Sony FE 50mm F1.4 G Master Definitive Review | The "Goldilocks 50?"

Photographer Dustin Abbott shares a definitive review of the Sony FE 50mm F1.4 GM lens - is this lens "just right"? | This video is sponsored by Fantom Wallet. Visit store.fantomwallet.com and use code DUSTIN15 to get 15% off | Read the Text Review: | Read the Text Review: bit.ly/50GM14da | Visit the Image Gallery: bit.ly/50GM14pics | Purchase the Sony 50mm F1.4 GM @ B&H Photo bhpho.to/3kRK1rj | Adorama howl.me/cjtu4KbD3KN | Amazon amzn.to/3YFQrb3 | Camera Canada shrsl.com/3yhqt | Sony Canada bit.ly/50GMsony | Amazon Canada amzn.to/3kOIC4R | Amazon UK amzn.to/41MOSuu Amazon Germany amzn.to/3YuEBQG | Used at KEH shrsl.com/3yhqr
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Table of Contents:
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0:00​ - Intro and Concept
2:14 - Build and Design
6:10 - Autofocus
10:07 - Image Quality
24:55 - Conclusion and Pricing
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Keywords: Sony 50mm, 50mm, 50GM, F1.4, G Master, Sony 50mm F1.4 GM, FE, Sony 50mm F1.4 GM Review, Review, Telephoto, Action, Tracking, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Bokeh, Flare Resistance, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, Sony a9, sony a7RV, Sony a7R 5, sony a7IV, a9II, Sony Alpha 1, Sony A1 let the light in, #letthelightin

[@SilatShooter]

As always, super helpful review. I had an opportunity with a used like new 50mm f1.2 for $200 over the the 50mm f1.4 new, and you helped in deciding on the f1.2. Agree smaller lenses are easier to live with and travel with. But I also have the 50mm f2.5, so that will go with me when space and weight is paramount. Thanks again!

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Sounds like a solid choice.

[@stevenwaldstein2249]

Thank you for the review. My copy just arrived and I’m looking forward to seeing what I can do with it. I also own the 50/1.2 GM so comparing them should be a lot of fun and with my two kits they both will get a lot of use.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Enjoy! Write back at some point and tell me your thoughts after using both.

[@Cthames123]

How did your 50 mm, f1.4, GM work out? Did,you keep your 50mm, f1.2 as well?

[@stevenwaldstein2249]

@@Cthames123 I did keep them both and the 50/1.4 lives in my travel kit that now has an A7CR and A7CII so the smaller size is really nice to have. The 50/1.2 GM gets used more with the A7RV or A1 I have.

[@Cthames123]

@@stevenwaldstein2249 Wow! You have the best cameras and the best lenses! Are there any occasions other than when you want as small and compact as you can get, (i.e your travel set up) where you prefer to use the 50mm, f1.4 over the f1.2 and vice versa? Since you have multiple Sony, full frame sensor bodies I’d think you’d be able to likely speak to if one lens returns better results with a certain body over another.

[@careylymanjones]

This is arguably the best value GM lens out there, but as someone shooting 24MP bodies without high burst rates or focus breathing comp, getting the Sigma, and putting the $450 saved into my A7RV fund, makes more sense.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

That's totally fair.

[@gfinn1000]

Always a pleasure to learn something from you, thanks. I have been using Sony "Clear Image Zoom" with my GM prime lenses and I have to say, apart from the hobbled Autofocus system Sony has imposed on it, I have found it difficult to tell which images I captured with or without it because the files end up the same full-frame pixel sizes, with or without, though perhaps a little sharper when I'm only using manual focus for both! That said, It would be great to know what you think about using the Sony 35mm F1.4 GM lens at 1.5x using Clear Image Zoom in comparison to this lens- the 35mm would be about the same focal length as the lens you've reviewed here.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

That's a good question. I don't have the lens on hand, but I do plan to purchase the 50GM when it becomes available. A video breaking down clear image zoom would be interesting.

[@joe2snj]

Another great video as always. Surprised to see the f1.4 beating the f1.2 on sharpness at the wider apertures but it shows just how much time and money Sony must be putting into research and development.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

It’s true. I do think the F1.2 GM still wins for delivering the most beautiful blend of bokeh and sharpness, but the F1.4 isn’t far behind.

