Sony 14mm f/1.8 GM Review vs Sigma 14mm f/1.8 Art: The best astrophotography lens! 

Sony released absolute gems in their 14/1.8 and 20/1.8.

The one time you get the Sony over the Sigma without much debate.

I keep hearing T&C Shop as "Teensy Shop" and I don't see how that's not better in every way.

i just bought this lens sony 14mm. I noticed a sound when you press shutter button on aperture above 1.8. At 1.8 it is silent and when you choose, for example 4.0, and press shutter button i hear this "chik chik" sound while focusing. Is it normal?

Excellent review - thanks Tony

I was waiting for this lens for almost 4 years 😆🌌 Perfect for my Milky Way shootings, very light and small, almost 800g less than the Sigma (more weight than my sleeping bag). Perfect on long hikes and climbes where weight is a great deal ⛺🗻

i just sold my sigma art 14-24 f2.8 and i bought the sony 14 1.8 GM and it just arrived. its so small and amazingly complimentary to my other sony 24 1.4 GM.

Canon RF shooters should check out the Laowa 15mm f2 ‘Zero D’, it’s totally manual (which I tend to prefer for ultra-wide shooting anyway), and is extremely small and light - it even takes traditional filters and I found mine used for £550 in the UK. It’s so small it can be thrown in the camera bag ‘just in case’, though sounds like this new Sony is similar in that sense!

Great review as always! Looks like Sigma isn't in the same ballpark on this one. I've got the 12-24mm and don't use it enough to make sense for me to swap for the 14mm but would highly consider it if I get more into astro.

Thanks for this. I just figured out I do not need super wide and the Sony 20mm was a smart choice for my needs.Cheers.

Which brand sells the CPL filter for the Sony 14 mm?

I know you mentioned the MC-11, but I will say that I found this to be super true with the Sigma 14mm on Sony, the Metabones never worked well, but the MC-11 made it good enough to use for concerts locking on the performers while including a lot of the attendees. I also agree with everything else, and am now using the Sony version, just need things to open more so I can use it at events :)

I'm curios how the Laowa 15/2 stacks up against the Sony 14/1,8 GM. I would love the Sony but it's a bit steep in price. Will I regret getting the Laowa 15/2 instead or should I save some more to get the Sony 14/1,8?

Excellent review, thanks. If I were at some point to get a 14mm prime I’m persuaded to go the Sony route. I completely get what you’re referring to about the CT landscape challenges (I live here, too).

First GREAT that you showed the ultra wide perspectives and it is about the foreground subject with a big background. I, also, had the Sigma for a couple years before the Sony because I like MW capture. The Sigma has to be used at 2 or 2.8 due to coma dove stars and pincushion distortion, Capture One has a correction where you can see it and the foreground gets warped. Milky Way capture wide open is where the Sony is greatest. Doing a MW beach shot with a lifeguard chair 6ft away and a city 20 miles both are sharp (city zoomed 300%) even a ship anchored 1K yds. you can see through the glass of a person. Portrait view panos, not done at 14mm due to other lenses distortion, are so sharp and distortion free with 90% of frame with stars stitch perfectly in PS, Lr and ON1 Photo Raw but PTGui still more options. The heartbreaker is the Sony 1224 f/4 and f/2.8, 1635 f/4 and /f2.8, even the 1018 (1527) at full frame 12mm have been great for years for astro MW with no coma or pincushion and if shot at the new NPF rules per camera and mm no star trails. Yes more light at f/1.8 but also like a 20mm your SS will be faster to prevent star trailing. After years of being hooked to faster glass I have learned that on a Sony camera mark ii and above with ISO Inveranse no need to worry about ISO setting or loss of dynamic range the higher it is. Software is the real key, try this, I was at the Grand Canyon (2017) my first night I saw hikers on Bright Angel trail captured with A7rii and 12mm with 1224 f/4 at 30s, yes dark below with glowing stars above and bright hotel lights. At f/4 the highlights were controlled, 30s/6400 the shadows came out with great canyon colors and the stars where pinpoint amongst sky gas glow. The same settings will be needed for the 14mm f/1.8 (maybe faster SS). Also take a shot at 12mm then at 24mm and 24mm and 70mm, 24 looks really wide, just know your subject and what you desire!!! The 1224 is great for landscape and you will shoot 2 stops above for sharpness to and fro anyway.

