Samyang AF 85mm F1.4 Series II Review

Dustin Abbott

November 1st, 2022

My excitement over reviewing a new Samyang lens has grown by leaps and bounds over the past three years. In my DSLR days I had treated Samyang much like some of the budget manual focus lens players on the market today (7Artisans, TTArtisan, Brightin Star, etc…). They produced lenses that were sometimes optically interesting but not really at the same level as the big players in terms of build, features, and autofocus. They even sold their lenses under multiple brand names, of which only Samyang and Rokinon remain (yes, Rokinon lenses are the exact same save slightly different badging). But then Samyang started to experiment with autofocus, and, while early results were a little primitive, I saw rapid progress. About 3 ½ years ago I reviewed the first Samyang lens that I thought was truly competitive with the main brands, and it was the Samyang AF 85mm F1.4 FE. I subsequently reviewed the Canon RF mount version of the lens and found it even better (they added an AF/MF switch to the design). I added that lens to my own personal Canon kit and still regularly use it today. Today, however, I’m looking at the second generation of Samyang’s “big” prime lenses. I first looked at the Series II version of the AF 50mm F1.4, and found it a major improvement over the first generation lens. Today I’ll be examining the new Samyang AF 85mm F1.4 Series II, hereby referred to as the AF 85II. I will subsequently be looking at the new 35mm F1.4 Series II along with the impressive Samyang AF 135mm F1.8.

I’m excited about this Samyang lens as I’ve always appreciated the performance and value of the previous versions of the lens, and now we’ve gotten a more compact size along with new features as a part of the formula. The new version is slimmer and lighter along with some other significant improvements:

Smaller size:
- MK 1 88 x 99.5 (D x L) | 568g weight | 77mm filter thread
- MK 2 83.4 x 99.5 (D x L) | 509g weight | 72mm filter thread

Slightly improved MFD (0.85 vs 0.90 = 0.12 vs 0.11x)
AF Motor improved to Linear STM (Samyang claims improved performance for video. “Quieter, faster, and more accurate AF performance”
Improved weather sealing – from 3 seal points to 7 seal points
Added Focus Hold Button and Custom Switch

We’ll detail those features further, but clearly Samyang is upping its game in terms of providing lenses that are competitive with third party brands and even with first party options. For now, the AF 85II is only available on Sony FE, though here’s hoping that Canon and Nikon will wake up and allow their customers access to these excellent new lenses. The AF 85II comes at a price point of right under $800 USD, which places it only $200 more than the Sony F1.8 version (my review here) and about $400 cheaper than the lens I consider to be the chief competitor to this lens – the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DN ART (my review here).

So is the new Samyang AF 85mm F1.4 Series II worthy of your consideration if you’re in the market for a new lens? Is it worth the upgrade if you own the previous generation lens? I’ll do my best to answer those questions either in my video review or in the text review that follows.

I want to thank Samyang for sending me a test retail copy of the lens for review. As always, this is a completely independent review. The opinions here are completely my own. *The tests and most of the photos that I share as a part of my review cycle have been done with the new Sony Alpha 1 which will serve as my benchmark camera for the foreseeable future (my review here) and the Sony a7IV

Samyang AF 85II Build, Design and Handling

The AF 85II is a reflection of Samyang’s growing design evolution. It very strongly resembles the AF 50mm F1.4 Series II lens with what has become Samyang’s new design language. This includes a new diamond pattern texture of the focus ring and a transition of Samyang’s red ring (which previously really imitated Canon’s L-series lenses) to the new “hidden ring” design where the red is only visible from the front of the lens as it is somewhat hidden in the front fascia of the lens barrel. The resulting lens design is clean and modern.

I liked the look of the previous Samyang AF 85mm F1.4 and its sleek design, but the new design language is, I think, more distinctly Samyang’s rather than a simile of someone else’s lens. A byproduct of this process has been the ability to also slightly reduce the physical size of the Series II lenses, which is in keeping with the trend that Sony has been following with its MK II G Master designs. Of the competing options, the new AF 85II is the overall smallest and lightest, though not in every dimension.

It has shed about 60g (2oz) relative to the Series I lens, and weighs in at about 115g lighter than the Sigma DN lens and a whopping 310g lighter than the Sony G Master. It is only 140g heavier than the Sony 85mm F1.8 lens, which makes it competitive in the F1.8 market in both size and price. Here’s a look at the two Series II lenses I have on hand and then the RF version of the first generation AF 85mm F1.4, which definitely looks bigger all around.

The Sigma DN lens isn’t really larger in pure physical size, but I do prefer the profile of the Samyang once the lens hoods are attached. The Sigma hood is relatively huge in diameter, which takes up much more room in a bag.

I’ve watched Samyang grow in their lens design over the past 3-4 years as they steadily debuted new features. One of those was weather sealing, which the first generation lens had, though with fewer seal points (only three on that lens). I count seven seal points from this diagram on the Series II lens, including at various transition points in the lens (front and rear element, either side of the focus ring, and at the switches).

I consider weather sealing to be a must if you want to market your lens as a premium or professional lens, and Samyang has smartly recognized that many photographers feel the same. They’ve definitely embraced weather sealing as a part of lens design, which does help inspire confidence when the weather turns during a photo shoot…like it did during this one, with a burst of cold rain.

The Series II lenses features some newer features for Samyang which have debuted over the past two years. One is a custom switch that gives you some options for how the focus ring will be used. You can tweak the options via the Samyang Lens Station (a $60 purchase I definitely recommend as it also allows you to quickly update the firmware. This might help with some improvement to performance and also will keep your investment “future-proofed”). I would like to see Samyang move to a lens-based USB-C port like Tamron and Viltrox have moved to, as that eliminates the need for an additional accessory for this functionality.

My preferred setup is that the M1 position has the ring focus as an aperture ring and the M2 position automatically enables manual focus. This gives you the functionality of an aperture ring and an AF/MF switch in one.

There’s also now a focus hold button which can be programmed to a variety of functions from within the camera just like on a Sony lens.

The manual focus ring is nice and wide and has that new textured surface (with a rubberized finish). I like the tactile feel of the “micro pattern” (as Samyang calls it) and feel like it offers good grip. The damping of the focus ring is nice and smooth, though I felt like I could use just a little more precision in the ring when making very fine adjustments. The focus action appears to be linear (non-speed dependent), which is good for repeatability, though the focus throw is too long for major video focus throws. You need about 5 normal focus rotations to travel the extremes of the focus range, and I estimate the whole focus throw at somewhere near 380°. Fortunately you can control the speed of the focus ring via the Lens Manager software if you have the Lens Station. On a positive note, the automatic magnification of the active focus area is engaged with the lens, which helps make the manual focus process more intuitive and accurate.

The lens hood is included. It’s plastic and pretty basic. It bayonets into place smoothly and locks tightly but lacks a dedicated locking mechanism (if that matters to you).

The body materials here are engineered plastics, but good feeling plastics, and the build feels solid if not exceptional. The lens feels quality but not necessarily top tier in build…which frankly is where the price point is.

Up front we have a clean front fascia and a 72mm filter thread size that is shared with the new 50mm F1.4 II.

If you look inside, you’ll find an aperture iris with 9 rounded blades, though the shape of the aperture blades will start to show up by F2.8 in a mild way. Here’s a look at the shape of the bokeh circles at F1.4, F2, and F2.8.

The geometric shape is pretty nice, and the bokeh circles are nice and soft. Fringing around the bokeh highlights is not at all pronounced, so you won’t have to fear shooting portraits or other shots with bright lights in the background.

As noted in the intro, Samyang has managed to very slightly improve the minimum focus distance over the first-generation lens from 90cm (2.95’) to 85cm (2.8’), which increases the magnification from 0.11x to 0.12x. That’s about average for an 85mm lens. Here’s what the magnification looks like:

The large maximum aperture and longer focal length allow the AF 85II to nicely isolate subjects and leave backgrounds completely defocused. The fact that the lens is also very sharp produces great looking images with sharp detail on the subject and beautifully blurred backgrounds.

There’s something very pleasing about this Series II lens. It strikes a very nice balance between a quality build while also being compact and lightweight. I like the general profile and look of the lens and appreciate the growing functionality that Samyang is building into these new lenses. They don’t have quite the level of robustness that either a Sony GM or the recent Sigma DN prime lenses do, but this is compensated for by reduced size and weight. I’m happy with the general trend of Samyang design.

Autofocus Performance

The Samyang AF 85mm F1.4 II employs a Linear STM focus motor. On paper this is a step down from the first-generation lens, as it employed a DLSM (Dual Linear Sonic Motor) focus system. One motor certainly wouldn’t seem to match two motors, yet Samyang claims “Quieter, faster and more accurate AF performance with linear STM motor”. I didn’t have the original first generation lens in Sony FE (I have one in Canon RF mount) on hand to compare the new lens with, but I did refer back to my review notes and images taken with that lens for some comparisons. I noted in my review of that lens that this was the area I felt still needed the most improvement. AF-C focus speed was somewhat slowed relative to AF-S, and I felt the focus system could use a little more torque. I also found that (at least initially), the older lens wasn’t always completely confident in focus and would have some minor focus adjustments taking place often.

What I can safely say is that I no longer have any of those concerns. I own the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DN that I’ve alluded to in this review, and I used both lenses side by side during some comparisons and found essentially no difference between the two. They were equally fast, equally confident in focus, which means that autofocus is actually better than on the existing Sony 85mm F1.4 G Master (I fully anticipate a second generation replacement that will be more like the exceptional 50mm F1.2 GM in performance). Autofocus is fast, silent, and accurate with the Samyang Series II lens, delivering one well focused result after another.

Eye AF worked extremely well in my portrait series even when I placed foreground objects in between the camera and subject.

I have the Focus Hold button programmed to allow me to switch eyes during Eye AF for portraits, and I found that this function worked perfectly with the AF 85II, giving me accurate focus on the eye of my choice.

I had good Eye AF tracking an animal subject even while Ferrari was moving.

Focus pulls are still on the slower side for video, though they feel well damped and smooth. There is some very noticeable focus breathing, so this is not a top choice for video work if that bothers you. I saw good results with the “hand test” where I put my hand out in front of the lens to block my face before allowing focus to return to tracking my eye.

The focus motor is not completely silent; you will hear some faint whirring and clicking, though I essentially only heard it if I put my ear close. No sound was picked up during my video pull test. Typical focus changes are near instantaneous, though if you shift between a close and distant subject you will experience a brief lag.

Focus speed was fast enough that I didn’t really think about it when shooting stills and only noticed the slower transition speed when shooting video. Focus results were generally confident, however, and there was no settling before focus lock was achieved.

