Pre-order: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM ($1,598)

Sharpness Test (100% Crop)
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Decentering Test (100% Crop)
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DC_4

All shots were taken wide open at f1.8 with an a7riv. For the sharpness test, I took a photo of some text at roughly 40cm. I shifted the focusing box by two from the center and repeated it all the way to the edge. The center sharpness is very very crisp, but the off-center sharpness is lacking. The difference in sharpness is especially telling because the center is just that good.... Also, AF seems to miss sometimes when focusing off-center, so I had to use MF, take a few shots and select the best one. Based on its close-up performance, the lens performs slightly below expectation given the stellar performances of recent GM lenses like 24 35 and 50 GM. Stopped down to f2.8 though and it recovers some sharpness, though never quite as sharp as the center. My guess is that in exchange for size, the lens compromised on its close-up performance.

I should add that I tested 2 copies, and both share the same issues close-up. The sample photos from Marc at sonyalphablog show similar off-center softness in the close-up photos. The Digital-Picture mentions some softness as well when looking at the test charts. As such I don't think Lenstip's sharpness result is necessarily a result of copy variation either.

Of course, when focusing at infinity, the lens excels even at f1.8. The corner sharpness is very good if I refocus in the corners as well. I have not been able to find a scene at infinity that's wide enough to test FC consistently, but from the limited tests I did where I focus in the center, the corners can get a little soft. So while the lens is capable of excellent sharpness throughout, FC issue when wide open might limit its performance somewhat when out in the field. It is not a lens you set to f/1.8 and expect immaculate sharpness under all shooting conditions.

In general, the lens does perform very well indeed. Small, light, smooth handling, good color and contrast. The unusual discordance between test chart results and real-life usage has to do with focusing distance wide open. While the 14mm did not satisfy the pixel peeper in me the same way the 35mm GM did, it nevertheless performs very well for photos it is better suited for.

Update: I was talking out of my a**. The test I did above is for decentering, not field curvature. I've converted all mentions of FC to decentering. I don't think my copy has any strong decentering issues either (DC test above was not shot at infinity... oops)

Sharpness Test (100% Crop)
1_center
2_offcenter
3_offcenter
4_apscedge
5_extremeedge

Decentering Test (100% Crop)
DC_1
DC_2
DC_3
DC_4

All shots were taken wide open at f1.8 with an a7riv. For the sharpness test, I took a photo of some text at roughly 40cm. I shifted the focusing box by two from the center and repeated it all the way to the edge. The center sharpness is very very crisp, but the off-center sharpness is lacking. The difference in sharpness is especially telling because the center is just that good.... Also, AF seems to miss sometimes when focusing off-center, so I had to use MF, take a few shots and select the best one. Based on its close-up performance, the lens performs slightly below expectation given the stellar performances of recent GM lenses like 24 35 and 50 GM. Stopped down to f2.8 though and it recovers some sharpness, though never quite as sharp as the center. My guess is that the small size of the lens demands some form of compromise which in this case is its close-up performance.

I should add that I tested 2 copies, and both share the same issues close-up. I don't think my copy has any strong decentering issues either (DC test above was not shot at infinity... oops)

Of course, when focusing at infinity, the lens excels even at f1.8. The corner sharpness is very good if I refocus in the corners as well. I have not been able to find a scene at infinity that's wide enough to test FC consistently, but from the limited tests I did where I focus in the center, the corners can get a little soft. So while the lens is capable of excellent sharpness throughout, FC issue when wide open might limit its performance somewhat when out in the field. It is not a lens you set to f/1.8 and expect immaculate sharpness under all shooting conditions.

In general though, the lens does perform very well indeed. Small, light, smooth handling, good color and contrast. While it did not satisfy the pixel peeper in me the same way the 35mm GM did, it nevertheless performs very well for photos it is better suited for.

Update: I was talking out of my a**. The test I did is for decentering, not field curvature. I've converted all mentions of FC to decentering.

Sharpness Test (100% Crop)
1_center
2_offcenter
3_offcenter
4_apscedge
5_extremeedge

Decentering Test (100% Crop)
DC_1
DC_2
DC_3
DC_4

All shots were taken wide open at f1.8 with an a7riv. For the sharpness test, I took a photo of some text at roughly 40cm. I shifted the focusing box by two from the center and repeated it all the way to the edge. The center sharpness is very very crisp, but the off-center sharpness is lacking. The difference in sharpness is especially telling because the center is just that good.... Also, AF seems to miss sometimes when focusing off-center, so I had to use MF, take a few shots and select the best one. Based on its close-up performance, the lens performs slightly below expectation given the stellar performances of recent GM lenses like 24 35 and 50 GM. Stopped down to f2.8 though and it recovers some sharpness, though never quite as sharp as the center. My guess is that the small size of the lens demands some form of compromise which in this case is its close-up performance.

