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GM vs DN | Sony 50mm F1.4 GM or Sigma 50mm F1.2 DN for under $1400?
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Mar 28, 2024
Sigma has priced their new 50mm F1.2 DN very similar in price to the Sony 50mm F1.4, but which lens is better bang for your buck? | This video is sponsored by Fantom Duffel. Visit https://store.fantomwallet.com and use code DUSTIN20 to get 20% off Read the Sigma Review: https://tinyurl.com/Sig50m12DA Read the Sony Review: http://bit.ly/50GM14da Purchase the Sigma 50mm F1.2 DN @ B&H Photo https://bhpho.to/3TPeTHG | Adorama https://howl.me/clUFp0wphaR | Nuzira https://tinyurl.com/BuySigma5012 | Amazon https://amzn.to/3xiRxBb | Camera Canada https://shrsl.com/4gwae | Amazon Canada https://amzn.to/3TuLz81 | Amazon UK https://amzn.to/3IUx6x4 | Amazon Germany https://amzn.to/3PBiUwO Purchase the Sony 50mm F1.4 GM @ B&H Photo https://bhpho.to/3kRK1rj | Adorama https://howl.me/cjtu4KbD3KN | Amazon https://amzn.to/3YFQrb3 | Camera Canada https://shrsl.com/3yhqt | Sony Canada https://bit.ly/50GMsony | Amazon Canada https://amzn.to/3kOIC4R | Amazon UK https://amzn.to/41MOSuu Amazon Germany https://amzn.to/3YuEBQG | Used at KEH https://shrsl.com/3yhqr Check out the DA Merch here: https://bit.ly/TWIMerch | Become a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/dustinabbott | On the Web: http://dustinabbott.net/ | Sign up for my Newsletter: http://bit.ly/1RHvUNp | Instagram: http://bit.ly/DLAinsta | Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1nuUUeH | Flickr: http://bit.ly/1UcnC0B | 500px: http://bit.ly/1Sy2Ngu Follow Craig @ https://www.instagram.com/craigstoffersen/ Want to support this channel? Use these affiliate links to shop at: B&H Photo: http://bhpho.to/1TA0Xge Adorama: https://howl.me/cjU0LKdp3LN Camera Canada: http://bit.ly/DLACameraCan Sony Canada: https://www.thesonyshop.ca/?ref=abbott Amazon: https://amzn.to/3HrY64d Amazon Canada: https://amzn.to/3qG1p18 Ebay: http://bit.ly/DustineBay Into the AM Clothing: https://bit.ly/intotheAMda and use code DUSTIN10 for 10% off Make a donation via Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/dustinTWI
View Video Transcript
0:00
Hi, I'm Dustin Abbott, and I'm here to give you the comparison I can make at the moment
0:15
while I still have the Sigma 50mm F1.2 DN art lens here
0:20
If you missed my full review of that, you can check that out here. I will try to do an F1.2 GM comparison down the road when I can get that lens
0:29
in, but I'm going to make an immediate comparison to the 50 millimeter F1.4G Master. I happen to own
0:36
that lens and thus I have it on hand. So that's the most logical reason to do this comparison
0:41
first, but also the fact that these are actually the more similar of the two lenses in price
0:47
And I think that they will get cross-shopped a bit. And so today, this video is about trying to
0:51
help you make a determination which lens makes more sense for you. And we'll dive into those
0:57
reasons. I'll give you some pros and cons, some similarities. And then for those of you that want a deep
1:02
dive into the optical comparison between the two, we'll do that at the end of the video. First, however
1:09
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Dustin 20 for 20% off when you're ready to check out. So before we break down the differences
2:02
let's talk about what is similar here. Both of these lenses actually have an identical
2:08
magnification level of 0.16 times. Now, they achieve it in slightly different ways
2:13
The Sigma focuses a centimeter closer than what the Sony does, but the Sony is a little bit longer in its focal length
2:21
It actually frames a little bit tighter than what the Sigma does
2:24
Both of them have dual high speed focus motors, and so a lot of focus speed
2:30
And you can see here that both of them are extremely snappy going from close to distant and back in terms of auto-focus speed
2:38
Both of them have enough focus speed that you'll never have to worry about that as being an issue
2:43
Both of them also have a fully featured approach to aperture. You do have a manual aperture ring on both lenses identically with one-third stop clicks
2:52
but also the option to declick it and to use an iris lock
2:57
or an aperture ring lock to where you can lock it either in or out
3:01
of the manual aperture ring depending on what your preference is. Both of them have thorough weather sealing
3:07
that goes from a gasket at the lens mount internal seals throughout
3:11
and a special coating on the front to protect from fingerprints and water
3:16
Both of them have a focus hold button and an AFMF switch on them
3:22
Both of them come with cases for transport. And they are optically very similar, though we're going to try to dive into the nuances where they diverge just a little bit today
3:33
and so that that can help you in making a more informed decision. So just so you know, I have used a Sony A7R Mark 5 for all of these comparisons
3:41
It's the highest resolution point. So that allows us to get as close as possible and magnify the various little details where they differentiate between each other
3:50
So let me start by giving you some reasons to choose the Sony lens
3:55
The first of those, ironically, is price. Because we're comparing the F1.4 to the F1.2 on the Sigma side
4:02
the Sony is actually the cheaper of the two lenses. No, not by a large margin
4:06
It retails for $1,299 U.S. dollars compared to $1,39,000 for the SIGA
4:13
Now, obviously, there'll probably be a little bit more play, either up or down, depending on your market
4:18
So that advantage may or may not be an advantage, when it comes to your home market
4:22
But it also, more indisputably, is a more compact lens. We're talking about 80.6 millimeters in diameter and 96 millimeters in length
4:33
