The Amazing Sony A1/A7/A9/APS-C & Anything else welcome Mega Thread!

55 and the 50 art debate is an interesting one. The 50 art blew my socks off. Crazy, crazy, crazy sharp lens. But so big and heavy though. I found it a chore to take out and use. Not practical for casual stuff. That’s where the 55 is so good. It’s not far behind the art lens imo and I’m much more likely to take it out with me due to its relative compactness. Still one of my favourite lenses.
 
addicknchips said:
55 and the 50 art debate is an interesting one. The 50 art blew my socks off. Crazy, crazy, crazy sharp lens. But so big and heavy though. I found it a chore to take out and use. Not practical for casual stuff. That’s where the 55 is so good. It’s not far behind the art lens imo and I’m much more likely to take it out with me due to its relative compactness. Still one of my favourite lenses.
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Well. That's settled that then. We can all move on now, thank goodness.
 
I took my A7 and Nippon Kogaku 50mm f2 out for a walk.

I bought this because it's supposed to be a classic and one of the lenses that made a name for Nikon.

All at f2.

DSC01785.jpg

I suppose it'll lose a bit by being posted here but on my screen it's sharp enough in the central area wide open and softer towards the edges. 100% from that one...

DSC01785-C.jpg

DSC01776.jpg

It struggles with ca and with flare, it needs a hood if the sun is anywhere near the frame. It's definitely an old lens in look and character.

DSC01770.jpg

DSC01773.jpg

I also have the f1.4 and the similarly bodied 35mm f2.8.

I get to take a camera out for an hour and it's cold, dull and wet. Oh well.
 
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So is the 85 GM the one to get if money not considered. If I’m happy with the A73 I’ll move the Nikon on and get an 85 then. It’s the 35 & 85 I’ll prioritise as they’re the core of my lenses.

Great article from Deci on the camera, I’ll revisit that when I have one delivered. All the best buys are out of stock at the mo so see what happens over the next couple of weeks.
Think I’ve decided on the 35 art so that I can get a 50 too.
 
Livin The Dream said:
So is the 85 GM the one to get if money not considered. If I’m happy with the A73 I’ll move the Nikon on and get an 85 then. It’s the 35 & 85 I’ll prioritise as they’re the core of my lenses.

Great article from Deci on the camera, I’ll revisit that when I have one delivered. All the best buys are out of stock at the mo so see what happens over the next couple of weeks.
Think I’ve decided on the 35 art so that I can get a 50 too.
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I don't think there is an 85mm that is better, really it depends on your needs/wants.

I have the 85G.M it has nicer bokeh than the f/1.8, but the autofocus is slower and it weighs a lot more, both also have the focus button than can be changed to eye a.f which for me is the best way in terms of ergonomics to engage eye a.f.

I also have the FE85 F/1.8 which is very sharp, very quick autofocus for an 85mm and is light weight and feels well balanced on the A7III. It is probably the best performing f/1.8 lens I have owned. It's in the classifieds at the moment because it's hard to justify having 2 x 85mm lenses when I also have the 90mm Macro. Although I am tempted to keep it and get another light weight 35mm for when I am travelling. I am still undecided if a 35/85 or 24/50 combo is better for me for my travels.

When buying the 85GM I also tried the Sigma 85mm Art. I only got to use both side by side for about 15-20 minutes but I thought that the a.f wasn't as quick on the Sigma, image quality looked very good, just as good as the 85G.M but was bigger and heavier again than even the G.M and it doesn't have the focus button.

I haven't tried the Zeiss 85mm but it has a rep as a very good performer too.
 
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Livin The Dream said:
So is the 85 GM the one to get if money not considered. If I’m happy with the A73 I’ll move the Nikon on and get an 85 then. It’s the 35 & 85 I’ll prioritise as they’re the core of my lenses.

Great article from Deci on the camera, I’ll revisit that when I have one delivered. All the best buys are out of stock at the mo so see what happens over the next couple of weeks.
Think I’ve decided on the 35 art so that I can get a 50 too.
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What's this? Did I miss the link?
 
