You can find this lens on the used market pretty often now, i just picked one up myself off the FB market for $600 and it was in mint condition and even came with the original box and sony carrying pouch.
That is the best lens I have ever used for any system since 35 years ! It is just perfect and so versatile ! Expensive but worth it ! It is stuck on my 7RII since I had it a couple of years ago !
It is such a lovely understated lens, I almost want to update this video or make another about the lens. It always finding its way into my backpack wherever I go.
I bought it!! man do i love that lens, it pairs so perfect with my A7Rii and my A6500 as well!! I agree with you 100% in everything you said. Small factor for me is big deal!! Before getting the 55 i had the rokinon 50 1.4 and the sigma 50 1.4 I choose this lens over the mentioned any day.
That's awesome to hear, I just came back from a vacation and I brought the 85 lens with over my 70-200 because of how small it is and I had no regrets, and with the a7r the majority of the time if you need a little extra reach you just stop the lens down a lil and you can crop and get great resolution still! I hope you have a blast with the lens!
Nice review for the 55mm. I also really liked that you mentioned the concave front element. Of the many other reviews I have watched, this was the first one to mention it. Those small things I appreciate to see. Keep up the great work 👍
Thank you! You'll have a blast with the lens, if you shoot portraits in heavily backlit situations the flaring is pretty interesting if your looking to try something fun with your new kit. I hope you have a great day too 😁
More needs to be said about the arm’s length “close” focus distance. However, cheap Neewer extension tubes let you get the great glass closer to your smaller subjects.
It can be tricky to work with the lens' minimum focus distance, I made a separate video on those extension tubes too and used this lens as an example: czcams.com/video/g269-2EztbE/video.html
Finally a reviewer who understand metric system! 😁. Thanks for this, I bought it extremely cheap and was thinking on resell it to make some bucks ,... but maybe I should keep it 🙂
Ha here in Canada we live in this weird hybrid of needing to know how to measure everything in feet and metric, but metric is the far better 😅 yea that's a tough call, it holds its resale well, but it's also like one of the best Sony lenses still overall and I don't think that it will be surpassed in size-to-performance ratio
Great to hear! This lens is still in my kit and I take it out often, I've found myself using it on may a6600 very often too and it pairs so so well with the newer AF systems!
Thank you for watching 😊 I think it's a tough comparison, I haven't played around with the g master myself yet but it certainly looks like a very high quality lens with great performance across the board, but I don't think it is a great value in the slightest and there's a few design choices Sony made that I don't love which is why I haven't bought it myself yet. It's overall the 55mm going to be a better $/performance value, which feels wild to say because it's quite an expensive lens already
Thanks! Yea that's a tough call, I've had no experience with the 45 and only seen a few reviews about it. The big reason is say I'd perfer the Sony is because I'd have a hard time imaging a better lens, there isn't too much to improve upon here besides being cheaper, which the sigma has is 🤷
Would really appreciate if you could do a Sony Zeiss 50mm1.4 vs 55mm1.8 detailed comparison. Im considering investing on the f1.4 if it's worth the extra money. This video was definitely useful. Looking forward to your response. Thanks
That may be a tricky one, I have no one I know with the lens currently so I don't think I will be able to review it well enough to make a video on it. If it means anything, when I was looking for lens I considered the 50mm f1.4 heavily, but went with the 55mm f1.8 because the difference in sharpness was so minimal.
I love my 55mm Sonar. My best photos both on crop and full-frame were taken with it. I gave it a bit of a rest when I got my 35mm 1.8, but I’m back to it now. What did you use to black out your Sony logo?
I just got back into using crop again and the 55mm rocks it! I used a sharpie I think at the time of this video (it comes off easily with rubbing alcohol) but nowa days I use a sharpie chalk-marker, it's a little more matte and I like that better
@@ShaneBethlehem yep, in fact. just saw on FB marketplace for $650. I'm building my FF lens lineup on my a7rii. Upgraded from a6000. Looking for close to new or open box for around that price, but they're now out there. Ah and yes, USD.
