/1.2 are sharper in the center at f/2, and the 50mm f/1.4 ZA still being slightly better on the a7R IV when stopped down. That's also the conclusion I came to by reading other reviews, and I find your reviews very consistent. I do however happen to own the CV 50mm APO myself, and love it. But what I mentioned in the previous comment was that a (hopefully) future CV 35mm APO can resolve as much as the CV 50mm APO, which is more than any current compact 35mm lens. My point was, that I don't find any current compact 35mm lens to be excellent in the corners but a bit soft, so I was hoping that this Sigma would do it, but I'm not so sure. After all, I can't conclude that, as I haven't tested it myself in a controlled environment and compared it to other lenses and multiple copies. I can only compare the results that I see online. The Sony 35mm f/1.8 and the Samyang 35mm f/1.8 are said to resolve about the same as this Sigma at f/4, and I didn't find the Sony that sharp in the corners. The Samyang is also greater optically at f/2.8. The test that Cameralabs did was not tested on a Sony a7R IV, but the tests that Sony Alpha Blog did are:
https://sonyalpha.blog/2020/12/15/sigma-35mm-f2-dg-dn-contemporary/
Perhaps sample variation is a bigger factor than I thought. For example, Marc's Sony 20mm f/1.8 on Sony Alpha Blog is outstanding from corner to corner at f/5.6, but the Sigma 14-24mm DN he tested is only very good, and you happened to test one that was sharper than the Sony at 20mm f/5.6 in the corners. For any other review of yours and Marc's, or even Dustin Abbott, of the lenses, that I happen to have tested as well, as the 50mm APO, 65mm APO, 110mm APO, 21mm f/1.4, and a couple of others, I achieved the same results. But I have had about some copy variation when it comes to the Sigma 14-24mm DN. Mine is however never soft anyway, but nor is it ever outstanding anywhere in the frame, so I'm not sure if your Sigma 14-24mm copy was superior or your Sony 20mm was of a lesser grade. From your other review, where you tested the Sigma 14-24mm against the 12-24mm GM, you also stated that none of them ever get optimal in the corners, and as the Sigma was slightly better than the Sony, I'm guessing none of them are optimal at 20mm. I'm not sure how big the factor of Marc's testings are, but what differentiates the results can only be caused by a difference in optical performance of the copies or the tests themselves. Anyway, this is off-topic, and I never really get to a proper conclusion. After all, I'm just hoping for a proper 35mm for landscapes to pair with my a7R IV.  ...Show more →
You mentioned that you find differences in test results that both Marc and Fred have performed. But one major thing to consider is that Marc always seems to perform his sharpness tests close up, whereas the tests I've seen from Fred tend to always be at landscape distances (presumably infinity). Most lenses are optimized for shooting at different distances, so it's possible that the differences just come down to different design tradeoffs that manifest in different shooting scenarios.
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... and even then let's agree that it affects, primarily, the shape of specular highlights, but not necessarily the bokeh itself. 
. Maybe I need a high res body or a better copy or try more landscape pictures with it