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Livin The Dream said:
So is the 85 GM the one to get if money not considered. If I’m happy with the A73 I’ll move the Nikon on and get an 85 then. It’s the 35 & 85 I’ll prioritise as they’re the core of my lenses.

Great article from Deci on the camera, I’ll revisit that when I have one delivered. All the best buys are out of stock at the mo so see what happens over the next couple of weeks.
Think I’ve decided on the 35 art so that I can get a 50 too.
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Money is one thing but also depends on AF. I am mostly sticking with FE85/1.8 for the fast AF. But otherwise GM is definitely way better especially in rendering.
 
nandbytes said:
Because it ain't flat. Twist doesn't know what he is on about. If anything sigma 50 art is 'clinical and flat'. FE55 is one of the best 50-ish lenses out there.
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Yeah, just like the 35 Zeiss is sharper wide open and has less CA than the art. The 55 is flat.
 
woof woof said:
Review of the Zeiss ZX1...

https://www.raylarose.com/words/the-new-zeiss-zx1
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That's not a review, it's an advert.

At this time, I don’t want to share more than what Zeiss has officially announced.
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and lines like.

The slight curve to the body is a dream
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What is that supposed to mean? I've never heard lines like that for the BEST ergonomically designed cameras.

There is no criticism, he is still under NDA and I take his opinion with a massive grain of salt.
 
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twist said:
Yeah, just like the 35 Zeiss is sharper wide open and has less CA than the art. The 55 is flat.
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I prefer the 55 focal length to the 50 though, dunny why. Just the way my brain works when framing things I guess!
 
f/2.8 said:
I don't think there is an 85mm that is better, really it depends on your needs/wants.

I have the 85G.M it has nicer bokeh than the f/1.8, but the autofocus is slower and it weighs a lot more, both also have the focus button than can be changed to eye a.f which for me is the best way in terms of ergonomics to engage eye a.f.

I also have the FE85 F/1.8 which is very sharp, very quick autofocus for an 85mm and is light weight and feels well balanced on the A7III. It is probably the best performing f/1.8 lens I have owned. It's in the classifieds at the moment because it's hard to justify having 2 x 85mm lenses when I also have the 90mm Macro. Although I am tempted to keep it and get another light weight 35mm for when I am travelling. I am still undecided if a 35/85 or 24/50 combo is better for me for my travels.

When buying the 85GM I also tried the Sigma 85mm Art. I only got to use both side by side for about 15-20 minutes but I thought that the a.f wasn't as quick on the Sigma, image quality looked very good, just as good as the 85G.M but was bigger and heavier again than even the G.M and it doesn't have the focus button.

I haven't tried the Zeiss 85mm but it has a rep as a very good performer too.
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The 85GM might be slower than the 1.8 to focus, but it's not exactly a slouch. I found it more than quick enough at the wedding I just shot. And the rendering is gorgeous.

I've set AEL to be eye AF though, don't use the focus hold button for anything.

I also like using the aperture ring rather than the dial.. Although tbf, it rarely moves above F2
 
Raymond Lin said:
That's not a review, it's an advert.



and lines like.



What is that supposed to mean? I've never heard lines like that for the BEST ergonomically designed cameras.

There is no criticism, he is still under NDA and I take his opinion with a massive grain of salt.
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I posted about this kind of thing a page or two back. Unfortunately many people seem lost for words and revert to new age mystical double speak when maybe all they need to say is something like "I'm being paid to hype this" or just as often "I hate this X because I've always bought Y and Y is always better because it is." Such is life and the net.
 
KitsuneAndy said:
The 85GM might be slower than the 1.8 to focus, but it's not exactly a slouch. I found it more than quick enough at the wedding I just shot. And the rendering is gorgeous.

I've set AEL to be eye AF though, don't use the focus hold button for anything.