and weighing in at 512 grams versus 81 millimeters in diameter, so just a little bit wider, but more importantly, quite a bit longer
4:41
110.8 millimeters in length, and it weighs in at 740 grams. And so as you can see, the two lenses side by side
4:50
there is definitely a difference in their length and obviously a pretty significant difference in their weight
4:56
So that's about a 15% difference. So it's about 15% longer, the Sigma
5:00
and it is 44% heavier, which is obviously the more significant of those two
5:05
Now, the Sony also has a minor advantage, and by the way, most of these advantages from here on out
5:11
are going to be very, very minor. But it does have a second custom or focus hold button
5:15
and so if you're shooting in the vertical position, it's accessible there. So it has one more feature than what the Sigma does
5:22
Now, as we'll find in our optical breakdown, it does have a sharper center and rule of thirds performance at wide apertures
5:29
We'll see that as we break it down. So in the places where you're probably most going to look for sharpness
5:34
it has just a tiny bit more tiny bit more contrast there One advantage that we have here on Sony is the fact that the native Sony lens while both of them focus extremely fast
5:47
the Sony lens can achieve the full burst rate on a camera, say, like my Alpha 1
5:52
or an A9 series camera, rather than being constrained to 15 frames per second
5:56
as you will be on the Sigma, the Sony can get all the way up to 30 or even higher in the case of the A9 Mark 3
6:03
And so if you happen to be one of those rare people that is shooting, you know, something like sports or action photography with a 50-millimeter lens
6:11
the Sony might be a little bit better choice for you because it's going to unlock the ultimate burst rate that your camera is capable of
6:19
Now, in some of my optical breakdowns, I found that the Sony has slightly less vignette, and that shows up in real-world images as well, where it's just a little less obvious
6:28
I did find that the geometry was very slightly rounder with the Sony lens
6:33
It retains a little bit more circular shape, and that's more wide open near the edges of the frame than what the Sigma does
6:41
I also found in my breakdown kind of just pixel peeping with bocal images
6:47
I found that there's just a little bit less outlining on the Sony as well
6:52
And I also found that there's a little bit difference in color. The Sony is a little bit more neutral in its color rendition than what the Sigma is
6:59
Again, these are very, very minor differences, but you'll see it in that optical breakdown. I also found that it had very slightly better contrast in real-world situations
7:08
We'll see that later. And also, on the video side of things, this is compatible with Sony's focus breathing compensation in their cameras
7:16
And so if that's an issue for you, the Sony's going to be compatible with that, whereas at the moment, the Sigma is not
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So let's talk about reasons to choose the Sigma. Well, the elephant in the room obviously is you get F1.2 versus F1.4, along with everything that goes along with that
7:30
That does give you more light gathering potential. A larger maximum aperture means that in low light situations, you're going to be able to get more light
7:38
and thus a faster shutter speed, less chance of motion blur with the Sigma lens
7:43
The other aspects that come with an F1.2 aperture is that you're going to find that the bouquet is just a little bit more soft in some situations
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in the simple reason that there is a large maximum aperture means that specular highlights are going to be a little bit bigger
7:57
There's going to be slightly more subject isolation because the depth of field is going to be just a little bit smaller
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And so there's a lot of advantages that come inherent with F1.2, which is why people pay the big bucks to get that kind of maximum aperture
8:11
The Sigma also has a few more aperture blades. It has 13 blades versus 11
8:17
Advantage there being is that more blades means that it's typically easier to keep
8:20
a circular aperture iris shape when the lens is stopped down, something that the Sigma does
8:26
exceptionally well. I did find on a practical level that I preferred the feel of the manual focus
8:32
ring on the Sigma. It is a little bit heavier, damped, but it has more feel and weight to it
8:38
so you feel like you're able to do a little bit more precise, whereas the manual focus ring on the
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Sony has very, very little feel. It's extremely light. I don't love it. And I'll also note as far as the
8:50
tactile sense of it. The Sigma lens has a much wider manual focus ring that you can kind of
8:55
lay hold of and it just fits into the fingers a little bit better. The Sony obviously is trying to
9:02
fit as much stuff as what the Sigma has in a smaller case here. And so it does feel a little bit
9:08
tighter in some of those areas and I would prefer the Sigma and the performance of that. And so
9:14
outside of that, I would say most of the advantages have to do with the F1.2 aperture
9:20
itself. And so in just a moment, we'll do an actual breakdown in the rendering if you want to stay tuned
9:26
for that. But my conclusion is, by the Sigma, if you're looking for F1.2, and you don't want to
9:31
spend the money, an additional $600 to get the Sony 50mm F1.2. This is the lightest, and it is
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also the cheapest autofocusing F1.2 app you're available on this platform right now. And so that
9:45
makes it a really, really appealing lens if your heart is set on F1.2. By the