Thanks for your sharing. I am a beginner and I love portrait and landscape, most of the time I take photos for my kids so would you kind to share with me your though between sony lens 55mm1.8 and 24mm 1.4? Are they the same quality portrait? Thanks in advance. Cheers Hanh
If you are shooting with an a7 series camera, I would say the 55mm would be ideal if you want more portraits, but its a little non-ideal for anything landscapes, its just often too tight or not wide enough. The 24mm is great for landscapes and can isolate subjects in portraits enough for decent shots, but it also distorts body proportions which can make people look a little wonky. I like using 35mm best for a neutral lens that can do portraits kinda and landscapes, and also wider angles lenses I find are easier for the kiddos in my family as they usually like to come closer to me when I am holding a camera
Hi there sorry I don’t have the answer to this off the top my head and I currently have my lens lent to a friend so I can’t check it myself at the moment 😥 I don’t distinctly remember any noises from the ones at all but with that said I don’t even think I’ve ever shot a F22 with it either
I don't personally vlog really, well in the sense that I hold a camera. With that said 20mm is wide enough to hold in your hand while filming yourself, but I don't think it would ideal as a zoom lens like the Tamron 17-28mm just because it will be a little more versatile. I often use 35mm for filming myself when using a tripod, but I cannot hold my arm far enough away to use it effectively for filming myself while holding the camera in my hand.
@@ShaneBethlehem ok thanks ! If you use a tripod for both lenses, will there be a big difference between 20mm and 35mm. Are you comfortable with 35mm when you shoot your video?
There's quite a significant difference between 20 mm and 35 mm, it will depend on the size of the space that you're in but I will always gravitate to using a 35mm or more lens when shooting myself on a tripod because it just makes people look a little less wonky
Thanks for making great videos, very insightful. I am torn between the 55mm 1.8 and the 50mm 1.4 plantar. I want something light and for video as well as photography. Your review and some other reviews I've watched all say similar things about chromatic aberration etc on the 55mm which is holding me back from making the purchase. I am wondering though, a lot of the reviews for the 55mm are from a few years ago and I was looking on the Sony website today, and it says about the 55mm "T coating reduces all forms of aberration". I'm wondering if Sony has made some design changes to fix the CA issues in 2020? Do you know about this? I'm new to photography, no one on youtube likes chromatic aberration, this lens seems to have it as a major problem going by the reviews, but yet you still give it the thumbs up? Can CA be easily fixed in post? Thank you.
Thanks for watching the video I'm happy that you found it helpful! When you're new to photography chromatic aberration is certainly a topic that is super abstract, and it took me probably a couple years to actually be able to determine if I like or dislike a lens because of the chromatic aberration. For video work quite frankly CA is not an issue until you start shooting in resolutions above 4K because most sensors don't even have enough resolution to cause it to reduce the sharpness or the overall colour cast of the image, I’m excited to see if the a7siii can see it though in video. So many lenses have issues with chromatic aberration and that's just because in order to reduce chromatic aberration it often requires a change in the design of the lens itself which results in a larger lens or a lot of money invested in having special coatings on multiple elements inside the lens. I've certainly noticed in the newer Sony lenses that they've significantly improved their coatings compared to earlier lenses like this 55mm and the 85mm, however I still recommend these lenses highly because of their price point. And as far as I'm aware Sony has not changed any aspect of the 55mm production since launch so a new version should be as sharp but also have as much chromatic aberration as older versions. Chromatic aberration is somewhat correctable in editing, and it usually only becomes an issue when a photo has other issues already going on in it, like being extremely high contrast or having a light source directly in the image. Ultimately when you're getting started it's not going to be a huge issue for you, however I don't know what direction your photography is going to take you in, so if you start getting into some real fine art stuff and you’re printing a lot of high resolution images it will start to matter to you more, but even then I routinely use this lens and have printed off many images from it without issue, I just kind of learned to live with its small quirks and appreciate the pros and cons of the lens overtime. Moral of the story is though I think the 55mm is probably the better choice when you're getting started unless you can find the 50mm for a fantastic price, I really hope that Sony comes out with an updated 50mm lens because both of these lenses are aging and Sony's newer G & GM lenses Have a few more quality improvements over their older designs. Another option if you'd like to go for a little bit of a more value budget to explore the focal length there is the newer rokinon 45mm: rokinon.com/lenses/auto-focus/45mm-f18-af-sony-e I haven't used it, but it's just a lens that came out after I made this video. I hope this helps out a bit though, sorry for the incredibly long reply
@@ShaneBethlehem Hey thank you very much for taking the time to reply, that's very nice of you and very helpful. That's really good to know that it doesn't affect video work. When you say finding the 50mm at a great price, I'm assuming you mean the Zeiss Plantar 1.4? It's a better lens? Curious, if the price was not a concern, what 50mm lens (or thereabouts) would you recommend? Thank you Shane, much appreciated.
