I think I changed my lens here. I used my 3rd copy of FE20mm f1.8G on a tripod here. I think if I had a wider TS lens here with me, I would have probably used that instead of the 20mm prime. I think Sony really needs to give us a set of TS lenses soon. We have already waited over a decade, and still no sign of getting that soon. And Sony still says they are listening to us users. That means no one wants a set of TS lenses in Sony community?
The cult of lenses 46- Now we really need new lens test review sites:
I think the Batis 40mm f2CF and the FE20mm f1.8G are both one of the most underrated lenses in E mount or any FF system. I have been saying this for many many years already.
And the recent Lenstip review on the FE20mm f1.8G really proved that I was right. The FE20mm f1.8G is a very very versatile lens, almost flawless in terms of practical resolution, practical build quality, color rendition, distortion control,etc....the only one minor weakness of that lens is a bit high amount of light falloff. The LensTip review basically echoed what I said about the lens 23months ago........
The Batis 40mm f2 CF is also a super versatile lens.
Now I usually carry either of these two lenses or my Voigtlander 50mm f2 APO.
Normally I need a good 28-45mm lens that can do decent landscape type of images in f4-f11 range, with a good closeup capability (or real macro capability).
So, I always thought as though the Batis 40mm f2CF and Voigtlander 65mm f2 APO were actually designed for my personal needs, or at least my personal needs in the designer's mind.... (of course not, but these lenses perform exactly like that).
According to the most lens tests done online the FE35mm f1.4GM and Voigtlander 35mm f2 APO are slightly sharper at f2.8, f3.5 and f4 especially in so-called portrait focus distance.
But in some actual long distance resolution tests done online at our local paid sites run by some serious university labs, the cheaper Zeiss lens is actually sharper than the GM and the Sigma 35mm f2C at all aperture settings except f1.4, f1.8 and f2. So at least in actual landscape or architecture focus distances the Batis 40mm f2CF is not much worse than the Sony FE35mm f1.4GM or the Sigma 35mm f2C (extremely overrated lens).
Compared to the Voigtlander 35mm f2APO, the Batis 40mm f2CF deals a bit worse at long focus distances, but slightly better in close and portrait focus distances especially in f4-8 range.
And the MF lens is slightly better in color reproduction and spherical aberration as well as in flare resistance.
So, the Zeiss 40mm lens is definitely not the sharpest or best 35-40mm prime ever or even at its launch, but it is really close to the very best at 40mm or near 35mm focal length.
If it is not far behind and actually quite close to the very best at its or near its focal length lenses, it may be or even should be considered to be a more versatile and more useful or practical lens than the overpriced f1.4 lenses as it is not just good in typical landscape focus range but can also do great almost semi macro like closeups?
That was my long-time question I have been debating with myself.
Honestly, in the last 11 or so years I have never needed any REAL true Macro lens and I haven't had any that type of lenses since the Sony FE90mm f2.8G (which I hated and sold), but I've always wanted a good around 35-45mm lens that could do some really good closeup work as I shoot many shoes, cakes, lenses, tiny seeds and computer chips, etc.
And the 40mm Zeiss lens worked pretty well for that specific app. I think it is a very versatile lens...sharp at most of focus distances and F stops with a very low amount of Lo and La CA.
It is also very well corrected for geometric distortion.
I think the Batis 40mm f2 CF lens is really underrated, due to the current dominating lens testing methods used by most of FREE online lens testing sites. Almost all of these FREE sites just use either the DxO or the Immatest and call it a day.
So, any normal untrained people can start a lens testing site if they just have the money to buy the Immatest program (and it is cheap).
Both the DxO and the Immatest are really incomplete lens testing programs that cannot even measure resolution of any lenses outside of the typical so called Immatest focus range or portrait focus range.
The current lens testing programs all test all lenses at the very typical 10 feet portrait focus distance. When they say any specific lens they are testing is sharp that means they know it is sharp at the 10 feet focus distance at wide open or near wide open.... that is all about it.
