Voigtländer 50mm F1.2 Nokton review by Marc Alhadeff: “it’s a special lens”

SonyAlphaBlog tested the new Voigtlander 50mm f/1.2 FE lens:

The Voigtländer 50mm F1.2 Nokton (1100 euros) is a special lens:  it offers a very nice rendering for portraits with good separation subject background when taken from 3-4 meters and nice glow for very close shots while keeping good contrast and enough sharpness (not like some F0.95 lenses that are completely lacking contrast and sharpness)

Closed down to F2 it becomes a classical 50mm for which you can find alternatives that are sharper , with AF

So this lens if really for people loving the rending at F1.2 and more focus on the atmosphere this lens can give than on pure sharpness numbers

Pros

  • Very good background blur 
  • Soft transitions
  • Glow effect at f1.2 if you like it
  • Good bokeh wide open
  • Very good sharpness in the centre as of F2.8
  • Very good flare resistance
  • Low CA
  • Low distorsion
  • Small and light
  • EXIF transmission
  • Build quality is top notch

Average

  • Vignetting up to F4
  • Sharpness at F1.2 with glow (dreamy atmosphere)
  • Bokeh in polygons when closed down to F2 and beyond

Cons

  • Price

Voigtlander 50mm f/1.2 FE at Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.

Shawn C. Steiner tested the new Sony 135mm f/1.8 GM lens: “Beautiful Bokeh and Tack sharp”

Shawn C. Steiner published the full 135mm GM lens review:

Sharp glass with beautiful, smooth shifts into the out-of-focus areas are ideal. Classic bokeh lenses used to have to sacrifice some sharpness to get that creamy look. Examples would be the Leica Noctilux-M 50mm f/0.95 ASPH. and the more recent Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM.
All of these characteristics, combined, result in what I think is the absolute best portrait prime in Sony’s lineup. It’s also, unfortunately, priced accordingly. If you are a professional photographer who shoots portraits or weddings, I think this is one of those lenses that could easily become a staple in your bag.

Preorders: Sony 135mm GM at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama and FocusCamera. EU at ParkCameras, WexUK and Calumet DE.

There is one lens in Stoock right now at Amazon.com and ABT.com:

Samyang 85mm f/1.4 FE test by Lenstip: “grateful to independent producers for their good quality lenses”

Samyang 85mm FE lens at BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon. Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, Amazon IT, Amazon ES.

Lenstip tested the new Samyang 85mm f/1.4 FE lens and liked it a lot:

I think we don’t even have to write a very lengthy summary in this case. If a lens of an independent producer three times cheaper than its well-done brand name rival fares in most categories better than the said brand name lens, you really don’t have to be verbose. 

We should be grateful to independent producers for their good quality lenses which are sold at normal prices. While developing new systems, brand name manufacturers are climbing new heights of absurdity with pricing new lenses launched on the market…

And now a funny side story:

Somebody in China modified the new Samyang lens in a way that it looks close to the Sony 85mm GM lens :)

Links to all Samyang/Rokinon FF E-mount AF lenses:
14mm f/2.8 at BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon. Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, Amazon IT, Amazon ES.
24mm f/2.8 at BHphoto, Adorama. Amazon. Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, Amazon IT, Amazon ES.
35mm f/2.8 at BHphoto, Adorama. Amazon. Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, Amazon IT, Amazon ES.
35mm f/1.4 at BHphoto, Adorama. Amazon. Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, Amazon IT, Amazon ES.
45mm f/1.8 at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama. Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, Amazon IT, Amazon ES.
50mm f/1.4 at BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon. Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, Amazon IT, Amazon ES.
85mm f/1.4 at BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon. Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, Amazon IT, Amazon ES.

 

Curiosity: Sony A7III vs the smallest FF system camera of the world: The new Sigma FP

The new Sigma FP is now listed at BHphoto with full specs (Click here).

Below a size comparison between the Sony A7III and the new Sigma FP which is the smallest and lightest FF system camera that exists:

Sigma FE lenses:
Sigma 35mm f/1.2 FE at Adorama, BHphoto, FocusCamera, Henrys. In EU at ParkUK, WexUK.
Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 FE at Adorama, BHphoto, FocusCamera, Henrys. In EU at ParkUK, WexUK.
Sigma 45mm f/2.8 FE at Adorama, BHphoto, FocusCamera, Henrys. In EU at ParkUK, WexUK.