I also like using the aperture ring rather than the dial.. Although tbf, it rarely moves above F2
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I use ael eye af and BBF, works well. Love the lens FN button and assign that to eye af on the 85.
 
twist said:
I use ael eye af and BBF, works well. Love the lens FN button and assign that to eye af on the 85.
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I've stopped using BBF, always did on the Nikon. Seems redundant now with AF points covering the whole screen
 
I can't say I use the Focus Hold button for anything either, the reason being this button is not on all the lenses, currently, it's on my 24GM And 85GM but not the 35 or 50. I rather I use the same motion for every lens than constantly finding myself reaching for a button that isn't there.
 
KitsuneAndy said:
The 85GM might be slower than the 1.8 to focus, but it's not exactly a slouch. I found it more than quick enough at the wedding I just shot. And the rendering is gorgeous.

I've set AEL to be eye AF though, don't use the focus hold button for anything.

I also like using the aperture ring rather than the dial.. Although tbf, it rarely moves above F2
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Focus speed on the 85GM is fine on a par with the Nikon 85mm f/1.4G that for me it replaced.

The FE85 f/1.8 is a lot faster though.

I really like having the focus button assigned to eye a.f, pity it's not an option available on all E-Mount lenses.
 
It might help if "flat" is defined.

I don't really like "flat" used in this context. Flat is often a virtue of macro lenses so what's meant here? Lack of distortion? Lack of something else?

I find the Sony 55mm f1.8 to be sharp, contrasty and pretty consistent across the frame from wide apertures so in that sense maybe it's flat as in good and consistent across the frame whereas going to an extreme something like an old legacy lens may be pretty good in the centre but towards the edges the sharpness, contrast and light may drop off considerably and there may be more distortion.

So maybe it'll help resolve this if "flat" is defined.

This was the last picture I took with mine.

1-DSC01625.jpg

I wouldn't say it's a "flat" lens but I do think it could be criticised for being almost uniformly good within the frame but I don't think that's really a fair criticism as lenses are also criticised for not being uniformly good everywhere.
 
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f/2.8 said:
I don't think there is an 85mm that is better, really it depends on your needs/wants.

I have the 85G.M it has nicer bokeh than the f/1.8, but the autofocus is slower and it weighs a lot more, both also have the focus button than can be changed to eye a.f which for me is the best way in terms of ergonomics to engage eye a.f.

I also have the FE85 F/1.8 which is very sharp, very quick autofocus for an 85mm and is light weight and feels well balanced on the A7III. It is probably the best performing f/1.8 lens I have owned. It's in the classifieds at the moment because it's hard to justify having 2 x 85mm lenses when I also have the 90mm Macro. Although I am tempted to keep it and get another light weight 35mm for when I am travelling. I am still undecided if a 35/85 or 24/50 combo is better for me for my travels.

When buying the 85GM I also tried the Sigma 85mm Art. I only got to use both side by side for about 15-20 minutes but I thought that the a.f wasn't as quick on the Sigma, image quality looked very good, just as good as the 85G.M but was bigger and heavier again than even the G.M and it doesn't have the focus button.

I haven't tried the Zeiss 85mm but it has a rep as a very good performer too.
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Thanks for the input. I’m a while away from one yet but I’ll probably go for best rendering, which seems to be the GM.

woof woof said:
What's this? Did I miss the link?
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Not in a position to link at the moment but will do tonight. It’s on Deci’s site but more a few thoughts on moving over from a
750, so handy for me.
 
twist said:
I said the 35 art is better than the zony and you agreed, which is great.
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Actually your said it was sharper and had less CA wide open which I never disagreed with. But that alone doesnt make it a better lens overall.
 
Got to try the 24mm GM, it's insanely sharp.

But IBIS didn't seem to work as well. @Raymond Lin how is your experience with IBIS with this lens?
 
nandbytes said:
Actually your said it was sharper and had less CA wide open which I never disagreed with. But that since doesnt make it a better lens overall.
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Ah good, AF the Zeiss has a slight edge though, especially movie mode always said that. The zony isn't exactly a pos though, decentred which only some will be bothered by but still a nice lens.
 
The sensible option for me in the 50 fl range might be the 55 sonar. Working out some numbers I like the compactness and already used to the fl given I have a 58G.
 
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