And their tests cannot even measure how good the lenses tested are at infinity or near infinity range, or in closeup focus distances.
I mean both the FE20mm f1.8G and the Batis 40mm f2 CF lenses are quite sharp at or near landscape or close up focus distances, but the Immatest test program cannot measure that kind of quality of any lens.
The DxO is even worse, which cannot even measure the lens alone resolution. Also, the app is annoyingly super slow to navigate...it takes really lots of time to complete it (and even then, the result you get from the DxO is not really complete or meaningful), it is a very sensor focused testing program rather than a lens focused testing program.
Also, most of online based FREE lens test sites ignore the long distance or close focus distance resolution. Some of these guys do not even care about f8 or even f5.6 resolution.... assuming that everyone read their sites just want to know how sharp the tested lenses are at wide open.... this makes their tests completely irrelevant to many people who do not really want to shoot only one eye in focus kind of portrait images. Plus, most lenses behave very differently across the different focus distances. This is proven by Cameralabs and Fred Miranda field tests....and also by Roger Cicala's Optical Bench based lens tests.
Now we really need a completely new lens testing method and app that actually works and shows the real-life resolution of all lenses for their intended applications or use cases.
There are many lenses that do not do very well at typical DxO or Immatest focus distance (10 feet), but extremely sharp at infinity or near it, or in close focus distances (most of macro lenses are like that) ......I think the FE20mm f1.8G is one of that type of lenses. The FE24mm f1.4GM is the complete opposite to it; it is very good at wide open and near wide open in portrait focus range, but outside of that very limited use cases it is a mediocre lens at best.
So in real life , especially for landscape type of works , the FE20mm f1.8G , the Loxia 25mm f2.4 and the Voigtlander 21mm f1.4 are all much sharper than the FE24mm f1.4GM..and that is why many people who loved the FE24mm f1.4GM felt there was something seriously wrong with most online lens tests when they actually compared the GM vs the Loxia in the long focus distances(at f4 and on).
I mean the Loxia 25mm f2.4 is a much better lens for serious landscape type of apps or any type of stopped down work than the FE24mm f1.4GM. Even the infamous FM (Fred Miranda) tests of these two clearly showed that, but most of the GM fanboys there just ignored what Fred wrote about the comparison and many rational people thought about the results and continue to worship the FE24 GM as the RENDERING lens or king (in their opinion).
And do not forget the FE20mm f1.8G (unlike the 24mm GM) does closeup very well. It is quite sharp at its MFD(minimum focus distance). The FE24mm f1.4GM is very bad at MFD.
Also, important to note that neither the FE35mm f1.4 GM, nor the Sigma 35mm f1.4 Dn Art, nor the Voigtlander 35mm f2 APO can shoot really good closeups like the Batis 40mm f2CF. Sure, they are indeed a tiny bit sharper than the Zeiss Batis lens in f1.4-f2.5 range in portrait or Immatest focus distances, but many of us seldom use that super-fast F stops unless we have to, I can gladly trade some lens speed for the amazing closeup capability of the Zeiss lens.
And I think the Zeiss lens is better sealed than any of these super-fast or I can say super shallow? f1.4 lenses.
The Zeiss lens can take lots of rain. Really durable (I know that as I've accidentally dropped it many times). But all the current Free Online lens tests ignore most of real-life lens qualities except the portrait distance resolution, CA and distortion.
That's why all the current lens testing sites are useless.
That's why I could not sell the Batis even though I've always wanted to sell it badly after I tested the Voigtlander 35mm f2APO in April 2021.
I think the Voigtlander cannot replace the Batis lens as it cannot do semi-macro like closeup, and it is not much sharper than the Batis lens stopped down at near infinity focus range (I also prefer 40mm FOV to more common 35mm FOV). At f2 and f2.5, the Voigtlander is quite a bit sharper, though, for me it is kind of irrelevant as I do not shoot at f2 often.
