I'd used this lens a few times with Sony A7iii and very happy with its performance, even under low light conditions. Razor-pin-sharp image from f/1.8 and the focus is so accurate. Expensive but worthy. The sharpest lens I've ever use.
@jessemartinez2606 hell yes I did! Launched an entire photography business on top of my current business lol. This lens is a beast. And I have 3 other lenses INCLUDING the 70-200 f/2.8 GM OSS ii.. and I STILL prefer this lens over that one! (For portraits)! Get this lens. It's amazing!
I love love love this lens! Frankly, its the only reason why I would not leave the Sony system. I have the (new) Sigma 85 1.4 DG DN too. While this is a spectacular lens, I will always use the 135 first (if i have the room to use it).
I currently use this lens on Sony a6600 and what a tremendous complement. What a great image quality, I had read that it was good but I was shocked to see it for myself. I do portrait, landscape and astrophotography photography, and boy, what a great lens Sony made.
Wasn't expecting Neil Breen at the end there lol. Though not the first time we see references to him in Chris' lens reviews. That was a photo of a disc of his movies i believe. LOL.
Great review, but one small note. I use this lens with A9II and it is lighting fast with it (tracking works amazing). This sigma is a lot slower and hunt a lot (still very good option for portrait). New Sigmas (like 85) are much faster.
I love it for landscape, close-up, portrait, arcitecture, street and allround photography, recently I used aa a close-up lens both at fullformat and in APSC mode on my Sony A7RIV, the pictures turned out very well, so it is good for nature close-up photography as well :) Happy New Year and gear ;) Before the Sony 135mm 1.8 GM, I had the Canon EF 135mm 2.0 L which is a very good lens, but the Sony are much better and that tells a lot ! The only thing I want are a 1.4X teleconverter for the Sony, I had a 1.4X for the Canon and I loved that combination, which I used many times. My kit of lenses are Sony 24mm 1.4 GM, Sony Zeiss Sonnar 55mm 1.8, Sony 135mm 1.8 GM, Sony 200-600mm 5.6-6.3 G and a lot of "classic" anaolog manually focusing lenses from Canon FDn, Leica R and Tamron.
I went with the Sigma 135mm because the prize was just at my limit... and it is fantastic! The only thing I find a bit lacking is the autofocus in low light, otherwise the Sigma is my absolute favourite lens to take photos with, despite its massive weight. It just inspires me to go out and shoot and I drag it along pretty much all the time.
Tony Northrup discovered another big difference between when when shooting portraits that are heavily backlit, the Sony GM will retain the most contrast of the portrait face while the Sigma loses contrast to the flare. See the 1: 45 minute mark in his video.
This lens is a state of art. it's my nemesis. I do not own one, but every single time i had the opportunity to shoot it, i got very special images with it. Want it so so so bad, yet i cannot afford it and i know that for my use i wouldnt use it as much....
Frost, I know this might make your job harder, but your diffraction part of the reviews aren't accurate. In that, I mean diffraction is not just based on lens, but rather, primarily based on pixel size. That means a 40MP sensor will show diffraction earlier than a 20MP sensor, and a 20MP sensor will show diffraction earlier than a 12MP sensor. For example, 12MP full frame sensors are the ONLY sensors that can go to f/16 before diffraction shows up. It gets even worse when you factor in crop bodies. The maximum aperture for a 20MP APSC is around f/8! A ~20MP full frame sensor will start to see diffraction at around f/12. So the problem with your diffraction test, is diffraction sets in at different apertures with different sensor sizes and different megapixels. This is a reason why small sensor super zooms are soo soft. Their widest aperture is already beyond the diffraction limit. So for example, on a 1/2.3 sensor the diffraction limit sets in at something like f/4, regardless of the focal length. If they can't do faster than that zoomed in, they're going to be soft from diffraction at best. It also means that stopping these types of camera's down to say f/8, doesn't actually sharpen image quality, but just increases the diffraction further. Here's a set of calculators you can look up that visualize what's happening with diffraction and pixel size. www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/diffraction-photography.htm
I've been waiting on your thoughts on this lens for a while. (Wanted to wait until your review before buying but... Caved in a year back) Although this lens is a 135mm I think it's a super versatile lens and it's been a delight using it for landscape and portraits. If anyone is wanting this lens and is a student you can find it for $1650 on bhphoto making it a better value.
my favorite line from all your lens review is = "and related to bokeh, is longitudinal chromatic aberration" maybe it is because of your accent, this sounds very cool
Let’s wait for the Sigma’s mirrorless version 135mm f/1.8 for Sony E mount! I believe that will be much lighter than its predecessor and still cheaper than this Sony GM!