[@GuitarRJP]

I have always liked the 50mm more so than the 35mm, though I know that can be more popular. I have the Sony 24mm F1.4 GM, so I was waiting for the 50MM as 35mm (thought about) is just a bit too close for me. I liked what I was seeing and hearing about the 50mm f.12 GM, but the price was out of my range, as this is a hobby I am not a professional. This 50mm f1.4 GM seems like it is more up my alley!

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Exactly. It is a more affordable package with most of the attributes that make the F1.2 GM wonderful.

[@GuitarRJP]

@@DustinAbbottTWI Yes! I like the less money and a bit less weight doesn't hurt either. Now, I would like to see a version II of the 85mm f1.4 GM, but I think they may go with an 85mm f1.2 GM instead (would be out of my range I'm afraid). Maybe I will just have to go with the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG DN!

[@Cthames123]

Did you get your 50mm, f1.4GM to go with your 24 GM?

[@GuitarRJP]

@@Cthames123 I thought about it for a while and ended up going with a zoom instead.

[@RalfWeyer]

Thanks for another great review Dustin 🙏. I’ve never been a huge fan of the 50mm focal length to be honest, even though it can be very useful and sometimes might be the only option, maybe apart from 35mm, which I even prefer in most cases. That being set I „settled“ for this lens, as for me not preferring the 50mm focal length the F1.2 wasn’t really an option.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

I bought one, too, and I love the lens. I used it constantly for my main video lens for my channel.

[@David-rc8fb]

As a non Sony user but having an interest in 2 Inch Lens, a very informative Video. Great detail and interesting. Keep well & stay safe 👍🇬🇧

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Thanks for watching!

[@jmart_4]

Hey Dustin, a very thorough review! You come up in my internet searches a lot, thanks for your work. I like to shoot astro, what f stop did you use in your star photos, wide open?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

It's encouraging to hear that I pop up frequently! I did use F1.4 for my tests.

[@jmart_4]

@@DustinAbbottTWI that's amazing, I am looking forward to trying out this lens

[@yaohuang6659]

Can't go wrong either one. I owed f1.2 and happy with this lens. As hobby not professional photographer, I enjoy shotting with Zeiss Otus 55mm more. 😊😊

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Hard to blame you for enjoying the Otus; it is a very special lens.

[@ramivaden1661]

Thanks Dustin. Great review as always. Really good lens, but GM lenses here in Finland are expensive F1,4 1799€ and F1,2 2399€. So Sigma's new 50mm 999€ Will Be in my bag. Third-party lenses were one of The biggest reasons why i chose a Sony camera.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

That's completely fair, Rami. Sony's pricing in markets like yours is really expensive.

[@stkuj]

I just sold my 50 1.2 GM. It's wasn't necessarily b/c I wanted to lighten the load, but this lens (& the Sigma) are on my radar later this year. TBH, the bokeh is very hard to tell the difference

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Hope you got a good price for it. The F1.2 GM is a pretty special lens.

[@itsjohnrice]

I'm still leaning towards the Samyang 50. Is there still a noticeable difference in image sharpness if they are both stopped down to F2 and beyond? I have the Samyang 135 and couldn't be happier with that!

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

The Sony would still be sharper, but both lenses are giving plenty of sharpness.

[@peterracz-works9139]

Hi Dustin, as always, thanks for your perfect reviews. This 50mm F1.4 GM lens is the one I intend to get for my Sony A7C camera. Researching on the net I have become concerned about a potential mismatch between this high resolution lens and the 24 Mpx sensor of A7C. What I mean are the pixelization or aliasing which might occur when optical resolution is much greater than the image sensor resolution. Is this true, should I be worried? The next upgrade step later would be the A7C R. Thank you for your advice. Peter

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

I've never known that to be the case. The lens will look incredibly sharp on a 24MP sensor, but nothing negative.

[@Cthames123]

Sounds like you are looking at the 50mm, f1.4, GM for your A7C. I am a new A7C owner. I use it everyday as a street and light carry camera. I also have a A7 IV, (my go to and 1st love) and one 50mm that I share across the two, (Sony, 50mm, f2.5, G). I like the idea of the 50mm, f1.4, GM for my A7 IV, but I would be reticent to use it with my A7C. Currently, my A7C with the 50mm, f2.5, G fits in that little lens bag Sony gives you with a GM lens, (I have a separate GM), and that comes with me everyday. The 50mm, f1.4, GM attached to the A7C wouldn’t fit my bag, but also would make my small setup not so small anymore. How do you use your A7C? How do you feel about the size pairing with a not tiny lens.

