p.26 #1 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
switcher wrote:
I thought I had a decent copy on my first lens until I found a great spot for Fred's centering test. Now on my second copy it's still de-centered. The top half of this lens on both copies has shown to be weak. Also the top half has a dimmer exposure than the bottom half even though they were manually shot with the same settings. Not sure I want to play the lotto again for copy number 3 unless I try a different retailer. The top left corner on both copies is the worst. I wonder if they sent me the same lens I sent back. I may try again from a another retailer then call it quits if it is not good. Sounds like the too half is an issue for a few folks here. Anyone else having a similar issue with multiple copies?...Show more →
You could possibly use exif tool to check the serial number of the lens to see if it’s the same copy.
p.26 #3 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
Was your top half poor with centre focusing? Or with corner focusing as well? My top half is a little weaker, but focusing towards a 'poorer' corner yields excellent sharpness corner to corner. If I centre focus, corners are average at best.
Did you record the serial number of your 1st copy and compare it against the serial number of the 2nd? It's possible they returned the same lens to you but it seems pretty pointless as you'd then just test it and return it again so it's in their interest to send you a different one rather than the same.
I hope you can get a good one! Mine isn't perfect but it's workable, so I'm content with it.
switcher wrote:
I thought I had a decent copy on my first lens until I found a great spot for Fred's centering test. Now on my second copy it's still de-centered. The top half of this lens on both copies has shown to be weak. Also the top half has a dimmer exposure than the bottom half even though they were manually shot with the same settings. Not sure I want to play the lotto again for copy number 3 unless I try a different retailer. The top left corner on both copies is the worst. I wonder if they sent me the same lens I sent back. I may try again from a another retailer then call it quits if it is not good. Sounds like the too half is an issue for a few folks here. Anyone else having a similar issue with multiple copies?...Show more →
p.26 #4 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
TimWildAstro wrote:
Was your top half poor with centre focusing? Or with corner focusing as well? My top half is a little weaker, but focusing towards a 'poorer' corner yields excellent sharpness corner to corner. If I centre focus, corners are average at best.
Did you record the serial number of your 1st copy and compare it against the serial number of the 2nd? It's possible they returned the same lens to you but it seems pretty pointless as you'd then just test it and return it again so it's in their interest to send you a different one rather than the same.
I hope you can get a good one! Mine isn't perfect but it's workable, so I'm content with it.
I wish I did record the serial number. I did center focus. My experience on my first lens was as you described, sharp when focused off center. For a $1600, I do expect near excellent performance.
p.26 #5 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
Okay so there might be hope yet, if the 2nd copy test was done with centre focus only. The improvement in sharpness (as an average across the frame) is substantial if I corner focus with mine. The centre loses a very small amount of sharpness, but the corners gain a significant amount. I had a similar bad feeling towards the lens as you when I initially tested with centre focus and then checked the corners. By f2.5 the focus accuracy is a little less critical on mine, but I'm primarily using f1.8 for astro currently.
If the top of your images are darker with the same settings then that does sound a bit concerning, assuming conditions were completely consistent, so maybe a problem somewhere. I'd try repeating the test with the 2nd copy with corner and even mid-frame/field focus, just to see where the sweet spot is with your copy. If the top is always lagging then obviously a bad one, but let's hope it's okay. Good luck.
switcher wrote:
I wish I did record the serial number. I did center focus. My experience on my first lens was as you described, sharp when focused off center. For a $1600, I do expect near excellent performance.
p.26 #6 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
switcher wrote:
exif tool does not show serial number. It show what looks to be an internal serial number, but I get different numbers on the same lens.
Well you would still get the same internal serial number for the same lens. Doesn’t matter if it matches the outside.
p.26 #7 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
Jesse Evans wrote:
Well you would still get the same internal serial number for the same lens. Doesn’t matter if it matches the outside.
I got 2 different internal serial numbers on 2 different pictures taken by the 14mm I am discussing. I also got the same internal serial number on 1 of those shots as I did with my 35 GM. So I'm not sure that number means much.
p.26 #8 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
switcher wrote:
I got 2 different internal serial numbers on 2 different pictures taken by the 14mm I am discussing. I also got the same internal serial number on 1 of those shots as I did with my 35 GM. So I'm not sure that number means much.
p.26 #10 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
switcher wrote:
I got 2 different internal serial numbers on 2 different pictures taken by the 14mm I am discussing. I also got the same internal serial number on 1 of those shots as I did with my 35 GM. So I'm not sure that number means much.
WTF is this about? That's bonkers.
Seriously, please contact the manufacturer.
p.26 #11 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
Hi, I just got a copy of the lens and couldn't resist to do some pixel peeping and did a test like this https://phillipreeve.net/blog/how-to-check-how-decentered-your-lens-is/ to check if it is decentered. Target distance was about 10m. Target was placed in each corners and the following images shows 100% crops (1250x750 pixel) merged into one image. The outermost corners are placed in the center of the image.
