Larry W writes:
I first want to thank you for the Zeiss Milvus 18mm 2.28 zf.2 lens review on your website. I just sold a 36” X 54” image print for a meditation room, really sharp even from 3’ away when the view distance is around 8’. One beautiful lens.
I am looking at buying a used Zeiss 25mm f/2.8 lens or a Zeiss 28mm f/2. The lens would be used mostly for landscapes but some for closer up photography but no where near macro. I print anything up to 12 X 18, but do have a shop here in Eugene to print larger if needed. I am wondering even after reading your reviews what one would be preferable. I value your opinion.
DIGLLOYD: IMO, the Zeiss Milvus 25mm f/1.4 is probably the best 24/25mm lens yet made for full-frame cameras, unless the new Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM can do better, but of course that is a mirrorless lens, and we are talking about DSLR lenses here.
My best-ever three lens trio are the Zeiss Milvus 18mm f/2.8, Zeiss Milvus 25mm f/1.4, Zeiss Milvus 35mm f/1.4.
If the Zeiss Milvus 25mm f/1.4 is not in the cards for reasons of price/size/weight, then I'd stick with the Zeiss ZF.2 25mm f/2.8. The Zeiss ZF.2 28mm f/2 is also a very fine lens with its own classic look, so you can't go wrong there either.
Zeiss ZF.2 25mm f/2.8 Distagon and Zeiss ZF.2 28mm f/2 Distagon
Four Aspen, Late Dusk
f2 @ 25.0 sec, ISO 100; 2015-10-05 19:01:24
Sony A7R II + Zeiss ZF.2 28mm f/2 Distagon
[low-res image for bot]
Bristlecones and Star Trails, White Mountains
f10 @ 479.0 sec, ISO 200; 2010-11-17 00:15:26
NIKON D3X + Zeiss Distagon T* 2.8/25 ZF.2
[low-res image for bot]
Having just shot extensively with the Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM and finding it highly desirable, I am looking forward to putting the Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM through its paces just as soon as it arrives.
- E-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format
- Aperture Range: f/1.4 to f/16
- Two XA Elements, Three ED Elements
- Nano AR and Fluorine Coatings
- Direct Drive Super Sonic Wave AF Motor
- AF/MF Switch; Internal Focus
- Focus Hold Button
- Physical Aperture Ring; De-Click Switch
- Dust and Moisture-Resistant Construction
- Rounded 11-Blade Diaphragm
Sony’s GM lenses are top flight optical performers with the added attractions of a real aperture ring (or control from camera dials), de-click option, focus hold button which can be programmed to activate Eye AF or regular AF, and dust and moisture sealing. No other brand of lenses for Sony can tick off all those desirable features, at least not that I can think of.
It is noteworthy that Sony calls out the FE 24mm f/1.4 GM as the “30th native full-frame mirrorless lens”—surely not an accidently inclusion, and a compelling reminder of how the late-to-the-party Nikon mirrorless and Canon mirrorless systems look to take years to get to half that number of lenses. By the time Nikon and Canon get to 10 native lenses, Sony will probably have 40. If Nikon and Canon are smart, they’ll heartily encourage 3rd-party lenses. I deem lens adapter a crummy solution in most all cases. The Sigma FE DG HSM Art lenses strongly reinforce that thinking even though they are native lenses—top-flight DSLR lens designs adapted to mirrorless are large and heavy and awkward (see Roy P’s comments at end).
As well, Sony surely will have a Sony A7R IV and other sibling out before long, which might well leapfrog the CaNikon offerings right out of the gate. Accordingly, I dislike the idea of buying into either the Canon EOS R system (30 megapixels = no way) or the Nikon Z7 (good but not groundbreaking) at this stage in the game, because both offerings will be outdated in a year (my prediction).
New Large Aperture Wide-Angle Prime Lens is the most compact and lightest in its class[i] , with superb sharpness even at F1.4
SAN DIEGO, Sept. 20, 2018 – Sony Electronics, Inc. – a global leader in digital imaging and the world’s largest image sensor manufacturer – has today introduced an exciting new addition to their acclaimed G Master series of full-frame E-mount lenses, a 24mm F1.4 prime lens.
