p.24 #1 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
Marc has just published his review and declared the 14GM 'a new masterpiece' - sharper than the 12-24GM; make of that what you will, but it seems there are good copies of this lens out there! https://sonyalpha.blog/2021/06/17/sony-14mm-f1-8-gm/
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.
p.24 #3 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
I was ready to buy this lens due to huge Sony discounts until I saw this thread. I jumped on the 20 f/1.8 G instead. Will wait for a new Sigma 14 f/1.8 DG DN, we don't have such generous return policies or big stores where we can walk in and test 3-4 copies.
p.24 #4 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
My pre-order just shipped from B&H. I chatted with them yesterday, and they said they have a bunch of copies that just came in. I tried the Sigma 14-24, and the copy I received was decentered on the left side at 14mm. Hopefully the Sony GM is a good copy.
p.24 #6 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
It’s certainly worth the effort if you can find a way to get a good copy! I love mine; just got back from my main spring photography project trip and this lens absolutely hit the spot for Astro as well as general wide angle use. I ought to have a few postings ready by tonight or tomorrow.
My summer trip; which ironically is less than a month after spring I’ll be able to give it a try with the NiSi front end filter system. I couldn’t afford to carry that much weight for my spring mountain trip.
p.24 #7 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
After so much researching and reading I still can't figure out what is the general consensus about which one has the best corner sharpness and the most uniform sharpness at around f/5.6 among Sony GM 12-24mm, Sigma DN 14-24mm and Sony GM 14mm.
Every tester/reviewer and user report seems to have a slightly to vastly different opinion.
I'm afraid for any practical purpose it mostly comes down to which one has the least copy variation, which I still have to understand too.
p.24 #8 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
After having all 3 I don’t think that it matters given their drastically different physical and technical specs. The Sigma 14-24 is probably the best middle of the road compromise in portability, sharpness, speed and focal range. I personally am sticking with the 14GM because I shoot a lot at night and appreciate the compact form factor and manual aperture ring.
The 12-24GM was a beast haha.
I’d bet copy variation accounts for more performance differences than anything inherent to the lenses themselves.
A little first draft edit I’ll be expanding upon later 😊
p.24 #9 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
Maximilian wrote:
After so much researching and reading I still can't figure out what is the general consensus about which one has the best corner sharpness and the most uniform sharpness at around f/5.6 among Sony GM 12-24mm, Sigma DN 14-24mm and Sony GM 14mm.
Every tester/reviewer and user report seems to have a slightly to vastly different opinion.
I'm afraid for any practical purpose it mostly comes down to which one has the least copy variation, which I still have to understand too.
From what I've seen, it's 12-24GM, but as you say it's more a matter of copy variation than ultimate achievable sharpness probably...
p.24 #10 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
Nice shot! Did you ever shoot the Sigma 14? I know it's a beaast compared to the sony. It looks like Sony at infinity has much better coma at 1.8 and probably sharpness with worse vignetting.
p.24 #12 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
Maximilian wrote:
Bryan Carnathan over at the-digital-picture completed his review of the GM 14mm.
He found its corner sharpness to be "acceptable" at best.
Not comforting.
I have to wonder, is corner sharpness here lacking by design or is there dramatic copy variation?
Copy variation can exist in any lenses, so the only standard that can be followed is MTF, I can only say that my copy reflects the performance displayed by MTF.
field curvature：
in the middle of field, there is a wave field curvature, and there is a forward field curvature in the corner.
astigmatism and contrast：
F1.8 corner：some astigmatism and the contrast is acceptable.
F2.8 corner：astigmatism is disappears, and the contrast is significantly improved. I think the F2.8 corner performance displayed is the best wide-angle lens level (such as Loxia21,even better).
Therefore, if the corner is still astigmatism at f2.8, it can be basically determined that this is not a good copy, and it is likely that there is an assembly problem with the lens spacing.
p.24 #13 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
olalafoto wrote:
Copy variation can exist in any lenses,
Yes, of course.
Still, the question remains about how frequent the variation is, how many copies am I likely to test before getting a good one. Nobody can tell of course, but I'm trying to understand if my chances of getting a good copy are better with the GM 12-24, the Sigma DN 14-24 or the GM 14mm.