I wouldn't say the 50mm is better really, just better for different applications, the lenses are both very sharp but the 50mm has the perk of being f1.4 but is also is a bunch heavier and bigger. The 50mm f1.4 is also just a rather expensive lens too so finding a good used copy would be kinda the ideal situation. So it's kinda a choice of what is more valuable too you, if prefer having a shallow depth of field or a smaller lens. For myself a smaller made more sense at the time when I purchased this lens, but if I could buy the 50mm f1.4 I'd love to have it in my kit 😅
Usually the safest bet is to go with the Tamron, it is going to be the most versatile and the lens you'll want to really just keep forever. With that said if you plan to do a lot more portraiture or just taking pictures of family, the 50mm is going to get you a little bit more unique shots. Realistically they're both fantastic lenses though that I both own and use regularly, the 50mm is going to be a prime lens you'll want in your kit eventually and it's very versatile, but the Tamron is even more versatile as it is a fast zoom.
@@ShaneBethlehem Thanks a lot 🙏I will buy Tamron. Not sure when will have money to buy another one. As amateur don't want spend lot's of money. P.S I just discovered your channel and loving it. Keep doing it
I have friends who use the Sony versions of the sigma 50 1.4 and 35 1.4, and I have only heard good things about their optical performance/auto-focus, only draw back really is the weight/size of the lenses, but the value is so great it makes 100% sense to go with them if you're interested. There are the Rokinon/Samyang version of the lenses as well and they are a great value as, however I haven't heard as great things about their performance, so I have never actually used them myself, but I don't think long term they are a great investment for such a bread & butter focal length for professional work
@@ShaneBethlehemit's very difficult to choose between a fastest lens and this Zeiss Sonnar FE 55mm f/1.8, since it's the best autofocus lens ever tested at DxOmark!!!..I would rather less Bokeh but always nailing the focus and weights something "normal"
@@herreisenmax Honestly you cannot go wrong with this lens really, and if you find in a year or so after using it you want a faster lens, you will be able to re-sell this lens at a great value still as its built so well, the used market for it is great.
Max, I've heard that this Samyang 35mm f2.8 for Sony is pretty great at only $250~. It's super small and light too which is great. I don't have it myself but have really though about it!
@@ChrisBrayPhotos I own the Samyang/Rokinon 35mm f2.8 and it's excellent. Fast focus and very accurate. It's insanely small. I pair it with the Sony 85mm F1.8 and I'm happy.
This lens definitely has more character than the 85mm, and it gets a lil more contrast in more situations than the 85, but the 'flatter' compression makes for nicer portaits in my opinion with the 85. With that said I use both for portraits regularly and they both are great
That's a tough question, I'd say for dedicated portraits the 85mm is my preference, but it's not going to be as good in every situation just because of it being 85mm, then again, I bought it before I got the 55mm and I survived quite well for a long time with the 28mm/85mm and my old canon 17-40 f4 and 24-105 f4s (as backups I never used)
35 mm 1.4 ziess or 55 mm ziess with sonya7iii ...which lens give perfect video quality nd sharp .. for me focal length is no matter.. please suggest me..
Well the sharpness won't be the difference between those two lenses really, both are exedingly sharp and respond well with video AF. Unfortunately the big difference is going to be the focal length and the size difference between the two lenses 😔
@@ShaneBethlehemwhat brand extension tubes do you have. Would you have to shoot manual focus using them to get closer than the lens normal min focus distance. I just opened my 55mm. The min focus distance is the first thing I noticed.