Expertly engineered to deliver best in class performance across all aperture settings, the new FE 24mm F1.4 GM (model SEL24F14GM) utilizes Sony’s most advanced optical technologies to satisfy the needs of the most demanding photographers. The new lens is the most compact and lightweight in its class, measuring approx. 3.0 inches x 3.64 inches and weighing only 15.7 ounces, with a filter diameter of 67mm. Built to meet the strict standards of Sony’s flagship G Master series, the FE 24mm F1.4 GM offers exceptionally high resolution and beautiful bokeh, two qualities that are signature attributes of the G Master brand.
“We are continuing to evolve our lens lineup to maximize the power of our innovative α camera lineup, ” said Neal Manowitz, vice president of imaging solutions at Sony Electronics. “The new 24mm prime brings an exciting new perspective to our flagship lens series. With its incredibly lightweight design and signature G Master quality, our 30th native full-frame mirrorless lens opens up a new world of creative opportunities for today’s photographers, videographers and multi-media creators.”
Realizing consistently high resolution across the entire frame, even at F1.4, the FE 24mm F1.4 GM boasts a new optical design comprised of 10 groups with 13 elements, including two XA (extreme aspherical) and three ED (Extra-low Dispersion) elements. The incorporation of two XA elements effectively suppresses sagittal flare[ii] to ensure that point light sources like distant stars can be accurately reproduced, making the FE 24mm F1.4 GM a compelling proposition for astrophotography. For impressive clarity, Sony’s unique Nano AR Coating is applied to reduce lens flare and ghosting, even in landscape shots where the position of the sun can be problematic with a normal lens.
This outstanding performance is packaged in an extremely compact and lightweight body weighing it at only 15.7 ounces, a welcome relief for landscape or adventure photographers that are hiking, climbing or traveling over long distances. This advantage is further compounded when the FE 24mm F1.4 GM is paired with one of Sony’s award winning α7 / α9 cameras. The lightweight lens design has been realized in part by the development of a new high power DDSSM (Direct Drive SSM) that delivers approximately three times greater thrust than the previous focus system, enabling fast response, high positioning accuracy and quiet operation for both stills and movie shooting.
This incredible lens is also a perfect complement to Sony’s APS-C sensor mirrorless cameras such as α6500 and α6300, and brings the total number of native Sony α E-mount lenses to 48[iii].
In addition to its landscape and starscape shooting abilities, the FE 24mm F1.4 GM also has excellent close up performance of 0.24 meters (0.79ft.) and delivers soft and natural bokeh, a feature that is common across Sony’s entire G Master series of lenses. This is achieved by extreme control over factors like spherical aberration, and axial and lateral chromatic aberration, at the design and manufacturing stages, as each lens is individually tested and adjusted to achieve maximum performance.
The FE 24mm F1.4 GM also includes a number of professional controls that aide ease of operation for both stills and movie shooting. These include an aperture ring that allows direct, intuitive aperture control, and a focus ring that features Linear Response MF for fine, responsive manual focus control. There is also a customizable focus hold button, and a focus-mode switch that makes it possible to quickly select auto or manual focus to match changing shooting conditions.
Pricing and Availability
The FE 24mm F1.4 GM will ship in October 2018 for approximately $1,400 US and $1,900 CA. The lens will be sold at a variety of Sony authorized dealers throughout North America.
Roy P writes:
Regarding my statement that “The Sigma FE DG HSM Art lenses strongly reinforce that thinking even though they are native lenses—top-flight DSLR lens designs adapted to mirrorless are large and heavy and awkward”:
Very true, as I can attest to from my personal experience with the E-mount version of the otherwise superb Sigma 135mm f/1.8 Art lens. The IQ is terrific, as it was with the Canon version I tried a year ago. But besides weight and awkwardness of use, there is one more issue: autofocusing. These modified DSLR lenses, which are essentially DSLR lenses with built-in adapters, are simply not spiffy enough to use, and that applies to the Sigma 135/1.8 Art as well.
The autofocusing in a Sony lens is optimized for both mirrorless and the Sony sensors. So the Sony lenses fully take advantage of the large number of AF points and the 60 AF measurements that the Sony cameras take, thanks to the integrated DRAM in the stacked CMOS sensors that enable a sensor readout much faster than possible in DSLR sensors. The Sony lenses have a completely new and different AF drive in them.
As good as the Sigma 135/1.8 Art lens is, I’ll be returning it, and waiting for the rumored Sony 135mm f/1.8 GM.