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the Sony 50 millimeter F1.4, if you can live without F1.2. I do and continue to think this is the best F1.4 package on the market
10:00
I really, really love this lens, and I've been using it very steadily for a year
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It's utterly reliable. It does a great job for me. And I think that it is the confluence of a lot of great engineering things into one package
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And so you can save $100 and get an amazing, amazing lens if you can live with F1.4 versus F4
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for 1.2. My ultimate conclusion here is once again we are incredibly spoiled for choice
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on particularly on the Sony platform there are more auto-focusing 50 millimeter lenses than I think
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have existed on any platform previously and so if you are looking for a 50 millimeter lens
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the good news is you've got tons of options the bad news you've got a lot of options and now you
10:43
have to decide what you're going to put your money down for if you want a little bit more information. Staying with me right now as we dive into the optical comparison. Maybe that'll help
11:00
So throughout this comparison, we're going to keep the Sony GM on the left and the Sigma DN on the right
11:08
So first of all taking a look at Vignette and Distortion you can see that really these two lenses as it going to be a common theme here they look much more similar than they do different both with a very mild amount of pincushion distortion and slightly differing degrees of vignette in the corner To manually correct this on the Sony I used a minus 5 for the distortion a plus 58 for the vignette
11:31
On the d-end lens, a minus 4, just a like 1% less distortion correction, and a little bit more
11:39
vignette correction, plus 65. Now I will show you both F1.4 and then F1.2 on the Sigma so we can get to an apples to apples comparison
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but it's also instructive to look at them both wide open. So wide open, F1.4 on the GM, F1.2 on the Sigma
11:55
You can see in the center of the frame. Both of them are impressively sharp, very high contrast
12:00
You can see particularly in this area on the ship's hull, however, that there's more detail that's being rendered there
12:06
There's a little bit of a noir pattern that is emerging that is just due to having some
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touch high resolution in contrast. If we pop over here towards the mid-frame look
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it's the same kind of thing. Both of them actually look really, really fantastic. But take a look, for example, inside this number five here
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So you can see all of the texture that's showing up there, whereas it's just not rendered quite as much on the sigma
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Now, if we go down to the corners, it is a little bit of a reversal
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and that you can see if you look here and you look here, it's the sigma that's delivering a little bit more detail
12:41
We pop over to the other side of the frame. Look at Winston Churchill's face
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You can see we're still in that rule of thirds. Definitely more contrast for the Sony
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But if we move all the way over here and we look at Queen Elizabeth. Now, in this case, the Sony remains a little bit sharper on this side of the frame
12:57
Looking up in this zone, it's a very obvious win for the Sony. Up into the corner itself, I would say that there's still a win for Sony
13:04
But if we pop over to this side, we can see it's Sigma that looks a little bit better
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So point being is that for a good part of the frame, the Sony is sharper, but there's some give and take
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Okay, so what if we stop down to F1.4 on the Sigma
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Does that equalize things out? Well, you can see that there is a very minor amount of boost there, but I'm still going to give the win to the Sony for the overall center of the frame performance and contrast
13:30
In the mid-frame zone, we can see that there's a little bit of that texture showing up here, but the Sony still has more of it
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And also, if you look at the lips, for example, there's more detail and contrast there than what we see here
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Now, that also means that the advantage for the sigma in the corner of the frame has only gotten more significant
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So you can see just all the textures look crisper. There's more detail that's there
13:54
We'll take a look at both of them at F2.8 and then at F5.6 to see if the calculus changes at all
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So at F2.8, I would say the center result stays the same. Obviously, both of them have gotten a bit sharper
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Sony is kind of off the charts for center performance. You can see that the sensor is actually having a hard time
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There's just so much detail there that that mar is increasing all the more
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In this mid-frame area, you can definitely now see more of that texture that is there
