A BOKEH SNOB'S DREAM! Sony 100mm f/2.8 STF Review

[@TonyAndChelsea]

📷Get the 100mm F/2.8 STF on Amazon help.tc/s100stf 📖And pick up our #1 best-selling photography book on Amazon help.tc/s

[@omermirza3210]

Tony & Chelsea Northrup could you clear a winner in aony 85mm f1.8 and canon 85mm 1.8.

[@burning1rr]

An upside to this lens is that it's easier to use artificial lighting in bright sunlight without HSS, hypersync, or ND filters. The pleasing bokeh at smaller apertures combined with the low T-stop values makes this an excellent lens when working in bright conditions. It works well in situations where both a large DoF and soft backgrounds are desirable.

[@roelthas]

The "Tony Factory" segment... hilarious. xD

[@simon_patterson]

Joe GarP that was my favourite part! Very funny! I loved seeing the results of his work, too!

[@99897767]

Tony got slathered by word...

[@southwestontario]

I'm the 60th like of your comment.

[@lancedonati]

MORE TONY FACTORY PRODUCTS. I EXPECT REVIEWS AS WELL.

[@southwestontario]

I'm the 70th like of your comment.

[@mckphoto]

Great review! Thanks Chelsea you are the first reviewer I have seen that actually explains how this lens really works. Nice!

[@kipkipful]

every video gets better and better. So glad to see the TClive humorous vibe on regular videos. Both of you are so hilarious keep it up!!

[@toddjohnson7214]

This is the best video I've seen Chelsea do. VERY professional.

[@stefansmuts8882]

Great voice over Chelsea - it really steps up the production quality. Looking forward to more videos like this one

[@moses5707]

Chelsea doing voiceovers? Yes please!

[@smaakjeks]

Wearing a white lab coat *and* nodding confidently at the camera -- I don't understand what more the Tony Factory needs from its technician in order to compete!

[@davehyper7835]

Latex gloves!

[@southwestontario]

I'm the 50th like of your comment.

[@fjhphoto]

Can't wait to get that lens!

[@jammieperez1237]

FJH Photography how was it?

[@scottabergermd]

Excellent review Chelsea...I am at The Fontainebleau this whole week with my family,and i brought it along based upon your review. I hope i like it as much as you do. Happy 4th of July to you and Tony.

[@太醫令]

I really like the video just like this one ! SONY 100mm STF is indeed a super powerful protrait lens.

[@onegreenev]

I do love my 100 STF. I purchased this when it first came out and use it all the time. I use it for much of my work. I did eventually purchase the 50mm 1.2 GM and really like that one too. I had the original 85mm 1.4 GM but did not like it for slow focusing and noise when used for video. I dumped it and when I really needed the 85 I just used my 85 1.5T Rokinon. It is really a decent manual 85mm. Not on par with the GM but pretty damn good. I think I’ll get the auto Sony 85 1.4 GM II because of its fast focus and low noise superior quality of images. That should round out what I need for most of my work then I can pass along the Rokinon. Im keeping the Rokinon 35mm for the few times I use that size.

[@AgnostosGnostos]

Check too the Laowa 100mm STF. It is manual, cheaper but delivers great bokeh too.

[@AgnostosGnostos]

The best choice for e-mount cameras is the autofocus Sony FE 100mm F2.8 STF GM OSS. A used very similar Minolta STF 135mmf/2.8 [T4.5] from eBay is a much cheaper choice. Laowa has a similar 105mm STF lens The Sony 135mm F/2.8 [T4.5] α-mount despite being a manual lens, it can be used with a Sony α-mount to e-mount adapter without autofocus of course. However the adapter may not report EXIF data to the e-mount camera. The Fujinon XF 56mm F1.2 R APD suitable for mirrorless Fujifilm cameras has a similar design too. Something close to STF is the Canon EF 135mm f/2.8 Soft Focus lens introduced in 1987.

[@christopherjanaro6102]

This was incredibly informative. Just picked one up at Adoroma and will try it out for a month and decide whether I want to keep it or not depending on it's practicality with lighting.

