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Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM II Announced—Pre-Orders Now Open!

robert614
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p.10 #1 · p.10 #1 · Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM II Announced—Pre-Orders Now Open!

Donbioh wrote:
The 85mm GM II I ordered will be delivered tomorrow, I'm curious to see whether it will prevail against my Sigma 85mm DN...

Nice!

I would love to hear your thoughts after you’ve had a chance to use it a little

Sep 10, 2024 at 02:36 PM

Dj R
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p.10 #2 · p.10 #2 · Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM II Announced—Pre-Orders Now Open!

Donbioh wrote:
The price is just very high for an 85mm 1.4. The competition that didn't exist with the GM I back then is now there. And the comparatively high price may be a reason for some not to buy the 85 GM II.

The 85mm GM II I ordered will be delivered tomorrow, I'm curious to see whether it will prevail against my Sigma 85mm DN...

I think you need to remember when this lens is being released, in the now, when EVERYTHING is 20-33% more expensive.

CONGRATS! from a brick and mortar?

Sep 10, 2024 at 02:54 PM

j4nu
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p.10 #3 · p.10 #3 · Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM II Announced—Pre-Orders Now Open!

robert614 wrote:
Not sure why everyone is so down on this lens lol 😂

Is it because it isn’t 1.2?

I own the original version. Does it render well? Yes. But in every other metric, it’s pretty average. Particularly in terms of AF and chromatic aberration

If this forum is any indication, those of you guys hoping to pick up the version one on the cheap, might not be able one that cheap since they seem to be so prized.

Personally, I’m looking forward to getting my version II

I think it all comes down to expectations. Some people wanted 1.2, others for the new version to retain some of the rendering characteristics of the original.
I think with 50/1.2GM Sony has shown it can produce a modern sharp lens with nice rendering. But, as others have already said, 85/1.4GM II looks closer to the Sigma in optical qualities (uber sharpness, etc.) ...

Sep 10, 2024 at 03:06 PM

zeitlos
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p.10 #4 · p.10 #4 · Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM II Announced—Pre-Orders Now Open!

Donbioh wrote:
The 85mm GM II I ordered will be delivered tomorrow, I'm curious to see whether it will prevail against my Sigma 85mm DN...

Cool. I’m sure the GM II is a very good lens. But it will be interesting to see it against the Sigma 85mm DN. Looking forward to your findings.

Sep 10, 2024 at 03:14 PM

Jazzgear296
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p.10 #5 · p.10 #5 · Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM II Announced—Pre-Orders Now Open!

Donbioh wrote:
I had the GM I years before, I like the Sigma 85 DN more.

Not me. Much preferred the GM I I stupidly sold to get the Sigma.

Sep 10, 2024 at 03:21 PM

NJPhotographer
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p.10 #6 · p.10 #6 · Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM II Announced—Pre-Orders Now Open!

robert614 wrote:
Not sure why everyone is so down on this lens lol 😂

Not everyone. Not me. The reviews show a lens that is nothing but superlative. I haven't seen anything bad about it. And I certainly don't want an 85/1.2.

Sep 10, 2024 at 03:25 PM

cheapskate
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p.10 #7 · p.10 #7 · Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM II Announced—Pre-Orders Now Open!

Dj R wrote:
Half of the folks here will still buy it. Half will not, and that particular half makes a lot of noise.

Where does half come from? Is this one of those, you either win the lottery or you don't, so it's 50/50, calculations? I would be amazed if half the people who've clicked on this thread buy this lens or, for that matter, any GM lens for in a general thread about that lens. I think even 10% would be surprising and I wouldn't be surprised if the number was under 1%.

If here has the more natural meaning of the Sony forum more broadly, then I'd expect the numbers to be even lower. There's no way anywhere close to half of people here are going to buy this lens or any particular GM lens. If anything, it's the people who are going to buy the lens that are overrepresented in "making noise" or whatever you want to call it, probably by 100:1 or more.

If I look at any random thread for a newly released lens, some people are excited about the lens and some people have reason they don't want to buy the lens. That seems fairly normal?

Edited on Sep 10, 2024 at 07:12 PM · View previous versions

Sep 10, 2024 at 03:35 PM

philip_pj
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p.10 #8 · p.10 #8 · Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM II Announced—Pre-Orders Now Open!

New lenses shake up the status quo. If they show promise and the images match the promise, you won't have to wait long until the critics arrive in force. It's a linear relationship - the greater the challenge, the more critics show up.

