Mystik wrote:
Bokeh for loosely framed shots could be better. I took some shots on the GM this weekend that raised some flags. So I tested again against the Bigma...this time framed a bit loose as I had been framing kind of tight when I tested previously. Environmental portraits where you frame wide because you want to pull the background in....not the GM's strong suit.
The crazy thing is that I still really like the lens and may end up in a bizarro world with 35i, Bigma, and 35GM in my bag. They all have very specific strengths and weaknesses, and I have multi purpose needs out of the 35mm focal length.
Thanks for the comparisons between the 35GM and the Bigma.
While I agree the background with Bigma looks nicer. I wonder how much of that is the 1.2 aperture? If you’re ever shooting another comparison, I’d love to see both lenses at 1.4
I am very happy with my 35GM. Especially as a travel/walk around lens. But that Bigma is a very special lens. I am still considering picking one up.
I used to have the Sigma 1.2 and just took some photos at a concours yesterday. I’m more than happy with the performance of the GM. Here’s one image, I posted the others in the 35 GM thread. FWIW, the colors from the a1 seem to be much easier to deal with in post than my a7r iv and a9 ii.
Fred, any chance you're going to add some information on the autofocus performance? Is it anywhere near the performance of the 135mm GM in terms of speed?
Fred Miranda wrote: Close-up performance, SA and Focus Shift
The FE 35mm f/1.4 GM has outstanding close-up performance. FLE elements help keep a high resolution level high even at minimal focus distance (MFD) and wide open.
Spherical aberration (SA) is well corrected making rendering neutral with no glow or low contrast.
The lens has no detectable focus shift.
Hi Fred:
Can you elaborate on the focus shift? I've been on the fence since every other review that mentioned focus shift gave the 35mm GM a bad score contrary to your findings. Am I missing something?
Thanks
It is in stock at BH and added to my cart, but Bigma is stopping me from pulling the trigger on it. As a hobbyist, I don't think I can justify two expensive 35s in my bag. I like the uber sharpness of Sony, super smooth transition and bokeh of Bigma, and lightweight and compact size of 35I. I don't know what to do. I need a sign from God.
Another positive for GM is that my wife won't be able to tell it apart from my 20 G. It is funny I showed her a few side-by-side comparison pictures here and she picked GM every time because the other one was "too blurry" for her.
mbo27 wrote:
Hi Fred:
Can you elaborate on the focus shift? I've been on the fence since every other review that mentioned focus shift gave the 35mm GM a bad score contrary to your findings. Am I missing something?
Thanks
I will do it. I only tested it at infinity distance but will check at close and mid-distance as well.
ramesesthe2nd wrote:
It is in stock at BH and added to my cart, but Bigma is stopping me from pulling the trigger on it. As a hobbyist, I don't think I can justify two expensive 35s in my bag. I like the uber sharpness of Sony, super smooth transition and bokeh of Bigma, and lightweight and compact size of 35I. I don't know what to do. I need a sign from God.
Another positive for GM is that my wife won't be able to tell it apart from my 20 G. It is funny I showed her a few side-by-side comparison pictures here and she picked GM every time because the other one was "too blurry" for her. ...Show more →
Yes, I was told B&H got a new shipment and it's now in stock. It's been in stock at Adorama the entire day but their page says it's running low.:
mbo27 wrote:
Hi Fred:
Can you elaborate on the focus shift? I've been on the fence since every other review that mentioned focus shift gave the 35mm GM a bad score contrary to your findings. Am I missing something?
Thanks
I haven't heard anything regarding focus shift problems with the lens. Maybe I missed it. But perhaps you mean focus breathing instead of focus shift?
Focus noise issue:
My 35Gm has an audible focus noise when shooting stills, but significantly quieter in video mode. Has anyone notice the same? My 85 1.8 is actually quieter in both modes.
mbo27 wrote:
Hi Fred:
Can you elaborate on the focus shift? I've been on the fence since every other review that mentioned focus shift gave the 35mm GM a bad score contrary to your findings. Am I missing something?
Thanks
I’m pretty sure you mean focus breathing. In my tests it has absolutely zero focus shift. The focus breathing might annoy someone who shots a lot of video and likes certain focus pulls. Video lenses often trade off some other optical features to get reduced focus breathing (and increased parfocality in the case of zooms).
ramesesthe2nd wrote:
It is in stock at BH and added to my cart, but Bigma is stopping me from pulling the trigger on it. As a hobbyist, I don't think I can justify two expensive 35s in my bag. I like the uber sharpness of Sony, super smooth transition and bokeh of Bigma, and lightweight and compact size of 35I. I don't know what to do. I need a sign from God.
Another positive for GM is that my wife won't be able to tell it apart from my 20 G. It is funny I showed her a few side-by-side comparison pictures here and she picked GM every time because the other one was "too blurry" for her. ...Show more →
I had that dilemma and I sold my Bigma. It’s a beautiful lens but the difference in bokeh is so slight that the size and weight of the GM more than makes up for it.
That’s probably it David.
Focus breathing could also make focus stacking more challenging depending on the severity of it.