That larger maximum aperture (F1.4) assists in low light focus, making this a decent lens to use in very dim situations. This shot of Nala is at 1/20th second, F1.4, ISO 3200 – which equals very dim lighting conditions. I don’t remember any lag in focus, and I shot multiple shots during this sequence that were all accurately focused.

Focus accuracy was just generally excellent. I shoot a lot of very shallow depth of field shots with a lens like this, and I’ve got all kinds of great photos with pinpoint focus.

I shot with both the high end Sony Alpha 1 and the more moderately priced a7IV with good results on both. I even shot some pickup basketball action and got well focused results.

I’m not sure I would characterize this as a sports lens (I’m not sure it is fast enough for really fast action), but it will work fine for moderate action work and should be effortless for things like weddings. It’s not as fast as the best recent G Master lenses, but few lenses are. All in all, I would call autofocus solid here and an improvement at the margins over the first generation lens.

Samyang AF 85mm F1.4 II Image Quality

It’s fortunate that Samyang had a great optical formula in their first generation of this lens, as both the optical design and the MTF charts suggest that we have an identical optical formula in the Series II lens. Both lenses employ an optical formula of 11 elements in 8 groups, with 4 HR elements and 1 ED element making up the “special” elements. In this series of MTF charts you can see the Series 1 lens, the Series 2 lens, and then the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DN.

If you don’t understand how to read MTF charts, you can check out my video on the subject here. You can see the identical MTF curves of the Samyang, which show a very strong center performance, some dip to the mid-frame, and then a gradual tailing off to about 54% at the corner. The Sigma MTF suggests a percentage point or two better performance in the center, an actual improvement to mid-frame (giving a clear win there), and a steeper drop-off to the corners where it matches the Samyang performance. The Samyang MTF chart also includes an F8 MTF, where the performance is very near to flawlessly sharp. We’ll see if my real world tests back this up, but I can tell you this – the AF 85II is definitely real-world sharp!

We’ll work through the chart results by first looking at distortion and vignette. As of yet there isn’t a correction profile available in Lightroom, but you can use the first generation profile without issue since the two lenses are essentially optically identical (with one caveat that I’ll discuss in a moment!)

While I keep monitoring the status of in-camera corrections for Samyang lenses, it still doesn’t seem that lenses aren’t receiving correction in camera for JPEGs or video. My JPEGs of my chart test are no more corrected that my RAW images. I mostly shoot RAW images, so I don’t think about it much, but those of you who typically rely on in-camera corrections and shoot JPEG are going to be disappointed here. My hope that is Sony will afford Samyang the courtesy that third party lens makers like Tamron and Sigma get lenses get in terms of these corrections, but that day has not yet arrived. Fortunately Samyang has been making lenses in the past couple of years that don’t seem to need a great deal of correcting, so that certainly helps.

There’s only a negligible amount of pincushion distortion (a -1 to correct) along with a moderate amount of vignette that required a +53 to correct for, so around 2 stops in the corners. The vignette is fairly linear, which means that it will often be flattering to your images and you may want to leave it uncorrected.

This is also one area of serious advantage over the Sigma DN lens, which has both a LOT of pincushion distortion and much heavier vignette.

So how about chromatic aberrations? I found some lateral chromatic aberrations along the edge of the frame, and some very mild longitudinal chromatic aberrations (LoCA) which can be seen as purple and green fringing before and after the plane of focus at wide apertures.

I didn’t find either version of CA to be an issue in my real world images.

So how about resolution and contrast? Here’s a look at my test chart: *All chart tests done with a Sony Alpha 1 (50MP) using a tripod and a two second timer.

And here are the crops (at roughly 170% magnification) from the center, mid-frame, and extreme corner at F1.4:

That’s a pretty awesome result. Everywhere looks nice and crisp even into the extreme corner even at high magnification of a 50MP image. If we drop back to just 100% magnification the image looks flawless.

So what if we compare it to the Sigma? Here are three comparisons (you can find more in my VS video that will release soon). The first shows center performance at F1.4, then corner performance at F1.4, and finally a real-world mid-frame comparison:

What stands out is that the Sigma has an exceptional amount of contrast which gives it an advantage in the center and the real-world result. The Samyang is slightly better in the corners in my comparison.

I consistently saw more skin textures from the Sigma in my direct comparisons between the two lenses, though whether that’s a pro or a con depends on your preference in a portrait lens. Also interesting is that I didn’t really see a color difference between the two lenses. Historically Samyang lenses have trended towards warmer tones, but it seems like recent lenses have a more neutral color profile.

I didn’t notice the Sigma advantage as much in non-portrait comparisons. In this 100% crop from a shot of the chess board I can see a slightest increase of textures for the Sigma.

If you take the comparisons off the table, however, the reality is that the AF 85II is an extremely sharp lens. It was perfectly easy to get compelling landscape images even at F1.4.

I also loved the subject isolation at F1.4.

This is why 85mm F1.4 lenses are so compelling.

By F2 the Samyang is extremely sharp across the frame. Look at how crisp the textures are in the deep mid-frame even at 200% magnification.

Here’s some portrait detail at F2.5:

At F2.8 and beyond the performance is flawless. You’ll be able to get amazingly detailed images even on Sony’s high resolution sensors.

The quality of the bokeh is very nice as well. You can get amazing subject isolation and blurred out backgrounds, like this simple images of dried grasses:

How about this old lock?

Or step back a little with these frost-covered ferns?

This image was about the busiest that I could get from the bokeh, and it’s still quite nice.

This is a great lens for capturing bokeh.

I tested flare during a “sun-shower”, which produced very interesting results. There’s some veiling in the first wide open shot, though it is very artistic in its rendering. The second image is stopped down to F11, and it shows the strongest ghosting artifacts. The final image is wide open but with the sun more directly in the frame, and contrast held up more in that scenario.

There’s nothing that really turns me off about this performance.

I also found the colors I was able to capture with the lens very pleasing.

Bottom line is that this is a very strong optical performance with few flaws. It isn’t quite at the exceptional level of the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DN (which is actually better than the current GM lens), but the Samyang also has less vignette and distortion. You’ll be hard pressed to find more better image quality for $800! You can see more images by checking out the lens image gallery here.

Conclusion

Samyang’s Series II lenses are evidence of the growing maturation of the brand and their ability to compete on merit rather than just price. Samyang’s first generation of autofocus lenses featured great optical performances that were often held back by the company’s inexperience with autofocus design. Samyang has wisely capitalized on the strength of those optical designs by releasing this lineup of Series II lenses that often take those optical formulas (with perhaps some minor tweaks) and release them in new lenses that showcase their progress in autofocus and feature design. The Samyang AF 85mm F1.4 II is a perfect example of that philosophy. It is a much more complete lens than its predecessor despite being optically similar.

That’s not really a bad thing. This is a very strong lens optically, with great sharpness, good control of various aberrations, and lovely bokeh. It’s a very nice portrait lens that is aided by the improved autofocus accuracy and consistency.

At right under $800 USD this is an unquestionable value, and I see no reason why this lens should not become a favorite among portrait photographers who don’t want to spend well over a thousand dollars to get their portrait lens. This price point allows it to compete with the cheaper F1.8 options as well, as the AF 85II offers that F1.4 “look”, more features, and better weather sealing. Samyang is really hitting their stride as a lens maker, and their Series II lenses are “Exhibit A” as evidence.

Pros:

Nice construction complete with weather sealing
Well executed, smooth manual focus ring
Custom switch and focus hold button adds functionality
Smaller and lighter than competing lenses
Quiet, effective autofocus
Good center sharpness wide open
Excellent sharpness across the frame when stopped down
Lovely bokeh
Fairly strong flare resistance
Excellent price-to-performance ratio

Cons:

Manual focus throw too long for easy focus pulls
Focus motor could use a little more torque

Gear Used:

Purchase the Samyang AF 85mm F1.4 II @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Samyang AF 50mm F1.4 II @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DN ART @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Sony a7IV @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Sony Alpha 1 @ Camera Canada | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase a Sony a9M2 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Want to support this channel? Use these affiliate links to shop at: B&H Photo | Amazon | | Camera Canada | Ebay | Make a donation via Paypal

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Keywords: Samyang 85 II, Samyang 85 1.4, Samyang 85mm, II, Series II, MK II, AF, Samyang, Rokinon, Samyang AF 85mm F1.4 II, F1.4II, Samyang AF, Samyang AF 85mm F1.4 II Review, Review, Dustin Abbott, FE, Sigma 85mm F1.4 DN, FE, Sony 85mm F1.4 GM, Sony 85mm F1.8, Portrait, Sony a7IV, Sony a7III, Sony Alpha 1, Sony a7C, Bokeh, Sharpness, Resolution, Video Test, Sample Images, Real World, let the light in, #letthelightin, DA

DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Samyang AF 85mm F1.4 Series II Image Gallery

Dustin Abbott

November 1st, 2022

My excitement over reviewing a new Samyang lens has grown by leaps and bounds over the past three years. In my DSLR days I had treated Samyang much like some of the budget manual focus lens players on the market today (7Artisans, TTArtisan, Brightin Star, etc…). They produced lenses that were sometimes optically interesting but not really at the same level as the big players in terms of build, features, and autofocus. They even sold their lenses under multiple brand names, of which only Samyang and Rokinon remain (yes, Rokinon lenses are the exact same save slightly different badging). But then Samyang started to experiment with autofocus, and, while early results were a little primitive, I saw rapid progress. About 3 ½ years ago I reviewed the first Samyang lens that I thought was truly competitive with the main brands, and it was the Samyang AF 85mm F1.4 FE. I subsequently reviewed the Canon RF mount version of the lens and found it even better (they added an AF/MF switch to the design). I added that lens to my own personal Canon kit and still regularly use it today. Today, however, I’m looking at the second generation of Samyang’s “big” prime lenses. I first looked at the Series II version of the AF 50mm F1.4, and found it a major improvement over the first generation lens. Today I’ll be examining the new Samyang AF 85mm F1.4 Series II. I will subsequently be looking at the new 35mm F1.4 Series II along with the impressive Samyang AF 135mm F1.8.

I’m excited about this Samyang lens as I’ve always appreciated the performance and value of the previous versions of the lens, and now we’ve gotten a more compact size along with new features as a part of the formula. The new version is slimmer and lighter along with some other significant improvements:

Smaller size:
- MK 1 88 x 99.5 (D x L) | 568g weight | 77mm filter thread
- MK 2 83.4 x 99.5 (D x L) | 509g weight | 72mm filter thread

Slightly improved MFD (0.85 vs 0.90 = 0.12 vs 0.11x)
AF Motor improved to Linear STM (Samyang claims improved performance for video. “Quieter, faster, and more accurate AF performance”
Improved weather sealing – from 3 seal points to 7 seal points
Added Focus Hold Button and Custom Switch

We’ll detail those features further, but clearly Samyang is upping its game in terms of providing lenses that are competitive with third party brands and even with first party options. For now, the AF 85II is only available on Sony FE, though here’s hoping that Canon and Nikon will wake up and allow their customers access to these excellent new lenses. The AF 85mm F1.4 Series II comes at a price point of right under $800 USD, which places it only $200 more than the Sony F1.8 version (my review here) and about $400 cheaper than the lens I consider to be the chief competitor to this lens – the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DN ART (my review here).