I should add that I tested 2 copies, and both share the same issues close-up.

Of course, when focusing at infinity, the lens excels even at f1.8. Also, I don't think my copy has any strong decentering issues either (dc test above was not shot at infinity... oops). For normal usage, the lens does perform very well indeed. Small, light, good color and contrast.

While the lens did not satisfy the pixel peeper in me the same way the 35mm GM did, it nevertheless performs very well for photos it is better suited for.

Update: I was talking out of my a**. The test I did is for decentering, not field curvature. I've converted all mentions of FC to decentering.

Sharpness Test (100% Crop)
1_center
2_offcenter
3_offcenter
4_apscedge
5_extremeedge

Decentering Test (100% Crop)
DC_1
DC_2
DC_3
DC_4

All shots were taken wide open at f1.8 with an a7riv. For the sharpness test, I took a photo of some text at roughly 40cm. I shifted the focusing box by two from the center and repeated it all the way to the edge. The center sharpness is very very crisp, but the off-center sharpness is lacking. The difference in sharpness is especially telling because the center is just that good.... Also, AF seems to miss sometimes when focusing off-center, so I had to use MF, take a few shots and select the best one. Based on its close-up performance, the lens performs slightly below expectation given the stellar performances of recent GM lenses like 24 35 and 50 GM. Stopped down to f2.8 though and it recovers some sharpness, though never quite as sharp as the center. My guess is that the small size of the lens demands some form of compromise which in this case is its close-up performance.

I should add that I tested 2 copies, and both share the same issues close-up.

Of course, when focusing at infinity, the lens excels even at f1.8. Also, I don't think my copy has any strong decentering issues either (dc test above was not shot at infinity... oops). For normal usage, the lens does perform very well indeed. Small, light, good color and contrast.

While the lens did not satisfy the pixel peeper in me the same way the 35mm GM did, it nevertheless performs very well for photos it is better suited for.

Update: I was talking out of my a**. The test I did is for decentering, not field curvature. I've convertes all mentions of FC to decentering.

Sharpness Test (100% Crop)
1_center
2_offcenter
3_offcenter
4_apscedge
5_extremeedge

Field Curvature Test (100% Crop)
FC_1
FC_2
FC_3
FC_4

All shots were taken wide open at f1.8 with an a7riv. For the sharpness test, I took a photo of some text at roughly 40cm. I shifted the focusing box by two from the center and repeated it all the way to the edge. The center sharpness is very very crisp, but the off-center sharpness is lacking. The difference in sharpness is especially telling because the center is just that good.... Also, AF seems to miss sometimes when focusing off-center, so I had to use MF, take a few shots and select the best one. Based on its close-up performance, the lens performs slightly below expectation given the stellar performances of recent GM lenses like 24 35 and 50 GM. Stopped down to f2.8 though and it recovers some sharpness, though never quite as sharp as the center. My guess is that the small size of the lens demands some form of compromise which in this case is its close-up performance.

I should add that I tested 2 copies, and both share the same issues close-up.

Of course, when focusing at infinity, the lens excels even at f1.8. Also, I don't think my copy has any strong field curvature issues either (FC test above was not shot at infinity... oops). For normal usage, the lens does perform very well indeed. Small, light, good color and contrast.

While the lens did not satisfy the pixel peeper in me the same way the 35mm GM did, it nevertheless performs very well for photos it is better suited for.

Update: I was talking out of my a**. The test I did is for decentering, not field curvature. So convert all mentions of FC to decentering.

Sharpness Test (100% Crop)
1_center
2_offcenter
3_offcenter
4_apscedge
5_extremeedge

Field Curvature Test (100% Crop)
FC_1
FC_2
FC_3
FC_4

All shots were taken wide open at f1.8 with an a7riv. For the sharpness test, I took a photo of some text at roughly 40cm. I shifted the focusing box by two from the center and repeated it all the way to the edge. The center sharpness is very very crisp, but the off-center sharpness is lacking. The difference in sharpness is especially telling because the center is just that good.... Also, AF seems to miss sometimes when focusing off-center, so I had to use MF, take a few shots and select the best one. Based on its close-up performance, the lens performs slightly below expectation given the stellar performances of recent GM lenses like 24 35 and 50 GM. Stopped down to f2.8 though and it recovers some sharpness, though never quite as sharp as the center. My guess is that the small size of the lens demands some form of compromise which in this case is its close-up performance.

I should add that I tested 2 copies, and both share the same issues close-up.

Of course, when focusing at infinity, the lens excels even at f1.8. Also, I don't think my copy has any strong field curvature issues either (FC test above was not shot at infinity... oops). For normal usage, the lens does perform very well indeed. Small, light, good color and contrast.

While the lens did not satisfy the pixel peeper in me the same way the 35mm GM did, it nevertheless performs very well for photos it is better suited for.