[@socratesvela8285]

Tony is always bringing the pressure to Sony, but these G-masta lens are engineering feats. Sony probably does not really care about the standard of the other electronic business units, but I get the sense that they have and continue to invest lotza money and time into Da G-masta family. thanks for the review and you are on your way to becoming an Sony ambassador.

[@AllenFreemanMediaGuru]

The Sony 90 macro also has the limiting focus distance selector to cut down on focus hunting. 3 settings. Takes getting used to.

The SONY 135mm f/2.8 [T4.5] STF is my favorite lens. This new lens is very tempting to get an E-Mount camera.

[@czjlee]

A Chelsea video! How lovely.

[@Leowulfs]

Chelsea your voice over is the best :o

[@paulinefollett3099]

I think the Tony Factory is ahead of its time. Such 'cutting edge' technology. With Tony's expertise I think the Sony Factory should be very worried right now. I don't think they are....but they should be.

[@naysunhuang]

I think the natural background bokeh at 2:28 looks much better than the stf lens. Each to their own though.

[@TonyAndChelsea]

Yeah, there's really not a right answer to this. It's just a matter of taste. I like the smooth edges of the STF, but I wish they were bigger... I like big bokeh.

[@Brett.Simpson]

3:42 - "It is a Nietzsche lens."

[@WallSt101]

I just watched this... that immediately stuck out to me too and I went straight to the comments to see who else noticed the mispronunciation, lol

[@phooesnax]

Nice job Chelsea!

[@dpie4859]

Chelsea...love to hear your smooth voice.

[@thebadmanreturns]

Amazing, the image just like 200m f2.8, for Studio Shoot, no problem about lower Transmission Light

[@town3]

Great job Chelsea :) i ordered this lens along with the Fujinon MK 18-55mm hope the Sony 100mm GM give me that little extra Smoove bokeh, if not pleasing it's going back lol. Well great job again and keep them coming.

[@gamebuster800]

Sony's marketing for this lens is terrible. I've looked at so many pages to find out why this lens is so special. Only you guys finally managed to explain it.

[@RayValdezPhotography]

I would like to see more of the Northrup Factory .

[@jespencer7805]

I liked the effect of Tony's home brew filter, OK it wasn't sharp but it was quite a nice portrait. It costs a lot less and it harks back to the days of smearing petroleum jelly on the front element of your lens. Tony should experiment with cutting the centre out of the transparency material that would restore centre sharpness?

[@gur262]

saw a diy filter made of slidefilm working nicely with a helios44. might work AS Front filter too, but definitely as part of a dslr to emount Adapter.

[@jonrolfson1686]

Chao Phraya River - Thailand's bright sky makes the riverside a challenging video venue. Is contrasty the right word? You carried it off quite successfully. Seeing the Tony Factory printed applique Bokeh filter, the thought occurs that Tony's printed filter might be effective if set behind the lens in a gel filter holder. Thoughts?

[@scottabergermd]

Such a great video Chelsea!! I loved it. Just got this lens and haven't had a chance to shoot with it much yet. I would LOVE to see a follow up video on using this for macro photography...not much on it out there...a little by Jason Lanier, but not much after that. Thanks again. Love your videos and your book Stunning Digital Photography!!!

[@andrewmedvegyphotographer1708]

Awesome Chelsea I love your videos

[@NarekAvetisyan]

I have a little suspicion that this lens is just the Sony 90mm f/2.8 macro with an apodization element. Because except for the bokeh this has the same look and colors with the macro. btw there's also the Laowa 105mm f/2 STF for those on a budget or APS-C shooter's. It's manual focus but it's a stop faster than the Sony STF which helps with the smaller sensor and is a lot more cheaper.

[@robertkomarek1387]

I'm glad Sony decided to bring back the OG Minolta STF, but the older Minolta is a tad sharper. But once again, M/S keeps pushing the edge of the envelope compared to the other camera corps. I'd opt for the 135mm myself.