So is the new Samyang AF 85mm F1.4 Series II worthy of your consideration if you’re in the market for a new lens? Is it worth the upgrade if you own the previous generation lens? I do my best to answer those questions in my video review or in my text review…or you can just enjoy the photos below.

I want to thank Samyang for sending me a test retail copy of the lens for review. As always, this is a completely independent review. The opinions here are completely my own. *The tests and most of the photos that I share as a part of my review cycle have been done with the new Sony Alpha 1 which will serve as my benchmark camera for the foreseeable future (my review here) and the Sony a7IV

Photos of the Samyang 85mm F1.4 Series II

Photos Taken with the Samyang AF 85mm F1.4 Series II

Gear Used:

Purchase the Samyang AF 85mm F1.4 II @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Samyang AF 50mm F1.4 II @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DN ART @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Sony a7IV @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Sony Alpha 1 @ Camera Canada | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase a Sony a9M2 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Want to support this channel? Use these affiliate links to shop at: B&H Photo | Amazon | | Camera Canada | Ebay | Make a donation via Paypal

Buy DA Merchandise https://bit.ly/TWIMerch

Peak Design Leash Strap: Peak Design Store | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK

Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 1-Year Subscription
Get a discount off all Skylum Editing Software (Luminar, Aurora HDR, AirMagic) by using code DUSTINHDR at checkout:
Visit Dustin’s Amazon Storefront and see his favorite gear

Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. You can also make a donation here if you would like. Visit my Amazon page for some of my gear of choice! Thank you for your support.

Receive a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52018DA in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews!

Use Code “DUSTINHDR” to get $10 off ($15 CDN) any Skylum product: Luminar, Aurora, or AirMagic

Keywords: Samyang 85 II, Samyang 85 1.4, Samyang 85mm, II, Series II, MK II, AF, Samyang, Rokinon, Samyang AF 85mm F1.4 II, F1.4II, Samyang AF, Samyang AF 85mm F1.4 II Review, Review, Dustin Abbott, FE, Sigma 85mm F1.4 DN, FE, Sony 85mm F1.4 GM, Sony 85mm F1.8, Portrait, Sony a7IV, Sony a7III, Sony Alpha 1, Sony a7C, Bokeh, Sharpness, Resolution, Video Test, Sample Images, Real World, let the light in, #letthelightin, DA

DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 FE Review

Dustin Abbott

February 14th, 2022

You have to admire Viltrox. Just a few short years ago I reviewed my first Viltrox lens (a manual focus wide angle), but by their third lens, I was reviewing an autofocus lens. And, since that point, they have tackled most modern mirrorless platform with autofocus lenses, from Sony E/FE to Fuji X to Canon EF-M and RF to Nikon Z. That takes a lot of guts, as each platform has its own unique challenges, but Viltrox has smartly packaged and repackaged their optical designs with new looks, cine versions, and releases on new platforms like Canon RF and Nikon Z. They have pulled it off, too, with largely successful lenses at very competitive prices. About a year ago I reviewed what was the first of a new series of lenses for 2021, a 24mm F1.8 STM lens which I reviewed in a Sony FE mount. The 24mm was to be followed up in 2021 with a 35mm F1.8 along with a 50mm F1.8 lens. 2021 didn’t turn out like any of us planned, however, and development of the 35mm and 50mm lenses got pushed back. But fast forward a year, and I’ve already spent time reviewing the very competent Viltrox AF 50mm F1.8 STM (my review here) and have now turned my attention to the Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 STM.

I’m doing this review on the Sony platform where there was a definite 35mm need just a few short years ago, but that void has been filled by a series of competent lenses, including Sony’s own FE 35mm F1.8 (my review here), Samyang AF 35mm F1.8 (my review here), and the Sigma 35mm F2 DN (my review here). That’s a crowded market, and Viltrox can’t even (at the moment) claim the least expensive slot, as that is filled by the Samyang ($329 USD). The Viltrox comes at a MSRP of $399 USD (which the Samyang also launched at), while the Sigma ($639 USD) and Sony ($748 USD) all range higher. But Viltrox doesn’t only produce for Sony. There’s already a Nikon Z mount available, and I suspect we’ll see a Canon RF version shortly. There’s a LOT of room for third party options on those platforms, as Viltrox is providing on the only third party 35mm F1.8 alternative on Nikon, and at a price less than 50% that of the Nikkor Z 35mm F1.8 S. On any platform, however, there are some Viltrox strengths that we’ll detail, including the ability to get some very photos from a competent, reasonably priced lens:

But there are also some areas where the Viltrox AF35 (as I’ll call it for brevity) doesn’t quite measure up to the standard of the competition. We’ll detail both in this real world review. If you prefer to watch reviews, you can choose either the long-format definitive review or the quick take video below:

I want to thank Viltrox for sending me a test retail copy of the lens for review. As always, this is a completely independent review. The opinions here are completely my own. *The tests and most of the photos that I share as a part of my review cycle have been done with the new Sony Alpha 1 which will serve as my benchmark camera for the foreseeable future (my review here).

Viltrox AF35 Build, Design and Handling

The Viltrox AF35 strikes a very nice balance between quality of build and compact size. It’s a bit more feature rich than the typical budget lens, and definitely has a higher grade of build with mostly metal and glass in the construction. The 35mm shares common design language with both the 24mm and 50mm F1.8 lenses, with nearly identical physical dimensions of 89.9mm long and 70mm in diameter, which on paper is about a millimeter longer. The weight of all three lenses is listed at 340g. Clearly Viltrox has once again leveraged an outer physical design into multiple optical formulas like they’ve done with the APS-C 23mm, 33mm, and 56mm F1.4 lenses. What we’ve got is a relatively compact lens, but one made of premium materials (all metal and glass).

This does lead to a lens that feels more expensive that its price tag suggest. Up front we have a 55mm filter thread, which is a small but relatively common filter size. This means you can share filters across the lineup. Like the rest of the barrel construction, the filter threads are metal, and the front aspect of the lens is nice.

There are no switches on the side of the barrel, and Viltrox has devoted the real estate on the lens to a nice aperture ring along with a wide manual focus ring.

The aperture ring is nicely executed, with one third stop markings (that line up precisely), though are there are no “detents” outside of the one between F16 (minimum aperture) and Auto mode to keep you from inadvertently switching between the two. This means that one could in theory do aperture racking, though electronically controlled apertures are often not the best for this.

The manual focus ring is really nicely executed. It is finely ribbed (in metal), so has great grip. It also has excellent damping, which makes focus emulation very nice and precise. The active focus area will be automatically magnified if focus assist is enabled, and this enables one to quickly confirm accurate focus visually. Viltrox has been doing a great with these manual focus rings, as all three lenses in this current series have one of the best executions of focus by wire in a non-premium lens that I’ve seen. A very quiet focus motor assures that there is no noise during manual focus.

The lens hood is the only discordant note here, as, while made of decently thick plastics, it feels a little cheap relative to the excellent materials used on the lens barrel itself.

Here’s a look at the overall specifications relative to the two competitors (neither of which have an aperture ring, a decent manual focus ring, and no real metals in the construction materials).

As noted, what we are missing in lens design is any switches (you’ll have to change between AF and MF in camera) and a lack of any weather sealing, though the front element has been treated with a water-resistant coating. Lens construction outside of these missing pieces is very nice.

There are nine rounded aperture blades, though you will start to see the shape of the aperture blades fairly quickly. Viltrox has improved in their ability to create a more even aperture iris, however. Some early ones were somewhat lopsided.

As you stop the aperture down (wide open, F2.8, F4 here), you will start to see the shape of the blades a bit. There is a mild amount of what we often call “onion bokeh” (concentric circles in bokeh ball highlights), but fortunately this is less pronounced than on the 50mm F1.8 (one of my main criticisms there). Bokeh balls are still not as clean as what I would like, however, though as we will see later on, the quality of the bokeh otherwise is quite nice.

Viltrox has included a USB-C port on the metal lens mount that allows you to connect the lens to a computer and update the firmware directly. The ability to easily update firmware is a huge asset for Viltrox, and a standard I would love to see other lensmakers adopt, as, frankly, it is a simpler process than a separate dock or even updating in camera like Sony lenses do.

Thus far magnification has rarely been a strength for Viltrox lenses. This often requires a more complicated floating lens group or specific engineering to achieve closer focus and thus higher levels of magnification. The Viltrox AF 35mm STM cannot focus as closely as competitors (40cm) and thus only has a 0.10x magnification. This figure lags competing lenses, which offer close to double that magnification (even higher with the Sony 35mm F1.8). Here’s what the magnification on the Viltrox AF35 looks like:

Not much magnification, obviously, though the upside is the contrast and detail is actually quite good even at F1.8. This has been a trend for Viltrox lenses – low magnification, but good performance at MFD including good contrast and detail along with a fairly flat plane of focus.

This section produces a slightly mixed bag of results, mostly due to the fact that the competition is a little stronger at 35mm than at, say, the 50mm F1.8 standard I was comparing to with their previous lens. Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 STM is a very nicely built lens with some positive features, but competitors offer better magnification and even some weather sealing. I’d love to see Viltrox incorporate an AF/MF switch (they did on their RF 85mm F1.8) and start to include weather sealing in their designs, but outside of that, this is a lot of lens for the money.

Viltrox AF 35mm STM Autofocus Performance

The Viltrox AF 35mm STM utilizes a lead-screw type stepping focus motor (STM) that makes fast, quiet focus changes. I could hear some light whirring and clicking in some focus changes, but it was very quiet. Viltrox lenses have proven to be increasingly reliable when using them for video AF, too. I saw no hunting or loss of focus when in front of the camera; it stayed solidly locked onto my eye/face without any pulsing. I was also very pleased with my focus accuracy when shooting stills, where even very narrow depth of field situations returned very consistently good focus results on my Sony Alpha 1.

Focus speed was typically very good and results were generally confident; I saw no problem with settling before focus lock was achieved. The reasonably large maximum aperture helps low light focus when shooting at large apertures. I was actually very impressed by a series of photos I took in extremely dim conditions (mostly shooting at ISO 12,800) where Loki was laying under a blanket on the couch in a near dark room. Eye AF immediately locked on and every shot (10 in the series) was perfectly focused even when I varied things up in terms of the placement of the subject and moving him nearer the edges of the frame.

