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Sony just revealed the release of the brand-new 50mm f/1.4 G Master lens which was a fascinating relocation in that simply 2 years ago they launched the sublime f/1.2 variation. This makes Sony the 2nd full frame electronic camera maker to offer an f/1.4 professional lens. Panasonic launched their own in 2019 and Nikon and Canon just use f/1.2 expert prime lenses.
So is the 50 f/1.4 G Master any excellent? Compared to what? In this video I want to compare the optical quality to 3 of what I think are the best 50mm lenses ever made – the Sony f/1.2 GM, the Leica 50mm Summilux f/1.4 ASPH. and the Zeiss Otus 55mm f/1.4. How does the optical quality compare? If I could only pick 1 50mm lens for the rest of my career, which one would it be? Lets discuss that in this video.
0:00 Sony 50mm f/1.4 G Master
0:26 Field Curvature and Edge to Edge Sharpness
1:00 Image Quality and Handling
1:46 Compared to the Sony 50mm f/1.2 G Master
2:56 Early wide-aperture lenses
5:00 Bokeh Tests
6:27 Weight and Ergonomics
7:37 Build your site with Squarespace
9:09 Compared to the very best 50mm lenses ever made
9:50 Leica 50mm f/1.4 Summilux-M Asph
11:08 Zeiss Otus 55mm f/1.4.
12:26 Lenses Compared.
13:37 What is the best 50mm lens?
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Ted Forbes.
The Art of Photography.
2830 S. Hulen, Studio 133.
Fort Worth, TX 76109.
US of A.
-> Get Paid To Take Photos <-
I have the Nikon 58mm F1.4g on a Z series camera with an adaptor. It’s an oddball but what it does it does well.
I am considering upgrading to a GM 50mm, but I am blown away by the size and quality of the Zeiss 55mm, f1.8 — especially on the A7IV. The autofocus is much improved over the A7III. If I switch, it would be due to the colour rendering of the Zeiss, which strikes me as leaning blue.
The Zony 55’s biggest issue is the horrible CA when shooting high contrast scenes. Otherwise it’s a fantastic lens.
Agreee. The 55 1.8 CA is pretty terrible. But oh man, I’d it tiny and lightweight. It’s relatively sharp. I’d love to see a sharpness comparison between the 55 1.8 and GM 50 1.4.
As always there have been at least 10 videos of this new lens posted by YouTube influencers in the last week or so. Thanks for being intentional about giving current and historical context to the conversation. As technology keeps moving towards perfection, big picture context and practical considerations matter more.
Ted saying he uses the Otus in the studio makes me laugh.
I hear ya on the size and the future proofing. I love my Sigma 35mm 1.4 on my Sony. But I recently picked up a Voigtlander 35mm 1.2 Nokton. It’s manual (no problem for me), it can be a bit soft, and it has some CA issues at times. But it’s compact, has a beautiful rendering when you compose right, and so now it rarely leaves my camera at all (35 being my normal do-all favorite). The Sigma, much as I love its rendering, is just too much to lug about all the time.
I always love your review video man. Gerald gives us all the super technical stuff about gear. But watching your reviews is like being in a gear history class where I get the technical stuff, but I also get a lesson on how we got here. Top shelf.
Recently, I started using my 50mm Summilux-M Asph. on my new SL2’s and SL-S and it performs gorgeous. Visibly better, than previously adapted on a Z7II or a A7R3. However, when you mount a 50mm Summilux-SL on an SL2, you almost unlock a next level. Unreal. For me that Lux-SL is probably the best 50mm optically, but the Lux-M will always be my ‘if only one’ lens.
The SL2/SL2s are seriously good. My favorite as well.
@The Art of Photography when last year both Profoto and Capture One started to support Leica, I sold all other cameras and started to use the SL2 and SL2-S for my professional fashion/beauty work. Always had an M for personal work. Love the IQ of the SL-range.
