p.1 #1 · Sell Sony 35mm Gm for the new Viltrox 35mm Evo 1.8 II - thoughts?
I’ve owned the 35mm GM for a while and it’s a great lens but most of my photography these days focuses around EDC, street photography, travel and family. I have a 5 year old son so life centers around family!
I also have the Sony 40mm G but my wife uses that as well with her Sony A7C (I have an RV).
I am considering selling the 35mm GM for the Viltrox 35mm EVO 1.8 II. It’s receiving great reviews and I’m sure I’ll get it for a great price when they arrive on AliExpress.
The Viltrox EVO range looks great but it is heavier than I expected.
p.1 #2 · Sell Sony 35mm Gm for the new Viltrox 35mm Evo 1.8 II - thoughts?
Personal choice, difficult to comment. My experience is that I always eventually regret selling good gear. 35GM is very good - you will surely miss it
I have both 35GM and 40G. They compliment each other very well. Viltrox 35 EVO seems to be very good for its price, but I am fairly sure that it falls well short of 35GM in absolute image quality. I also doubt Viltrox being better than 40G in street and family photography.
My advice is to do nothing unless you need the money you get when from 35GM.
p.1 #3 · Sell Sony 35mm Gm for the new Viltrox 35mm Evo 1.8 II - thoughts?
If you have a 61mp a7RV and you are used to the resolving power, sharpness and clarity of the 35GM, then I think the Viltrox 35 EVO will perhaps fall a bit short of expectations.
It kind of all depends on how important a fast 35mm prime is to you. If it is one of your main lenses, then stick to the 35GM and live with the bigger/heavier camera set up. If not, then a 35/1.8 will surely do, but you can get a minty used Sony FE 35/1.8 for about the same price as the 35 EVO, which I personally would prefer (actually own the Sony 35/1.8 and I've tried e.g. the Samyang 35/1.8 in the past).
If you were starting over, I'd say get the brand new Sigma 35/1.4 ART II, but where are coming from, that doesn't make much sense, nor will it save you money.
So how much do you like/depend on the 35mm focal length?
p.1 #4 · Sell Sony 35mm Gm for the new Viltrox 35mm Evo 1.8 II - thoughts?
I have very briefly used the 55mm EVO at a photography show, and all I can say is that, while it was nice and sharp, it focused slowly. Much slower than the 35GM or 55mm ZA, for example.
p.1 #5 · Sell Sony 35mm Gm for the new Viltrox 35mm Evo 1.8 II - thoughts?
If you wouldn't have the GM there are many good alternatives, like this Viltrox if f1.8 is enough, Sigma 35 1.4II for lower price, Viltrox or Sigma 35 1.2 for portraits. I think the 35GM is still the best all-round lens, size-weigh-aperture-AF speed, most reliable and fastest AF. I can't see any reason replacing it with the new Viltrox.
p.1 #7 · Sell Sony 35mm Gm for the new Viltrox 35mm Evo 1.8 II - thoughts?
I have also thought about buying the Valtrex 35 for a walk around lens but I already have the 40 2.5 Sony and they seem to close for that purpose. I have the 35GM as well and do not contemplate selling that as I am confident it is the better lens. I did buy the Viltox 50 2.0 and I have to say it is actually very impressive and probably rivals the Sony 50 1.4 for most uses.
p.1 #8 · Sell Sony 35mm Gm for the new Viltrox 35mm Evo 1.8 II - thoughts?
darrenhaken wrote:
I’ve owned the 35mm GM for a while and it’s a great lens but [...]
Does anyone have any thoughts on this?
I'm sure many have thoughts on the matter. My take... well, I sold the 35GM years ago as the image quality wasn't that good. The CA was disturbing. That, the weight and too often disturbing bokeh made me look for other options.
What I have seen from the Viltrox 35/1.8 EVO APO this far is good enough. I ordered it and I'm looking forward to try it out, learn about it and then get images with no bad CA.
We are thinking about different things when thinking about "image quality". I think that, and "sharp" and "good colours" should be avoided when discussing lenses on-line.
p.1 #9 · Sell Sony 35mm Gm for the new Viltrox 35mm Evo 1.8 II - thoughts?