I was testing the high end medium format Fuji GFX-50S II at the same time and mounted the GF 110mm F2 (a $2800 lens!) on to try to capture the same setting with Loki. Focus hunted back and forth, back and forth, without locking on. I ended up manually focusing. Medium format autofocus is not on the same level as modern full frame cameras, but it was a bit jarring to see how big the difference was. Kudos to Viltrox for creating autofocus motors that work so well with Sony’s cameras, though.

Like most lenses on Sony, the Viltrox AF35 focuses at the preset aperture, meaning that the advantage of a larger aperture is lost if your aperture is set at, say, F2.8. If you are in very low light conditions, you might want to focus with the lens at F1.8 if you get some hunting with a smaller preset aperture.

Eye AF works very well whether a human or animal is the subject. Here’s a shot of Ferrari at F2.2 that shows accurate focus and very nice sharpness.

Eye AF with humans was also accurate, though I got a few false positives in this challenging situation (side lit and with hair covering the eye somewhat). I switched the priority to the other eye, and focus results were then excellent.

I also got good accuracy at wide apertures when out doing general purpose photography. I love the versatility of the 35mm focal length (one of my favorites!) as you can go from close ups like this one:

…to bigger picture landscapes like this one:

I do have one autofocus criticism, however. When I did my focus pull test I got smooth and accurate pulls, but I could hear some very obvious motor noise (a whirring/clicking kind of noise). These days it is rare to hear obvious focus noise in situations like this, and a lens like the Samyang AF 35mm F1.8 is at a similar price point but has a quieter focus motor. I was a little surprised when it was as loud as it was for this test, as I didn’t see notice focus noise much in ordinary use. The Samyang is probably a better choice for those wanting to do video for that reason, though.

Viltrox has done a generally good job, however, of nailing consistent autofocus in a very brief period. They are fast learners over there!

Viltrox AF 35mm STM Image Quality

The Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 STM definitely has a good but not exceptional MTF chart, and if you compare it to the chief competitor (the Samyang, shown second), you can see that the Samyang is just a little better pretty much everywhere in the frame.

The MTF suggests that at F1.8 there is good center performance with a dip slightly off center that then picks up close to the edges and with another drop-off right in the corners. We’ll see if that bears out in real world tests.

All chart tests done with a Sony Alpha 1 (50MP) using a tripod and a two second timer.

We’ll work through the chart results by first looking at distortion and vignette. I’ll note that once again I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was already a standard correction profile in Lightroom for the lens. This is a lens that is only just now coming to market, so it’s impressive that Viltrox is now getting this level of software support. The profile does a pretty good job of correcting for distortion and vignette:

If we turn off the assistance, however, we discover that there really isn’t much distortion but a fairly significant amount of vignette exists.

I corrected the small amount of pincushion distortion with -3, while the vignette required more correction with a +60 to correct for, so 2+ stops in the corners. A bit more vignette than what I would like, but nothing extreme. Having that RAW support in terms of a profile is a nice change from where Viltrox was even a year ago.

That’s the good news. The bad news?

At this point, Viltrox lenses aren’t receiving correction in camera for JPEGs or video. I mostly shoot RAW images, so I don’t think about it much, but those of you who typically rely on in-camera corrections and shoot JPEG are going to be disappointed here. My hope that is Viltrox gets to a place where they get more support and their lenses get in-camera corrections.

As someone who spends time with most of a company’s new products, you start to get a feel for where the strengths and weakness of their optical designs typically fall. For Viltrox, those weakness typically include low magnification due to higher than average minimum focus distances (true here) and also a tendency towards some longitudinal chromatic aberrations. I do see some of the typical green fringing that I’ve come to expect, but this is probably a little milder than usual for a Viltrox lens.

Lateral Chromatic Aberrations usually show up along the edges of the frame as fringing on either side of high contrast areas (like the bare branches below), but they seem to be quite well controlled in the Viltrox AF35.

So how about resolution and contrast? Here’s a look at my test chart:

And here are the crops (at roughly 170% magnification) from the center, mid-frame, and extreme corner at F1.8:

The center shows a good amount of resolution and decent contrast, but acuity (a word I use to describe resolving fine details) is only average. There isn’t a huge drop-off across the frame, with my mid-frame result looking more competitive and the corners not completely falling apart. I do note the lack of acuity there, however, with a look almost like a bit of motion blur. It’s not motion blur, however, as this was done from a solid tripod with a two second countdown.

My perception of real world sharpness varied according to the subject and situation. This shot of Loki at F1.8 is pretty good:

This one was even better:

This shot didn’t really wow me with the real world contrast on the lock, however.

I looked back to see how the Samyang compares, and I found that the Samyang delivered a bit more contrast and more consistent detail across the frame (I tested the Samyang on the a7RIII [42MP], so it is at a slightly lower resolution level.)

I checked back in at F2.8, and the Samyang had sharpened up a bit more relative to the Viltrox there. I would say the Samyang is the sharper lens (as the MTF charts suggest), though the Viltrox shines in have very nice bokeh as we’ll see in a moment. Back to sharpness, though.

The Viltrox AF35 sharpened up nicely at F2.8, however, with noticeably higher levels of contrast and detail across the frame:

Corners don’t ever quite reach the level of excellence of the center and mid-frame. Landscape images look great, but the corners aren’t quite as crisp:

The Viltrox AF35 had the good fortune of being the lens in hand on a particularly beautiful winter morning where a frost coated the trees and the sun rose with beautiful pastels in the sky. The pictures I got were pretty stunning, like this:

…and this:

You can see more from that morning and others by checking out the lens image gallery here.

As I alluded to previously, I did feel the bokeh was quite nice. The low minimum focus distance means that you will have few opportunities to really completely blur out a background, but I did feel the quality of the bokeh was good in more typical situations. Here’s one where I felt the background was very nice and soft:

This situation had the potential for some ugly bokeh due to all the bare plants and limbs (many straight lines don’t make for nice bokeh!), but I thought this image still looked quite appealing despite the challenging environment.

Finally, here’s a shot with more traditional “bokeh balls”, and, other than some fringing on the bokeh circles, the quality of the defocused area is quite good for a 35mm F1.8 lens.

I was able to test coma performance, where I found that the lens gave only an average performance. There’s definitely some comatic distortion as you move off towards the edge, though I felt the image as a whole looked pretty good (so don’t hesitate to use the lens for astrophotography even if it isn’t a top pick!)

The lens isn’t necessarily free of flare, but I didn’t see any real world issues. The morning sun was bright here but did not give me any ugly artifacts.

This is not a top tier optical performance, per se, but it certainly is good enough to produce a lot of beautiful photos…and at a very reasonable price point.

That’s become a Viltrox hallmark. Good optical performance, nicely executed autofocus, and very nice build quality at a reasonable price. I have yet to see a Viltrox lens I would consider to be “best in class”, but I’ve frequently seen lenses that outperform their price point…and I would say that’s true here.

Conclusion

Viltrox has stepped up and taken a crack at the traditional lineup of full frame primes. We now have 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm options all with F1.8 apertures, and, unlike previous era lenses, these aren’t “plastic fantastics” with cheap build quality and buzzy, slow autofocus motors. These are all competitive lenses that deliver better build, better autofocus, and often better image quality than their price suggests.

The Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 STM is the newest member of that lineup, and as a standalone lens it fairs quite well. It has no glaring flaws, but neither does it have any particularly compelling strength, either…and that’s the challenge on the Sony platform where I reviewed it. Sony has had a number of very good 35mm options added over the past couple of years, and I’m not sure that the Viltrox AF35 makes a case for itself to stand out from the crowd. There are fewer options available on the Nikon Z platform (and likely Canon RF to come), so I think the lens will do fine across the platforms.

This conclusion highlights the challenges for modern lens makers. Where once there was the first party lens makers (Canon, Nikon, Sony, etc…) and a few established third party alternatives (Sigma, Tamron, and Zeiss), now there are many, many more credible options from companies like Viltrox, Samyang, Laowa, and more. The proliferation of new lens choices makes it increasingly hard for any new lens to stand out from the crowd. That’s the challenge that the Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 STM faces. It’s a very good lens, that, if released even 2 or 3 years ago, would have been enthusiastically received. The good news is that it is still a good lens now, so if you do choose it among the other options, you will have made a very good choice.

Pros:

Nice construction of mostly metals
Nice aperture ring
Well executed, smooth manual focus ring
Upgraded USB port to USB-C
Good focus accuracy
Good center sharpness wide open
Excellent sharpness across most of the the frame when stopped down
Low distortion
Good price

Cons:

Some noticeable focus noise during video pulls
Some longitudinal fringing
No in camera corrections
No weather sealing
Low magnification figure
Corners never quite catch up with the center and mid-frame when stopped down

Gear Used:

Purchase the Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 STM @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Viltrox Store (use Code DUSTINABBOTT for a discount) | Pergear | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK

Purchase the Viltrox AF 50mm F1.8 STM @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Viltrox Store (use Code DUSTINABBOTT for a discount) | Pergear | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK

Purchase the Viltrox AF 24mm F1.8 STM @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Viltrox Store (use Code DUSTINABBOTT for a discount) | Pergear (Worldwide) | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK

Purchase a Sony a7C @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Sony Alpha 1 @ Camera Canada | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase a Sony a9M2 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Sony a9 Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay
Sony a7RIV Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Buy DA Merchandise https://bit.ly/TWIMerch

Purchase a Sony a7C @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Peak Design Leash Strap: Peak Design Store | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK

Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 1-Year Subscription
Exposure Software X6 (Use Code “dustinabbott” to get 10% anything and everything)
Visit Dustin’s Amazon Storefront and see his favorite gear

Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. You can also make a donation here if you would like. Visit my Amazon page for some of my gear of choice! Thank you for your support.

Great News! I can now offer a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52018DA in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews!

