Whenever I reviewed the Sony 50mm f/1.2 GM a year ago, I ended that review by saying that as much as I loved the ultra wide aperture, I could not help but wish Sony made a smaller and lighter f/1.4 version. Cue my surprise and excitement whenever Sony did exactly that.
This is the new 50mm f/1.4 GM. I realize this is the third 50mm lens Sony sells, if you factor in the 50mm f/1.2 and the older Zeiss 50mm f/1.4, and heck, let’s throw in the 55mm f/1.8 too, so that is four lenses at roughly the 50mm focal length. Heads up: this link goes to the newer Sony FE 50mm F1.4 GM. But I have to say, this f/1.4 is my favorite.
Spoiling The Conclusion To Save You Time
Because I respect your time, I am going to spoil the conclusion right now and tell you that, if you have not already guessed from my excitement, the new 50mm f/1.4 GM is in my opinion the best 50mm Sony has ever made.
While it may not attain the heights of bokeh that the f/1.2 GM reaches, this f/1.4 is dramatically lighter, it is going to feel very well balanced on your camera, it is incredibly sharp, and more than anything, I get the same feeling using this 50 that I get using the 24mm f/1.4 GM, which to date is still my favorite lens Sony has pretty much ever made. So in short, if you use Sony’s 24 GM and love it, I think you are going to love this 50mm f/1.4 as well.
For the sake of ethics, I want you to know this video is not paid or sponsored by Sony in any way, but they did send me this lens so I could review it, and I will be sending it back to them very soon. I am very sad about that, but I will say I am also very excited to be buying this lens as soon as it is actually available.
Come Back In Time With Me
Come back in time with me now to 2017. I had bought the Sony a7S II about a year and a half prior, and as someone who loved the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2, which is still a fantastic lens in my opinion, I wanted a lens similar to that but with the benefits of a native Sony lens, like autofocus.
So I looked around and saw that Sony sold a Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 for about 1,500 bucks. That was a hefty chunk of change, so to save money and make sure I actually wanted it, I chose to rent that lens before buying it. And I have got to say, I am so glad I did, because I hated that lens.
Yes, I hated it. It was awful. Super heavy, the autofocus was slow, it felt unbalanced, and the flaring was, in a word, terrible. My main issue with a lot of the older Sony Zeiss lenses is that they were, in a word, clinical. The flaring was minimal, and the flaring you did get was really bland and uninteresting. The footage was sharp, but it felt almost over sharp, and overall the colors just felt cold. If I was filming a doctor in an operating room I may have chosen that lens. That is how bad it was. I am so glad I only rented it for a week and then returned it and never bought it.
My lack of satisfaction with that Zeiss 50 led me to keep using the Canon 50mm f/1.2, as well as adventuring off into the land of vintage lenses, which had far more character. Thankfully Sony did start to lure me back with the 50mm f/1.2 GM, which I reviewed last year and was very impressed by, my only hang up being the weight. It is not as big as the f/1.2 options from other camera companies, to be clear, but it is still pretty hefty.
This year though, it feels like Sony finally heard the cry of my heart, because I was so overjoyed whenever they announced this f/1.4.
Lens Size And Weight
The first thing you are going to notice about this lens whenever you use it is the size and weight. This thing is dramatically lighter than the f/1.2, and while it is about 80 grams heavier than the 24mm f/1.4 at 516 grams, it is still quite light.
Testing this lens, I filmed with it at a wedding where I used it for establishing shots as well as dancing footage at the reception. Throughout all of that I was handheld. I did not put it on a gimbal or use any other stabilization, because I wanted to feel how it felt as a very lightweight handheld setup. And I have got to say, it felt great.
More than just the feel though, visually this lens is very impressive as well. It is very sharp and the bokeh feels really creamy, which is great. To be clear, you are not going to get the ridiculous level of bokeh you would get with the f/1.2, but personally I typically find myself stopping down anyway, because I do not want to completely overwhelm whatever I am filming with bokeh. So whenever I was filming with the f/1.4, I never found myself wishing I had the 1.2.
Overall, from an image quality and feel standpoint, this lens is in line with Sony’s other GM lenses, and more importantly, it feels dramatically better than their old Zeiss 50mm f/1.4. There is nothing clinical here.
A New Feature
Of course it is a GM lens, which means it comes with all the bells and whistles you would normally get from a Sony GM. But they added something new, an iris lock.
This switch on the side prevents the lens from switching between being controlled by the aperture ring and being controlled electronically by your camera. So if you have ever accidentally bumped your lens and switched it over to the aperture ring, this lock is a nice touch that will prevent that.
You are getting all the other GM features too, like programmable buttons, an aperture control ring with a de-click switch, and an autofocus to manual focus toggle. It is all there.
Autofocus And Manual Focus Performance
Speaking of autofocus and manual focus, I am pleased to tell you this lens performs incredibly well in both. Whenever I was filming the reception dancing, I prefer to toggle back and forth between autofocus and manual focus. I will autofocus on someone’s face while they are dancing, but if they turn around and face away from me, I will disable autofocus so the camera does not start hunting for another face.
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The f/1.4 handled filming that way very well, and any time I toggled autofocus back on it would lock onto faces incredibly quickly, which was great.
In regards to focus breathing, whenever I tested it this lens did exhibit breathing. So if you are planning on getting this lens for talking head interviews where it is locked off on a tripod, you may want to look at alternatives. But in the case of wedding filmmaking, where you are oftentimes either handheld or on a gimbal, I do not think that is going to be an issue.
The Price, And What About Sigma?
Sony has told me they are pricing this lens at 1,300 bucks, which is definitely a healthy chunk of change. But whenever you consider that the f/1.2 is $2,000 at the time of making this video, $700 less for only a 0.2 stop difference is not bad at all.
That said, I am sure some of you are planning to type right now, “Matt, what about Sigma?” And it is true, Sigma did just release a 50mm f/1.4 that is a direct competitor to this lens, and at 850 bucks at the time of making this video, that Sigma is a substantial saving. Unfortunately I have not had time to test it yet, but I will say I have loved using Sigma lenses in the past and I am betting their 50mm is very good.
Other than the price, there is one other big difference between the Sigma and the Sony, and that is weight. Remember, this Sony f/1.4 is 516 grams, which is quite light. The new Sigma comes in at a heavier 660 grams. So you are really going to have to weigh your decision between these two lenses. Pun intended. If price is the bigger factor, go with Sigma. But if you want to prioritize a lightweight lens, go with Sony.
Should You Buy It?
So would I recommend buying this new Sony 50mm f/1.4? Well, let me put it this way. I am planning on buying it.
As I said at the start, I loved what Sony did with the f/1.2, but I was wishing they would make a smaller, more lightweight f/1.4, because I felt like that would be exactly what I was looking for. And it was.
So if you have tried the f/1.2 and it feels a bit too heavy for you, and that price tag is a little high, and you are looking around and the 55mm f/1.8 is not going to cut it, and let’s not even talk about that old Zeiss 50mm f/1.4, I really think this new 50mm f/1.4 GM is the Goldilocks moment for a 50mm lens from Sony. It is not too big, it is not too heavy, it is not too clinical. It is just right.
You can buy the Sony 50mm f/1.4 GM at B&H here.
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Thanks so much for reading, and have a great day!