@@dough254 yea its a relatively short min focus distance compared to other 50mm lenses. I made a video here about the ones that I use: czcams.com/video/g269-2EztbE/video.html I hope it helps, that have AF as well so that's a nice perk
Unfortunately I have no experience with the lens, I've heard some good things and some not so good things, so I don't have the best opinion on it :/ sorry
I have had 3 copies, the very first one when launched, was horrible no comms with flash. I got a 2 copy a a couple of years ago but also I sold it, and more recently and due the existence of the dock base I thought the lens this time would be great, I was wrong, even last firmware (V30) terrible noise , it hunt too and this third one I did put it side by side with the zeiss and I find the zeiss far mor sharper at 1.8-2.2. I’m hoping Samyang will launch a V2 of the lens itself and not a firmware.
You can find this lens on the used market pretty often now, i just picked one up myself off the FB market for $600 and it was in mint condition and even came with the original box and sony carrying pouch.
Thats a great deal, the lens is build so well too, ideal lens to buy used
That is the best lens I have ever used for any system since 35 years ! It is just perfect and so versatile ! Expensive but worth it ! It is stuck on my 7RII since I had it a couple of years ago !
It is such a lovely understated lens, I almost want to update this video or make another about the lens. It always finding its way into my backpack wherever I go.
Shane Bethlehem I like your generosity and your way to share your views ! Best wishes for you !
Hmm, this was cheap for me, not even 500 new --- and yes, we love it.
Your reviews are incredibly crisp. You sold me on the Sony FE 85mm and now you are selling me on the Zeiss! Thanks for this!
Ha, they are both fantastic lenses! Thanks for watching the videos :)
your voice is so calming, thanks
Thank you 😊
oh shit! I thought this was Austin Evans LOLOL
Are you stuttering?
Kim Hansen w wh wh what?
Nick Rivera man it's like Austin Evans and Karl Conrad
Lol same, that’s exactly what I thought when I first found this guy!
Heeeyyy guuuys
I bought it!! man do i love that lens, it pairs so perfect with my A7Rii and my A6500 as well!! I agree with you 100% in everything you said. Small factor for me is big deal!! Before getting the 55 i had the rokinon 50 1.4 and the sigma 50 1.4 I choose this lens over the mentioned any day.
That's awesome to hear, I just came back from a vacation and I brought the 85 lens with over my 70-200 because of how small it is and I had no regrets, and with the a7r the majority of the time if you need a little extra reach you just stop the lens down a lil and you can crop and get great resolution still! I hope you have a blast with the lens!
Nice review for the 55mm. I also really liked that you mentioned the concave front element. Of the many other reviews I have watched, this was the first one to mention it. Those small things I appreciate to see. Keep up the great work 👍
Thank you :) I never knew initially before I got the lens about the funny front element, its something I always enjoy about it though
I bought combination of Sony A7 III and this lens. I'm very glad with it. Thanks for the video wich helped me to deside!
That's awesome! I hope you're having fun with them!
Great honest review. You seem like such a nice and honest guy :) Just picked up the A7iii with this lens and I love it. Have a great day😊
Thank you! You'll have a blast with the lens, if you shoot portraits in heavily backlit situations the flaring is pretty interesting if your looking to try something fun with your new kit. I hope you have a great day too 😁
More needs to be said about the arm’s length “close” focus distance. However, cheap Neewer extension tubes let you get the great glass closer to your smaller subjects.
It can be tricky to work with the lens' minimum focus distance, I made a separate video on those extension tubes too and used this lens as an example: czcams.com/video/g269-2EztbE/video.html
Finally a reviewer who understand metric system! 😁. Thanks for this, I bought it extremely cheap and was thinking on resell it to make some bucks ,... but maybe I should keep it 🙂
Ha here in Canada we live in this weird hybrid of needing to know how to measure everything in feet and metric, but metric is the far better 😅 yea that's a tough call, it holds its resale well, but it's also like one of the best Sony lenses still overall and I don't think that it will be surpassed in size-to-performance ratio
Excellent as usual Shane. I've purchased it and your review was very helpful. Fully agree you cannot go wrong with this lens.