Keywords: viltrox, viltrox AF, Viltrox AF 35mm STM FE, Viltrox AF Sony, STM, viltrox 35, viltrox 35mm F1.8 STM, viltrox 35 1.8, viltrox af 35mm 1.8 STM review, Viltrox 35mm Sony, Viltrox 35mm Review, Review, Dustin Abbott, FE, Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8, Viltrox 35mm F1.8 review, viltrox 35mm 1.8 review, Portrait, Sony a7RIII, Sony a7IV, Sony Alpha 1, Sony a7C, Bokeh, Sharpness, Resolution, Video Test, Sample Images, Real World, Sony 35mm F1.8, Samyang 35mm F1.8, Sigma 35mm F2

DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 Image Gallery

Dustin Abbott

February 14th, 2022

You have to admire Viltrox. Just a few short years ago I reviewed my first Viltrox lens (a manual focus wide angle), but by their third lens, I was reviewing an autofocus lens. And, since that point, they have tackled most modern mirrorless platform with autofocus lenses, from Sony E/FE to Fuji X to Canon EF-M and RF to Nikon Z. That takes a lot of guts, as each platform has its own unique challenges, but Viltrox has smartly packaged and repackaged their optical designs with new looks, cine versions, and releases on new platforms like Canon RF and Nikon Z. They have pulled it off, too, with largely successful lenses at very competitive prices. About a year ago I reviewed what was the first of a new series of lenses for 2021, a 24mm F1.8 STM lens which I reviewed in a Sony FE mount. The 24mm was to be followed up in 2021 with a 35mm F1.8 along with a 50mm F1.8 lens. 2021 didn’t turn out like any of us planned, however, and development of the 35mm and 50mm lenses got pushed back. But fast forward a year, and I’ve already spent time reviewing the very competent Viltrox AF 50mm F1.8 STM (my review here) and have now turned my attention to the Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 STM.

I’m doing this review on the Sony platform where there was a definite 35mm need just a few short years ago, but that void has been filled by a series of competent lenses, including Sony’s own FE 35mm F1.8 (my review here), Samyang AF 35mm F1.8 (my review here), and the Sigma 35mm F2 DN (my review here). That’s a crowded market, and Viltrox can’t even (at the moment) claim the least expensive slot, as that is filled by the Samyang ($329 USD). The Viltrox comes at a MSRP of $399 USD (which the Samyang also launched at), while the Sigma ($639 USD) and Sony ($748 USD) all range higher. But Viltrox doesn’t only produce for Sony. There’s already a Nikon Z mount available, and I suspect we’ll see a Canon RF version shortly. There’s a LOT of room for third party options on those platforms, as Viltrox is providing on the only third party 35mm F1.8 alternative on Nikon, and at a price less than 50% that of the Nikkor Z 35mm F1.8 S. On any platform, however, there are some Viltrox strengths that we’ll detail, including the ability to get some very photos from a competent, reasonably priced lens:

But there are also some areas where the Viltrox AF35 (as I’ll call it for brevity) doesn’t quite measure up to the standard of the competition. If you want the details, check out either my text review or watch my definitive video review…or just enjoy the photos below.

I want to thank Viltrox for sending me a test retail copy of the lens for review. As always, this is a completely independent review. The opinions here are completely my own. *The tests and most of the photos that I share as a part of my review cycle have been done with the new Sony Alpha 1 which will serve as my benchmark camera for the foreseeable future (my review here).

Photos of the Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 STM

Photos Taken with the Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 STM

Gear Used:

Purchase the Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 STM @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Viltrox Store (use Code DUSTINABBOTT for a discount) | Pergear | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK

Purchase the Viltrox AF 50mm F1.8 STM @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Viltrox Store (use Code DUSTINABBOTT for a discount) | Pergear | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK

Purchase the Viltrox AF 24mm F1.8 STM @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Viltrox Store (use Code DUSTINABBOTT for a discount) | Pergear (Worldwide) | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK

Purchase a Sony a7C @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Sony Alpha 1 @ Camera Canada | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase a Sony a9M2 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Sony a9 Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay
Sony a7RIV Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Buy DA Merchandise https://bit.ly/TWIMerch

Purchase a Sony a7C @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Peak Design Leash Strap: Peak Design Store | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK

Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 1-Year Subscription
Exposure Software X6 (Use Code “dustinabbott” to get 10% anything and everything)
Visit Dustin’s Amazon Storefront and see his favorite gear

Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. You can also make a donation here if you would like. Visit my Amazon page for some of my gear of choice! Thank you for your support.

Great News! I can now offer a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52018DA in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews!

Keywords: viltrox, viltrox AF, Viltrox AF 35mm STM FE, Viltrox AF Sony, STM, viltrox 35, viltrox 35mm F1.8 STM, viltrox 35 1.8, viltrox af 35mm 1.8 STM review, Viltrox 35mm Sony, Viltrox 35mm Review, Review, Dustin Abbott, FE, Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8, Viltrox 35mm F1.8 review, viltrox 35mm 1.8 review, Portrait, Sony a7RIII, Sony a7IV, Sony Alpha 1, Sony a7C, Bokeh, Sharpness, Resolution, Video Test, Sample Images, Real World, Sony 35mm F1.8, Samyang 35mm F1.8, Sigma 35mm F2

DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Sigma 20mm F2 DG DN (iSeries) Review

Dustin Abbott

February 9th, 2022

Over the past two years Sigma has easily been the most prolific lens developer on Sony FE and Leica L. We went from no full frame options from Sigma on Sony’s mirrorless platform two years ago to some 25 lenses just a few years later. And, while I tend to look at these lenses from a Sony slant (I don’t cover Leica L-mount), often these iSeries lenses (a lineup of compact prime lenses that debuted in late 2019) are designed even more with Leica cameras in mind. Compact lenses are even more desirable on compact cameras, and while Sony does have the compact a7C full frame camera, there are a variety of L-mount supporting compact cameras, including some from Sigma itself. The newest lens to join the growing ranks of the compact iSeries lenses is the Sigma 20mm F2 DG DN, the widest lens yet in the series. If you’re interested in other focal lengths, here is the growing list of iSeries compact prime lenses all hyperlinked to my review of them.

I’ve noted that Sigma’s marketing language for the iSeries is typical marketing word salad (impressive words without much grounding in reality), but the premise for the series is sound. Sigma has recognized that there are multiple segments within the mirrorless market, and those segments have different priorities. One group wants maximum performance in aperture and optics, and these are served by Sigma’s larger ART series, but there is a secondary market who bought into the mirrorless vision of smaller and lighter while retaining the performance. This second group is the target audience for the iSeries. The iSeries lenses are beautiful crafted, very tactile, but are also much smaller and lighter than other premium lenses. I’m a fan of the premise, myself, and have liked most of the iSeries lenses quite a bit. *The tests and most of the photos that I share as a part of my review cycle of the i20 (as we’ll call it for brevity) have been done with the new Sony Alpha 1 which will serve as my benchmark camera for the foreseeable future (my review here) along with photos taken with the new Sony a7IV (my review here).

As noted, the i20 is the widest lens in the series thus far, and going wider comes with a lot of additional engineering challenges…particularly when you are trying to create a compact lens like this one. F2 is actually a fairly wide aperture at this focal length as well. Sigma does make a 20mm with an F1.4 aperture, but that lens is near a kilogram in weight (the i20 is 370g) and is over 140mm in length in Sony form (this lens is 72.4mm in length). We are talking about two radically different form factors for these two lenses, and Sigma’s goal in keeping this lens very compact pays dividends in some ways and creates additional challenges in others. I’ll do my best to detail both perspective as a part of this review.

The main threat to the i20 on the Sony side is the excellent Sony FE 20mm F1.8 G lens, which I gave a very glowing review of a few years ago. The Sony has a larger maximum aperture, less vignette and distortion, and is fairly similar in size (the Sony is 84.7mm – 12 long – and weighs 373g, which is almost identical.) The Sigma does costs about $200 less at $699 USD, which could be a deciding factor for some. There’s far less choice on the L-mount side, however, with next to no 20mm options (outside of Sigma’s own 20mm F1.4). I suspect there is more of an audience for this lens there.

I think Sigma has an uphill battle on its hands on the Sony front, but we’ll find out how the Sigma i20 stacks up in this review. Read on if you want all the details, or, if you prefer to watch reviews, you can choose either the long-format definitive review or the quick video review.

Thank you to Sigma Canada (Gentec) for getting me pre-release loaners of the 20mm F2 lens. As always, this is a completely independent review. The opinions here are completely my own.

Sigma i20 Build, Design and Handling

I’ve been a fan of the iSeries design philosophy. I love the all-metal construction, attention to detail, and beautiful handling. Sigma has very intentionally crafted another lens that is both aesthetically and functionally pleasing. As noted, this is an extremely compact lens, with a 70mm (2.8″) diameter and a 62mm front filter thread (in metal). The lens is 72.4mm (2.9″) in length and weighs 370g (13.1 oz).

A quick word on filter size. I don’t love the 62mm front filter thread size. It’s not particularly common, so you won’t find as many filter options at 62mm. I was testing the new NISI V7 Filter Kit at the same time, so I took some shots with the filters from the kit using the Sigma 20mm F2. The filter kit comes with a number of adapter rings so that it can work with a wide variety of lenses, but 62mm was not one of them. I had to use a step up ring from 62mm to 67mm to use the filter kit. I was actually surprised to find I even had that step up ring in my collection, as I don’t actually own any lens with a 62mm filter thread. Sigma has allowed the physical design of each lens to dictate its filter size, which is fine, but it does mean that you probably won’t be able to easily share filters across multiple lenses in the series. That’s a bit of a pain, obviously, though there are also downsides to trying to design all lenses around a common filter standard, too.

As per usual, I’m a little perplexed as to why Sigma has chosen to position the i-Series lenses under the Global Vision division of “Contemporary”. Typically the lenses branded Contemporary carry Sigma’s lowest level of build, with Sport lenses given the most robust build while Art lenses land in the middle. The build of the i-Series, however, is arguably nicer than that of the ART series, and cosmetically every bit as nice as the Sport lenses (though the Sport lenses receive a much higher degree of weather sealing). The positioning of the iSeries lenses into the Contemporary lineup may have more to do with optical design, however, as I’ve had internal discussions with Sigma employees and it seems the idea is that ART lenses should be well-corrected optically without needing a lot of software or profile corrections while Contemporary lenses may require some electronic correction to achieve optimal performance. Frankly I have not found that to be a hard and fast rule, however. Some ART series lenses still need a fair bit of correction and some Contemporary lenses need little, so I think it comes down to the unique engineering of each lens.

In many ways these i-Series lenses remind me of two things: 1) classic lenses like the SMC Takumar lenses (which I own about 5 of), and part of why I love them is their beautiful timeless construction that is all metal and glass – and – 2) cine lenses where the aperture and focus rings are raised rather than flush with the barrel and have wider, deeper ribs that accommodate gearing (something that cinematographers often do but stills photographers almost never do). We’ve got a similar design element in the i-Series.

Forget engineered plastics; the Sigma i20 is made all of metal alloys, with even the hood made of metal. The lens hood itself is a beautifully crafted piece with a great tactile feel to the metal and ribbing, and it has an added practical value that there is plenty of grip friction due to the ribbing that makes it easy to remove. It is a petal shaped hood that is reasonably deep for a wide angle lens. I appreciate that the hood doesn’t looked “tacked on”, however, and to me the lens looks completed with the lens hood in place because the design language of the lens carries on into the lens hood. There’s a nice “flow” to the design.

