The GetDPI Photography Forum

Great to see you here. Join our insightful photographic forum today and start tapping into a huge wealth of photographic knowledge. Completing our simple registration process will allow you to gain access to exclusive content, add your own topics and posts, share your work and connect with other members through your own private inbox! And don’t forget to say hi!

G Master lenses - 24-70mm f/2.8, 85mm f/1.4 & 70-200mm f/2.8

Hulyss Bowman

Active member
Here is a sample from DPreview at f1.4 (out of the 85). I have nothing to say about quality. I would like to see some other examples for the bokeh but it look like a VERY good lens. This is soooo sad it is only Sony mount...

 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
To be honest, and I try not to be too negative here, but after looking at a dozen photos taken with the 85mm, my impression is "good but boring". Certainly not better than the Nikkor, and compared to the Milvus, there's a world of difference. Either that or there's something wrong with my eyes, but the Zeiss seems to be superior in every way; sharpness, pop, colour, contrast, micro-contrast. Don't know about bokeh yet. Would have to see more photos.

I'm sure excellent photos can be taken with this lens, but I keep wondering why they didn't let Zeiss design it. Or maybe Zeiss has found that it's easier to protect and build their reputation making their own lenses.
 

Jim DE

New member
Anna, To offer a possible reason for Sony's push on these lenses instead of a a99II would be it's new found restless customer base in the E mount. As we saw with the compressed RAW thing many or at least the most vocal of the customers that migrated from other brands want this system to be or surpass their old systems the left to justify their expenditures. These are start up users mostly using their old glass and adapters with this body. I am sure Sony intentionally is only offering full function on their OEM glass so this new customer base gets the "I want it all" GAS cravings.

A new A99II would of sold bodies to their old customer base who probably have all the glass they will ever need in A mount. Offering a new brass ring on the FE merry go round will sell bodies, accessories, and glass to this new migrant customer base so eager to spend their money. Sony is doing what any business struggling to stay afloat in the world market has to do. Make what sells the most product. This E mount market has the most possibility for the largest amount of sales with various products in their line. A A99II would just sell a body in most cases in the A mount market which also is dwindling due to it's fear of being a dead fruit on the photography product vine.
 
Last edited:

seb

Member
maybe all of your points come from the photographer and the processing. :) I would not judge too early.

Here are some others from brian smith (also 85/1.4 and 24-70/2.8):
Field Test: Sony G Master 24-70 F2.8 & 85 F1.4 Lenses

To be honest, and I try not to be too negative here, but after looking at a dozen photos taken with the 85mm, my impression is "good but boring". Certainly not better than the Nikkor, and compared to the Milvus, there's a world of difference. Either that or there's something wrong with my eyes, but the Zeiss seems to be superior in every way; sharpness, pop, colour, contrast, micro-contrast. Don't know about bokeh yet. Would have to see more photos.
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
I'm not looking at any samples yet as the last 40 years of my career I never saw anything worth looking at they usually suck and I could never figure out why either. I'll wait till the very end of this frenzy of knee jerk posting of crap images. I have no doubt in my mind that these three lenses will be outstanding. Frankly I never guessed wrong before on new release lenses but I'm not going to get caught up in this ah it just stinks attitude in the beginning because it always proves to be wrong on any system. They used my initials on these lenses GM so how the hell could they be bad with my name on it. :grin::salute::clap::thumbup::thumbs::D:chug::bugeyes:
 

hcubell

Well-known member
Here's my take;
A7RII is a nice small full frame hi-res camera body.
I have lenses available that are slower max aperture and smaller for when I have lots of light and want small and light.

I have a battery grip and faster wide aperture lenses for when I am searching for light and its still as reasonable size and weight.

With the DSLRs I used in the past it was only large and heavy.

These lenses offer an attractive addition to the kit.
The problem I have is that the lenses that are the smaller aperture lenses (e.g., a 24-70 f/4 zoom) will not be the very best lenses of that type that Sony is capable of producing...the state of the art will be applied by Sony to the G Master lenses, which will all be big and fast honkers and priced at a premium level. The slower but more compact lenses will be priced at a lower level but with a lower level of quality. Sony doesn't understand that there is a large number of photographers who own the A7 cameras that would not balk at the price of the new 24-70 f/2.8 zoom but they won't buy it because of the sheer size and weight. If it were an f/4 zoom at half the size and weight with incredible quality across the range and cost $2200, I would buy it in a heartbeat. Sony and Canon and Nikon are all living in an outdated universe where they position smallish/slower lenses as relatively inexpensive and the big/faster lenses as more expensive. This is appropriate for professional photographers, but what percentage of the owners of Sony A7r and A7RII camera bodies are professionals who really need fast glass for specific applications?
 
