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Sony 135/1.8 GM

pegelli

Well-known member
No doubt it will be a great lens, but too heavy and expensive for me.

I'd wish they bring out a 135/2.8 with similar weight/quality as their FE 85/1.8, that's probably the one I'd buy.
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
Looking at videos and results of the lens and it seems to be missing something that was present in the legendary Sony Zeiss 135/1.8 IMO. It’s a perfectly fine lens but it just seems to be missing some character from the images I’ve seen. There’s a possibility that I purchase this lens after I come to a conclusion about the Panasonic cameras and I’m still awaiting my T&E 24/1.4 GM at this point.
 
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Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
No doubt it will be a great lens, but too heavy and expensive for me.

I'd wish they bring out a 135/2.8 with similar weight/quality as their FE 85/1.8, that's probably the one I'd buy.
Ah, but Olympus already did that. It's called the Zuiko 75mm f/1.8 and weighs 305g. :ROTFL:

Jokes aside, and please don't take this as criticism, just curious:
I looked at the images at dpr taken with this lens and the A9. Most of the images looked surprisingly grainy already at ISO 800. Is that normal for the A9, or is it something about the processing at dpr?

Apart from that, this looks like a great lens. When the ZA 135mm f/1.8 was launched, I was soooo close to buying a Sony camera. Unfortunately, only the A100 (More or less the former Minolta 5D I believe) was available at the time, and its viewfinder seemed even smaller than the one on my Fuji S3, so I skipped it.
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
Ah, but Olympus already did that. It's called the Zuiko 75mm f/1.8 and weighs 305g. :ROTFL:

Jokes aside, and please don't take this as criticism, just curious:
I looked at the images at dpr taken with this lens and the A9. Most of the images looked surprisingly grainy already at ISO 800. Is that normal for the A9, or is it something about the processing at dpr?

Apart from that, this looks like a great lens. When the ZA 135mm f/1.8 was launched, I was soooo close to buying a Sony camera. Unfortunately, only the A100 (More or less the former Minolta 5D I believe) was available at the time, and its viewfinder seemed even smaller than the one on my Fuji S3, so I skipped it.
The 75/1.8 is a 150mm equivalent.

Regarding graininess at ISO 800... Probably is DPR and overly sharpening. See all the A9 examples here. Also I’d say that most Sony cameras don’t really begin to really show hints of grain until ISO 3200-8000 (depending on the camera).
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
There's little difference between 135 and 150mm. These are my favorite focal lengths, and I hardly see which one I use.

Yes, this is a unique proposition from Sony. Anything similar is totally lacking from Nikon's reportoir, and their DSLR alternatives are old as Methuselah and won't AF on the Z bodies.
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
There's little difference between 135 and 150mm. These are my favorite focal lengths, and I hardly see which one I use.

Yes, this is a unique proposition from Sony. Anything similar is totally lacking from Nikon's reportoir, and their DSLR alternatives are old as Methuselah and won't AF on the Z bodies.
Yeah... I don’t care all that much about what Nikon has going on over there. They make good cameras but they’re not for me in any way so I’d never buy one though I do think they have a few lenses I wouldn’t mind in a different Mount. There’s still the Sigma option of the 135/1.8. It’s a great lens and I’ve tested it on a D850 when it was first released.
 

pegelli

Well-known member
Ah, but Olympus already did that. It's called the Zuiko 75mm f/1.8 and weighs 305g. :ROTFL:
But no decent BSI sensor to put behind it :ROTFL:

Just kidding, but I'm not really tempted to jump ship and/or start entertaining two systems. Until Sony (or maybe Samyang/someone else) bring out a light(er)/economy AF E-mount 135/2.8 my OM Zuiko 135/2.8 does very well for me. And for me the Zeiss Batis doesn't fall in the right catagory either.
 
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pegelli

Well-known member
Regarding graininess at ISO 800... Probably is DPR and overly sharpening. See all the A9 examples here. Also I’d say that most Sony cameras don’t really begin to really show hints of grain until ISO 3200-8000 (depending on the camera).
Agree, they look pretty clean here. Even my old A700 (with an APS-C sensor from 12 years ago) can deliver quite clean shots at iso 2000 with a little care (I even lifted the shadows a bit in this shot):
(click for larger)
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
But it's an interesting fact:
Back in the day, all brands had one, two or even three 135 mm lenses if different sizes and max apertures, like 2.0, 2.8 and 3.5. Then, it was as if 135 mm went out of fashion, and was replaced by the 70-200 mm zooms. But the compactness of a 135 mm f/2.8 or 3.5 is something that can't be copied in a zoom, at least not with comparable image quality and for the same sensor size.

The new, large f/1.8 lenses are great of course, but unfortunately the greatness also includes the weight and form factor. But why am I complaining? I'm shooting MFT, and for that format, that lens is alive and well, although 10% longer :cool:
 

pegelli

Well-known member
The new, large f/1.8 lenses are great of course, but unfortunately the greatness also includes the weight and form factor.
"Great" or just "Heavy" :confused:

However the Sony 85/1.8 is not too heavy, only 371 grams and cropping to APS-C I still gets me a plenty sharp 11 MP's (usually more than enough) 135 mm FF FOV :lecture:
If you look at it that way you could consider it a "poor man's" 1.5 x zoom :LOL:
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
"Great" or just "Heavy" :confused:

However the Sony 85/1.8 is not too heavy, only 371 grams and cropping to APS-C I still gets me a plenty sharp 11 MP's (usually more than enough) 135 mm FF FOV :lecture:
If you look at it that way you could consider it a "poor man's" 1.5 x zoom :LOL:
Yup, which is a good arguments for cameras like the A6400/6500, the Nikon D500 etc., used together with their full frame brothers. If seen that way, 2 cameras with the same mount but full frame and APS sensor size can make a 14/35/85mm lens combo into 14/21/35/53/85/128 mm combo, rather complete.
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
MTF results by LensRentals

An excellent result (especially considering it has a mount that's too small :LOL:), but as always there's a lot more to a lens than sharpness alone.
I keep trying to love this lens but the more I see of the newer GM lenses the more they remind me of the Sigma Art lenses. Extremely sharp but lacking in character. It’s not a terrible thing but they’re missing something overall for me. If I’m being truthful I still find the A-Mount version to be more optically pleasing.
 
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