[@FairlyUnknown]

I really like the look of this but the price is kind of extreme IMO, especially with all the lost light. To the people who say that the bokeh it produces looks fake, of course it's not going to "look right" because it was never done before. it's a new idea Sony is playing with and everyone is so used to the look of "normal" bokeh that anything different looks off. I'd like to see what a videography application for this would be. Seeing the bokeh during video would be quite interesting.

[@kremdela3517]

You probably know this by now but it has been done before, Minolta had a 135mm 2.8 stf lens back in the day, then Sony came out with a revised version of it and now they came out with this 100mm

[@jensvielmann7662]

One of the very few Chelsea only technical video. Nicely done. Thx. And I kind of agree with Kyle. While the bokeh might be unique I cannot say that I am tempted to buy the lens because of it. It almost looks like some1 simulate bokeh in photoshop with a blur.

[@briansmith1944]

Tony, Where is the Sony 70-200 GM review??? Please give us an ETA/update.

[@Neopulse00]

Brian Smith Nice seeing ya Brian here 👍

[@sametkoksal8097]

this stf lens lens really produces three dimensional images when it came out i thought it was just trick since the excellent 85mm f1.4 gm but 100mm stf gm lens has a vey unique look also if you wanna be a pollyanna t5.6 may help with using strobes in daylight

[@metals2546]

Thank you Chelsea for the informative video. Certainly a tempting lens. Have to hand it to Sony for coming up with this unique lens.

[@KemperEV]

Chelsea your voiceovers are so unique. Never heard a voice like yours in a voiceover before.

[@YahDude]

You didn't mention the Laowa 105mm f/2 STF. Still, the Sony is unique in that it's AF.

[@joshsteinbauer]

THis video is great. perfect visual explanation of Sony's STF (Smooth Trans Focus). Thanks.

[@BrandonColePhotography]

It's a great lens but the difference is so slight the average person would never see the difference between the 100 and a 70-200. you normally adjust in photoshop and light room anyway. But a great review

[@robyndalton3618]

I love this video and it is helpful for me to decide what camera to get and we should talk more

[@TondovanRest]

The loawa 105mm f/2, t/3.2 is a much better option to me (depending on your usage of course), also stf, nice bokeh, but much more reasonable in terms of transmission

[@AstraPotsdam]

I used this Laowa. It's fantastic, the pictures are gorgeous! But it's a manual lens. That's why I prefer the Sony 100mm STF.

[@abdulrahmanalhatlanil7443]

Wish you could do a comparison between the Sony G Master 100mm f/2.8 vs Sony 90mm f/2.8.

[@JennyBardelaye]

As it is a F 2.8, we may add spots light for instance to shoot objects and have a nice result ?

[@modernmusicstudio303]

This is such a helpful video, thanks!

[@VeryStableGenius]

You guys should put Northrup Laboratory shower caps up for sale.

[@zomgonzo]

Great video Chelsea! You should do more reviews :)

[@brettharris626]

Love that lens, pity it loses 2 stops. Here's a thought, if sony had of thought of changing the Aperture blades from smooth to a jagged triangle points you should get the same effects with out lost of light...

[@zomberton616]

It's not the first STF lens. Minolta and Sony A-mount released plenty before this one.

[@HyperspeedMedia]

Chelsea .. you should do more voice over product review

[@andruy]

Krista King is that you? Lol just kidding, excellent video!!

[@KenCheng]

There "is" one advantage with less-light, you can use strobes and not have to use ND filter and still get nice background/foreground blur

[@sinank.5289]

I just looove your voiceovers Chelsea

[@StreetsOfVancouverChannel]

Yeah it sounded fab.... it wasn't as compressed as it can be on the 'live' casts...

[@mariuszkedzior1541]

Sinan K. Chelsea with Your voice and this who You are, probably You have been able to buy leopards pattern from zebra 😁

[@aaronjenkin]

It did feel as though she was whispering into my soul.

[@sinank.5289]

its the same with her at the podcasts too :D

[@TheInternetEnzyme]

It felt like I was watching an ASMR video good lord

[@ekchuahstudios9066]

Looks like a great lens that I could use.