I thought the 14mm might be a less complex lens compared to both zooms, so less variation, aber this doesn't seem to be the case if I look at the hugely different opinions and test results in the net and in the press, which cannot all be explained with different test methods.
Fred also doesn't seem to have luck with a good copy of the GM 14mm.
p.24 #14 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
Maximilian wrote:
Yes, of course.
Still, the question remains about how frequent the variation is, how many copies am I likely to test before getting a good one. Nobody can tell of course, but I'm trying to understand if my chances of getting a good copy are better with the GM 12-24, the Sigma DN 14-24 or the GM 14mm.
I thought the 14mm might be a less complex lens compared to both zooms, so less variation, aber this doesn't seem to be the case if I look at the hugely different opinions and test results in the net and in the press, which cannot all be explained with different test methods.
Fred also doesn't seem to have luck with a good copy of the GM 14mm....Show more →
14/1.8GM is smaller and faster, which may mean higher optical accuracy and need higher assembly accuracy than both zooms，so, I think the frequent of variation is similar.
To be honest, for ultra wide angle lens, I think whether we can get a good copy mainly depends on luck, like Fred, he got a perfect 12-24/2.8GM, which is not everyone's luck.
p.24 #15 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
At least a prime is easier to test than a zoom... at any rate, I think it just underscores the importance of buying from a retailer with a good return policy.
I'm not sure whether my copy of the 14mm is an ideal copy, but it seems centered and sharp, corners seem good enough for my purposes, and I'm happy with it. I was debating prime vs. zoom, but with the cropability of these high-megapixel cameras, I effectively consider the 14mm to be a super light 14-21mm zoom.
p.24 #16 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
Maximilian wrote:
Bryan Carnathan over at the-digital-picture completed his review of the GM 14mm.
He found its corner sharpness to be "acceptable" at best.
Not comforting.
I have to wonder, is corner sharpness here lacking by design or is there dramatic copy variation?
It seems there is a pretty large resolution difference at infinity and not at infinity. Lenstip is a great review site and found much different results for coma than actual pictures taken at infinity for example. I can't imagine Sony sent them a dud.
p.24 #17 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
I just got my copy of the 14mm today. I like its compactness. I am getting softer corners until about f8. They gradually improve. The lens seems to be centered as all 4 corners look about the same wide open. I'm using an ISO 12233 chart focusing up close on a tripod with manual center focus. F8 on the 14mm is as sharp as 16mm F2.8 on my 16-35GM, which is well centered at 16mm. The sharpness is off but not way off.
Now if I focus on say the top right corner of the chart, the 14mm and 16mm are the same sharpness at 2.8 and 1.8 on the 14mm is just as sharp. Perhaps that's the field curvature people have been mentioning.
Now I have to decide if I keep the 14 and have a GM trio of 14, 24, and 35 or return the 14 and keep the 16-35.
p.24 #18 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
I don't think you can test corner sharpness with a chart due to field curvature. At infinity there is less FC and mine has not shown any coma anywhere at 1.8 (with stars). Most wide angle lenses have some FC and I never understood why it was viewed as important, I actually see some benefit to it with the Loxias because it can increase foreground dof in some scenarios. In all cases it is masked at landscape apertures.
I agree it's a tough call between a zoom and primes in this range (for landscapes). The versatility of fast lenses + 61mp vs the joy of not juggling lenses in the field. This is a more important consideration than minor IQ differences.
p.24 #19 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
I agree with that. However this chart has served me well and can quickly point out flaws. I’m definitely keeping my 24 and 35 as they are superb. So it’s either the zoom or the 14mm. I’ll figure that out shortly.
p.24 #20 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
It's a bummer that this lens has the red ring issue, in particular since I bought it for the sole purpose of astrophotography. I've been shooting with a Rokinon 24mm and a Sigma 14mm via an MC-11 and I bought the Sony to replace the Sigma since my MC-11 adapter was splitting in half due to the weight of the 14mm and I didn't want to buy another MC-11.
Anyway, I'm guessing since neither of those were being run through the Sony RAW tampering I wasn't seeing the red ring issue with them. I'll have to test the Sony 14mm out more when the Milky Way is out without the moon in the coming weeks to see if the red ring issue pops up with how I typically edit shots. I know I can do flat field corrections, but it seems like more work, especially if I have to take that out in the field at the same time as my typical astro shots.
TimWildAstro wrote:
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.