More 200-600mm and 600mm tests by Colby Brown, Lok and Jared Polin

USA/CA Preorders:
Sony 200-600mm FE at Amazon, BHphoto, FocusCamera, BuyDig, Adorama and Henyrs.
Sony 600mm FE GM at Amazon, BHphoto, FocusCamera, BuyDig, Adorama and Henyrs.
EU Preorders:
Sony 200-600mm FE at Amazon DE. Calumet DE. Amazon UK. WexUK. ParkCameras. Amazon FR. Amazon IT. Amazon ES.
Sony 600mm FE GM at Calumet DE.WexUK. ParkCameras.
Asia Preorders:
Sony 200-600mm FE at Sony Japan. Sony Australia.
Sony 600mm FE GM at Sony Japan. Sony Australia.

Colby Brown tested the new 200-600mm G lens and writes:

With the FE 200-600 f/5.6-6.3 lens, Sony has once again continued to close the few remaining gaps in its extensive mirrorless lens lineup. While this lens was not given the G-Master status that is reserved for Sony’s ultimate top tier glass, it is still an incredibly impressive lens that is capable of capturing some truly amazing wildlife images, especially if you have a little bit of light to work with. With a variable aperture of f/5.6-6.3, it certainly isn’t going to be winning any awards for the fastest telephoto lens on the market, which is fine in my book at its price point.

Shooting with the Sony 600 f4, and Sony 35 f1.4 on the Sony a9 by Kenneth Jarecke.

Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 FE tested by Opticallimits: “good and light-weight option”

The German reviewer from Opticallimits tested the lens and concludes:

It is easy to spot why the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III RXD is so popular. There is, of course, the moderate price tag combined with the fast max. aperture which sets it apart from Sony offerings. Optically it is decent – for such a lens – albeit it comes with a couple of carefully placed compromises. At the wide-end of the zoom range, it is quite sharp across the image frame when stopped down to medium aperture settings whereas the center performance remains superb at 75mm which is where you’d typically use a large aperture setting anyway. Thus the mainstream settings offer quality where usually needed and you will probably agree that most of the provided sample images actually look very decent. That being said, technically there are also obvious weaknesses when using the lens on a high megapixel camera. The corner performance isn’t all that hot at large-aperture settings and for a sharp result across the frame you should stop down to f/8 or f/11. While you can certainly achieve decent object isolation via a shallow depth-of-field, the quality of the bokeh can be quite rough in difficult scenes – when shooting at f/2.8 at least. As far as image distortions, vignetting and CAs are concerned, most users will rely on image auto-correction thus you can live happily ever after. If you look behind the scenes – thus into the unmodified RAW image – you can spot medium distortions at the extreme ends. Lateral CAs are fairly low at the image borders but intensify in the extreme corners. The vignetting is also high at 28mm f/2.8 and 75mm f/2.8 albeit this isn’t unusual in this class.

The build quality is on a very decent consumer-grade level. We are not convinced that the smooth finish will stand the test of time without scratches but out-of-the-box it certainly looks good (albeit a bit long-ish). An annoyance is the tendency of the rubberized zoom ring to function as a dust-magnet in no time. The moisture-resistant desisn is certainly a plus. A highlight is the fast and silent RXD AF motor. Some users will surely also appreciate the close focus capabilities of the lens which is a classic value-add on many Tamron lenses.

If you can’t or don’t want to afford the Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM but still want an f/2.8 standard zoom lens, the Tamron is a good and light-weight option IF you can live with the rather moderate 28mm setting at the wide-end.

Tamron 28-75mm lens at at Amazon, Bhphoto, FocusCamera and Adorama. in Europe at Amazon DE, Amazon UK and Amazon FR.

New supersexy shots of the new Sony A7rVI and comparison with the A7rIII

Fengniao posted these detailed A7rIV images including a new comparison with the A7rIII:

Sony A7rIV and new accessories:
Sony A7rIV in USA/CA at BHphoto, Adorama, FocusCamera, Amazon, BuyDig, Henrys.
Sony A7rIV in EU at Calumet DE, ParkUK, WexUK, Calumet NL.
Sony A7rIV in Asia at Sony Japan. Sony Australia.
Sony VG-C4EM grip in USA at BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon, FocusCamera, BuyDig, ParkUK, WexUK.
ECM-B1M Digital Audio Shotgun Microphone at BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon, FocusCamera, BuyDig, Park UK.
XLR-K3M Mic at BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon, FocusCamera, BuyDig, Park UK.

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