Yesterday I took some first photos with the Sony 50mm f/1.4 GM and here are my quick observations:
The lens is very small, lightweight, and a pleasure to work with on the Sony A7RIII.
Sharpness is excellent at any aperture I normally use (1.4-5.6), open aperture can be used at long distances.
At minimum focus distance and f1.4 aperture it is softer, the very extreme corners of the image are also weaker.
Aberration is less visible than on the Sony 50 ZA, but it can be found in photos.
The long distance refocus is very fast, AF is not audible. The focusing ring has a fairly loose movement, I find manual focusing more comfortable with the 50 ZA.
The new lens is brighter than the Sony 50mm f/1.4 ZA by about 0.2EV in Adobe Lightroom in most of the image, but the edges have slightly stronger vignetting (a difference of about 0.1EV). The Sony 50 ZA has a slightly longer focal length.
Here are some sample photos - Lightroom - all settings at defaults, only WB and exposure are changed, lens correction in camera ON, in LR completely OFF.
Export at 24Mpx, quality 70, no added sharpening.
The comparison of the Sony 50/1.4 GM with the Sony 50/1.4 ZA starts with the photo of the books.
It's only handheld and not very accurate, but it might be enough for a first impression.
Both lenses without protective filter and without lens hood.
Center sharpness is similar at normal distances (GM is just a hair sharper), it depends more on how accurately the photographer/camera manages to focus.
Off center and at longer distances, is the new GM better. Contrast in the backlight holds up better the GM.
The ZA has a bit more aberrations, especially in the bokeh, but I often don't find them to be a problem for both.
GM is significantly lighter and easier to work with. Focusing is faster especially at large distance differences, accuracy is similar with the A7RIII.
What I notice most is the silence and a kind of stillness (I don't notice the movement of the lenses during focusing at all).
I like the manual focus better on the ZA.
So far I find the output from both lenses visually quite similar, I'll see how it goes over time.
I didn't decide to buy the GM based on the slightly better picture quality, but rather on the size and weight...
Lightroom - all settings at defaults, only WB and basic settings are changed (same on both images), lens correction in camera ON, in LR completely OFF.
Export at 24Mpx, quality 70, no added sharpening.
Nothing special but gives an idea of how it handles this sort of situation. shading off in camera and no profile yet in LR so there is vignetting Blossom by david sampson, on Flickr
tzhang4284 wrote:
Any idea on how rendering compares to the 50mm f1.2 at 1.4? Kind of reminds me of the 35mm f1.4 more on quick glance
Can't help with that butI saw some reviews on youtube that do the comparison
tzhang4284 wrote:
Any idea on how rendering compares to the 50mm f1.2 at 1.4? Kind of reminds me of the 35mm f1.4 more on quick glance
From what I've seen on YT the f/1.2 is maybe a tad warmer, and gives a bit rounder bokeh balls at same apertures, but that's about it, as the lenses are pretty similar and render both very nice if you ask me.
But there's comparison stuff available on YT, so see for yourself.
I'm seeing this lens as a great companion to my Leica Q2. Back in time I used to do the majority of my work and street photography with 2 Leica M's and the 28 and 50mm lenses. While not such a compact package the new 50 1.4 replaces the Sony FE55 which I had bought when it was first released.
Jealous that in Europe you’re able to get this lens about six weeks ahead of the delivery date promised here in the United States. I have it on pre-order here but won’t get delivered until early May. Shots comparing it to the Sony Zeiss Planar f/1.4 ZA are a good comparison for me since I used to own that lens. For size and weight the FE 35mm f/1.4 is great because the appear to be almost identical with each other.
swldstn wrote:
Jealous that in Europe you’re able to get this lens about six weeks ahead of the delivery date promised here in the United States. I have it on pre-order here but won’t get delivered until early May. Shots comparing it to the Sony Zeiss Planar f/1.4 ZA are a good comparison for me since I used to own that lens. For size and weight the FE 35mm f/1.4 is great because the appear to be almost identical with each other.
Agree... I just sold my 50GM because it felt so big.
The 35 is so much more compact. The 50 1.4 should be a winner.
This GM is the 50/1.2 GM killer. It combines all the good parts from 35 GM and 50/1.2 GM into a single lens. Price is a little steep for a 50/1.4, but everything is more expensive now. I am tempted to swap my Voigtlander 50/1.2 with this lens, but Voigtlander also produces beautiful results and works wonderfully as a supplemental lens to my 35 GM. This thread is not good for users like me with chronic GAS problems.
