This road is called Route 500 and always closed in January and February. Sometimes it is even closed in the mid December a week before Christmas time.
This time in 2023, we were lucky, we could drive through this road to the end of the road. I was walking but it was getting really dark and many wild pigs roaming around this area, and I got kind of scared of them. I really hate the kind of wild pigs roaming around this area.
The cult of lenses 55- Now we really need to test and review all lenses ourselves:
I think the Batis 40mm f2CF and the FE20mm f1.8G are both some of the most underrated lenses in E mount or any FF system. The FE20mm f1.8G is an incredible lens; extremely sharp, quite well collected for CA, really almost flat field across FF and it is compact. But not many sites even test that lens or even do not understand how it actually performs in real life or even chart-shooting sessions. The Batis 40mm f2CF and actually the FE35mm f1.8 too also share the similar unfair reputation of being not a serious lens or even a good lens, and there are some better lenses in the FL if you can accept a bit more expensive or bigger lens. But those who are really negative about these or say these lenses are not sharp enough, or just a tiny bit better than a pro zoom, or like that are those who never own or test any of these lenses. These 3 lenses are actually incredibly good and versatile for the price and the size.
I have been saying this for many years already.
And the 2022 Lenstip review on the FE20mm f1.8G really proved that I was right. The FE20mm f1.8G is a very incredibly versatile lens, almost flawless in terms of practical resolution, practical build quality, CA, 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 27months ago........
The FE35mm f1.8 is also a super versatile lens.
Now I usually carry either of these two lenses or my Batis 40mm f2CF for walk around local mountain areas or hiking there.
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 semi 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. In fact, even the cheaper FE35mm f1.8 Sony lens beats the more expensive Voigtlander APO and the Sigma Art at close focus distances (close but not MFD close).
And the Voigtlander MF lens is slightly better in color reproduction and spherical aberration as well as in flare resistance.
So, the Zeiss 40mm or the FE35mm f1.8 lens is definitely not the sharpest or best 35-40mm prime ever or even at their respective releasing time, but it is really close to the very best at 40mm or near 35mm focal length, and these are much more compact than any of the overrated super-fast primes in this focal range.
I think If these two cheap Zeiss and Sony primes are not far behind and actually quite close to the very best at their or near their focal length lenses, they may be or even should be considered to be a more versatile and more useful or practical lens than the overpriced f1.2 or f1.4 lenses as these two cheap primes are not just good in typical landscape focus range but can also do great almost semi macro like closeups? And do not forget the compact size is also an important quality of these two lenses.
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 dolls, etc.
And the 40mm Zeiss lens worked pretty well for that specific app. The FE35mm f1.8 with a Canon closeup filter also worked well for this type of app and it is even smaller and lighter than the Zeiss.
Honestly, these are both very versatile lenses...sharp at most of focus distances and F stops with a very low amount of Lo and La CA, and both can shoot quite close to the subject.
These two compact primes are also very well corrected for geometric distortion. In fact, many independent scientific lens testers think the FE35mm f1.8 should be designated as a G lens. And I actually agree with those people on this issue.
I think both the FE35mm f1.8 and the Batis 40mm f2 CF lens are really criminally underrated lenses, 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 commercially available 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. And most of us who are interested in lenses or testing lenses know that most lenses perform very differently across focus ranges and distances.
I think that's why Fred Miranda and Lloyd always test all their lenses at many different focus distances.
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. They test any lens nothing further as they depend too much on the commercially available lousy lens testing programs.
And their tests cannot even measure how good the lenses tested are at near infinity or at the nearest infinity range these lenses can focus, or in closeup focus distances.
I mean both the FE20mm f1.8G and the FE35mm f1.8 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 lenses, so they are both rated very unfairly bad at most of those cheap or FREE lens testing sites.
The DxO is even worse, which cannot even measure the lens alone resolution. Also, the app is annoyingly 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 accurate), it is a very sensor focused testing program rather than a lens focused testing program.
Another huge issue in most of online based FREE lens test sites is that they all ignore the long distance or close focus distance lens 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, I already mentioned it above most lenses behave very differently across the different focus distances. This is proven by Cameralabs, Roger Cicala, Fred Miranda, etc. who do test lenses at many focus distances in addition to their normal commercially available software-based resolution test....and also important to note Roger even does Optical Bench test in addition to his, regular resolution tests on Immatest or like that.
