Sony FE 24-105mm test by Lensrentals: “Sony has made a damn good lens”

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the fully extended 24-105mm lens (image via SLRclub)

Lensrentals tested the Sony 24-105mm lens and concludes:

Sony has made a damn good 24-105mm f/4 lens. Damn good being a relative term, of course, because it’s a 24-105mm lens and I have come to hate them all so I can’t be too nice about it. But it’s clearly better than the Canon 24-105mm f/4 II IS, and at least as good as the Sigma 24-105mm f/4 Art or Nikon 24-120mm VR. Fanboys, may start their hair-splitting engines now about which one is two angstroms better than the other.
But if you shoot Sony and you want a minivan 24-105mm f/4, this is the best option. If you shoot a lot at the long end, it’s the best option for sure. I would recommend shooting it wide open unless you need more depth of field; you don’t gain a lot stopping down. And if you do a lot of landscape shots you might want to do some simple tests to see where the field curvature on your copy goes.

Sony 24-105mm G FE at [shopcountry 66153].

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Sony Tidbits…

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Why Sony Cameras are Superior to Nikon

SLR Magic New Cine MicroPrime Lenses (Personal View).
Sony A9 Going Back & Chat About A7S III (Peter Gregg).
Why EVERY photographer should have a 24-70 lens (Manny Ortiz).
Stop Oversharing: A Guide to Social Media Privacy (Explora).
Lanparte V-Lock Shoulder Mount Rig (Personal View).

Share your best pictures on our new Instagram SonyAlphaGallery.

Personal photos and tests from SAR Admin Andrea on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and 500px.

Adam: “I’ve been a long-time passive reader of Sony Alpha Rumors and never really had anything relevant to submit before, but I ended up making something that might just be.  It’s a searchable, user-friendly database that aggregates specs and reviews of great digital cinema cameras.
I made it with a service called Airtable (but also used Zapier to scrape and clean up reviews from the web automatically).  They liked it and posted it on their blog here:
https://airtable.news/a-searchable-database-of-the-best-digital-cinema-cameras-for-any-budget-a55c94fa38b9
I wanted to share in case others might find it useful, but I also started by identifying some of the best but not every camera.  I was hoping to get the word out so others could contribute (there’s a form for that here: https://airtable.com/shrnh2TyoTci0u5Gl) and everyone could make use of the information. ”

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Sigma 105mm F1.4 DG HSM Art Lens will cost $1,599

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Preorder it now at BHphoto and Adorama!

Sigma announced the new 105mm f/1.4 Bokeh beast will cost $1,599. But, they did not unveil yet the shipment start date for the E-mount version :(
Sigma also announced that the Sigma 35mm and 50mm ART lenses will start shipping out in June.

Press text:

Sigma Announces Pricing and Availability for Its 105mm F1.4 DG HSM Art Lens
The “Bokeh Master” will begin shipping in Canon, Nikon and Sigma mounts in late June for a retail price of $1,599.00 USD

Ronkonkoma, NY – May 25, 2018 – Sigma Corporation of America, a leading still photo and cinema lens, camera, flash and accessory manufacturer, today announced that its 105mm F1.4 DG HSM Art lens will be available in Canon, Nikon and Sigma camera mounts in late June for $1,599.00 USD through authorized US dealers. The Sony E-mount availability will be announced later.

The “Bokeh Master” with Longest Focal Length Among Sigma Wide-Aperture F1.4 Art Lenses
The Sigma 105mm F1.4 DG HSM Art is the ninth lens in the Sigma F1.4 line-up designed for full-frame cameras. To combine outstanding wide-aperture, mid-telephoto performance with F1.4 brightness at maximum aperture, this lens incorporates 17 optical elements in 12 groups, including three FLD glass elements, two SLD glass elements and one aspherical lens element. This optical setup minimizes axial chromatic aberration to deliver ultra high resolution along with ample peripheral light volume, which minimizes vignetting. As a result, the area in focus is extremely sharp, while the out-of-focus area features a beautiful bokeh effect with highly natural colors, making this a desired lens for portrait photography. The optical design also minimizes sagittal coma flare, making it an excellent choice for capturing starry skies.

Featuring the Sports line level dust- and splash-proof design, this lens can be used in varying weather conditions. The high-speed, high-accuracy autofocus helps photographers react in an instant to capture those special moments.

Other lens highlights include carbon fiber reinforced plastic hood for durability and compatibility of the Canon mount lens with the Canon Lens Aberration Correction function.

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Today only: Rokinon 35mm f/1.4 FE lens for $549

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Today only you get this Rokinon 35mm f/1.4 FE lens for $549 at BHphoto.

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New lens preorders:
Tamron 28-75mm FE at BHphoto, Amazon, BuyDig, FocusCamera and Adorama. In Europe at Amazon DE and WexUK.
Tokina 20mm FE at BHphoto and Adorama.
Sigma 14mm f/1.8 for $1,599 at BHphoto and Adorama.
Sigma 20mm f/1.4 for $899 at BHphoto and Adorama.
Sigma 24mm f/1.4 for $849 at BHphoto and Adorama.
Sigma 35mm f/1.4 for $899 at BHphoto and Adorama.
Sigma 50mm f/1.4 for $949 at BHphoto and Adorama.
Sigma 70mm macro for $569 at Adorama.
Sigma 85mm f/1.4 for $1,199 at BHphoto and Adorama.
Sigma 135mm f/1.8 for $1,399 at BHphoto and Adorama.

Sony cashback:
Sony US launched their big rebates you can find listed on those pages at BHphoto, Buydig, Adorama, FocusCamera.
First time rebates:
$300 off on the Sony A9 at BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon, BestBuy. FocusCamera.
$100 off on the 18-135mm lens at BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon, FocusCamera and BestBuy.
Lowest price ever:
$300 off on the 24-70mm f/4.0 Zeiss lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.

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First review of the new Tokina Firin 20mm f/2.0 AF FE lens by Marc Alhadeff: “an excellent wide angle lens”

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Marc Alhadeff tested the new lens (Preorder at BHphoto and Adorama.)

Pro’s

  • The sharpness of this lens is excellent on the entire frame. As of F2 in the centre as of F2.8 in the corners, overall better than the Zeiss Loxia 21mm F2.8  everywhere in term of sharpness
  • Very nice out of focus effect at F2 and close distance
  • Nice bokeh for a wide angle
  • The build quality is good (although not as good as on a Zeiss lens like the  Zeiss Loxia 21mm F2.8 )
  • The lens is small and lightweight
  • Distorsion is low as well as CA (you can reuse the Lightroom lens profile of the MF version)
  • Good color rendition

Neutral

  • The AF is a welcome addition to the lens and make its use more easy , but the Tokina Firin motor is rather noisy and not as fast as the supersonic motor that equip most Sony lenses
  • The lens hood is a standard one (vs the rectangular for the MF version)  which makes it much more practical to carry. The lens hood is a little bit difficult to fix

Cons

  • AF too slow for fast actions and AFC mode
  • Video : I would not recommend to use the lens in AF for video due to the noise and the hunting, MF could be ok but still expect some noise due to the non disconnected AF motor

In summary : Highly recommended as a wide angle lens with fast aperture  for photography, not so great for fast actions and for video in AF

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Tokina 20mm FE AF preorder at BHphoto and Adorama.

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