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But you can just see once again that the contrast is kind of popping off the page
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when it comes to the Sony's performance. And over on this side, both of them are looking really very impressive
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You can see again that some of that mar pattern is actually beginning on the
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eyebrow here and all of like the little tiny bits of writing. You can see that they just really pop up
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very crisp. Look at this right underneath the flag there. You can see how much more contrast there
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is versus the Sigma. So that's advantage kind of remains there though as we pop around in different
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spots. I mean both of them are brilliant. On this side I would say that the Sigma obviously still has
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the advantage and that's true if we look up into this corner as well. Now F5.6 is typically
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the most consistent performance across the frame. And typically any area that was a little bit weaker has sharpened up by that point
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So looking here, I mean, both of them look really, really fabulous. I mean, there's so much detail there
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You can see this kind of checkerboard pattern that is a part of the actual fiber of the bill
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that is starting to show up, maybe a little bit more on the Sony, but a lot on the Sigma as well
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Now we can see that these corners, the Sony looks better, but the Sigma still looks better still
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Look at that text right there. Definitely crisper looking on the Sigma
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If we pop back up where we were looking here before, you can see that it's still a little bit better
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in terms of the contrast for the Sony. So again, there's some give and take
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depending on where you're looking. Now we've already looked at this particular image
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as far as the color tone. And you can see that the Sigma looks a little bit warmer
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whereas the Sony is just a little bit more neutral. Now, this is obviously a taste thing
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You may actually prefer that. I would say that I kind of lean towards liking a little bit warmer, but I mean, I can always
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add a little bit of color temperature. I do prefer accuracy where possible
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But let's look at something else here. At 100% magnification, both of these obviously look really fantastic as far as the detail
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that's there. Depth of field is very, very slightly different as far as the focus there, but very, very close
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But what we're looking at here is the advantage that the F1.2 lens is going to have in this
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kind of situation. So if you look at the amount of softness of some of these edges, the Sigma is going to take a win here
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That larger F1.2 aperture, there's a reason why people pay for it and that it does just produce softer backgrounds and a little bit more subject isolation
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Here's a second shot that kind of shows that off. And so you can see number one I mean there a pretty significant difference It comes a little more obvious when you get up into these faster shutter speeds because the numbers look bigger But point being is you are going to get a little bit more exposure out of that F1 aperture But you can see also here that the wall back here it just
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a little bit softer on the sigma, these trees back here, and then you can see, I mean, the thing
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is, is that I look at this image and I know that there's a difference there, but even if I go into
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100% magnification. Frankly, it is, it's somewhat hard to see. So I would say these lenses are more
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similar than different, but the F1.2 is going to give you a little bit of advantage in those areas
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Now, this shot here is interesting. It allows us to really kind of dive in close at some shiny
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reflective surfaces and see if there's any kind of difference. So first of all, both these look
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fabulous, obviously, in the center of the frame. Great, great detail. If I look along the top of this
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I mean, both of them are really controlling the fringing that could be present there
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You see this very shiny, reflective surface. Both of them have a little tiny bit of fringing
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They're very, very minimal. And frankly, probably not enough to really be noticeable