Sigma has adopted the inclusion of an aperture ring on many of their DN series lenses (DN indicates that the lenses is designed specifically for mirrorless, while DG designates that the lens is designed for full frame cameras). It works just like Sony G Master lenses where one has the option of selecting A (Automatic) and controlling aperture from within the camera like most lenses, but then one can also manually select aperture in one-third stop detents. There is a nice extra bit of friction between the A position and the manual section which will help avoid any inadvertent bumping between the two choices. The aperture ring (like everything on the lens) is beautifully engineered, and has very precise, definite movement and feel for each of the detents. Some people question the necessity of an aperture ring (particularly one that cannot be declicked for video aperture racking), but I can say for myself that I personally strongly prefer to have an aperture ring even for stills. I find it helps me to be more intentional about the use of aperture and plan in advance for what aperture will best suit my shot.

Another solid addition is the AF/MF switch on the side of the barrel. This is something that many mirrorless lenses lack, but I still find an actual physical switch the quickest and easiest way to move between autofocus and manual focus. The F2 lenses like this one have the AF/MF switch mounted transversely, which fits better in the space allotted on these compact lenses. A subtle positive touch here is that the paint exposed when in AF is white, while the exposed paint when in MF mode is black. It’s a quick visual clue.

There is also a manual focus ring. The focus ring, like the aperture ring, is a “by-wire” system, meaning that input on either the focus ring or the aperture ring is electronically communicated rather than through a direct mechanical coupling. This means that input on the focus ring or the aperture ring will not create any physical changes unless the lens is attached to a camera and powered on. The focus ring has a nice feel to it, and Sigma has done a good job emulating traditional manual focus. It is worth noting that Sigma has released a firmware update for its L-mount lenses that enables the user to have control over whether the focus ring operates in a linear or non-linear fashion.

Like most of the iSeries lenses, Sigma is leveraging the all-metal construction to give consumers an option when it comes to the front lens cap. There is a traditional pinch-style plastic lens cap included, but the lens also ships with a magnetic cap that pops easily into place. I find that it works better if you are using the lens without the hood, as reaching in to remove it with the hood fixed is quite difficult. I’ll confess that for me, personally, the magnetic caps have proved more gimmick than revolutionary, and I just use the traditional pinch cap. Your mileage may vary, of course.

The lens does have a weather sealing gasket, though there are no other internal seals in the lens. There is no image stabilization (though almost no prime lenses do, so I don’t exactly look for it). You’ll have to rely on IBIS if your camera is so equipped.

The aperture iris has nine rounded aperture blades, and this helps keep the aperture shape fairly circular when stopped down.

You can see that there is a bit of the typical geometric deformation (cat eye effect) towards the edge of the frame.

Minimum focus distance here is 22cm or 8.7″. While that is a close focusing distance, the wide angle of view from the lens limits the amount of magnification to a ratio of 1:6.7, or 0.15x. That’s lower than the 0.20x of the Sony 20mm F1.8 and much lower than the 0.50x of the Tamron 20mm F2.8 OSD. Here’s what MFD looks like:

Magnification isn’t particularly high, but the up close results are pretty good. Contrast is strong and the plane of focus is surprisingly pretty flat.

Getting close with a wide angle lens can produce a lot of perspective distortion (exaggeration of whatever is closest to the lens), but sometimes that can be used in advantageous ways.

This is far from a macro lens, but the close MFD does add flexibility for when using the lens for video from a gimbal.

I’m a fan of the iSeries design formula, and the i20 is no exception. It feels beautiful in the hands, and both the aperture and manual focus rings move nicely. I really value compact lenses that are also well-made and high performing, as they tend to be the lenses that I reach for most often for practical reasons.

Sigma 20mm F2 DN Autofocus Performance

Like other Sigma iSeries lenses, the Sigma 20mm F2 utilizes a stepping focus motor that makes fast, quiet focus changes. During my focus pull test I heard no focus noise despite working in a near silent environment. Focus breathing is mild as well, with only small changes of size relative to focus position.

My stills focus accuracy was very good, with no issues in achieving proper focus in a variety of situations.

20mm isn’t a common portrait focal length, though it can be a nice compliment to telephoto lenses for when you want to include a lot of the environment. Eye AF tracking seemed to be fine when I was close enough for the eye to be large enough in the frame to track, but most of the time you’ll see less eye tracking with a lens this wide. That’s not really a problem, though, as depth of field dictates that if a person is in focus, their face and eye will also be in focus.

I got good Animal Eye AF results up close, though, even when shooting through the Christmas tree to Loki doing his best “puss in boots” impression.

You can see excellent focus up close on the snowflakes on the pine needles.

Sigma has delivered another compact lens with a solid focus system.

Sigma i20 Image Quality

So how about the image quality? The i20 is extremely sharp and is capable of producing excellent, highly detailed results with good color and contrast even on a very high resolution (50MP) Sony Alpha 1, though there a few flies in the ointment.

We’ll explore the details together, starting by a look at distortion and vignette. All chart tests done with a Sony Alpha 1 (50 MP) using a tripod and a two second timer.

I was immediately reminded of my review of the Tamron 20mm F2.8 OSD lens. It too was extremely sharp but suffered from severe barrel distortion. The biggest challenge here is not the quantity of distortion (though that is high; I had to use a +22 to correct it) but rather the complexity of the distortion. You can see a pronounced mustache pattern that remains after correction. I’m assuming that the standard lens profile will do a cleaner job (I did my review with a pre-release copy so no profiles exist), but I did note that the corrected JPEG file from the camera was still imperfect:

You are definitely going to need correction if there are straight lines in your shot…particularly if those lines fall near the edges of the frame where the distortion is more pronounced.

That bridge is supposed to be straight, just in case you were wondering! That’s a RAW image without any correction added.

Vignette is also extremely heavy at F2 (again, even in the corrected JPEG). I had to dial in a +88 and slide the midpoint over to zero. I particularly noted that the vignette penetrated so deeply and heavily into the image frame that it seemed to impact exposure. I also found that while vignette improves as you stop down the lens, it never quite disappears. I did my review during winter, obviously, and snowy scenes really punish vignette. You can still seem some darkness in the corners of this image at F5.6:

I love this F2 shot in general, as the winter alpenglow colors were gorgeous, but the vignette pretty much dominates the image.

The look of the vignette reminds me of the heavy handed editing style of newer photographers. This distortion and vignette is clearly the byproduct of Sigma’s engineers emphasizing compact size over stronger corrections, though, again, the Sony G lens is almost the same size and has better control of both issues.

Things start looking up from here, however. I felt like chromatic aberrations were well controlled even on this particular torture test which consists of white numbers and letters etched into a black lens barrel…in bright sunlight.

Likewise lateral chromatic aberrations are well controlled in the bare branches along the edges of the frame.

A mixed bag to start with. We see both extreme strengths and weaknesses.

So how about resolution and contrast? Here’s a look at my test chart:

And here are the crops from the center, mid-frame, and extreme corner at F2. Contrast and resolution are excellent across the frame, with a nice, strong performance everywhere I look.

I was also pleased with the centering of the lens, as it looked equally good in all four corners.

Every lens has a different personality, and this one definitely biases towards strong contrast and resolution. It has a lot of “bite”, which means it will work better for those who prefer a high contrast look. Others might find this type of rendering less pleasing (out of focus areas and skin tones are going to skew slightly harsh).

In real world shots the amount of detail at F2 is impressive, whether shooting at infinity:

Or much closer.

Stopping down to F2.8 and smaller further increases contrast and detail, though there are little gains to be had past f4. That’s not a negative, however, but rather a reflection that the lens achieves its very high sharpness early on. There’s little difference to be seen even deep into the frame if I compare F2.8 and F5.6:

That means that you can use aperture to control depth of field without having to stop down simply to achieve maximum sharpness. I still would typically choose F5.6 to F8 for landscape work, but that’s more because I would want as much in focus as possible. Minimum aperture is F22, but diffraction really limits contrast by that point, so I wouldn’t recommend shooting at minimum aperture unless absolutely necessary. There’s much more contrast even at F2 than there is at F22.

It is rare that a 20mm lens is going to be a “bokeh making machine”, and that’s true here. That is compounded by this lens’ bias towards sharpness and contrast, which tends to produce busier backgrounds. Here’s a prime case in point:

Bokeh can be subjective, however, so here’s a few other examples so that you can draw your own conclusions:

Flare resistance is very good. I used the i20 over a period of extreme cold, which, here in Ontario in the winter means bright and sunny. I saw next to no flare artifacts of either the veiling (loss of contrast) or ghosting (blobs of color) variety. The lens maintained excellent contrast regardless of the aperture I chose.

I was able to test coma and found a very good result in terms of coma control even at F2. Star points are crisp across the frame.

The challenge for astrophotography is the extreme vignette. When you significantly raise the shadows in a dark scene you run the risk of introducing extra noise. That keeps this lens from being a top pick for astro work, but at the same time it is certainly capable of producing decent results – so use it if you buy it!

I found color rendition to be very good from the lens. The color tone is nicely neutral, and colors have a good saturation level that is further helped by the strong contrast.

As noted, I did use the i20 with some NISI filters to get some long exposures. The lens performed well with the filters, though getting long exposure subjects is a little tough when everything is frozen solid!

This is a great landscape lens with great detail, color, and contrast…so long as your landscapes don’t have too many straight lines!

Pairing the Sigma 20mm F2 with a high resolution camera is going to give you a combination where you can do deep crops and still retain a lot of information. It also gives you great looking video footage as well.

As I said previously, the i20 is a curious mix of excellent strengths and a few potentially fatal weaknesses. You can see more photos by checking out the lens image gallery here.

Conclusion

The Sigma 20mm F2 DG DN is an interesting addition to Sigma iSeries lineup. I loved the 24mm F2 from the series and felt it had few flaws, but that’s less true here. The i20 is a combination of excellent performance in some metrics and serious optical compromises in others. While I am impressed that Sigma has managed to keep a lens with this focal length and this aperture value nice and compact, I can’t help but note that Sony already did something similar (and with a slightly larger aperture).

The strong distortion and heavy vignette drag down an otherwise excellent optical performance. The lens is very sharp, has amazing contrast, and delivers excellent coma, flare, and chromatic aberration control. Autofocus worked well for me, and I’m always partial to the build and physical design of the iSeries lenses. The question for potential buyers will be if the great strengths are enough to outweigh the weaknesses.

