Hi I'm Gordon from camera labs and this Is my full review of the Sony Fe 50 Millimeter F 1.4 G Master a standard Prime lens with a fast aperture designed For full frame mirrorless cameras I Tested a final production model and in This review I'll show you everything That I've learned about it announced in February 2023 at around thirteen hundred Dollars the 51.4 G Master becomes the Latest in a wide range of lenses with a Standard focal length or thereabouts Sony alone has multiple 50s from the Entry level 1.8 costing around 250 Dollars to the high-end 1.2 G Master at Around 2 Grand the new 51.4 GM slots Roughly in between still obviously a Premium lens in the G Master Series but Coming in smaller lighter and cheaper Than the 1.2 version In Sony's own lineup it most obviously Goes up against the older size 51.4 Za Launched six years previously and still Selling somewhat optimistically for Around fifteen hundred dollars but I'd Say its biggest rival will be sigma's Much more recent 51.4 DG dnr'd which Actually only came out a couple of weeks Before the new Sony and is priced much More affordably at around 850 dollars Indeed the timing meant I was able to Test both new 51.4 lenses side by side Allowing direct comparisons between them So if you're looking for a standard
Prime lens for your Sony mirrorless Camera you've come to the right place in Terms of design the Sony 51.4 GM shares A similar style to earlier models in the Series and is actually almost the same Size and weight as the 35 1.4 GM here's The Sony 51.4 on the left with the sigma 51.4 on the ride and while the Sony is Three mil wider in diameter it's 14 Millimeters shorter than the sigma and 154 grams lighter two something you Notice when picking them both up this Also makes the new Sony lens smaller and A substantial 284 grams lighter than the Old size 51.4 which coincidentally Shares a similar sizing weight to the Sony 51.2 bottom line the new Sony 51.4 Feels fairly Compact and light for its Specification and now here's the two new 51.4s when they're fitted with their Supplied lens hoods where you'll also Notice each has gone for a different Approach Sony's opted for a rubber Tipped cylinder versus a petal design on The sigma and while I didn't notice one Being particularly more effective than The other in terms of blocking out stray Light I can say that the Sony Hood does Allow you to securely stand the lens Upside down on a flat surface something You wouldn't want to attempt with the Sigma especially when it's mounted on a Body both lenses are also supplied with Padded bags both lenses share similar
Controls too including an aperture ring From F 1.4 to F16 which can be locked in An a position for body base control or De-clicked for smooth and Silent Operation Sony however includes two Focus hold Buttons versus just one under Sigma Towards the end of the barrel is a very Smooth and lightly damped manual Focusing ring with linear response Sigma's manual focusing ring is wider But stiffer in operation and requires a Broader turn to get from near to far It's a personal choice but I prefer the Sony ring at the end of the barrels is a 67mm filter thread on the Sony versus 72 Mil on the sigma and both lenses also Feature dust and weather resistance that Includes a Rubber seal at the lens mount Now for autofocus and you're looking at The Sony 51.4 GM on an a74 body set to Single area and single auto focus mode Pulling Focus between the two bottles There's a little wobble as it returns to The closest bottle at times but I found Switching the AF mode to continuous AFC Eliminated that and reduced the overall Time to focus from one subject to Another For comparison here's the Sony on the Left and the sigma on the right both set To AFC where they focused at their Fastest and they're both looking pretty Good here impressively the sigma
Actually looks a tad faster it's Certainly not the poor cousin in terms Of speed now for the same test but for Video where the camera is set to Continuous autofocus as you'd expect the Focus pulling is smooth and accurate and I can confirm it was essentially silent In operation place the Sony on the left And the sigma on the right and you'll See that both lenses are pretty evenly Matched here with any speed or response Time being adjustable in camera if Desired you can also get an idea of Focus breathing which I'll talk more About in just a moment next for face Tracking here filming video with the Sony 51.4 GM where you can see the Camera and lens effortlessly keeping me In sharp Focus as I move around the Frame while rendering the background Into an attractive looking blur and Again here's the Sony on the left and The sigma on the right proving both are Equally Adept at this particular task Capturing fine details on my face and Providing plenty of background blur for Isolation I'll show you a Stills Portrait comparison in just a moment but For now it's clear how both lenses can Be great for presenting pieces to camera Some of you may be wondering how the Depth of field compares to the faster 51.2 GM so I've swapped in an earlier Test here that I've made with it on the
