More Sony 35mm 1.4 issues

[vett93]

Yes, I do expect more from a top tier lens and hope that Sony steps up their game, but at the same time, I don't want to be without this lens. It's a tough call for sure.
--
Steve

Love and hate do go together, as they say...

 

[Robgo2]

Shooting close subjects at f1.4 produces such shallow DOF that soft corners are completely irrelevant. And when you do want sharpness across the frame (e.g. landscapes or architecture), you will almost always stop down to f8-f16, where corner softness goes away. So unless a lens has major decentering issues or is generally soft, it's not terribly important in terms of actual usage, IMO.

On a FF camera I suppose this is true to some extent if the issue is minor, particularly if you aren't, for example, into astrophotography.

But it's not always the case and some forms of decentering will affect the picture beyond just questions of sharpness.

For example, if the decentering is caused by a tilt of the focal plane, it can affect bokeh if it's particularly severe, which is I suppose one of the reasons you'd like a f1.4 lens in the first place . The following picture is a good example of that :

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1255248/791#12945448

In addition it may even affect colour rendition ! Here's two shots from an Olympus 25mm f1.8 @f1.8. One is with the camera straight up (left picture), the other with the camera upside down (right). Notice the green tinge on the left side in the picture on the left ? Well it moves to the right side in the upside down picture. That's because this whole side is front focusing - severely (if the right side was focused at around 10m, the opposite left side would focus at around 2-3m).



In the case of this Olympus lens, I didn't even need to take a shot, nor even magnify the view to know that it was decentered. Looking through the 2.3mp EVF was enough ! I was able to try seven copies of those, and four of them were just as bad as this one (tested on two or three different bodies). Particularly on a smaller sensor with extended DOF, I find this issue very problematic as I'll spend a lot of time shooting wide open.

In addition, Photographyblog's copy has the same tilted focal plane issue (sample with the tables and chairs) :

http://www.photographyblog.com/previews/olympus_m_zuiko_digital_25mm_f_18_photos/

Another example : if a lens has some rather visible field curvature, and has a tilted focal plane, you are very likely to have to close it down further than necessary to have what you want in focus.

These are just examples, there could be other potential issues as well.

So, I suppose one can deal with a softer corner, particularly with a f1.4 lens on FF... but not always, and if it's severe enough you might encounter other issues than just a loss of sharpness.

And anyway, this 35 FE has too good a rendering in my opinion (even with its copious bokeh CA), and is too expensive, to deserve random QC and poor repairability. Come on Sony !

I would never argue that significant decentering or focal plane tilting is acceptable. But my point is that minor corner softness at f1.4-2.0 is generally not important. Having said that, I must confess to being disappointed in the apparently shoddy construction of some of Sony's top FE prime lenses. Sort makes me glad that I have gone with Zeiss so far with the single exception being the FE 16-35.

Rob

 

[philip pj]

..think of the walls, man! How will they ever deal with this neglect...and you are not simply conducting a one man anti-wall program, you are actually brazen enough to speak publicly about it.

This is the best childrens' photo fast 35mm lens I've ever seen, so much so that a lot of shooters buy it exclusively for that purpose. It's a remarkable optic, all the more so despite the recent publicity to the contrary.

Here is a thread from FM you might enjoy, both for the comparisons with the esteemed ZM 35/1.4 (also a great lens) on a range of subjects; but also for some ideas for photographing the kids. The author has remarkably similar views on it to those you state here:

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www.fredmiranda.com

Technical - they have imbued the lens with a softer OOF, lower OOF contrast and yet given it just beautiful skin tones across the tone range. It makes the Zeiss lens look a little rough with flatter color, to be honest. The FE also does green separation very well, and has far greater depth perception with a small stop down to f2 or so.

To say a little about bokeh. The toughest test of this characteristic is: use wide open aperture, focus near to MFD (minimum focus distance), and choose a contrasty background. The fast FE 35 handles it all, from what I see.

See if you agree with me that this one just waxes the ZM for the shots of children. The ZM is described by many as the best 35 ever made for the Leica M system. The special lenses just have this otherworldly quality that puts them in another category, and this one has that character. Good on Sony for making it.

So who you going to believe? Lens Rental or your lyin' eyes? lol.

 

[Graham Best]

So who you going to believe? Lens Rental or your lyin' eyes? lol.

Why do the two have to be mutually exclusive?

The Samyang (Rokinon) 85mm f/1.4 is a great lens. Wide open, it's considered as good or better than 85mm lenses, such as the Nikon 85mm f/1.4., which sells for (US) $1,700.

(From the linked review)

"When both lenses have their apertures wide open, they're actually remarkably close in quality. The Nikkor enjoys a minor edge in the middle, but the Samyang looks a little better in the extreme corners, which is an impressive result considering the price difference. It also means both lenses will perform similarly in terms of sharpness in their intended portrait environments. Again the Nikkor is a bit sharper in the middle at f1.4, but there's not much in it.

But as both lenses are stopped-down, the differences become apparent. In the middle, the Nikkor improves dramatically between f1.8 and f2, and arguably delivers peak sharpness between f2.8 and f4. Meanwhile the Samyang remains quite soft in comparison as these apertures and needs to be closed to f8 before it's reached peak sharpness - and even at f8, the Nikkor remains crisper in the middle.

Turning to the corners, the Samyang may enjoy a minor advantage over the Nikkor with the aperture between f1.4 and f2.8, but at f4 the Nikkor leaps ahead with a result which gets sharper and sharper as the aperture is closed, whereas the Samyang strangely becomes softer and suffers from increased chromatic aberrations."

The Samyang, at under $300 is a great bargain. I use mine exclusively wide open, where it shines, and I'm very happy with my purchase. It would be another story if I paid $1,700 for the Samyang, and stopping down the lens does little to improve the image. Worse (as would be the case with the Sony ZA 35/1.4), there's little hope that sending the lens off for repair will help matters.

Sony should be able to keep the "magic" of their 35/1.4 while providing a way to align the lens to specifications.