[@SeanHunterMusic]

I want to visit the Tony Factory, where tony is always chill until you mention focus breathing 😄

[@findbinnu]

And multiplying aperture by crop factor :P

[@ArieHoogzand]

Hi, you and Tony make nice and informative videos thanks. Have you tried this lens? meyer-optik-goerlitz Trioplan 100 f2.8.

[@simon_patterson]

Maybe Tony's factory can't compete with Sony, but he's right up there against Lensbaby! 😁

[@jbucovetsky]

Very informative. Great video, thanks.

[@michaellorence3672]

I love your voice. Like so much!

[@funnyworld9784]

so funny! two thumbs up for you Tony!

[@nicholassmith7723]

Can you do a comparison of the Sony 100 2.8 vs the Laowa 105mm f2 STF?

[@EmoEmu]

How about the Laowa 105mm f/2.0 T3.2 STF? I still havn't seen anyone compare the two.

[@karoncrickmore2093]

A newbie question - is bokeh pronounced boka ( long a) or boka (short a - like ah)? I have heard it both ways! Thanks

[@jonphoto5078]

The bokeh is definitely much more *natural* with this Sony STF lens. It is *unnatural* with non-STF lenses due to its eliptical, hard-edged, and sometime slightly "onion-y" shapes.

[@testthewest123]

3:38 well, it has a unique look, you have to give that to the Tony Northrup filter...

[@asebaninja]

Incorrect title and description? The lens is STF not STM if I'm not mistaken.

[@shifteleven]

yeah, she says STF correctly in the video.

[@emanueleriela]

yup it's STF www.sony.com/electronics/camera-lenses/sel100f28gm

[@poikatiikeri]

I'd love to see how it compares to fe 85mm1.4 gm. Bokeh and auto focusing speed

[@southwesternstudiosOG]

The focusing speed is fine. I made a video on it that you can watch if you'd like.

[@JaySilva88]

The Bokeh is amazing but I'd hate to lose the light coming in. It's certainly a specialized lens not for everyone but those results are incredible. PS: Didn't like the blown out background on the conclusion of the video, too much distracting.

[@thinkinginpictures4071]

You don't need light. I usually keep the lens cap on my lenses. Light just ruins the pictures.

[@nigelkonz]

Hey! I love your videos, I've learned so much from them. I'm a musician and our band is wanting to start filming music videos as well as do some work in low budget short films. We're between getting a canon xa30 and the Panasonic GH5 when it releases. Which of the two would you recommend for us to make the investment in?

[@ShawnSwander]

I love how trioplan argues that soap bubble bokeh is better and then a bunch of people say you want soft bokeh. its a huge cost for a boring effect

[@MarttiSuomivuori]

I bought the lens and now I have the post-acquisition distress. Show me some unique STF-only shots! I am in agony.

[@nasij6766]

hi! it's some months I follow you. I shoot till now with a camera that is not mine actually( a nikon ). I'm learning photography and now I'm searching to buy a camera .... they are so expensive... today I saw a discount on Sony Alpha 7 ILCE-7K it's till night. ( well our night in Europe! not US) and the kind of photography I'm interested is portrait and wedding photography. well can you answer me soon please please please ; what is your idea about this body and kind of photography that I like to do 😊?

[@jaywellington9904]

Thank you pronouncing bokeh correctly. Now if you could only get Tony to do the same.

[@gamerN77]

Very interesting lens. I personally really like the bokeh of older film lenses. The way it has its imperfections, its 'roughness' for the lack of a better word, is really pleasing to me but I can see how this clean and 'perfect' bokeh can be considered nicely looking.

[@NattapolPhorueng]

Oh you came to Thailand, welcome

[@zguy95135]

I just don't understand the fascination with bokeh. Everyone on the internet is constantly frothing over the minutiae of how it's shaped, texture whatever, bokeh isn't going to make a crappy picture amazing. I feel like the 200mm blown out background headshot look is kind of played out, but I'm not a portrait shooter.