For the case of the Sony I see large differences in the corners, especially compared lower left to upper right. And this doesn't disappear even at f/8.0. The corner sharpness of the Zeiss seems homogenous to me, even if the best corner of the Sony seems sharper @f/1.8 than the Zeiss @f/8.0.
Would you accept a lens with a decentering strong like this or is it a bad outlier?
p.26 #12 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
Yours looks very similar to mine, although I tested on something a lot further away. The top right seems to be the worst corner for a lot of copies here. If I corner focus for the worst corner, it makes the corners more equal, with a small reduction in central sharpness.
stelli wrote:
Hi, I just got a copy of the lens and couldn't resist to do some pixel peeping and did a test like this https://phillipreeve.net/blog/how-to-check-how-decentered-your-lens-is/ to check if it is decentered. Target distance was about 10m. Target was placed in each corners and the following images shows 100% crops (1250x750 pixel) merged into one image. The outermost corners are placed in the center of the image.
For the case of the Sony I see large differences in the corners, especially compared lower left to upper right. And this doesn't disappear even at f/8.0. The corner sharpness of the Zeiss seems homogenous to me, even if the best corner of the Sony seems sharper @f/1.8 than the Zeiss @f/8.0.
Would you accept a lens with a decentering strong like this or is it a bad outlier?
p.26 #14 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
I bought the specific S6 for the 14GM because my 12-24 was not a very secure fit. Now NiSi has a dedicated 100mm holder for the 14GM so if you aren’t married to the 150mm system yet I would suggest going for that one to save on weight and filter cost!
p.26 #15 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
NatDeroxL7 wrote:
I bought the specific S6 for the 14GM because my 12-24 was not a very secure fit. Now NiSi has a dedicated 100mm holder for the 14GM so if you aren’t married to the 150mm system yet I would suggest going for that one to save on weight and filter cost!
I've actually got a bunch of 100mm stuff already. So that is good news. Is it on their site?
Thanks for that. I did a google search and found a link to the USA site for a preorder (shipping in August), but did not see it in any of their menus yet.
p.26 #18 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
TimWildAstro wrote:
Yours looks very similar to mine, although I tested on something a lot further away. The top right seems to be the worst corner for a lot of copies here. If I corner focus for the worst corner, it makes the corners more equal, with a small reduction in central sharpness.
Thank you for your suggestion. Just did some further tests. Focus near infinity, aperture f/1.8, f/2.8 and f/8.0 and focus on center or worst corner. Results for center focus were almost identical to the previous test. When focusing on the worst corner all the corners are on the same (and for me acceptable) level. Unfortunately the center is inacceptable at f/1.8 and f/2.8. f/8.0 yields okayish results. I think this copy isn't usable for astro at all
p.26 #19 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
Went out with this lens last night for the first time.
Came from a 14mm Samyang MF f/2.8 and while the results are incredibly better, there seems to be something wrong with the right corner ("star-wings" when I focus on the center).
Issue gets progressively better until it clears up totally at f/2.8 (but I guess when we buy this kind of gear we expect something else).
If I focus on the right corner, center and left side gets a slightly out of focus.
Issue is maintained when I shoot in vertical mode (the same corner is afected).
Link to Flickr album: (mix of apertures from 1.8 to 2.8 and center to corner focusing). https://flic.kr/s/aHsmWmXBPG
Am I focusing wrong? Should it be somewhere in between center and corner?
Or too high expectations?
I have until 11th August to return the lens.
p.26 #20 · Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)
Hi Jonalho
It would likely be better to focus between centre and corner for your copy rather than extreme corner, but your copy does seem to deteriorate a lot in the centre when corner focusing for that bad corner. The top right is worst on mine too, but the centre is still nice and sharp for stars if I focus towards that poor corner, even at f1.8. It's very hard to get optimal focus for best sharpness as an average across the frame at f1.8. Mine is more forgiving by f2.5 (but I use it at f1.8 for astro and take my time perfecting the focus).
Jonalho wrote:
Went out with this lens last night for the first time.
Came from a 14mm Samyang MF f/2.8 and while the results are incredibly better, there seems to be something wrong with the right corner ("star-wings" when I focus on the center).
Issue gets progressively better until it clears up totally at f/2.8 (but I guess when we buy this kind of gear we expect something else).
If I focus on the right corner, center and left side gets a slightly out of focus.
Issue is maintained when I shoot in vertical mode (the same corner is afected).
Link to Flickr album: (mix of apertures from 1.8 to 2.8 and center to corner focusing). https://flic.kr/s/aHsmWmXBPG
Am I focusing wrong? Should it be somewhere in between center and corner?
Or too high expectations?
I have until 11th August to return the lens.