[@dwinandaaldyan]

Hey Dustin! Great review as always. I hope this comment reaches you. I'm in a dilemma. I have the Samyang 50mm f1.4 ii, I love it, and it's my workhorse. I'm tempted to get this lens in place of it. Do you think it's worth the cost of 800usd after selling my Samyang? The body is A7IV. I'm a hybrid shooter so the focus breathing compensation is a welcome addition, and from what I've seen active stabilization works much better on native Sony Lens, so that's another bonus point. AF will be better too, although I have no complaints with the Samyang. The main thing I'm afraid of is the rendering. The Samyang renders so beautifully, but I can't shake the feeling of wanting to upgrade to a native flagship lens. What do you think of the rendering compared to the Samyang mk ii ?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

That's tough. I'm in the process of doing that right now because I love the whole Sony package, but the Samyang has really, really nice rendering. If you're happy with it, it's hard to justify spending that money. I'm doing it more because, as a reviewer, have higher end benchmarks is important to my business.

[@dwinandaaldyan]

Alright, Dustin. I think you're right. After some deliberate thinking, I will instead opt to fill the gap in my kit with a 35mm GM, to make a kit of 24+35 GM and 50+135 Samyang. At the moment can't justify spending the money, and more importantly, parting ways with the Samyang. It just has something special in the rendering. The biggest print hanging in my house comes from this lens. I will probably still get the GM in the future when the needs for it are actually pressing.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

That sounds like a fair response. The 35GM is excellent and easily bests any of the other 35mm options for Sony.

[@dwinandaaldyan]

Got the GM yesterday, it's been great. Rendering wise almost indistinguishable from the 24, with more sharpness. Technically I have the lightest AF options in all these focal lengths (at their max aperture) now, and I'm happy with that. Assuming you're selling your Samyang, I'm curious about how you feel after switching to the 50 1.4 in a few months. Hopefully we can revisit this conversation by then. Also, thank you again, your reviews have helped me make more informed decisions regarding my purchases throughout the years.

[@billx4266]

After my eos R5 days im back in the sony camp with a new a7RV. This is a lens im gonna buy.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

You'll enjoy it. Unfortunately Canon's policy towards third party lenses is really undoing the good they are doing in their camera bodies.

[@billx4266]

@@DustinAbbottTWI Yes but not only that, also the RF lenses price here in europe. Ive had it with canon.

[@denizahmet2299]

I'm very tempted to trade in my 1.2 for this new 1.4 - this is clearly sharper especially by F2. In fact the only advantage I can see with the F1.2 is it's flare and ghosting being better. F1.2 maybe give a slight edge but hard to notice . Would you keep the 1.2?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

I own the F1.4 and love it, but I will say that the F1.2 has a more special rendering. It's already plenty sharp, so I don't think it would be worth selling the F1.2 for pure sharpness sake.

[@user-ev4ru8dh5p]

Hey Dustin! Which lens is closer in image quality to the Otus 1.4 55mm, this Sony 1.4/50 GM or the Voigtlander APO Lanthar 2/50mm? Thanks in advance for your answer!

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

That's an interesting question with no good answer. The GM is the closest in terms of sharpness and aperture, while the Voigt has a more similar "look" I would say.

[@andrearadic6249]

HI ! Congratulations, I wanted to ask you a non-expert question we speak exclusively for the center of the image - when I shoot at maximum aperture 1.4 or 2.8 in the center of the image something changes (never mind blurry) Thank you

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

I'm not 100% sure I understand the question - there is some improvement when stopping the lens down to F2.8, but it is already very sharp at F1.4 as well.

[@peterpan2444]

Maybe it's just for me but in the video timelines of Dustins videos the times never match with the video, for example does the Conclusion not match with the Timeline. Is that just my issue?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

No, you were right. Those were done as the video was being uploaded and were estimates. I was in the process of leaving for a trip and couldn't work after on it. I've now updated the timestamps to actuals.

[@christianvolkner2028]

Very nice review! From what I see this lens is as sharp or even sharper than the Otus. I wonder how this is possible with a lens that is so much smaller and even has a focus motor. Zeiss even has Glass that is more expensive than gold, but still this tiny lens can outperform it? On top of that, Zeiss is a huge company with earning over 5 billion a year and produces most modern Glas for chip production. I don’t get it, if it comes with the law of physics. Are these newer lenses from Sony, Canon ect enhanced with AI? That would be really interesting to know or are Sony and Canon engineers are just better :-) Best C

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Sony's progress in lens design has really been astounding. I'm so impressed with their recent efforts.