How’s it compared to the Zeiss 15mm f2.8 ZM other than the maximum aperture?

I have the 12-24 f2.8 and the wide angle is silly and dramatic and i love it!

Another common usage for using a very fast, very wide prime lens is in underwater photography. Getting close to your subject there is key and especially at depth light is in short supply.

I was deciding to buy a new GM prime, and my choices were the new 14mm and 35mm but at the end decided to get the GM 35mm. Still wanna get it though

Thanks T Dawg. I use my Nikon 14mm on my 850. works a treat!.

I've no doubt it's better than the Laowa 15 as well, but it would be nice to see a comparison as it's such a good small lense for the price, and it takes front filters.

I'd love to know how these compare to the Voightlander rectilinear super wide lenses. They're tiny and cheaper than these but supposedly have good optics!

Nice. Long time no real review. I hope you doing more of that.

Great advice, thank you.

We need a review on the Sony 50mm 1.2 GM lens

For astro just buy a decent star tracker. Nothing can beat a low iso super long exposure with almost zero coma \ distortions. Also it costs much less btw.

Thanks for the coupon, I had a good discount.

6:23 really got me. I intended my next body to be RF, but Canon doesn’t have a comparable lens and hasn’t opened the mount to other manufacturers. I’ll need to check out a Sony before spending all that money.

Love these videos.👍💙😊

My use for the 14mm f1.8 is shooting in a cave like Carlsbad. It has over one stop advantage on the Canon and Nikon. Also, it is a lot smaller and lighter. And compared to the Nikon, is a prime. Many photo opportunities also force me to get really close to the subject in a cave.

very useful, thanks!

for filming and shooting small miniatures this lens is a godsend

I'd still get a longer lens for astro tho, unless you really need 14mm for timelapse etc a longer lens will give you much more flexibility since you can do panoramas which will look much better than a 14mm shot.

The focus curvation of the Sigma 14mm AF seems to be an issue when adapted to mirrorless cameras. On my Nikon D850 focusing is perfectly fine from center to corner. But adapted to my Nikon Z cameras with the same sensor the edges are defocused and soft, if focused on the center. The solution is a +3 focus correction for the Z cameras. It should be the same for Sony

Does your rating / comment also apply to Nikon / canon version?

The Sigma is actually an DSLR lens adapted to Mirrorless. The next Sigma will be mirrorless and better than their current lens.

Nice review. I had the Sigma for aurora and am now using the Sony 20mm f1.8. The Sigma was scary heavy and I hated using it in windy or very icy situations on the tripod. I probably won't get the Sony 14mm right now since the 20 works for me.

I replaced my Sigma 14/1,8 for the Sony 14/1,8. It is so much better. And just a friendly reminder that ”angelwings” are astigmatism, not coma. Sigma has a little coma too, but the big issue is the astigmatism.

16:36 16:56 I like what the Sony 14mm lens does for flower n foliage photos. As I am a hobby flower n foliage photographer.

Btw at 12:45 that's not coma, that's astigmatism ;)

This is a vloggers paradise. Y is no one talking about that part.

At 8:06 how can the sigma be heavier than the Sony in pounds .. but much lighter than the Sony in grams? I don't get it.... Surely grams / pounds is proportional

I have a fever and the only cure is less gear review videos. 🐄 🔔

i'm from ct also, there's a ton of hidden gems there.

The Sigma is your best bet if you shoot anything other than Sony.

