They brute forced image quality by making a huge 1100g lens. The exterior design is a blatant rip off of the Nikon 1.2 but features a nonfunctional control ring instead because actual functionality is hard. Two STM-style motors for all of that heavy glass? Going to get what you pay for in terms of performance.
All fair criticism, but for the price....$1,000 less than the sigma, it's impressive. I think it will be a heck of a deal, especially used or on sale. Sharp, accurate (supposedly), and lighter than canon and Nikon. Also offering a version with aperture controls. Personally I don't care about an aperture ring what so ever, but it's an option. If it's reliable it's a win. Big if.
Fun and affordable, like Viltrox and others. That's a lot of the reason people flock to Sony.
To add, I had the Canon RF. I hated the autofocus performance, but the IQ was blissful, This lens is $2,350 less. You can get a whole new camera system and this lens for the same price lol.
Looks like an interesting lens. For that price I wouldn't mind adding another 85/1.2 lens (already have one in my Canon system) for my A7V. However, I know Viltrox is planning to launch one so I'll wait for that one as well as a 50/1.2 lens.
I was looking at this yesterday, seems like a perfectly viable option
Big, slower AF than a G/GM, more prone to flaring but well corrected, excellent image quality and a lot less than you would pay for a Sigma or Sony
My Viltrox 35 and 135 are the same, if I used them a lot and a GM alternative existed would get that, for light use and where no GM option exists, they work for me
I like the silver too, would look pretty good on a silver a7cr
Only thing I don't like about the SongRAW, is the typical mediocre stepping motors and iffy AF.
Kicking myself now I didn't grab the Sony 85 f/1.4 II during the last crazy Sony sale. Could have gotten it for ~ $900US. I wanted to wait for the Sigma, but it's so expensive here and Sigma discounts are pretty bad anyway even when on sale.
RoamingScott wrote:
They brute forced image quality by making a huge 1100g lens. The exterior design is a blatant rip off of the Nikon 1.2 but features a nonfunctional control ring instead because actual functionality is hard. Two STM-style motors for all of that heavy glass? Going to get what you pay for in terms of performance.
Indeed!
When one shows up on the B&S for $350, I might be tempted to try it.
I received my lens already. Ordered from the Songraw store on the 24th, received on the 28th in Europe. Had it for 630$, thanks to a 10% discount for subscribing to their mailing list. Very happy with it so far. It is a big lens but the handling is great as it is short. I'm quite pleased with the autofocus so far, it is certainly slower than my GM lenses but it seems accurate and good for slow moving subjects, e.g. your typical portrait subject. I imagine that children running around would be challenging.
I am surprised by the sharpness, even wide open, and I really like the rendering. The contrast can drop significantly from ghosting when the sun hits the front element so I keep the lens hood on.
Best is relative. I'd argue accurate AF > fast AF. Im less worried about the AF speed with a cheap lens like this. If I needed speed, I'd use my Sony 85 1.4 GM II. This (Like Viltrox, Sirui, etc) will be more than sufficient for some paid portrait work, again, if it's accurate.
Dustin Abbott has posted a new comparison between the Songraw and the Viltrox 1.4. It will be interesting to see how the planned Viltrox 1.2 LAB performs when they finally release it.
Just ordered this, was waiting for the Viltrox option to compare it against but a decent offer stack bought the price down to £363 (with some VAT on top maybe)
Andyuk109 wrote:
Just ordered this, was waiting for the Viltrox option to compare it against but a decent offer stack bought the price down to £363 (with some VAT on top maybe)
Happy to take a punt at that price
I thought the same and got the exact same deal 🙂 BTW the Sirui 85mm F/1.4 is also down to bargain prices (around £250 exc VAT) through the same channel.
ryanli wrote:
I thought the same and got the exact same deal 🙂 BTW the Sirui 85mm F/1.4 is also down to bargain prices (around £250 exc VAT) through the same channel.
Spotted another £25 off if you pay via PayPal as well :-)
Hadn't picked up on the Sirui but looks like a great deal too, feel I'd always wonder if having the f1.2 option would have made a difference if I bought the Sirui, despite knowing the answer is almost certainly not
Nice to have these cheaper options available either way