I'd like to hear if you think it is worth the extra price over the Samyang 135mm f2. Sure it might be f2 and manual focus, but as you know it does give a great bang for your buck.
I am not 100% sure about this, but I think STM motors are much more durable than USM ones. For example Canon's 30 years old 80-200mm f2.8 lenses are still in perfect working condition, whereas it's smaller brother, which came out with it, the 24-80mm f2.8-4, with it's USM focus motor, is essentially no more
Another lovely review. I know the Samyang 135mm f/2 lens cannot be compared with this monster, though I would like to know your opinion if you just look at the final image which comes out. What is your opinion?
i have both. sure they can be compared, why not? other than the obvious focus mechanism. dont be shocked, i honestly prefer the samyang end product. samyang is every bit lovely as anything else ive tried and it has character. it reminds me of the sony RX1 zeiss type of charm. the gm doesnt give me anything special other than any other sony lenses i own that are just clinical without character. that said, i am gonna end up selling the samyang. the FL is a specialized length mainly for portraits, for me anyway, i have no intention of using it for anything else and for that, the manual focus just isnt going to cut it. way too shallow at 2.0 and at this FL to nail it everytime. it simply takes too long.
@@whatsup9879 thank you! As I was reading your reply I was thinking of getting the lens, but than you mentioned the hard to focus bit (at f2). I do already have the Tamron 70-180 f2.8, so if I am never using the f2 on the Samyang... whats the point? You will be selling your lens? Are you by any chance living in Holland?? 😆
Great review, I might add however there is another alternative; The Sony zeiss batis 135mm f2.8 is a stunning alternative. I have rented the Sony 135mm f1.8 several times last year and was convinced it was the best until this year when I couldnt get one at my preferred price point. I was able to get the batis new at unbelievable price point and I havent been disappointed. The batis has image stabilization and is very fast to focus, colors are punchy its light as a feather as well. I reviewed all the footage from last year with gmaster lens and I discovered the Gmaster wasnt as reliable and consistent as the Batis. Please review Batis lens you won't be disappointed. I would also recommend the Sony 100mm f2.8 which may make you reconsider your sharpest lens reviewed. Thanx again! I shoot fashion photography a lot of runway and I used 135mm for last years oscars with mildly successful results.
Hi Chris, late to the party, and just picked up this lens. Do you notice any noise when focusing at higher apertures? Mine is silent at f1.8 but stopping down to f2.8 and there's noticeable noise when autofocusing. Thanks.
Christopher need your help buddy, i'm guessing you don't still have an m50? but i do need help with an issue that i have noticed, if you know or can get some one to also test the following hi i have a canon m50 and think i have found a focusing bug, i'm trying to get some other veiws on this as i have two bodies both with the same issue, one is new one is a year old the issue is the camera can't autofocus when there are only horizontal lines in the frame, ie a horizontal black line on a white background like a gap in a chest of draws. if there are any other objects in the frame the camera wi grab these. if you could do a quick focus test i'd appreciate it so i have more data for canon as i'm about to send mine in for analysis if you turn the camera 90 degrees into portrait orientation it will now do the same thing with vertical lines as the problem horizontal to the camera bodies point of veiw thanks if you can help.
ok i can confirm this is a limitation of the way canons dual pixel focus works, further confirmed by the developing quad focus system to eradicate the issue
Looks like a corker of a lens. There's something special about the 135mm focal length! In my humble opinion, the Fujifilm 90mm is the best of their lenses, with incredible sharpness and bokeh.
I used to shoot with a Sony A7RIII and a Zeiss 135 F/2.8. Probably the best lens I ever had in 40 years of photography (and several Leica bodies and lenses). Lighter and better than the 135 f:1.8 Sony I had on my Sony A850 (as heavy as this one). And F2.8 is better for portraits in my opinion to get the optimal DOF.
The main thing that is making me crave these overly expensive lenses is their compact size, my sigma art 24 1.4 is even sharper than the sony one but sooo much bigger :(
truth is, no one, and absolutely no one besides you is going to care or even notice. even other photographers arent going to notice cuz they dont pixelpeep other photographers photos like they do theirs.