It’s worth mentioning that the Leica 50mm f/1.4 Summilux-M is designed for Leica M-Mount cameras and not Sony E-mount cameras. Leica and Sony cameras have different sensor stack thicknesses in which the Leica sensor stack is thinner than the sensor stack on a Sony camera. Sony’s thicker sensor stack will adversely affect the edge sharpness of the Summilux-M lens. To make a fair comparison among these 50mm lenses as far as sharpness is concerned, one must use the camera for which the lens was designed. Thus, for the best 50mm lens performance on a full-frame Sony E-mount camera body, use one of the G Master lenses.
@Chess Lover Indeed. I witnessed part of the manufactoring of my SL2-S in Wetzlar and one of the technicians told me to use the original M-to-L adapter when using M-lenses on an SL. They also showed me how the microlens layer on the sensor differs from others and how Leica lenses are designed for that. Even M-lenses on an SL.
The size and weight of 50mm lenses exploded since mirrorless became popular. For studio shootings this may be no problem at all, but who wants to carry around a little pumpkin or pineapple attached to the camera body? For street photography, where you don’t want to attract attention, a huge lens is a clear disadvantage.
Size and weight have never been a concern for me. Especially in this range!
Thank you for this video. I currently don’t have any AF 50mm but have been extremely happy with my loxia 50 and Milvus 50. I was wondering how this new GM stacked up against some of the best manual focus 50s, and I’m glad you compared it against the Otus. It really puts into perspective how the Sony lens performs.
Loxia and Milvus 50’s are outstanding as well.
Interesting things to see out if this comparison of the guitar shot:
– Otus rendering is closer to Sony than to Leica;
– Leica at 1.4 shows more blur in the background than 50/1.2 (look at window)
– Leica seems to have higher contrast in plane of focus, but at the same time lower sharpness (as correctly mentioned by Ted regarding mid frame dip)
I love my Summilux, but cannot ignore how good modern Sony lenses are (135, 35 and now both 50)
A great video and I love the comparison to two classic lenses I always wanted to own. Don’t know why I ever sold my Zeiss Ikon range finder that took M mount lenses. Currently own the FE 50mm f1.2 GM but have already pr-ordered the 50mm f1.4 GM for its smaller size and lighter weight. Luckily I have two kits based on Sony and will make the new 50mm the center piece of my travel kit. With the delay to actual delivery in early May I have time to rethink that but I doubt I will change my mind. Thank you.
Lovely review Ted, in-depth, on point and a warm vibe. Keep up the great work. 📸👍🏻
In terms of maximum aperture in early years, Carl Zeiss has to be mentioned. The Sonnar 50mm f/1.5 came out in the early 1930s and was faster than everything at that time. Fun fact: the Nikon 50mm f/1.4 has the same Mount as the Carl Zeiss Sonnar (Nikon S is based on the Zeiss Ikon Contax camera)
As an aging Boomer, I definitely enjoyed the historical context. My first tele lens was a Nikkor 105 f4 preset.
Great video-
Here’s some madness… How does the Sony 50 1.4 GM compare to the Sony Zeiss 55 1.8?
Maybe I’m crazy, but I feel like it is very difficult to see the differences between a 50 1.4 and 1.2. The difference is definitely greater when you move up to an 85mm lens though. I could definitely tell a difference between an 85 1.2 and 1.4. I guess longer focal lengths make the differences in shallow DoF more apparent. Anybody else have this experience?
I think a better comparison would have been AF 50mm lenses from Canon, Nikon, & Sony. The Leica and Otus are very limiting lens as they have no AF and the Otus is huge for a manual focus lens. As you said it has limited use. Why buy all that camera technology and be limited by a lens?
I think the flaring on the new Sony 1.4 is really bad it reminds me of the flaring found on the cheaper 1.8 and for that I think I’d try to get the 1.2 on a deal. It has a circular flare that I quite like.
Thank you for this video Ted. Since I don’t own a 50mm lens for my Sony system yet (I am actually new to Sony full frame), I think Sony came out with the perfect 50mm for me with this f1.4 version. I was considering the Sony Zeiss 55mm f1.8 until now, but now this have changed for good, this new 50mm f1.4 GM in my opinion is the perfect balance between price, performance, size and weight, at least for me. I do value the smaller size and weight since surely a 50mm is a lens I want to take with me when traveling.
Solid video! Your reason for choosing the Leica Summilux, is why I went with the Sony 50mm f2.5G.