This Might Be a Perfect Lens | Sony 35mm f/1.4GM

[@BealeIam]

Easily the best 35mm Ive used as a wedding photographer. Has such a nice character out of focus. Awesome at 1.4.

[@marcp.1752]

The "best" is question-able, for Sony perhaps. It depends on what you focus on and which system you ride.

[@BealeIam]

@@marcp.1752 “I’ve used” That includes, Fuji, Canon, Nikon. Just my experience

[@marcp.1752]

@@BealeIam Everyone does have different preferences - for instance, absolute sharpness and AF is not always, into every situation being consided as "best", sometimes it's bokeh, sometimes size, and many, many more things... FYI. Its a matter of personal preferences, as always. For the same reason, the "perfect" camera would never exist - because everyone is being different.

[@benjhaisch]

I’ll agree that lenses are the most subjective of things. You’ll rarely hear me critique things about lenses in terms of character. More just point out differences.

[@gerikmd]

I had the zeiss 35mm distagon for my sony system for years, happy with it but then i upgraded to the 35 Gmaster and for the weight and image quality. It's worth it! I agree it's definitely the lens you can bring and use always.

[@seandalt]

Can confirm, absolutely incredible lens! My most used lens by far and away.

[@effrafax]

Hate the 35mm focal length but can't argue with the results I get from this lens. Made some of my favourite pictures with this lens. Often use it for sports in combination with the Tamron 70-180.

[@PhotoTrekr]

Agree. During covid I got my photo fix by collecting all of the GM prime lenses between 14mm and 135mm. All are excellent.

[@MeAMuse]

Personally i like the 35mm F1.8 better. The shorter minimum focus distance and lack of focus breathing is just great… and the size/weight is even more amazing. I figure you can’t go wrong with either though…

[@GxAce]

Just bought this lens again haha. Interesting timing! My last video was shot with it back in 2022 and after seeing the footage again it made me regret selling it.

[@andrewlauptsd]

Want to see YOUR ‘review’ of it too! They can hardly be called ‘reviews’, the artistry is on such a level.

[@slows728]

Certainly one of the best 35mm, slightly less amount of blur than the 35mm DG DN 1.2 (easily fixable in post if you want deeper bokeh) but much nicer contrast against light, much lighter, better colors, microcontrast and sharpness. The only 35mm AF lens as good is the APO SL 35mm. Both have outstanding image quality.

[@fiskemannen]

Love love love long term reviews. The 24mm f1.4, 35mm f1.4 and 50mm f1.4 from Sony are all fantastic and beautifully sized and weighted.

[@jackleung6964]

I wish sony makes a 28mm. Having the 24/35/&50 1.2. The 35 is the lens i used the least. After switching from sony a7r3 to a nikon zf. These GM had just been sitting, even with the megadap etz the nikon system gets confused when i switch the aperture on the ring. Had to leave it on A and change f stops on camera. And the 50 1.2 is just huge, wish bought it before the announcement of the 1.4 version. Wish i got that instead.

[@alberttherkelsen9099]

Came here to comment The exact same thing! I love 28mm but Sony’s 28 is really not that good. A Sony g 28 1.8 or gm 28 1.4 would be so neat!

[@benjhaisch]

I’ve been asking for it directly to the Sony engineers and marketing people for years. I’d love to see at least a 28/1.8G

[@bondgabebond4907]

I see no need for a 28mm lens. I'd go straight to the 24mm. The jump from 35mm to 24 is dramatic, no need for a middle of the road lens. For those occasions, I go to zooms. They are so good now that I see little need for primes. Even Tamron's 17-28mm f2.8 is absolutely sharp. Why a prime when you can have a number of focal lengths in one lens? We are not living in 1970s-90s anymore. My most used lenses are the 200-600mm zoom, 90mm macro, Tamron 17-28mm f2.8. I get everything I need, almost, with those lenses. I might slip on the 20mm f1.8, another excellent lens for wide angle shots. And, with 40 plus megapixels in our cameras, cropping will still yield great images. That's why I bought a Sony A7R3 in 2019 and an A7CR in 2024.

[@alberttherkelsen9099]

@@benjhaisch happy to hear that!

[@alberttherkelsen9099]

@@bondgabebond4907 i see your point, but for me, it is all about the experience of using it. I find, that zooms make me move less, and that’s not always good. Also I just like the restriction

[@paulgero]

Well said...I agree...it's such an amazing lens all around.

[@mckinleygphotography]

I scratch the front element on mine. Love that lens and still use it with the scratch.

[@matiscrap]

I use this paired with the 70-200 F2.8 GM II for most of my work, great lens

[@MKFAGAN]

I picked up the 35 1.4 ZA absolutely love the ZA combined with the crop mode in the A7RV you now have 52 mm 1.4 @26 MP without changing lenses

[@g33k3301]

*f2.1 as there will be less bokeh in comparison to a real 50mm f1.4.

[@ihavenoidea7432]

How does it balance with the a7c II/r? I have an a7 III and am thinking about downsizing to the c II - I solely shot with my Sigma 35 1.4 for the last 2 years and wanted the c for the option to use it with the small G lenses for some occasions/travel. Thank for your videos! Your style of pictures is so pleasing, fits very well with my personal preferences :)

[@danielgormanphoto]

I love seeing new work in these videos . Im using the 35 1.2 sigma but I love the GM as well.

[@BenHowlandPhoto]

The Sigma 35/1.2 is a fantastic lens but the flare when shooting backlit into the sun is quite terrible (like the Zeiss 55/1.8). The Sony 35GM loses 3% of bokehliciousness but wins on every other metric, it's so good.