Now we really need a completely new lens testing method and program that actually works and shows the real-life resolution of all lenses for their intended applications or practical 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 an OK or just decent lens at best. So, I think the FE24mm f1.4GM is a great lens for environmental portrait or PJ type of event works, but a terrible lens for anything requires stopped down performance.
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 continue to worship the FE24 GM as the RENDERING lens or king (in their opinion).
Rendering is a convenient term for those specific lens fanboys who do not admit the scientific or objective lens test results.
They'd normally call their FAVORITE lenses as the best rendering lenses if they did not perform very well at resolution tests.
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, or even the FE35mm f1.8. 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, or the super small size of the Sony FE35mm f1.8.
And I think the Zeiss lens is better sealed than any of these super-fast or I can say super shallow? f1.4 or f1.2 lenses in FE mount.
The Zeiss lens can take lots of rain. And it is really durable (I know that as I've accidentally dropped it many times on a snow-covered concrete road in Hokkaido). But all the current Free Online lens tests ignore most of real-life lens qualities except the portrait distance resolution, CA and distortion.
They don't even test resolution across all different focus distances, they do not even test lenses for their actual real-life flare or harsh light handling ability. They do not even test any lens for their actual durability in the field. They do not take lens sizes and weight serious consideration in any of their lens related articles. And mock those of us who love small lenses as unserious. Always some really nasty elitist view involved in the current camera world.
That's why all the current Free online 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 really thought I should sell my Batis 40mm CF for the Voigtlander 35mm f2 APO after my own comparison of these two in 2021.
But as I recall it, I think I did the right thing for me that I kept the Batis 40mm f2CF. Now, I shoot shoes and plants very often, and I know for my specific shooting needs the Batis 40mm f2 CF is the better lens than the overpriced very niche manual focus 35mm lens from Voigt.
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. But in reality, the GM is the king of the 35mm prime for now if you can accept the cost and size.
The Sony 35mm f1.4 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). Maybe even more surprisingly to many, the FE35mm f1.8 actually fares even better than the Batis against the GM at f2.8 and f4. The resolution map between the FE35mm f1.8 vs the GM is fairly small, in fact I can say it irrelevant, or negligible as we cannot see it in any under A1 size print or any screen.
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 to me and many people).
If I were a mostly wideopen shooter, the GM is definitely worth the money. But for buildings or landscapes it is not much better than the Batis 40mm f2CF or the FE35mm f1.8, 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, I think 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!
Many lens-testing sites mocked it after the FE50mm f1.4GM released and performed so well at all lens testing sites. They all talked about how much better the 50mm GM is than the 35mm GM. Sure, the newer 50mm f1.4GM is a far better lens than the 35mm f1.4GM but what these sites never mentioned about is a sharp and super-fast 35mm lens is much more difficult to design than a super sharp 50 prime.
Also, many of us really appreciate a sharp and well-corrected 35mm prime, I think a super fast super sharp 35mm prime is much more versatile than a insanely fast and sharp 50mm lens.
So, I guess what I have been waiting for now is a good manual focus 35mm or 40mm prime of the 50mm GM or Voigtlander 50mm f2 APO quality. I prefer a 40mm, but many people prefer a super sharp 35mm. So, I can accept or compromise my taste a bit to use a great 35mm prime instead of a great 40mm prime.
Honestly, I really wish the Voigt 50mm f2 APO were a 40mm 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 50mm AF lens and an insanely sharp semi macro 65mm prime, and I am a 40mm AOV fan, so I really want a sharp and super compact 40 mm f1.8 or f2 prime with some seriously good closeup capability, just like the Voigtlander 65mm f2 APO or the 50mm f2 APO.
No Sony or third-party 28-ish or 35-ish lenses can do great closeup, no Sony lenses are really well sealed like Batis, many reviews say otherwise, though I know I am right on this as I've tested 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 physical 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). LensRentals? I ignore them now, they used to be a great site, but now they are just doing it for some big money, I guess. They never write down anything harsh anymore. All their recent reviews are favorable to any lens they test. So, so I just shun their tests now. I think it is time for us to start our own tests, working in a university lab, it is actually quite easy to do that if I can find some free time and chance to use our Optical Bench machines. I have been persuading our boss to do it, or allow us to do it for him, but he does not want it. Well, maybe next year, we will be able to start it. Need lots of patience to persuade him to go for it, though. But the real issue here is the cost and who covers that. Most people never realize this but a serious lens test costs a lot of money and requires a lot of free space.