Great to hear! This lens is still in my kit and I take it out often, I've found myself using it on may a6600 very often too and it pairs so so well with the newer AF systems!
Just bought my Zeiss 55mm, and I appreciated this review! Thank you!
That's awesome I hope you have a blast with the lens! Thanks for watching the video 😊
Awesome review. I really like the format. This is my first lens for my newly acquired A7-M3. Balances perfectly with that camera.
It's a sweet lens, it's built so well too, I hope you enjoy using it!
Great video, I love this and I reviewed it along with the 28 f2.0 & 85 f1.8. Great trio of lenses!
That’s it !
Thx Shane. Really good review. Insightful, informative, incisive. God bless you! 💛🙏🏼
Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you very much 😊
Hi Shane, thanks for the review. Do you think the 50mm 1.2 is almost 4 times better given its price?
Thank you for watching 😊 I think it's a tough comparison, I haven't played around with the g master myself yet but it certainly looks like a very high quality lens with great performance across the board, but I don't think it is a great value in the slightest and there's a few design choices Sony made that I don't love which is why I haven't bought it myself yet. It's overall the 55mm going to be a better $/performance value, which feels wild to say because it's quite an expensive lens already
The tone is very pleasant and the advice is good, thank you.
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching :)
Hello,nice review my friend,just bought secind hand ones,great lens,would like recommendation for some good street photo,portrait filter,thx😀
This is a really good review - Having a hard time deciding between the 55 and the new Sigma 45mm contemporary.
Thanks! Yea that's a tough call, I've had no experience with the 45 and only seen a few reviews about it. The big reason is say I'd perfer the Sony is because I'd have a hard time imaging a better lens, there isn't too much to improve upon here besides being cheaper, which the sigma has is 🤷
I really like all the lens reviews! and really like your calm voice! Subbed!
Thanks 😊 I really appreciate the sub! Hope you have a great day
Best video about this lens
Thank you 😊
Would really appreciate if you could do a Sony Zeiss 50mm1.4 vs 55mm1.8 detailed comparison. Im considering investing on the f1.4 if it's worth the extra money.
This video was definitely useful. Looking forward to your response.
Thanks
That may be a tricky one, I have no one I know with the lens currently so I don't think I will be able to review it well enough to make a video on it.
If it means anything, when I was looking for lens I considered the 50mm f1.4 heavily, but went with the 55mm f1.8 because the difference in sharpness was so minimal.
I love my 55mm Sonar. My best photos both on crop and full-frame were taken with it. I gave it a bit of a rest when I got my 35mm 1.8, but I’m back to it now. What did you use to black out your Sony logo?
I just got back into using crop again and the 55mm rocks it! I used a sharpie I think at the time of this video (it comes off easily with rubbing alcohol) but nowa days I use a sharpie chalk-marker, it's a little more matte and I like that better
Great review! Do you have more examples of dog photography/videos using the 55mm?
Really good reviews, subbed.
Thanks 😊
What Sony lens for the A7iii would you recommend for shooting workout videos and also shooting someone talking with a green screen behind them?
This lens is now about $600 average price on Ebay. I'm keeping my eyes on it.
Dang really, USD I'm guessing? That's sweet, its built like a brick too so i imagine most are very decent quality too
@@ShaneBethlehem yep, in fact. just saw on FB marketplace for $650. I'm building my FF lens lineup on my a7rii. Upgraded from a6000. Looking for close to new or open box for around that price, but they're now out there. Ah and yes, USD.
Just got mine for £450 love it
Hey. Great video and great audio! What mic are you using, if you don't mind me asking?
I think for this video I was using the sennheiser xsd lav, it's a handy simple mic setup
which one is better quality between sony 55 f1.8 vs sony 35 f1.8 ?