Your level of interest in this lens will probably vary depending on the camera system you’re considering it for. L-mount options at or near this focal length are few and far between, which makes a compact and high performing prime at a reasonable price of $699 USD an interesting addition there. The competition on the Sony side is stiffer, however, and I’d be hard pressed to recommend the Sigma over the Sony FE 20mm F1.8 G unless that $200 difference in price is a deal breaker. If you can live with its flaws, however, the Sigma 20mm F2 DG DN is certainly capable of giving you some excellent images.

Pros:

Beautiful, feature rich construction
Includes some weather sealing
Fast, quiet autofocus
CA is well controlled
Excellent sharpness and contrast across the frame even wide open
Very strong flare resistance
Good coma control
Extremely compact size
Reasonable price

Cons:

Heavy and complex barrel distortion
Strong, persistent vignette
62mm filter thread is somewhat unusual
The Sony 20mm F1.8 G exists

Gear Used:

Purchase the Sigma 20mm F2 DG DN @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Sigma 24mm F2 DG DN @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | eBay

Purchase the Sigma 24mm F3.5 DN @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Sigma 35mm F2 DG DN @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Sigma 65mm F2 DG DN @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Sigma 90mm F2.8 DG DN @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | eBay

Purchase a Sony a7C @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Sony Alpha 1 @ Camera Canada | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase a Sony a9M2 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Sony a9 Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay
Sony a7RIV Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Buy DA Merchandise https://bit.ly/TWIMerch

Peak Design Leash Strap: Peak Design Store | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK

Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 1-Year Subscription
Exposure Software X6 (Use Code “dustinabbott” to get 10% anything and everything)
Visit Dustin’s Amazon Storefront and see his favorite gear

Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. You can also make a donation here if you would like. Visit my Amazon page for some of my gear of choice! Thank you for your support.

Great News! I can now offer a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52018DA in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews!

Purchase the Sigma 20mm F2 DG DN @ B&H Photo https://bhpho.to/3AHfrnL | Amazon https://amzn.to/3uh0NCF | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada https://amzn.to/3u7x5zT | Amazon UK https://amzn.to/3g8NeN7 | Amazon Germany https://amzn.to/3GpGpSh | Ebay https://ebay.us/W0DHBz

Keywords: Sigma 20mm F2, Sigma 20mm DN, i20, Sigma 20mm f2 DN, Sigma 20 F2, Sigma 20mm F2 Review, DN, DG, F2, 20mm, Sigma, iSeries, Wide Angle, Sony, Leica, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Bokeh, Flare Resistance, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, Sony a7c, Sony a9, sony a7IV, sony a7RIV, a7R3, Sony Alpha 1, Sony A1, Sony a6600

DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Sigma 20mm F2 DG DN (iSeries) Image Gallery

Dustin Abbott

February 9th, 2022

Over the past two years Sigma has easily been the most prolific lens developer on Sony FE and Leica L. We went from no full frame options from Sigma on Sony’s mirrorless platform two years ago to some 25 lenses just a few years later. And, while I tend to look at these lenses from a Sony slant (I don’t cover Leica L-mount), often these iSeries lenses (a lineup of compact prime lenses that debuted in late 2019) are designed even more with Leica cameras in mind. Compact lenses are even more desirable on compact cameras, and while Sony does have the compact a7C full frame camera, there are a variety of L-mount supporting compact cameras, including some from Sigma itself. The newest lens to join the growing ranks of the compact iSeries lenses is the Sigma 20mm F2 DG DN, the widest lens yet in the series. If you’re interested in other focal lengths, here is the growing list of iSeries compact prime lenses all hyperlinked to my review of them.

I’ve noted that Sigma’s marketing language for the iSeries is typical marketing word salad (impressive words without much grounding in reality), but the premise for the series is sound. Sigma has recognized that there are multiple segments within the mirrorless market, and those segments have different priorities. One group wants maximum performance in aperture and optics, and these are served by Sigma’s larger ART series, but there is a secondary market who bought into the mirrorless vision of smaller and lighter while retaining the performance. This second group is the target audience for the iSeries. The iSeries lenses are beautiful crafted, very tactile, but are also much smaller and lighter than other premium lenses. I’m a fan of the premise, myself, and have liked most of the iSeries lenses quite a bit. *The tests and most of the photos that I share as a part of my review cycle of the i20 (as we’ll call it for brevity) have been done with the new Sony Alpha 1 which will serve as my benchmark camera for the foreseeable future (my review here) along with photos taken with the new Sony a7IV (my review here).

As noted, the i20 is the widest lens in the series thus far, and going wider comes with a lot of additional engineering challenges…particularly when you are trying to create a compact lens like this one. F2 is actually a fairly wide aperture at this focal length as well. Sigma does make a 20mm with an F1.4 aperture, but that lens is near a kilogram in weight (the i20 is 370g) and is over 140mm in length in Sony form (this lens is 72.4mm in length). We are talking about two radically different form factors for these two lenses, and Sigma’s goal in keeping this lens very compact pays dividends in some ways and creates additional challenges in others. I’ll do my best to detail both perspective as a part of this review.

The main threat to the i20 on the Sony side is the excellent Sony FE 20mm F1.8 G lens, which I gave a very glowing review of a few years ago. The Sony has a larger maximum aperture, less vignette and distortion, and is fairly similar in size (the Sony is 84.7mm – 12 long – and weighs 373g, which is almost identical.) The Sigma does costs about $200 less at $699 USD, which could be a deciding factor for some. There’s far less choice on the L-mount side, however, with next to no 20mm options (outside of Sigma’s own 20mm F1.4). I suspect there is more of an audience for this lens there.

I think Sigma has an uphill battle on its hands on the Sony front, but we’ll find out how the Sigma i20 stacks up in this review. You can read my text review here, watch the definitive video review here, or just enjoy the photos below!

Thank you to Sigma Canada (Gentec) for getting me pre-release loaners of the 20mm F2 lens. As always, this is a completely independent review. The opinions here are completely my own.

Images of the Sigma 20mm F2 DN

Image Taken with the Sigma 20mm F2 DN

Gear Used:

Purchase the Sigma 20mm F2 DG DN @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Sigma 24mm F2 DG DN @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | eBay

Purchase the Sigma 24mm F3.5 DN @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Sigma 35mm F2 DG DN @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Sigma 65mm F2 DG DN @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Sigma 90mm F2.8 DG DN @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | eBay

Purchase a Sony a7C @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Sony Alpha 1 @ Camera Canada | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase a Sony a9M2 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Sony a9 Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay
Sony a7RIV Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Buy DA Merchandise https://bit.ly/TWIMerch

Peak Design Leash Strap: Peak Design Store | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK

Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 1-Year Subscription
Exposure Software X6 (Use Code “dustinabbott” to get 10% anything and everything)
Visit Dustin’s Amazon Storefront and see his favorite gear

Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. You can also make a donation here if you would like. Visit my Amazon page for some of my gear of choice! Thank you for your support.

Great News! I can now offer a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52018DA in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews!

Keywords: Sigma 20mm F2, Sigma 20mm DN, i20, Sigma 20mm f2 DN, Sigma 20 F2, Sigma 20mm F2 Review, DN, DG, F2, 20mm, Sigma, iSeries, Wide Angle, Sony, Leica, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Bokeh, Flare Resistance, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, Sony a7c, Sony a9, sony a7IV, sony a7RIV, a7R3, Sony Alpha 1, Sony A1, Sony a6600

DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Sony a7IV (ILCE-7M4) Review

Dustin Abbott

January 31st, 2022

Perhaps no Sony camera series has benefitted as much from the “trickle-down” effect as the a7 series. The a7III set a new benchmark for the “full frame affordable(ish)” category by being basically good at everything. It inherited an amazing focus system from the Sony a9 that actually gave it better focus capabilities than the more expensive a7RIII, which itself had been a huge step forward. The a7III also benefited from a lot of a7S video capabilities, which resulted in it being a better video body than either the a9 or the a7RIII. It got the new battery, the new control layout, and a host of other improvements. Fast forward a few years and we’ve seen Sony release the truly incredible Alpha 1 (my review here), which advanced Sony design on almost every level. The downside? It cost $6500 USD! The new Sony a7IV (technically the ILCE-7M4) is not necessarily an Alpha 1 clone (it has a much lower burst rate, lesser video capabilities, lower resolution, etc…) but I do see a lot of Alpha 1 DNA in this camera. The Alpha 1 is my most used camera these days, so I’m very familiar with its performance and handling, and I can say that you’re getting a lot of Alpha 1 for the $2500 price point of the Sony a7IV. I’ll detail why in this review.

The Sony a7IV is designed around a brand new 33MP Full-Frame Exmor R CMOS Sensor. This ups the resolution from the 24MP seen on previous a7 bodies and brings us to what I consider a sweet spot for performance. It always felt like there was too much of a gap between the a7 series (24MP) and the a7R series (typically 42-61MP). This new 33MP sensor feels like a series step up, but it also sits in a sweet spot for today’s performance. As we’ll see in this review, this new sensor is among Sony’s best in dynamic range, high ISO performance, and seems to have improved color handling. Images are highly detailed, and I don’t feel a huge chasm between these images and my 50MP Alpha 1 images like I did with the a7III. Image resolution is 7008 x 4672 pixels, which is probably as many pixels as most people will ever need. Images from the a7IV look great:

Also useful is the fact that you still get 16MP in APS-C crop mode, which is a much more useful figure than the roughly 11MP figure on the a7III and other 24MP bodies. I found the 33MP resolution point and the new sensor helped make the a7IV feel more upscale than the a7III, which is appropriate, as it has moved upscale in terms of pricing. The a7III debuted at a bargain price point of around $2000, but the a7IV has jumped to $2500. This does create a little more room for Sony to release a budget full frame model under $2000 (a space occupied at the moment by the a7III and a7C cameras). The a7III will probably get phased out as current supply is sold off. Does the Sony a7IV justify this price increase?

Before we dive into the details, here’s a quick look at the major specs and features that stood out to me during my review:

33MP Full-Frame Exmor R CMOS Sensor
Up to 10 fps Shooting, ISO 100-51200
Much deeper buffer depth (up to 828 uncompressed RAW + JPEG)
4K 60p Video in 10-Bit, S-Cinetone
No recording limit
3.68m-Dot EVF with 120 fps Refresh Rate
3″ 1.03m-Dot Vari-Angle Touchscreen LCD
759-Pt. Fast Hybrid AF
Real-time Eye AF (including bird AF in stills and video tracking)
Focus Breathing Compensation
5-Axis SteadyShot Image Stabilization
4K 15p UVC/UAC Streaming via USB Type-C

Like the Alpha 1, I feel like the Sony a7IV has “enough” of everything that I don’t feel like I’m missing much. That in itself adds up to a very compelling camera. But is it the camera for you? Find out by reading on or watching my long format definitive or quick video review below:

Thanks to Sony Canada for getting me a loaner of Sony a7RIV. As always, this is a completely independent review.

