p.23 #7 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
Fred Miranda wrote:
Looks great. I could not get a centered copy of this lens yet. I'm about to give up.
What a pity, but it's really difficult to achieve absolute centered copy at f1.8 with such a large viewing angle of 14mm, because of the field curvature, even if the four corners look the same, it does not mean that the middle is completely centered.
p.23 #8 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
Fred Miranda wrote:
Looks great. I could not get a centered copy of this lens yet. I'm about to give up.
That is a real problem. Mine was supposed to arrive yesterday and todays weather is co-operating but Fedex just couldn't make it happen to the plan. I don't know if I have to willingness to wait for multiple copies to arrive. As I asked before is this a lens I should just pass on?
On the shipping issue I have to rant. I am now waiting around for Fedex to see if they get it delivered today. Admit I am very annoyed to have to waste another whole day even though my house is 3 miles from the Fedex depot. You would think that if they failed to meet their schedule they would prioritize it for the next day but in reality they really don't care they failed. Keep seeing the statements about being patient since carries are overwhelmed with the level of packages being sent. They have not lowered their prices to make up for the delayed commitment and not doing anything to let customers know in advance they will miss their promised dates. And it's impossible to get a delivery window from them. At least the Cable TV industry learned how to provide a schedule with a two hour window. I guess they are not as smart as the Cable TV industry.
In the future I guess I should just have them hold it at their facility until I am ready to pick it up. Have them wait for me rather than me wait for them. Rant over - sorry. The delays with the delivery of this product have just driven me a little crazy.
p.23 #9 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
Well I finally got my copy of the Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM that I ordered! Fedex came about 2:30 PM today, Saturday.
Will not be able to test for centering or corner-to-corner sharpness today since at my home there are no really open views but I can say the size, weight, and ergonomics are great and the UWA field of view if fun to work with. I live in an area with a lot of trees and already giving me a very different view to work with. This is the first lens I have had a lens this wide in a long time. Had a Canon 14mm f/2.8L, version 1, lens for a little while and it was a little smaller but about 1.4x heavier at 645 gm (though really not that big).
I can really see taking this out a lot as an extra lens where I can leave the FE 16-35 at home and work with the 14, 20, and 35 G/GM primes. Now on to testing for de-centering. Hope my copy is OK. Will see Thanks to all for putting up with me.
p.23 #11 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
I think mine's good too. I tested it like 5 times out of paranoia, given Fred's experience, but it seems fine.
I'm really enjoying this lens. Prior to this my widest lens was the Batis 18, and I thought that was wide enough for my purposes. Though after spending some time with the 14 GM, it's clear I was wrong.
Am debating whether I should sell the Batis. Although the gap between the 14 GM and my Loxia 25 is probably too big without it.
p.23 #12 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
MrTMan wrote:
I think mine's good too. I tested it like 5 times out of paranoia, given Fred's experience, but it seems fine.
I'm really enjoying this lens. Prior to this my widest lens was the Batis 18, and I thought that was wide enough for my purposes. Though after spending some time with the 14 GM, it's clear I was wrong.
Am debating whether I should sell the Batis. Although the gap between the 14 GM and my Loxia 25 is probably too big without it.
G20 is your answer. Better spacing, more compact. Maybe closer drawing signature to the GM than the Batis.
p.23 #13 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
Hodie wrote:
I did Fred's centering test on the 14 GM. Shot at f/2.8, IBIS off, daylight white balance, MF.
To my eyes, it looks pretty centered, but this is the first time I've tried this test. What do you guys think? @Fred Miranda@?
Centering test should be done at WO if you want to truly evaluate the quality. Stopping down test is more for a practical real world usage. I'm not sure that car is far enough either
p.23 #14 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
hiepphotog wrote:
Centering test should be done at WO if you want to truly evaluate the quality. Stopping down test is more for a practical real world usage. I'm not sure that car is far enough either
I should do a WO test, too, but I was following Fred's instructions to stop down in his centering thread. I had the same thought about the distance to the car, but I was focused at infinity (the houses behind it were also in focus).
p.23 #15 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
Here's my extreme corner tests at 1.8. I'm kind of apathetic towards the results. They all seem roughly the same. For the seldom times I use this wide open for astro in which I might care about the extreme corners, I expect the results to be pretty good, if not great. Yes, I will keep the lens.
p.23 #17 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
Got my lens Saturday and went out yesterday. Spent about 30 minutes just trying to set up a tracker as it's my first time using it. Anyways this lens is pretty great I enjoyed it being compact and easy to carry with me. I tracked for close to 5 minutes and if you look to the middle left you'll see a slight blur as it's my first time merging 2 photos together. Hope you enjoy!
sorry for the low res version it looks a lot better full resolution Ill try top post a link!
p.23 #18 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
Zayne12 wrote:
Got my lens Saturday and went out yesterday. Spent about 30 minutes just trying to set up a tracker as it's my first time using it. Anyways this lens is pretty great I enjoyed it being compact and easy to carry with me. I tracked for close to 5 minutes and if you look to the middle left you'll see a slight blur as it's my first time merging 2 photos together. Hope you enjoy!
p.23 #19 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
After some experimenting, the 14mm GM suffers from the 'red/magenta rings' like the 12-24 GM does.
I'll be using flats for all tracked/stacked astro work with this lens now. The sample posted above does show the problem slightly, but it becomes clearer on a stacked and heavily pushed file.
I got my copy a couple of days ago but have not had a chance to test centering yet. TBD tomorrow then hoping for a milky way on Thursday or Friday morning.