I haven't had any personal experience with the 35 F1.8, but from what I've heard they are basically on par for image quality
Thanks for your sharing. I am a beginner and I love portrait and landscape, most of the time I take photos for my kids so would you kind to share with me your though between sony lens 55mm1.8 and 24mm 1.4? Are they the same quality portrait? Thanks in advance.
Cheers
Hanh
landscape 24 1.4 portrait 55 1.8
If you are shooting with an a7 series camera, I would say the 55mm would be ideal if you want more portraits, but its a little non-ideal for anything landscapes, its just often too tight or not wide enough. The 24mm is great for landscapes and can isolate subjects in portraits enough for decent shots, but it also distorts body proportions which can make people look a little wonky. I like using 35mm best for a neutral lens that can do portraits kinda and landscapes, and also wider angles lenses I find are easier for the kiddos in my family as they usually like to come closer to me when I am holding a camera
How’s the noise when changing aperture and auto focusing in photos A mode - AF-S focus mode setting to F22?
Hi there sorry I don’t have the answer to this off the top my head and I currently have my lens lent to a friend so I can’t check it myself at the moment 😥 I don’t distinctly remember any noises from the ones at all but with that said I don’t even think I’ve ever shot a F22 with it either
Hi do you still recommend buying FE 20 F1.8 for vlogging or shooting yourself if you already have a 35mm F 1.4?
Thanks !
I don't personally vlog really, well in the sense that I hold a camera.
With that said 20mm is wide enough to hold in your hand while filming yourself, but I don't think it would ideal as a zoom lens like the Tamron 17-28mm just because it will be a little more versatile.
I often use 35mm for filming myself when using a tripod, but I cannot hold my arm far enough away to use it effectively for filming myself while holding the camera in my hand.
@@ShaneBethlehem ok thanks !
If you use a tripod for both lenses, will there be a big difference between 20mm and 35mm. Are you comfortable with 35mm when you shoot your video?
There's quite a significant difference between 20 mm and 35 mm, it will depend on the size of the space that you're in but I will always gravitate to using a 35mm or more lens when shooting myself on a tripod because it just makes people look a little less wonky
Just got this lens on eBay for £350 so I'm delighted
That's a fantastic price I hope you have fun with it!
Thanks for making great videos, very insightful. I am torn between the 55mm 1.8 and the 50mm 1.4 plantar. I want something light and for video as well as photography. Your review and some other reviews I've watched all say similar things about chromatic aberration etc on the 55mm which is holding me back from making the purchase.
I am wondering though, a lot of the reviews for the 55mm are from a few years ago and I was looking on the Sony website today, and it says about the 55mm "T coating reduces all forms of aberration". I'm wondering if Sony has made some design changes to fix the CA issues in 2020? Do you know about this?
I'm new to photography, no one on youtube likes chromatic aberration, this lens seems to have it as a major problem going by the reviews, but yet you still give it the thumbs up? Can CA be easily fixed in post? Thank you.
Thanks for watching the video I'm happy that you found it helpful! When you're new to photography chromatic aberration is certainly a topic that is super abstract, and it took me probably a couple years to actually be able to determine if I like or dislike a lens because of the chromatic aberration.
For video work quite frankly CA is not an issue until you start shooting in resolutions above 4K because most sensors don't even have enough resolution to cause it to reduce the sharpness or the overall colour cast of the image, I’m excited to see if the a7siii can see it though in video.
So many lenses have issues with chromatic aberration and that's just because in order to reduce chromatic aberration it often requires a change in the design of the lens itself which results in a larger lens or a lot of money invested in having special coatings on multiple elements inside the lens. I've certainly noticed in the newer Sony lenses that they've significantly improved their coatings compared to earlier lenses like this 55mm and the 85mm, however I still recommend these lenses highly because of their price point. And as far as I'm aware Sony has not changed any aspect of the 55mm production since launch so a new version should be as sharp but also have as much chromatic aberration as older versions.
Chromatic aberration is somewhat correctable in editing, and it usually only becomes an issue when a photo has other issues already going on in it, like being extremely high contrast or having a light source directly in the image. Ultimately when you're getting started it's not going to be a huge issue for you, however I don't know what direction your photography is going to take you in, so if you start getting into some real fine art stuff and you’re printing a lot of high resolution images it will start to matter to you more, but even then I routinely use this lens and have printed off many images from it without issue, I just kind of learned to live with its small quirks and appreciate the pros and cons of the lens overtime.
