New Sony 50 1.4 thoughts

[jhemp]

So I have had the new Sony/Zeiss 50mm f1.4 for about week and I wanted to share my thoughts on it.  I also have the Sony/Zeiss 55mm F1.8 and the Loxia 50mm f2.0 so I have compared them all.  First off I'll say that the new sony 50 1.4 is big and heavy and I don't like that.  It's heavier than the Sony/Zeiss 35 1.4 but not really any bigger(It is a tad wider). To me it doesn't feel very good paired with the A7rII and it looks a bit ridiculous on the camera, especially with the lens hood attached. 

Image quality wide open is great! This the whole reason for this lens to exist. Nice smooth bokeh with good subject separation.  I really can't find any faults with this lens at wide apertures.  Stopped down the lens is good, much better than my experience with the Sony/Zeiss 35mm 1.4 that truthfully sucks when stopped down but wonderful at f1.4-2.8(I have tried 3 copies).  The 50 1.4 is not as good as the Loxia 50mm stopped down at 5.6-f11 range.  The Loxia shows better micro contrast and sharpness stopped down for landscape type work.  The difference is not huge and if the 50 1.4 was the same size as the loxia I would choose to only have the 50 1.4, but it's not so I'll keep the Loxia for landscape/cityscape type work.   As compared to the the 55 1.8 I would say that the 55 1.8 is as good and may even be a better all around lens.  It's smaller, lighter, produces great bokeh, character and is strong stopped down and wide open.  But I never got comfortable with the 55mm because the field of view always felt a little confined to me.  50mm captures 20% more area than 55mm.  I never thought 5mm would make that much difference but I enjoy shooting at 50mm more than 55mm.  So I may sell the 55.

So for me I'll keep the 50 1.4 and it paired with the 35 1.4 will be my combo for event work and environmental portraiture.  These lenses really do produces a wonderful character in images at wider apertures.  I'll probably shoot at 1.4 90% of the time.

I hope this helps anyone who is considering lenses in these focal lengths for their sony A7 series cameras.  On a quick side note I picked up a old Minolta 58mm 1.2 on eBay a few months ago and adapted to my A7RII and this lens is a little soft at f1.2 but it produces some stunning images with jaw dropping bokeh at f1.2.  you can see some examples here https://www.flickr.com/photos/jhemp_00/albums/72157669978190420.  I also have other albums for different sony lenses with examples.  Probably after a few more weeks I'll be posting examples of the 50 1.4 on Flickr.

[Farmer]

Thanks for this, Jay.  I've just updated to an A7Rii after a hiatus from shooting for several years and I'm planning which lenses I need to upgrade (my 50mm lens currently is the older Minolta 50mm f/1.4) which has always been a great lens and is working well with the LA-EA4 adapter and it's really nice and small, but the AF is obviously not nearly as good as a modern lens or an FE (I picked up the FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM with the new body, so as a reference point for AF you can imagine how the old lens feels).

So this little mini review is really handy to give me some guidance.  I won't get rid of my old 50mm but I will consider the new one.

I also agree about the difference between a 50mm and 55mm - to me, the 50mm always felt like a "natural" perspective and view - as if it were just normal vision, but the 55mm just felt a bit off - probably just due to being used to one and not the other, but it still has that affect on me :-)

[Phil Indeblanc]

While I could care less about the way it looks or feels on the camera, anything is bound to happen with such a small body, that if anything is in the positive, consider it delightful smile on your face.

Yes, the 55 is a bit unfamiliar to my eyes as well, but as mentioned it might need some getting used to, but I like this lens. Although it hunts at very dark subjects and some not so dark scenes. Like vertical straight lines it cannot pick up. Put anything horizontal into it, and it focuses right away.  But does the Loxia give you nice bokeh like the 55, or 50? I was thinking about a 85 or 135 with low F for some bokeh related shooting.