[@danielgormanphoto]

@@BenHowlandPhoto yeah I can respect that with the flare. It's pretty nasty if you're not looking for that look especially on a wedding day.

[@kidnoble]

I need to test this out! I absolutely love the 35 summilux

[@FrankDavalos]

Gotta try the old 85mm GM! Built a wedding career on that old koala of a lens

[@BenHowlandPhoto]

The 85GM is really outdated now, the Sigma DG DN is far superior (except for distortion which can be mostly fixed in post).

[@FrankDavalos]

@@BenHowlandPhoto you’re talking in terms of performance charts, I’m speaking mostly about it being an amazing lens. Sigma is sharper and in fact even the art series was always sharper… but not a chance they’re more charming!

[@BenHowlandPhoto]

@@FrankDavalos Don't think I've ever heard someone comment on the bokeh of the 85GM, it's nothing special. Good for you though 👍

[@FrankDavalos]

@@BenHowlandPhoto I didn’t comment on the bokeh pal! Happy shooting!

[@imanolcamblor]

It's funny... I had this lens, and I wanted to love it. It really is perfect, no doubt about it... but I sold it because I did not love it as I was expecting. Right now I "downgrade" to the 40mm f2.5 and I really love it, despite not being f1.4. Smaller, lighter, real metal body, more compression due to the tighter focal length... I hope Sony will made a 28 f1.4, f1.8 , f2 or f2.5 one day. I really don´t care about the f stop, but please make it real!

[@sampressley4371]

First lens I picked up when I switched to Sony was the 35mm 1.4 ZA Distagon....And while I do like the results I get with that lens, I find myself using it WAY less these days because it's size. I'm leaning towards trading it in for a Tamron 28-75 G2 and then getting the 35 GM somewhere down the line.....unless sony updates the 28mm

[@Tony16610]

Hey Benj, would this 35 and 50 1.4 GM be a good combo for dual wielding A7IVs? From what I can tell the 50 1.4 also is a bit sharper and more utilitarian than the dreamier 50 1.2 GM but looks like the bokeh, colours, and "character" of the moden 1.4s are pretty similar.

[@TheJamesBraun]

I own this lense on my a7cII and I love it

[@waelesmair6250]

How’s the weight?

[@dimaphotographer90]

I’m using Sigma lenses for my Sony a7rv and a7iv, and I need to upgrade my Samyang 35mm f1.4 and I was thinking about this G Master. Now I need to save some money 💰

[@KillerTacos54]

Great video

[@quaidjwalker]

I love my 35mm 1.8 for my Canon, even being the more affordable option from Canon it's the lens that stays on my camera 99% of the time. I know this video is about Sony but 35mm is my go-to currently 😅

[@ottenburg]

Very nice review, and thanks for comparing to 35'lux and the Zeiss as well. "This lens is stupid sharp!" :-)

[@hugobeltranv]

I'm currently between this lens and the sigma 35mm 1.2, I want it for weddings and video shoots and don't mind the weight but can't decide yet 🙃

[@AllCarsUnited]

The size difference makes the Sony a no brainer

[@JJ.StayFit]

Dumbb question does this lens zoom?

[@benjhaisch]

It does not, sorry

[@ab185]

How does it compare to the 24mm GM?

[@benjhaisch]

All of the GM primes I’ve used have been amazing. I don’t currently own the 24GM but it’s definitely on the short list.

[@benjhaisch]

Ok, the 85GM is the weak link, but it’s still more than serviceable.

[@ab185]

@@benjhaisch gotcha. I've had it since day 1 of being on the Sony system and it's great for video, but I'm finding it a bit too wide for photography and simply cropping in leaves something to be desired. Definitely would be nice if there was a ~28mm or so from Sony like you mentioned in your video.

[@cameraprepper7938]

Not for me, it is big and heavy for being a 35mm Lens, I do not need aperture 1.4 and I rarely use autofocus, So I have the Voigtländer APO-Lanthar 35mm 2.0 Aspherical which is build like a tank and it has as least as good optical image qualitya as the Sony, when I want a more compact and light weight 35mm Lens, then I have the Sony Carl Zeiss Sonnar 35mm 2.8 T* ZA. I will like to see Sony make a new compact line of "GMC" high end prime Lens series where the performance is outstanding without the need for software to perform.

[@megamastah]

Jesus not you again.

[@Zomlies]

Do you ever have issues trying to focus with group portraits? I’m using the Sony A7RV with it and it has a hard time grabbing focus with portraits sometimes if I’m taking a wide shot, such as a couple under a tree about 10-20ft away. I’m wondering if I possibly have a bad copy.

[@benjhaisch]

Which focus modes are you using and what's your typical aperture? I personally haven't had any issues, especially with the A7RV but I'm curious to know the other details

[@robmcd]

40 F2 CF Zeiss

[@kifley19]

Best 35mm lens for photos. Sucks for video with the terrible focus breathing.

[@Burritosarebetterthantacos]

Idk. My rf 70-200 2.8 really isnt much bigger than this. Edit: Its only $1400? Why havent I switched to Sony yet🤣.

[@benjhaisch]

More than twice the weight though but yeah that Canon 70-200 packs down like a champ

[@lackoliver55]

Is it sharp enough to cut some cheddar?

[@bondgabebond4907]

It cuts through space time continuum with ease. Incredible sharp the 35mm GM is.

[@---us7qf]

Muahahahahaha!