Right keeping the 1.4 G Master on the Left now these were filmed two years Apart so aren't directly comparable but It does give you an idea nonetheless as I move back and forth in these clips you Can also get another idea of focus Breathing in a real-life environment There's an extreme test of focus Breathing though I'll now manually focus The Sony 50 1.4 from Infinity to the Closest distance and back again here Where you'll see a reduction in the Field of view as I focus closer almost As if you're zooming a lens to a longer Focal length while this effect won't Bother Still's photographers it can Become a distraction in some videos as You pull Focus from one subject to to Another and it also seems to be a Compromise that Sony is happy to make on Many of its lenses but let's compare it To the sigma focusing more slowly here Due to its longer throw on the manual Focusing ring and you'll see it suffers From even worse breathing than the Sony When you're focusing between infinity And the closest distance Sony also has An extra trick up its sleeve though with Digital compensation available on the More recent bodies here's how it looks On the left without breathing Compensation and on the right with the Feature enabled on the a74 you'll notice A mild crop to the field of view but as
I adjust the focus from Infinity to the Closest and back again the corrected Version on the right exhibits virtually No change in magnification so for good Measure here's my earlier bottle Focus Test on the left without breathing Compensation and on the right with it Enabled again of course there's a crop In order for the camera to work its Magic but the breathing compensation Really does work in practice but it is Only available on supported Sony lenses Only and does not not work on the sigma This could be a decider for some Videographers although again it won't Affect anybody capturing still photos And may not even be an issue for video Either if the change in focus is less Extreme now if my landscape quality Tests shot from about 140 meters away Now I always like to test lenses with Real-life subjects both near and far to See how they'll perform in practice and I've angled The View here so that Details run into the corners I've used The Sony lens with Distortion Compensation sector off as the lens Performed perfectly well without it You're looking at the Sony 51.4 GM here Wide open at F 1.4 on the a74 and if we Zoom in for a closer look in the center Of the frame where I focus the lens You'll see crisp details right out the Gate place the Sony on the left and the
Sigma on the right though and you'll see That both lenses are performing at a Very high level here and as I gradually Close their apertures one stop at a time There's little to be gained in the Middle let's return to the Sony lens at F 1.4 beforehand heading out into the Far corner where you'll see the details Soften the Tad but more notably a Darkening due to vignetting place the Sony on the left and the sigma on the Right though and you'll see that the Sigma suffers from even greater Vignetting now to be fair It's Not Unusual for large aperture lenses and You can see the effect gradually reduce As I close the aperture one stop at a Time note that you're seeing a slightly Different part to the frame on the sigma Samples as it captures a fractionally Smaller field of view in my tests where The compensation was applied to both Lenses or not it's not unusual for two Lenses of the same quoted focal length To capture slightly different coverage In practice so don't worry about it here I just wanted to mention the difference I'd say both lenses are already looking Pretty good by F 2.8 and there's some Improvements up to F 5.6 if you're Looking right across the entire frame The bottom line both lenses are Excellent performers in this environment 50mm lenses are also a popular choice
For close range portraits or smaller Group shots and while they lack the Compression and isolation of longer Focal lengths some photographers myself Included actually prefer their more Engaging perspective while the fast f 1.4 aperture can still deliver decent Blowing in the background you've already Seen the 51.4 GM in action for video Earlier so here it is for a Stills Portrait where it's clear the degree of Blurring that you can achieve at F 1.4 Even when the background's only a few Meters distant putting the Sony on the Left and the sigma on the right both Taken from the same distance shows they Share a pretty similar style in terms of Rendering with little to choose between Them here do you have a preference but If you zoom in for a closer look the Sony on the left is definitely capturing Crisper details now some of this is down To what looks like more accurate Focusing on my eyeball using the A7 Force eye detection but even when the Depth of fields is increased as I Gradually close the aperture the Sony on The left still looks sharper in this Test than the sigma on the right now That's not to say that the sigma lenses Soft and when viewed in isolation or Against other lenses it can actually Look great it's just that the Sony lens Here is razor sharp and working very
Accurately and consistently with the eye Autofocus in the camera just before Moving on a quick look at a similar Portrait that I took a few years earlier With the Sony 50 1.2 G Master obviously I'm positioned further from the camera But it does give you an idea of how that Lens renders the background at its Maximum aperture oh and it 2 is razor Sharp on the details as in digital for The price for a closer look at the Potential for bokeh and rendering here's My ornament test where I position the Lens near to its minimum focusing Distance you're looking at the Sony 50 1.4 GM here with its aperture fully open To F 1.4 where the fairy lights are Transformed into large bokeh blobs with Fairly well defined edges and only the Slightest hint of textures within if You're looking really closely place the Sony on the left and the signal on the Right both taken from the same distance And you'll see their rendering style is Quite similar at first glance look Really closely though and you'll notice The sigma's blobs have a slightly softer Edge to them which you may or may not Prefer to the slightly more defined Outlines on the Sony but I personally Say there's no deciding fact between Them both are capable of delivering good Looking blobs at their maximum apertures As the apertures are gradually closed