I think you should keep the GM. I have tried a few Viltrox lenses because of all of the influencer hype, but they seem to have two fatal flaws for me. One, the autofocus is significantly worse than any native lens, and once you are used to Sony autofocus it is hard to accept anything less. Two, the images out of them seem "flat" to me and very uninspiring. I am not a fan of the color or contrast from Viltrox lenses. Are they sharp? Sure, but that is not my main concern (and your GM is sharp).
p.1 #12 · Sell Sony 35mm Gm for the new Viltrox 35mm Evo 1.8 II - thoughts?
I'd recommend taking a look at the "Sony Alpha Blog" testing of the lens. What is most telling to me is the lenses listed as competitors are all lower end lenses. So, to me the hype around the lens is relative to the low end. For a low end lens it performs well. It is not in the same league as the 35GM. To me the 35GM is just about perfect except for breathing.
I own the 35GM and certainly won't be selling it, not even for the latest golden child the Sigma 35/1.4 DN II.
p.1 #13 · Sell Sony 35mm Gm for the new Viltrox 35mm Evo 1.8 II - thoughts?
OK, so now I have added best to the list of words we shouldn't use, or at least not use out of context.
I'm sure the 35GM is the best 35mm lens - best for some or best at something. It isn't best when it comes to CA though, or non-distracting bokeh, or size and weight. It's also expensive and not good for manual focusing.
@darrenhaken@ I don't think you should let a bunch of anonymous internet users make any decisions for you.
p.1 #14 · Sell Sony 35mm Gm for the new Viltrox 35mm Evo 1.8 II - thoughts?
If you want it, go for it. You might regret it, but you never really know until you try. I ended up selling my 50mm f/1.2, even though it gets a ton of praise, because I wanted something smaller. I’ve been really happy with the lighter, more compact 50mm I replaced it with.
p.1 #15 · Sell Sony 35mm Gm for the new Viltrox 35mm Evo 1.8 II - thoughts?
Surfnsun wrote:
If you want it, go for it. You might regret it, but you never really know until you try. I ended up selling my 50mm f/1.2, even though it gets a ton of praise, because I wanted something smaller. I’ve been really happy with the lighter, more compact 50mm I replaced it with.
p.1 #17 · Sell Sony 35mm Gm for the new Viltrox 35mm Evo 1.8 II - thoughts?
No one cares what words you care to ban, Jonas
Jonas B wrote:
OK, so now I have added best to the list of words we shouldn't use, or at least not use out of context.
I'm sure the 35GM is the best 35mm lens - best for some or best at something. It isn't best when it comes to CA though, or non-distracting bokeh, or size and weight. It's also expensive and not good for manual focusing.
@darrenhaken@@ I don't think you should let a bunch of anonymous internet users make any decisions for you.
p.1 #18 · Sell Sony 35mm Gm for the new Viltrox 35mm Evo 1.8 II - thoughts?
50 lux. Switched brands just because I wanted to try Leica forever and I knew what lens I wanted. Still shoot Sony too. I haven't looked it up, but I swear my M body + lens is nearly the same weight as my GM50/1.2 did all by itself.
NJPhotographer wrote:
Which 50mm lens did you replace it with?
p.1 #19 · Sell Sony 35mm Gm for the new Viltrox 35mm Evo 1.8 II - thoughts?
You can buy the 35/1.8 EVO right now on B&H for $315. I’d buy it and compare it to your 35GM and see what you think. My guess? You won’t be able to tell any discernible difference in image quality. Build quality and autofocus speed? The Sony will win. Mine arrives on Wednesday.
p.1 #20 · Sell Sony 35mm Gm for the new Viltrox 35mm Evo 1.8 II - thoughts?
RoamingScott wrote:
No one cares what words you care to ban, Jonas
[...]
Well Mr Scott, you cared enough to inform about life's hard fact. And now I know you use words without real meaning for anyone and seemingly you are satisfied with that. Is that really right? Or is that "the best"?
No, ^^ that can't really be. I think you have read my message and that will now, in the long run, word yourself better... ;-)