[@mikeos1]

I've never understood the attraction. It seems to be peculiar to digital photography. It never appears as far as I remember in fine arts. Vermeer and Rembrandt for example take care to ensure that all their pictures are in focus, not blurred.

[@Lofote]

I always hear this "xyz does not make a crappy picture amazing". Nobody said that anyone technique can do that, never will. But why even mentioning that? You can get unique pictures, you can get creative in new things. THATS the point. Not that anything makes any bad thing good... Why talk about crappy pictures at all!? Makes no sense.

[@Lofote]

@Vici Martynov: Uhm, you are wrong in quite some things. First of all, it is not "technology led fashion", as it is purely optical, not technical. Second the great thing about this lens is that your main subject is clealy standing out more with less distractions from the background. It's about getting more attention to the in-focus-subject, something that many seem to not understand. I suggest, try it out, before you abbandon something with "it's just fashion". And why the fact, that something that photographers do since about 100 years had not that word, says nothing... Open aperture and the shape of outoffocus areas is something that is used since maaaany decades for good.

[@philwood1857]

First of its kind? What about the Minolta AF 100mm f2.8 Soft from 1994? PS There is no apostrophe in the possessive 'its'.

[@Joostered]

It's an iphone bokeh simulation tool. Excellent.

[@TheRcEngineer]

The Northrup Lab produced the right idea in a wrong execution. The apo shapeTony figured out would be ideal as a layer mask (inverted of course) for a gaussian blur in PS, there should be not much noticable difference.

[@Potato-adept]

Waiting filter tony in crowdfunding, I know he love it.

[@mougabo]

What about this lens against the 85mm 1.4 GM?

[@kylewolfe_]

Am I the only one who kinda likes natural bokeh more? Something about this bokeh just feels fake, as if some specular highlights were added in Photoshop and someone just applied some gaussian blur. All up to personal preference I guess, I'd be curious to hear how everyone else feels about it.

[@smaakjeks]

Speaking on behalf of everyone, I concur with your assessment.

[@Leowulfs]

Kyle Wolfe Completely agree. I'm not saying I don't like bokeh, I love it. But the obsession with it has turned into something at times. The supernatural perfection looks off to me.

[@AANasseh]

I agree. The natural blur is a lot better than this. I really don't like the Blur's look on this lens.

[@drasiritzbir]

I second that, looks too artificial perfect.

[@simon_patterson]

Like most modern photography reviews, both options look fine to me. These minute differences don't seem to have much effect on final printed images, compared to the features of the scene being photographed, the lighting, and my decisions on how I take the photo.

[@PavlosPapageorgiou]

Your video and your portraits are awesome, but not because of the lens. You shot beautiful portraits both with the STF lens and with the standard.

[@DrErickLopez]

can you guys review the canon 100mm f2.8 L macro lens?

[@movieman2009]

How would the Batis 135 mm compare to this

[@LostInYoutube]

where can I visit Tony's factory?

[@simon6z]

which do you prefer chelsea? Sony's FE 90 macro or this FE 100

[@timofreeman438]

I was just thinking about making a filter like that, at the beginning of this vid. Well....never mind

[@veemacks7255]

1:40 "focus hold button" ... is that different from flipping from AF to MF ? Presumably you have to press it again to un-hold, which would be the same as switching from MF back to AF. #SolutionToAProblemThatDidntExist?

[@bachmannmanuel1562]

like that you take that footage with some Humor in it. Like it..

[@danielvfx9704]

I want to shoot music videos for my band but I'm having problems picking a lens. I want a lens with some killer bokeh but I don't want to be so far away from the players to get it with lens compression. What focal length would you suggest and which lens for sony a73?

[@kennyd3163]

I'd typically prefer swirly bokeh depending on the shooting environment.

[@shifteleven]

1:38 - I see the photo is at F/8. I thought the light loss effects of the apodizing filter was basically mute. Was that not your personal findings? Here's my reference - briansmith.com/lens-review-sony-fe-100mm-f2-8-stf-gm-oss/. Regardless, I'm looking forward to becoming a bokeh snob.