The key is to look very closely at each critic's issues with the lens, to see through those who are simply out to unfairly neg the lens, often for trifles. If they have not done their homework and/or simply offer rhetoric, disregard what they have to say. Look at their work and see how accomplished it is. No images posted? Don't listen to them, they have no standing.

Many don't understand that each lens can never be for everyone. Some are swayed by slick reviewers they respect too much. Separating the wheat from the chaff is not easy, but you can be systematic. Look for evidence provided.

Sep 10, 2024 at 05:15 PM

Mystik
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p.10 #9 · p.10 #9 · Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM II Announced—Pre-Orders Now Open!

robert614 wrote:
Fair enough. The original does render beautifully. I guess my follow up question would be how many of you guys that love the original lens still own one?

My impression from reading this thread is the majority have sold yours off. If you prize the rendering of the lens so much, I’m curious why you got rid of yours in the first place.

I’m really not that enamored with mine, but I still own the one I bought 5-6 years ago

Not trying to start an argument, just curious

I bought the 85GM right when it launched. It's still my go-to for portraiture and weddings. The honeymoon phase ended long ago, but I haven't felt the itch to "upgrade" as there hasn't been an alternative offer that was a compelling improvement in terms of rendering. I have the MKII on pre-order because I for sure would welcome AF improvements but jury is still out on it. I don't want the MKII if it takes a step backwards in terms of rendering

85GM I still being put to work:

7R408593 by Carlo Alcala, on Flickr

7R403543 by Carlo Alcala, on Flickr

7R401887-Edit by Carlo Alcala, on Flickr

Sep 11, 2024 at 08:46 AM

robert614
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p.10 #10 · p.10 #10 · Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM II Announced—Pre-Orders Now Open!

Mystik wrote:
I bought the 85GM right when it launched. It's still my go-to for portraiture and weddings. The honeymoon phase ended long ago, but I haven't felt the itch to "upgrade" as there hasn't been an alternative offer that was a compelling improvement in terms of rendering. I have the MKII on pre-order because I for sure would welcome AF improvements but jury is still out on it. I don't want the MKII if it takes a step backwards in terms of rendering

85GM I still being put to work:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53623096428_1943a718c4_b.jpg 7R408593 by Carlo Alcala, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53595443245_4672cbafe2_b.jpg 7R403543 by Carlo Alcala, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53354528004_c7a9e206a7_b.jpg 7R401887-Edit by Carlo, on Flickr...Show more →

Beautiful photos! Glad you’re still putting the current version to good use

I think the mark II may surprise a lot of people.

In focus to out of focus transition zones look to be very smooth in the examples I’ve seen. Perhaps better than the original. And mid distance out of focus areas look to be very smooth as well.

Bokeh balls may have a little more cats eye towards the edge. But lack of any soap bubbles and chromatic aberration in the balls themselves is a good trade off IMO

I’m actually pretty optimistic about the Mark II

Sep 11, 2024 at 09:28 AM

Dj R
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p.10 #11 · p.10 #11 · Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM II Announced—Pre-Orders Now Open!

cheapskate wrote:
Where does half come from? Is this one of those, you either win the lottery or you don't, so it's 50/50, calculations? I would be amazed if half the people who've clicked on this thread buy this lens or, for that matter, any GM lens for in a general thread about that lens. I think even 10% would be surprising and I wouldn't be surprised if the number was under 1%.

Hi,
most folks who are active here have a bag of gear.
half of those folks, that bag probably cost them $5k to $20k.

I think if folks are posting in this thread,
they are on the fence - they may buy it. or they won't b/c they don't feel the need to upgrade.
87% of all statistics are made up on the spot. so there's that.

--

anyhow, the primary reason I see many wanting this lens?
the 85GM I doesn't have the resolution for the higher MP bodies, or adequate AF for some segments.

Sep 11, 2024 at 09:32 AM

GMPhotography
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p.10 #12 · p.10 #12 · Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM II Announced—Pre-Orders Now Open!

the 85GM I doesn't have the resolution for the higher MP bodies, or adequate AF for some segments.