18:07
Now, if we look towards the defocused area here, again, I try to look for a difference between the two
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And frankly, maybe you'll see it or maybe you won't. I don't see, frankly, a lot of difference in this
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I would say that it's very slightly softer here, and so that pattern, kind of the weave of the blanket is a little more obvious on the Gmaster lens
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But frankly, there's not a lot of difference to see. Once again, there is a very, very minor difference in the color rendering that you can see
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And again, your mileage may vary as far as your taste. I thought this would be an interesting torture test to try to find some chromatic aberration
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You can see that, again, there is a little bit of difference in the color temperature from these two lenses
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And again, whatever you prefer, that's great. That's the right answer for you
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I really looked long and hard to try to find fringing here
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to find a difference between the two lenses as I could say, aha, this one is better than the other
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And frankly, I just, I don't really see it. I looked at different areas
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I mean, here you could say, oh, there's a little bit more fringing there, but then as I look here, I don't know
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There's just, both of them are extremely good. And you could also try to find
19:21
a difference in the beaucaire rendering here. And again, I, you know, if you see a difference
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then great. That's the right answer for you. I don't really see much of a difference. We've got two
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of their images to look at here. And so there's a couple of things I do want to point out from this
19:36
And so, first of all, this was another shot that I set up most to try to aha, catch them in some fringing
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These kind of imprinted letters are really, really notorious for showing up fringing. And yeah
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you could say there's a little bit there, but frankly, it's not hard
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enough that is worth seeing. And so, and as I look at the shiny surfaces on these cameras
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or this camera here on each one of the images, I just don't see a whole lot for me to point out
20:02
and say, ah, here's a flaw. It's just not much there as terms of flaws. And if you look at this
20:06
light here, this is another area where you could see some fringing around it if these lenses
20:11
were worse than what they are. But the results just look really fantastic here in the weave
20:16
and the fiber of the strap. You can just see great, great detail there. Now
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Now, I will point out something that I did see as a bit of a difference
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And so you can see in this case, there's just a little bit of fringing before the plane of focus
20:30
that I don't necessarily see in the Gmaster. And then as I look out here, the Gmaster shows just a little bit of fringing on the bouquet in the background
20:40
So, I mean, one shows a little bit more in the foreground, one a little bit more in the background. Neither show much
20:45
I also noted in this zone here that I do note a little bit of an inside edge, inner edge
20:51
of the bowcast circles on the sigma lens that is more neutral on the Sony
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So I would say I would take the Sony's work there. The other thing that I noted here is if we look at the overall shape here
21:04
and this is, as you can see, this is not far off center. But we can see that even here, there is a little bit better job wide open from the Sony
21:13
of a rounder shape, whereas there's a little bit of that geometric deformation for the sigma
21:19
You can see in this one just a little bit rounder. And then as you kind of move towards these others, get close to the edges
21:26
You can see the both of them are deforming, but the Sigma deforms just a little bit more
21:30
Now, one final shot, and that is I wanted to see how they both handled the flare of the light
21:36
coming through the window here in my barrel sauna. And I would say that both of them are very similar
21:41
Very possibly the Sigma is ever so slightly better. But again, the difference is extremely close
21:47
I also thought we might see some fringing. here, but once again, these lenses do such a great job
21:52
There's not much friending to see them. So the all other conclusion I would point to is, and this I alluded to earlier, I feel
21:57
like the real world contrast is just ever so slightly better, kind of that micro contrast
22:03
on the textures and the contrast like in this crack here. It's just a little bit better to find on the GM versus the Sigma lens
22:11
Again, the difference is so minuscule. You wouldn't see it if you didn't have them side by side like this, but the whole point
22:16
of this exercise is to try to nitpick. So there are a few nits for you to pick along with me
22:23
So you've stuck around to the very end, and as always, that means you're one of my favorite people
22:28
Thanks for watching. Have a great day and let the light in