I should start incorporating focus breathing in the reviews.
DavidBM wrote:
I’m pretty sure you mean focus breathing. In my tests it has absolutely zero focus shift. The focus breathing might annoy someone who shots a lot of video and likes certain focus pulls. Video lenses often trade off some other optical features to get reduced focus breathing (and increased parfocality in the case of zooms).
I still prefer the rendering of the Sigma 35mm 1.2 vs the Sony 35mm 1.4 when I did some shooting yesterday. The bokeh of the Sigma is just unmatched.. However, the size and weight makes the Sony-- the lens I am likely going to use more often.
Fred did you keep both the Sony GM and Voigtlander? I saw you purchased the Voigtlander.
sye46 wrote:
I had that dilemma and I sold my Bigma. It’s a beautiful lens but the difference in bokeh is so slight that the size and weight of the GM more than makes up for it.
I don't find the difference to be slight. In some cases GM rendering is rather harsh and more similar to 35mm f/1.8 than Bigma. Bigma is smooth and dreamy in all situations. The real allure of GM is its size, weight and sharpness. The real issue of Bigma is its giant size and heavy weight. I am following the GM thread closely and the lens is growing on me.
Fred Miranda wrote:
That’s probably it David.
Focus breathing could also make focus stacking more challenging depending on the severity of it.
I should start incorporating focus breathing in the reviews.
I suppose in theory it can affect focus stacking, but simple magnification change is the kind of thing that photoshops auto align does perfectly, unlike more complex issues to do with hand holding or movement. I guess the only issue is whether the ver slight upsizing the aligning does on the lower magnification images degrades quality. It will in theory, but on high mp modern lens images I’ve tried to see it, but in practice just can’t see any degradation. I guess the only other thing for folks to be aware of is they have to compose at the highest magnification end of the stack!
Mystik wrote:
Bokeh for loosely framed shots could be better. I took some shots on the GM this weekend that raised some flags. So I tested again against the Bigma...this time framed a bit loose as I had been framing kind of tight when I tested previously. Environmental portraits where you frame wide because you want to pull the background in....not the GM's strong suit.
The crazy thing is that I still really like the lens and may end up in a bizarro world with 35i, Bigma, and 35GM in my bag. They all have very specific strengths and weaknesses, and I have multi purpose needs out of the 35mm focal length.
Did you compare at equal f-stop, too?
You didn't move closer to account for the different focal lengths in the GM and Sigma. It would be nice if you could compare at f1.4 and account for the focal length difference.
Nice examples, Mystik, thank you very much. I like the colors of the GM better, but overall I like the image of the Sigma more.
I think it makes sense to compare the Sigma at open aperture (f1.2) with the GM at open aperture (f1.4). This is one of the reasons why the Sigma is heavier and larger. And it is interesting to see what look (the best look) you can get with the two lenses in comparison.
At f1.4 I haven't used my Sigma that often.
Nonetheless, a comparison at f1.4 would of course also be interesting.
Anyway, I really like your pictures, keep it coming...
Fred's review shows an extremely good performance of the GM with no weaknesses. Nevertheless, I (unfortunately!) like the pictures of the Sigma a little better. But that's subjective and I hope that will change so that at some point I can save the extra weight...
Nobody ever commented on them so I guess only I'm seeing the differences there, but to me they are substantial and easily to extrapolate to other scenes.
35 GM has quickly become my favorite lens (but that was expected I guess as 35mm is my favorite focal length) for its combination of IQ (pseudo-macro as a bonus ), AF and handling (to me 24GM was the perfect match for non-C camera and 35GM is nearly the same, I don't see any benefit going smaller/lighter with my current camera). This does not keep me from recognizing situations where I'd still prefer the Bigma however (they also render differently, so sometimes it's just a different look).
As for Magic's comparison, he notes that in some of the shots the Sigma (f1.4) misfocused, so it makes the comparison a bit more obscure...
Nobody ever commented on them so I guess only I'm seeing the differences there, but to me they are substantial and easily to extrapolate to other scenes.
35 GM has quickly become my favorite lens (but that was expected I guess as 35mm is my favorite focal length) for its combination of IQ (pseudo-macro as a bonus ), AF and handling (to me 24GM was the perfect match for non-C camera and 35GM is nearly the same, I don't see any benefit going smaller/lighter with my current camera). This does not keep me from recognizing situations where I'd still prefer the Bigma however (they also render differently, so sometimes it's just a different look).
As for Magic's comparison, he notes that in some of the shots the Sigma (f1.4) misfocused, so it makes the comparison a bit more obscure......Show more →
Yes. At f1.4 he shows this:
GM
Sigma (not the f1.2)
And Sigma f1.2 at f1.2 - again one clearly sees the longer focal length
, comparison between the Bigma and GM at f1.4 in demanding conditons with focus distance a bit above 4m I think:
), AF and handling (to me 24GM was the perfect match for non-C camera and 35GM is nearly the same, I don't see any benefit going smaller/lighter with my current camera). This does not keep me from recognizing situations where I'd still prefer the Bigma however (they also render differently, so sometimes it's just a different look).