Sony and Canon and Nikon are all living in an outdated universe where they position smallish/slower lenses as relatively inexpensive and the big/faster lenses as more expensive. This is appropriate for professional photographers, but what percentage of the owners of Sony A7r and A7RII camera bodies are professionals who really need fast glass for specific applications?
Idk about Canon but Nikon's 1.8G line up is nearly universally praised for great optics and light weight. Sony has the 28/2, 35/2.8, 55/1.8, 70-200/4, 16-35/4, Batis 85/1.8 & 25/2, and Loxia lenses if you don't need AF, all at relatively small sizes and all praised in one way or another. What's the problem?

Like you though I have been arguing that Sony doesn't need to match Canon and Nikon for fast zooms. If I want to use a 24-70 I'll do it on a Nikon. The AF performance gap is still pretty wide and the size of the body matches the size of the lens. I wish Sony would stick to f1.8-2 primes that are matched to the size of the body.

Then again, I just sold my A7II kit for an RX1RII. That 35/2 is juuuuust right!
 

gurtch

Well-known member
Well, I am an amateur seascape shooter who almost always stops down to f11-f13 for depth of field (refraction be damned), and I use the A7RII as my "always have with me" camera. I have only three native lenses: the diminutive 35mm f2.8, the unbelievably sharp 55mm f1.8, and the Zeiss 16-35, as I love to shoot really wide for seascapes. So I have no need, or use, for big, fast, bulky lenses. I have a Nikon D800E for that. I also have a stable full of "A" mount lenses with adapters, including the Zeiss 24-70 f2.8.

So bottom line for me is I would welcome an upgraded 24-70 f4 with IS, (one with Zeiss quality to match the price...sorry the present one does not) and small light f2.8 primes. But I am in the minority.
Dave in NJ
 

hcubell

Well-known member
Well, I am an amateur seascape shooter who almost always stops down to f11-f13 for depth of field (refraction be damned), and I use the A7RII as my "always have with me" camera. I have only three native lenses: the diminutive 35mm f2.8, the unbelievably sharp 55mm f1.8, and the Zeiss 16-35, as I love to shoot really wide for seascapes. So I have no need, or use, for big, fast, bulky lenses. I have a Nikon D800E for that. I also have a stable full of "A" mount lenses with adapters, including the Zeiss 24-70 f2.8.

So bottom line for me is I would welcome an upgraded 24-70 f4 with IS, (one with Zeiss quality to match the price...sorry the present one does not) and small light f2.8 primes. But I am in the minority.
Dave in NJ
I question whether you are in the minority. I would bet that if Sony produced a small, light, take no prisoners, ultimate quality 24-105 f/4 zoom for $2,500-$3,000, they would sell beyond Sony's wildest dreams.
 

gurtch

Well-known member
I question whether you are in the minority. I would bet that if Sony produced a small, light, take no prisoners, ultimate quality 24-105 f/4 zoom for $2,500-$3,000, they would sell beyond Sony's wildest dreams.
I would buy one. I would love to see a light (plasticky) 85 or 90mm f2.8. I am tempted to buy the 85mm f2.8 Sony lens in A mount and use an adapter (which I already have). Plastic parts but light at 6 ounces, with hood, brand new for $273 at B&H. Not meant for heavy pro use, but I am not a pro. Reviews raved about it.
Dave
 

engel001

Member
That is correct. Pros would not go to Sony so they HAVE to make lenses in 1.4 and 2.8 variety.

Now bodies. Annna you bring up a good point but again Im afraid its ONLY going to be FE lenses. A lenses are dead and gone from Sony's mindset. they gave us a new A6300 and I suspect next we will see a Full Frame FE mount Pro model next but my guess it won't be much bigger. They will add the A6300 af engine, 2 card slots and a bigger battery after that not much to add over the A7rII as really they are the only things really missing. Sure maybe some more small feature sets and maybe more custom buttons. But its not going to be a Canon Missile launcher . They lose there market if it gets too big
A-Mount as a stand-alone system is dead as soon as a successor to the LA EA4 adapter is introduced without mirror, using the camera's focusing and a motor for the screw-drive A-mount legacy lenses. My hope is this is the path Sony takes with a mirror-less A9 to succeed the A99 and introduce this adapter as a LA EA5.
 
Last edited:
Top