DIGLLOYD: I cannot speak to the autofocusing issue very well, and I though that Sigma had done something to optimize for Sony AF, but I am unsure. At any rate, the balance of DSLR lens designs on Sony is just not good and in the field I felt that I had to constantly walk around supporting the lens; see Sigma DG HSM Art Lenses for Sony Mirrorless: Ergonomic and Other Concerns.
I’ve been using the OWC Thunderbay 4 for many years now (both Thunderbolt 1, 2, 3 versions). It is my all-time favorite drive enclosure, and I currently have five of them.
OWC now introduces the OWC Thunderbay 6, which ought to appeal to anyone with requirements for huge capacity (up to 72TB with current hard drives) and/or reliability (various forms of fault tolerance).
MPG will be testing the OWC Thunderbay 6 in the next few weeks.
More info on Thunderbay 6 at MacSales.com.
OWC Thunderbay 6
Storage Maximizer for Multimedia Workloads
- Works with 3.5" or 2.5" drives — no adapter needed.
- Up to 1500MB/s of sustained performanc
- Supports RAID 0, 1 via OWC's advanced SoftRAID engine
- Optional ultra-fast M.2 NVMe SSD
- Daisy chain up to six units together
- 3 Year OWC Limited Warranty
- Daisy chain up to six units
- Rugged, field-tested enclosure.
- Whisper-quiet fan and non-skid feet.
When it comes to big jobs and tight deadlines, you don't want anything to slow your workflow down. The content you create and edit tends to grow the more you work with it; your equipment needs to keep up. The OWC ThunderBay 6 provides an exceptional level of performance to help you meet the demands of your most complex projects.
OWC Thunderbay 6
Room to Move
Whether you're working with tons of small files or editing and streaming the latest 8K or VR footage, ThunderBay 6 enables you to complete your products faster, giving you more time to create. And with dual Thunderbolt 3 ports and a DisplayPort, integrating it into your workstation has never been easier.
ThunderBay 6 features six bays for hot-swappable hard drives or SSDs — or a combination — all housed in a rugged aluminum enclosure with an integrated power supply. Drives run quietly and are kept cool via a fan that operates quieter than a whisper.
Want even more storage?
To keep your workflow on the cutting edge, we've included an additional slot for an M.2 NVMe SSD to help future-proof your storage needs. NVMe is an incredibly efficient communications interface protocol to properly take advantage of SSD technology and high-performance connection buses. The result is exponentially faster and more efficient SSD storage, ideal for additional storage or a scratch disk.
The better and simpler way to RAID
ThunderBay 6 RAID Ready manages and protects your data with the advanced SoftRAID engine with RAID 0 or 1, depending on whether you need blazing fast performance or robust data protection. SoftRAID is also packed with features from active predictive disk failure monitoring to multiple array volume spanning; SoftRAID from OWC brings technology typically found only in data centers to your workstation or editing bay. It constantly monitors your disks, alerting you when a disk is becoming unreliable and is likely to fail. Replacing a failing disk before it fails saves you precious uptime.
Storage pools
ThunderBay 6, coupled with Windows Storage Spaces (available in Windows 10), allows you to create storage pools and simple, mirror or parity spaces based on the mix of data protection and performance you need. If you run low on capacity, just add more ThunderBay units to the storage pool.
Expand and connect as needed
Link up to six Thunderbolt units together with Thunderbolt's daisy-chaining capabilities. Combined with our SoftRAID technology, you can configure a storage solution tailored to your unique workflow. SoftRAID can create volumes that span multiple arrays or generate a nested RAID configuration for even greater performance and protection. As a member of the OWC external storage line, ThunderBay 6 eliminates bottlenecks in accessing, transferring or archiving your work. Use it with your Thunderbolt 3 equipped Mac or Windows PC to take your workflow to the next level.
Certified, Tested and Backed by OWC
From the seamless aluminum enclosure and slip-resistant feet to the multi-hour drive "burn-in" performance certification procedure ThunderBay 6 is designed and built to the highest standards or reliability and performance. This ensures your ThunderBay 6 arrives operating properly, ready for demanding use.
Certified, Tested and Backed by OWC
From the seamless aluminum enclosure and slip-resistant feet to the multi-hour drive "burn-in" performance certification procedure ThunderBay 6 is designed and built to the highest standards or reliability and performance. This ensures your ThunderBay 6 arrives operating properly, ready for demanding use.
Quality You Can Trust
Our commitment doesn't end there. Along with our OWC Limited Warranty, you can rely on OWC's award-winning, 24/7, U.S.-based support for your ThunderBay 6.