One stop at a time you'll see both Lenses lose the elongated blob shapes Towards the corners for more uniform Circles across the frame both lenses Actually employ 11 bladed diaphragm Systems which occasionally become Slightly visible at certain apertures But on the whole both models manage to Produce mostly circular blobs at smaller Apertures oh and in case you were Wondering here's how the 50 1.2 looks With the same test if you're looking for Bokeh blobser more of a portrait Distance here's how the Sony sigma 51.4s Look when filming video with their Apertures wide open rendering the lights Behind me into attractive looking blobs Both lenses are ideal for presenting Pieces to camera from a tripod with nice Blurred backgrounds and just for fun Here's the Sony 51.2 G Master once again At 1.2 moving on to macro Sony quotes The closest focusing distance of 40 Centimeters for the lensing autofocus or 38 in manual focus but I always like to Check the performance at the minimum Distance by simply photographing a ruler As close as I can manually focus on it Here's the result that I got with the Sony 50 1.4 GM where I could reproduce a Subject measuring 193 mil across the Width of the frame now let's add the Sigma 51.4 above again with the aperture Wide open and positioned as close as I
Could focus on it and the result is Actually almost identical for the record I measure 192 mil for the sigma here but That's within testing error between them Sigma quotes the closest focusing Distance of 45 centimeters but the Effect of focused breathing and a Slightly smaller field of view to start With has actually ended up delivering Much the same magnification in practice You'll notice both lenses become softer Towards the edges from this distance When operating at their maximum Apertures but if you close down the Aperture for example to f8 here they Both sharpen up nicely before my final Verdict I wanted to show a couple of Examples of f 1.4 where lateral Chromatic aberrations could possibly Raise their ugly heads now while you can Photograph charts to trigger this more Obviously I wanted to see what the Impact would be in real life and I'd say From these shots there's minimal Evidence of any here to worry about on The Sony just briefly here's an enlarged View of the Sony at the bottom and the Sigma at the top again both the F 1.4 And while the sigma is showing a Fraction more color in the Blurred areas Than the Sony it really is pretty Minimal and I wouldn't personally Consider it an issue would you okay now It's time for my final verdict during
Which I'll show you a selection of Images that I took with the Sony 50mm 1.4 G Master on an a74 and as always if You'd like a closer look you can access Some of the originals via my review page For the lens at cameralabs.com I also Took a similar series of shots with the Sigma 51.4 dgdnr on the same day Allowing you to make loads of Comparisons between them so check them Out and let me know which you think Looks best the Sony 50mm 1.4 G Master is A welcome addition to the system Slotting roughly between entry level and High-end models in price but with Minimal compromises in terms of optical Quality indeed in my test I was reminded Throughout of the 1.2 G Master with the New 1.4 version delivering similarly Razor-sharp details and attractive Rendering not to mention fast and Accurate focusing and decent build Quality like many Sony lenses the only Real issue is substantial Focus Breathing but this may not actually be An issue for you depending on how you Shoot plus the more recent bodies do Offer effective digital correction for It if you desire personally speaking I Much prefer the new 51.4 GM to the old Zeiss 51.4 and wouldn't feel the need to Stretch further to the 1.2 model sure You miss out on F 1.2 bragging rights But I'd prefer to brag about the cost
Saving not to mention the smaller and Lighter barrel and I defy anyone to Honestly look at a portrait from the new 51.4 GM and criticize it for not being Sharp enough on the details or having a Sufficiently blurred background but of Course your mileage may vary So within Sony Zone range the new 51.4 GM is a Triumph but outside it faces stiff Competition from sigma's 51.4 DG dnr'd Launched only a couple of weeks earlier At a comfortably lower price of around 850 or pounds side by side in my tests The Sony delivered crisper details on Portraits a little less vignetting at 1.4 a tadless Loca it supports Focus Breathing compensation and is a little Smaller and lighter too but equally I Was struck by how close they were in Many of the respects only you can decide Whether those benefits of the Sony are Worth spending the extra on ultimately You weigh ages for a high quality 51.4 That won't break the bank and then two Come along at once I'd honestly be Delighted with either model and the Sheer fact that Sony owners now have This Choice when there's still no native 51.4 for Canon RF or Nikon Z is Testament to the flexibility of the Amount system and that's it for this Lens review let me know what you think Of both lenses in the comments and if You found any of my reviews useful
Please do consider giving this video a Like and my channel will follow and if I've helped you make a decision on a Pricey bit of Kit don't forget that you Could always treat me to a cup of coffee Or treat yourself to a camera Labs T-shirt or indeed a copy of my in-camera Photography book there's links to Everything including the latest pricing In the description oh and don't forget To also check out my Sigma 50mm 1.4 dgdn Art review to see how that model Directly Compares with a bunch of very Similar sample images thanks again for Watching and I'll see you next time bye