Moral of the story is though I think the 55mm is probably the better choice when you're getting started unless you can find the 50mm for a fantastic price, I really hope that Sony comes out with an updated 50mm lens because both of these lenses are aging and Sony's newer G & GM lenses Have a few more quality improvements over their older designs.
Another option if you'd like to go for a little bit of a more value budget to explore the focal length there is the newer rokinon 45mm: rokinon.com/lenses/auto-focus/45mm-f18-af-sony-e I haven't used it, but it's just a lens that came out after I made this video.
I hope this helps out a bit though, sorry for the incredibly long reply
@@ShaneBethlehem Hey thank you very much for taking the time to reply, that's very nice of you and very helpful. That's really good to know that it doesn't affect video work.
When you say finding the 50mm at a great price, I'm assuming you mean the Zeiss Plantar 1.4? It's a better lens?
Curious, if the price was not a concern, what 50mm lens (or thereabouts) would you recommend?
Thank you Shane, much appreciated.
I wouldn't say the 50mm is better really, just better for different applications, the lenses are both very sharp but the 50mm has the perk of being f1.4 but is also is a bunch heavier and bigger. The 50mm f1.4 is also just a rather expensive lens too so finding a good used copy would be kinda the ideal situation.
So it's kinda a choice of what is more valuable too you, if prefer having a shallow depth of field or a smaller lens. For myself a smaller made more sense at the time when I purchased this lens, but if I could buy the 50mm f1.4 I'd love to have it in my kit 😅
@@ShaneBethlehem Thank you for explaining all of that. I think I'm going to go for the1.8.
What you'll recommend for a beginner Tamron 28-70mm or Sony 55 1.8? Watched lots of reviews but not able to decide.
Usually the safest bet is to go with the Tamron, it is going to be the most versatile and the lens you'll want to really just keep forever.
With that said if you plan to do a lot more portraiture or just taking pictures of family, the 50mm is going to get you a little bit more unique shots.
Realistically they're both fantastic lenses though that I both own and use regularly, the 50mm is going to be a prime lens you'll want in your kit eventually and it's very versatile, but the Tamron is even more versatile as it is a fast zoom.
@@ShaneBethlehem Thanks a lot 🙏I will buy Tamron. Not sure when will have money to buy another one. As amateur don't want spend lot's of money.
P.S I just discovered your channel and loving it. Keep doing it
I'm stuck with the 50mm FE at the moment, since the Zeiss price...Any recommendations on a 35mm fast lens? Best regards
I have friends who use the Sony versions of the sigma 50 1.4 and 35 1.4, and I have only heard good things about their optical performance/auto-focus, only draw back really is the weight/size of the lenses, but the value is so great it makes 100% sense to go with them if you're interested.
There are the Rokinon/Samyang version of the lenses as well and they are a great value as, however I haven't heard as great things about their performance, so I have never actually used them myself, but I don't think long term they are a great investment for such a bread & butter focal length for professional work
@@ShaneBethlehemit's very difficult to choose between a fastest lens and this Zeiss Sonnar FE 55mm f/1.8, since it's the best autofocus lens ever tested at DxOmark!!!..I would rather less Bokeh but always nailing the focus and weights something "normal"
@@herreisenmax Honestly you cannot go wrong with this lens really, and if you find in a year or so after using it you want a faster lens, you will be able to re-sell this lens at a great value still as its built so well, the used market for it is great.
Max, I've heard that this Samyang 35mm f2.8 for Sony is pretty great at only $250~. It's super small and light too which is great. I don't have it myself but have really though about it!
@@ChrisBrayPhotos I own the Samyang/Rokinon 35mm f2.8 and it's excellent. Fast focus and very accurate. It's insanely small. I pair it with the Sony 85mm F1.8 and I'm happy.