[@wolfrainerschmalfuss3515]

Light weight in an lens construction means to me in this paricular case, an very expensive "plastic package"! How long it last ????? Surely not as long as my tiny excellent C/Y Zeiss Planar T* 1,4/50mm!

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

I know what you are saying, but the truth of the matter is that modern engineered plastics are extremely tough and durable. There are plenty of Canon lenses with plastics that are decades old and are still in perfect working order.

[@nat-lj8kt]

​@@DustinAbbottTWI lens is magnesium alloy inside. Lensrentals made a teardown of GM lens before it may not look as classy as an all metal Zeiss/Voightlander but built just as robustly. Any failures with GM lenses will be electronic and not mechanical which is a price you pay for AF

[@tarans7603]

how does it compare to Planar T?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

While the Planar has a distinct "look" (more Zeiss-like), the new GM is sharper, has much better autofocus, and is more feature rich along with being smaller and lighter. I personally lean towards the GM - most significantly because of the vastly superior autofocus performance.

[@tarans7603]

@@DustinAbbottTWI thank you. Could you do a comparison for sharpness? Or if you could post samples from both that would be really helpful. I'm considering upgrading from planar (SEL50F14Z) to GM

[@timjenkins8943]

@@tarans7603 I have both and the main reason I got the GM is because the Planar AF is soooo slow even on A1. Also the GM is grippier when changing lenses. My fingers have no traction on the Planar and it's why I dropped it 2 years ago.

[@NCSTalkid]

I prefer compact great 1.2 or 1.4; large 1.2 is a big nono

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Then you should enjoy this one.

[@whygamewhy]

The sony 1.2 is the smallest in the market.

[@frankfurter7260]

What breed is your cat?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

She's a Bengal

[@frankfurter7260]

@@DustinAbbottTWI thank you for your reply. The cat is adorable.

[@shawndean100]

A long time ago i was convinced by DA on 50mm F1.4ZA Sony. Now again…

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Sorry about that ;)

[@Donbros]

Sony really likes 50mm. I am whatever with that fl

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Some people love the 50mm focal length, others don't.

[@glennn.3464]

Sony makes sure their lenses are set apart from other manufacturers at least on some of their bodies. Sony deliberately hampers the competition by limiting the FPS so that they can always have the edge over third-party lenses. It would certainly be more fair if they competed by offering superior optical performance and/or features for their higher asking price. I guess they can’t distinguish themselves enough on a level playing field so they put in a handicap. That certainly helps protect their bottom line but goes against "more competition is a good thing" which benefits the consumer.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

That is true, but it has also been true of every system I've reviewed in the past. Canon never gave access to in-camera corrections on EF lenses, and they haven't let third party lenses in at all on RF thus far.

[@careylymanjones]

With Canon, you don't get any third-party lenses. Nikon only allows third-party lenses in categories where they don't intend to compete.

[@AR-vf7vg]

We want to believe You, of course. You really dont seem to hold back plenty of praise for the f/1.2 version over(!) this 1.4. But why would You not let us see that(!) our selfes about how you get to these strong affirmations ? You know that nobody here would be bored about somewhat longer review, of Yours. And the extravwork to compare You obviousally already did it in order to allow your statements about the f1.2 to be that much nicer rendering. Is it that You plan to paste together a video "The six top 50's compared !" ?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Are you kidding me? This is a nearly half hour long video full of photos and comparisons to multiple lenses and you accuse me of not allowing you to "see for yourself"? I don't own all of these lenses so can't constantly do direct comparisons. Right now the only 50mm I own for Sony is the Samyang 50mm F1.4 II.

[@MattTrevett]

​​@@DustinAbbottTWI I was thinking you're really hard on the lenses despite them being such good pieces of technology. But it's a good thing. Keep pushing and progress will happen.

[@withoutpassid]

Very nice review. How do you compare the 50mm 1.4 GM to the 50mm 1.4 ZA? I heard the ZA has more 3D pop up quality like other Zeiss lenses while the GM’s rendering is flatter.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

They do have a different look. I personally went with the GM and sold the Planar because of a number of factors, but primarily because the GM's autofocus is so much more reliable.

[@withoutpassid]

@@DustinAbbottTWI Thank you Dustin. Current price of the ZA is $1000 which is very tempting to me but looks like I will go for the GM.