In fact, I believe the Batis lens is actually sharper than both the Sigma 35mm f1.4 Dn and the 35mm f2 C although many Immatest based tests disagree and they rated the Sigma 35mm f2C the sharpest 35mm E mount prime or the king of the resolution at 35mm.
The GM seems to be the sharpest 35mm-ish lens ever made (if you really need the f1.4-f2 range), but even that lens is not much sharper than the Batis 40mm lens either (just slightly sharper in f2-f4 range) ....and at f5.6 infinity setting these are quite close in resolution (I actually believe the Batis is a bit better in that specific testing scenario).
At f5.6 and long focus distances the Voigtlander 35mm f2 APO is clearly the sharpest of all, but that lens cannot do any sort of closeup (I must repeat this again as it is so important).
If I were a mostly wideopen shooter, the GM is definitely worth the money. But for buildings or landscapes it is not better than the Batis 40mm f2CF, I just wish the Voigtlander 50mm f2 APO was a 40mm lens, though.
Although the GM cannot replace this Batis 40mm f2 CF in my case as I really need the closeup capability of the Batis, the FE35mm f1.4GM is still the very best 35mm prime in FF class and I think it is one of the most remarkable lens designs we have seen in 2021- it is a super-fast moderately wide lens extremely sharp at all focus distances and at all available F stops, which is super hard to design....an amazing feat, Sony!
However, the GM does not really make me want to keep it, I do not like the Sony lens color very much and it forces me to stay on my PC and abuse my aged eyes much longer than I really want.
So, if I can justify the money, I need to pay for the GM again, I will get the Voigtlander 35mm f2APO and the Loxia 25mm f2.4 again instead. And keep the Batis 40mm f2CF in addition to these lenses. I may do that again very soon as I really miss the Voigtlander primes and the Loxia especially the 25mm and the 85mm ones.
The Voigtlander 50mm f2 APO E seems to be the best corrected and one of the sharpest lenses in E mount system and most reviews agree with me on that. The 50mm APO is slightly sharper than both the Sony 50mm f1.2 GM and the Voigtlander 35mm f2 APO at f2.8 and on.
Honestly, I really wish the 50mm f2 APO were a 28mm or 35mm f2 lens, then it would fit perfectly into my current lens set. I have a small and extremely well corrected 20mm prime, a great 25mm prime, a sharp and extremely versatile 40mm prime, I also have an insanely sharp 65mm prime, and I am a 28mm AOV fan, so I really want a sharp and super compact 28mm f1.8 or f2 prime with some seriously good closeup capability, just like the Voigtlander 65mm f2 APO or the Batis 40mm f2 CF.
No Sony or theirdparty 28-ish or 35-ish lenses can do great closeup, no Sony lenses are really well sealed like Batis, many reviews say otherwise, but I know I am right on this as I've tested many many FE mount lenses in a very cold winter mountain for a couple of days or longer. No Sony GM lenses can take extreme cold sea wind or lots of snow. They get frosted and the internal electronics just go really bad in just a matter of a few hours, sometimes even in a few minutes. The Batis and even Loxia will take much more abuse than that.
All the current free lens testing sites conveniently ignore all of these very important lens qualities such as actual functionality and practicality of lenses in the field.
Thus, most of free Online lens tests are completely useless, maybe except the LensTip, Jim Kasson and some rolling reviews like Fred Miranda and Cameralabs field tests.
But even these good reviews are sometimes not very practical as they are all really super slow like French snails crawling around in my basement, I mean the Lenstip tested the FE20mm f1.8G in the third week of May 2022 (I tested my first copy of that lens in April ,2020). If they want to be taken more seriously, they must test all lenses much faster....and do not ask us to donate for that.....
I love Jim Kasson's tests, but he is also very slow, but we cannot complain about that as he is just one person just kind enough to do all his hard work himself. It takes lots of time (and needs lots of money).