Enjoyed your reviews! Would you say this renders portraits nicer than the sony fe 85mm 1 8? Not so much about the compression, more about the pop etc
This lens definitely has more character than the 85mm, and it gets a lil more contrast in more situations than the 85, but the 'flatter' compression makes for nicer portaits in my opinion with the 85.
With that said I use both for portraits regularly and they both are great
Can I ask.. what do you prefer more for potrait photography, this lens or the Sony FE 85mm f1.8?
That's a tough question, I'd say for dedicated portraits the 85mm is my preference, but it's not going to be as good in every situation just because of it being 85mm, then again, I bought it before I got the 55mm and I survived quite well for a long time with the 28mm/85mm and my old canon 17-40 f4 and 24-105 f4s (as backups I never used)
which lens is sharper ... zeiss 55 f1.8 or sony FE 85mm f1.8 or Sony fe 35mm f1.8 ... please answer ... thank you
That's a tough comparison, like according to DXOmark, the 85, but in practice, they are all almost optically perfect lenses
orang indo ya kak ? 😅
35 mm 1.4 ziess or 55 mm ziess with sonya7iii ...which lens give perfect video quality nd sharp .. for me focal length is no matter.. please suggest me..
Well the sharpness won't be the difference between those two lenses really, both are exedingly sharp and respond well with video AF. Unfortunately the big difference is going to be the focal length and the size difference between the two lenses 😔
Can we use a extension tube to make the focus distance closer. I just ordered this lens
Yup, the lens has a bunch of chromatic aberation though i found when I added the extension tubes is all.
@@ShaneBethlehemwhat brand extension tubes do you have. Would you have to shoot manual focus using them to get closer than the lens normal min focus distance. I just opened my 55mm. The min focus distance is the first thing I noticed.
@@dough254 yea its a relatively short min focus distance compared to other 50mm lenses. I made a video here about the ones that I use: czcams.com/video/g269-2EztbE/video.html
I hope it helps, that have AF as well so that's a nice perk
Just picked one up for $420. What else should I buy to pair with?
What a fantastic deal, well a camera to start 😅 but outside of that it’s a stellar all around lens you don’t need much for
@@ShaneBethlehem Actually just picked up a used a7riii yesterday, is there another prime that would pair well with the zeiss?
Clear info thank you
no problem Cliff, thanks for watching!
@@ShaneBethlehem yes sir! I bought this last night. It was on sale for $100 off. Thanks for helping with my decision
Do you know if the are differences of the first version Sony FE Carl Zeiss Sonnar 55mm 1.8 and the later version Sony FE Zeiss Sonnar 55mm 1.8 !?
unfortunately I can't say I know any differences off the top of my head
I have had both, second one has less CV, kind of corrected that issue, to my eyes
@@charruaporelmundo CV ??
@@cameraprepper7938 Sorry CA
@@charruaporelmundo CA ?? What does that stand for ?
great video
Cool!
How about Samyang/Rokinon 50mm 1.4 as an option?
Unfortunately I have no experience with the lens, I've heard some good things and some not so good things, so I don't have the best opinion on it :/ sorry
I have had 3 copies, the very first one when launched, was horrible no comms with flash. I got a 2 copy a a couple of years ago but also I sold it, and more recently and due the existence of the dock base I thought the lens this time would be great, I was wrong, even last firmware (V30) terrible noise , it hunt too and this third one I did put it side by side with the zeiss and I find the zeiss far mor sharper at 1.8-2.2. I’m hoping Samyang will launch a V2 of the lens itself and not a firmware.
Very nice presentation and very informative.
Thank you very much!
Спасибо, взял себе недавно. Отличное стекло. Подписался на Ваш канал
Большое спасибо за просмотр видео! Я рад, что вам понравилось :)
U r my hero like Neil Redfern
Thank you, I looked him up and I can only aspire to be that good!
It's 2024, I bought this for $299 without a hood... I'll snag a spicy haoge hood for 40 bucks and call that a win.
Buy the best of the best always save up for the best never purchase the bootleg sigma
Now only £350 uk
Wow, that's like half the price it is here in Canada
loud as hell when autofocusing at f22