In February, I began my first-impressions review of the Sony FE 135mm f/1.8 GM by saying it was "the sharpest lens I've ever used." And according to bench testing over at Lensrentals by optics guru Roger Cicala, it now turns out my own impression was spot on.
Today, Cicala, founder of Lensrentals, published his early findings after performing MTF bench tests on 10 copies of the soon-to-be-released Sony FE 135mm f/1.8 GM. The results? It's "the sharpest lens we’ve tested" said Cicala of the over 300 MTF bench tests they have performed. In the Lensrentals report, direct comparisons are also documented against the Sigma 135mm f/1.8 Art and the Zeiss Batis 135mm f/2.8. Be sure to head over to the Lensrentals blog to see all the MTF charts from their various testing and get the full scoop on what they found.
The FE 135mm f/1.8 G Master is the 31st full-frame mirrorless lens from Sony and features an "extreme aspherical" element for cleaner bokeh, four XD linear autofocus motors, and weighs just 2.09 pounds. It's priced at $1,898 and is available to preorder now. Shipments will begin on April 30. Stay tuned for my full review of this lens coming in mid April.
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10 Comments
Cool.
It's not the sharpest of its kind. It's the sharpest of any kind.
No, there are sharper lenses. Just not on consumer cameras.
They did say it's sharper than some huge secret prototype lens meant for a 150mp? sensor, so don't know about that. Besides, the article probably meant 135mm lens or portrait lens by 'of its kind'.
I was clearly being pedantic and replying to the "sharpest of any kind" part of it. Not all lenses are designed for cameras that people buy. You have lenses in instruments for scientific purposes, industrial purposes, military purposes, etc.
I wish Sony would stop making gear for me to lust over. ;)
Sony would make great scientific lenses but I don't find the rendering that flattering for portraits. Make sure you bring along a MUA.
You can take a sharp image and soften it, but you can't take a soft image and sharpen it. All things considered, if I had the choice, I'd rather have a sharp lens than a soft one. You'd be hard pressed to find a company at this point that's going to release high end lenses that are soft even if it might make for less re-touching work and more pleasing portraiture.
BUT FLANGE DISTANCE AND LENS MOUNT DIAMETERS OR SOEMTHINGS MEANS NO GOOD SONY LENS
I don't think that anyone actually said this... The only thing it means is that for the same FL and aperture, Sony lenses have to be more complex to achieve similar performance as bigger mounts. They are also more susceptible to vignetting and having issues with corner performance due to the sensor size in relation to the mount diameter. It doesn't mean that they won't make good lenses. It just means that it's more challenging to do so.