Thats really the bottom line and with all of the Mark II lenses that have come out they are lighter, faster, smaller and technically better than Version 1 . Thats just a fact as we have seen these improvements in ALL the Mark II versions otherwise why would Sony bother there here to make sales on their products. Now with that some things will change optically as well and the 70-200 Mark II was a blessing for me the version 1 sucked and I would never buy it I rented it very time but the Mark II I bought immediately and that has proven its worth. I think this new 85 is killer good in almost every way both but it's going to cost you and I rarely have an issue with costs of glass. It is what it is and if you need it than so be it. Even going into retirement I would like to buy this one for sure. Sure maybe the bokeh maybe slightly different but optically this is a much better sharper version of Version 1 and think about it ALL the Mark II are otherwise why would Sony bother. Trick with Mark II glass is there is no secret that it technically beats the Version I lenses . You have to decide if that is what you want and more important what you need. I need this better Version II

Sep 11, 2024 at 09:55 AM

Mystik
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p.10 #13 · p.10 #13 · Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM II Announced—Pre-Orders Now Open!

robert614 wrote:
Beautiful photos! Glad you’re still putting the current version to good use

I think the mark II may surprise a lot of people.

In focus to out of focus transition zones look to be very smooth in the examples I’ve seen. Perhaps better than the original. And mid distance out of focus areas look to be very smooth as well.

Bokeh balls may have a little more cats eye towards the edge. But lack of any soap bubbles and chromatic aberration in the balls themselves is a good trade off IMO

I’m actually pretty optimistic about the Mark II

Thank you!

I'm open minded about the MKII so I'll give it a try.

Bokeh ball shapes don't matter all that much to me is it's a pretty specific circumstances when it matters. I haven't had a lens that didn't have football bokeh wide open and the simple solution is to stop down a hair until they are round. Usually if you're shooting something with pronounced bokeh balls you're framing pretty tight so the DOF is really shallow even stopped down a bit.

Sep 11, 2024 at 10:17 AM

Dj R
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p.10 #14 · p.10 #14 · Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM II Announced—Pre-Orders Now Open!

@GMPhotography
inflation my friend!

Sep 11, 2024 at 10:37 AM

zeitlos
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p.10 #15 · p.10 #15 · Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM II Announced—Pre-Orders Now Open!

Still no sample pictures? I thought first copies should have arrived at costumers…

Sep 11, 2024 at 02:30 PM

nhmorgan
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p.10 #16 · p.10 #16 · Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM II Announced—Pre-Orders Now Open!

I ordered it just because I really need a good 85mm for Sony, but I'm not super excited by it and feel like I'm overpaying for what I'm getting. I LOVED the Nikon 85mm 1.2. It's outstanding and I'm disappointed that the new GM isn't a 1.2. I'm also a little discouraged by the initial reports that the rendering is a bit pedestrian. It took Sony forever to get this lens out and for what we've gotten, I think they could have released this 2-3 years ago. I liked the Sigma 85mm DG DN, but it can't take advantage of the FPS on an A9iii, the massive amounts of distortion isn't great, and I found that lens to have a very warm tone to the images that I didn't love.

Sep 11, 2024 at 02:48 PM

Dj R
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p.10 #17 · p.10 #17 · Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM II Announced—Pre-Orders Now Open!

zeitlos wrote:
Still no sample pictures? I thought first copies should have arrived at costumers…

no sign of it shipping before release date, from what I am hearing

Sep 11, 2024 at 02:52 PM

Dj R
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p.10 #18 · p.10 #18 · Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM II Announced—Pre-Orders Now Open!

I want my new 85 gm II now!
I was just looking to see what size filter it takes, to see what I have in my bag.
and I noticed the size.

check this out, if you have a 50 1.2 GM, this makes it easy to see how big the new 85 will be:

length - width - grams - filter size - lens
4.2" 3.3" 642 77mm 85 1.4 GM II
4.3 3.4 778 72mm 50 1.2 GM

this is without hood
85 1.4 GM II is 21% lighter than the 50 1.2 GM

Sep 11, 2024 at 04:15 PM

photomadnz
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p.10 #19 · p.10 #19 · Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM II Announced—Pre-Orders Now Open!

MIne arriveds today. AF is very accurate. Ive taken some samples that I will go over later in the day. Im coming from the DG DN as I sold the Mark 1 when the Sigma arrived.

Sep 11, 2024 at 05:32 PM

Dj R
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p.10 #20 · p.10 #20 · Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM II Announced—Pre-Orders Now Open!

From what type of dealer?
Congrats

photomadnz wrote:
MIne arriveds today. AF is very accurate. Ive taken some samples that I will go over later in the day. Im coming from the DG DN as I sold the Mark 1 when the Sigma arrived.

Sep 11, 2024 at 08:31 PM

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