There are times that this would be handle taking pictures of homes (appraisal) to get more in the photo. Stitching is a time consuming pain. But 18mm is "good enough" when faced with spending $1800... :)

I got my new SONY 90mm Macro lens from KEH. I'm thinking of selling all of my Nikon equipment (Including a D7200) to them.

7:07 the Sigma in g is much lighter than in lb. So i'll pick the Sigma ;-)

Not sure those metric weight numbers are correct at 8:05

7:06 - Your screen says the Sony is almost 3 times heavier than the Sigma - in grams. Further though, 2.6 Lb is 1,179 grams, but also in the Sony 1.1 Lb is really 499 grams, not 460.

Lens that are for portraits and special events

If this had really good close-up capabilities ... a.k.a. magnification, then I would switch to Sony in a heartbeat. I need a true wide angle lens that provides magnification of at least 0.5x. Sadly, this lens doesn't come even remotely close to that, with a maximum magnification of only 0.1x. Are there any lenses wider than 18mm that give maximum magnification of 0.5x without the need to add extension tubes?

I’ve been enjoying your videos for the last couple years and usually learn something new but I’d like to ask a favor. Please leave the politics out of it.

Let me guess, the in studio shot is not 4K?

Tony, are you back to Sigma?

I guess Sony G Master Lenses are fantastic overall. Although not always the best but I am sure none of them are bad.

Probably mentioning that the Sigma was designed for cameras with mirror boxes, while the Sony is natively a mirrorless lens. This is likely a big reason the Sony is so much smaller.

My sigma 14-24 focuses flawlessly, maybe a bad copy here.

Tony: at 7:06 the Sigma is 170 times the earths gravitational accelearation, something must be wrong. 🤓

Those landscape (with a person) shots are phenomenal.

Sigma may well advised to lower their price!

its a full frame go pro

Love the video but can you guys do Nikon lens that are affordable?

Great review. However, comparison pictures both said "Sony," which was confusing.

Tony, what did you expect? It's a native lens

Too bad Sony's cameras aren't as non-intrusove for astrophotography. Messing with the RAW files, star eater on pretty much all bodies in some form or fashion. 14mm 1.8 sigma is still REALLY GOOD. Just needs a discount now 😉

Now he tells me! I am an astro guy. Bought the Sigma. It was supposedly a great lens for astro. Nope. It sucks really. Stars in the corners are just horrendously bad @ f/1.8 But, as a Canon shooter, this wonderful Sony lens, which so outshines the Sigma, is not really an option. That said, I had not noticed any AF issues. The Sigma seems to AF just fine on my R and R5. The lens, trashy as it might be wide open on stars, seems fine for terrestrial photos. Of course, unlike Tony, I have not compared it to the Sony.

Hello

I wonder what the actual T values are for these lenses. Does the Sony let enough light in for Astro? It has such a small opening. I also noticed more grain in the darks on the Sony, possibly because of that? Additionally this auto-focusing issue you face, I cannot second it, it works flawless on the Canon, even for the stars in the Milky Way.

Non Tony - they'r Leopards..🙃AU

Only took me asking then for 7 years …

Watch your pounds and Kilograms, Tony.

I got my Sigma f/1.8 for $600

2.6lb equals 170gms? Wow I now weigh 1022lbs!!!! :)

Sigma is 350 cheaper hm

It’s all about the 12-24. It’s just like double the price. ha ha

Bad copy of the Sigma? Is evaluating just one copy of a lens that valid? Roger Cicala doesn't think so.

First Views hi

huge... must weigh a tonne

You forgot to add 'dusty' in the intro...

Ugh that laptop sticker, really? Helpful vid though!

The Best Astro Lens on the planet is the Nikon Z 20mm f1.8 S .. < No Vignetting and Coma wide open .. doubt if these 2 x 1.8 (Half stop faster ) lenses have that characteristic

Didn't know that people still photograph night stars with Sony sensors???

i can't believe you still have the racist sticker on your laptop... \ALL LIVES MATTER !!