Sony a7IV Build, Handling, and Features

The body of the a7IV is largely familiar [131.3mm (W) x 96.4mm (H) x 79.8mm (D)], but with a deeper grip depth that improves the feel of the camera in the hand. The a7IV manages to only be 8g heavier than the a7III at 658g (with memory and batter). In many ways the control layout feels like the Alpha 1 (without the extra dial on the left of the viewfinder), though the a7IV has a welcome articulating touchscreen with a 1.037 million dot resolution that is a slight gain over the 922K dot resolution on the a7III’s tilting screen. The responsiveness of the screen is fairly good, though I do find the font size a little too small for touch precision at times and wish the menu layout was more like Canons. Being able to front monitor and use the screen in nearly infinite positions is very welcome, as is being able to position the screen for proper vertical shooting.

I love the way that Sony has designed the ports so that they fit next to the hinges of the screen in a very logical way (something Canon typically doesn’t do). The doors over the ports open precisely and don’t just “hang” like they used to on the a7III. I really like the small separate port for the microphone jack, as that assures you’ll never miss recorded audio because you accidently plugged into the headphone jack (which is in the port beneath). You’ll find a Micro-USB multi-control port along with a USB-C port used for both data transfer and charging, though like other new Sony cameras the charging requires a power source with Power Send capability.

Also improved is the resolution of the viewfinder, which has been upgraded from the 2.359 million dot resolution on the a7III to a new 3.68 million dots resolution. It’s worth noting that the viewfinder and LCD screen resolution figures are just the bare minimum for competitiveness, so don’t get too excited!

The top plate shows a few minor tweaks to the dials along with a swapping of the C1 button to the back and the video record button to the top plate. For some reason there is no longer a label on the exposure compensation dial, which I find odd. The mode dial now has a lever underneath it that allows you to switch on the fly between Stills, Video, and S&Q, and you can set up your control scheme independently for these (buttons can have different function for video mode than in stills, for example).

Most of the buttons can be programed to the function of your choice. Sony cameras have always excelled in customization, and that remains true here. The feel of the buttons is much like the Alpha 1, a7SIII, or other recent Sony cameras.

The right side of the camera holds the memory cards, and you now have the option to use a CFExpress Type A card in the #1 slot or a UHS-II SD card in either slot. There’s a slight redesign to the latch on the memory card door on the right which has you pull down and slide the door open. As noted, the #1 slot can use both UHS-II SD cards and CF Express Type A cards. The latter offers some speed advantages but at a much higher price point. I prefer the Sony Tough cards in either format right now, as I have found them to be highly performing and extremely durable).

The burst rate is the familiar 10FPS, but the buffer depth has been dramatically improved, now allowing over 1000 frames of Lossless compressed RAW or JPEGs and even 828 full size uncompressed RAW + JPEG. Long gone are the delays while the camera empties the buffer, too.

There’s probably no reason other than market separation that the a7IV does not have a faster burst rate. If it were up to 15FPS or similar there would probably be many who would see little reason to go for the a9II, as the a7IV has just as good a focus system (if not better), deep buffers, and very good tracking capabilities. This doesn’t seem too cheap on Sony’s part, however, as the a7IV’s role is really as a jack of all trades, while the higher speed bodies like the a9 series and Alpha 1 are more specialist tools.

The hotshoe has been upgraded to Sony’s new multi-interface port which allows it to record digital audio when select mics are mounted.

The shutter mechanism is better damped and quieter than the a7III, which hopefully points towards more durability over the long haul. There are front and rear dials on the top plate, with the front dial slightly cantilevered up to make it fall to hand (finger?) easily.

The main menu is the updated version that was first seen in the a7SIII and then on the Alpha 1. It is color coded and side tab oriented rather than top tab oriented like the older Sony menus. I’m yet undecided as to whether I prefer the newer menu. There’s still a lot of complexity there, and there are a LOT of options in these menus. Don’t get me wrong; I love the wealth of customization and features you have access to, but the sheer number of options will be slightly overwhelming for a while until you develop familiarity with them. I didn’t love the previous Sony menu structure, though, unlike some reviewers, I didn’t despite it either. But after years of use, I was at least familiar with it and knew pretty much where everything was. I’m having to relearn that somewhat, though Sony’s basic organization of features remains similar.

The battery door is on the bottom, as per usual, and the battery is the typical NP-FZ100 that we’ve seen since the original a9. It’s rated for about 520 shots, though real world use varies depending on what you are doing. If you shoot hybrid style and have some video clips in there, expect to charge the battery more often. If you are shooting bursts or consistent portraits, you will get far more shots than the rating. Getting an extra battery or two is never a bad idea, though. I typically feel like I have to charge my Sony batteries quicker than I expected.

Sony was an early pioneer in IBIS (In Body Image Stabilization), though over the past few years their advantage here seems to have shrunk. On paper, the 5 1/2 stops of stabilization is the same as we’ve seen for years, though in practical applications the quality of the stabilization has subtly improved over the past few years. I’ve definitely noticed that more recent Sony models have better stabilization, and that’s true here, too. One new addition for the video side is a mode called “Active” (as seen on the a7SIII) which has a slight crop but utilizes electronic aids to further stabilize active movements (like walking). I did a series of tests and found that the the active mode definitely gave smoother results when walking or moving. The crop wasn’t particularly noticeable to me, but I did feel like footage was slightly less crisp, so I would utilize the Standard IBIS setting when shooting static handheld footage and save Active for the appropriate moments. I added the option to the custom menu so that I could quickly sort between the settings.

I’ve seen ratings on IBIS and Lens IS/OSS going up and up, but it seems to me like the law of diminishing returns, as it seems like the same limitations that I’ve seen with image stabilization for the past decade still apply. I did a test at 50mm and 1/5th second shutter speed (about 3 1/2 stops) and got about a 25% keeper rate.

Still, I love having IBIS in the camera as it means that all lenses get at least some stabilization. You can manually set the focal length to stabilize even if you are using old vintage lenses. It’s possible to get good results at very low shutter speeds in many situations, but it is important to have realistic expectations about what IBIS can and cannot do. Sony needs to continue to innovate on this front because the competition has more than caught up at this point.

So while the Sony a7IV may look very familiar, there are a lot of key upgrades that seriously improve the ergonomics and performance of the camera. I find a lot of the Alpha 1 DNA here…in a camera that is about a third of the price!

Sony a7IV Autofocus Performance

One again the Sony a7IV has really benefitted from the trickle-down effect, as like the a7III received most of the AF system of the a9, the a7IV has received most of the focus system from the even better Alpha 1. Sony has upped the ante on the total number of phase detect points from 693 on the a7III cameras to 759 on the a7IV, with about 94% coverage of the sensor. That’s only up a percentage point or two, but it does suggest that the AF points on the a7IV are slightly smaller and more precise, which can help when you are trying to nail focus on a very narrow subject (like when shooting macro). As is typical with Sony cameras, the PDAF is backed up by 425 contrast points (which is why it is called a Hybrid-AF system).

The improvement in AF is more than AF points or spread, however, as the a7IV has also inherited the BIONZ-XR processor from the Alpha 1. The Sony a9 was capable of 60 focus and exposure calculations per second; the Alpha 1 (and thus the a7IV) doubles that to 120. Here’s what Sony says, “At an astonishing calculation speed of up to 120 AF/AE per second, the Alpha 1 can maintain focus with high accuracy even for fast moving subjects. It can automatically adjust exposure, even with sudden changes in brightness, with an AE response latency as low as 0.033 seconds“. While the lower frame rate of the a7IV means that you won’t push the limits of the processor the same way, it does indicate that we have a very, very robust autofocus system.

Also improved is AF sensitivity, which can now focus down to -4 EV and up to +20 EV. This doesn’t quite match the numbers that Canon is throwing out, but I was definitely able to focus effectively in low light situations. I took this shot, for example, at ISO 25,600 inside my very dark Ruggard Dry Cabinet.

Sony has also ported over the refined Eye AF capabilities of the Alpha 1, including the new Bird Eye detect mode. Part of that improvement is that they state that eye detection is now effective from more angles, and that I believe to be true. You can see that I shot this low shot of Loki at an odd angle and eye detect still nailed everything perfectly at F1.4 (using the new Samyang AF 50mm F1.4 II – my review here).

This shows how much better Sony’s eye detection has gotten, as you are much more likely to get precision in a wider range of situations.

Sony has now enabled all three types of Eye tracking for video purposes as well. Even the Alpha 1 didn’t have real-time bird tracking in video (though expect that to get added via firmware).

My two week loaner period coincided with a severe cold snap in January where the temperature hovered between -20 and -40C…and public spaces like gyms were in COVID lockdown Not much was moving out there for tracking, so I didn’t get a chance to really torture test the a7IV’s tracking abilities. Still, I was very impressed even with the tracking of the a7C (an inferior focus system), and I think the focus system in the Alpha 1 is amazing (which is where most of the tech in the a7IV is borrowed from), so I fully expect the a7IV to be a very capable camera for tracking…as far as the focus system goes. The real story is a little more complicated, though.

What you don’t have relative to the a9 series or the Alpha 1 is the blackout free viewfinder. In fact, at 10 FPS (H+), you get something like a storybook where the last image shows for a split second and you don’t get a real-time view at all. At High (H) speed you get only 8 FPS, but you do get a real time viewfinder experience, though one interrupted 8 times per second with black as the shutter closes. You can switch to an electronic shutter, but the burst rate seems to drop to about 6FPS and you still get blackout. The illustration below shows the difference between the blackout free readout of the a9/Alpha 1 vs the blackout view you’ll see on the a7IV.

This is clearly not as sports oriented as the a9 and Alpha 1 models that are built around an electronic shutter. You have the autofocus capabilities to track action effectively, but the architecture of the camera means that the process will be more difficult. If you want to purely do sports or fast action, then you need to look at one of Sony’s serious sports bodies. In some ways those deep buffers go to waste, as the burst rate and viewfinder experience don’t really lend themselves to dedicated action tracking. The upside, though, is that you’ll probably never have to worry about missing a shot because the camera was trying to empty the buffer!

Where the Sony a7IV does shine is as a general purpose or portrait camera. I put the Sony a7IV in my assistant’s hands for a quick portrait shoot (it was so cold that I needed to be the subject – no other volunteers for portraits at -25!). He used a camera he had never previously touched and a lens (aforementioned Samyang AF 50mm F1.4 II) he had never used and shot in very cold conditions…and yet when I reviewed the images, I found that they were all focused very well.

I had him shoot strongly backlit shots, though trees, and at various distances, and there wasn’t a missed shot in the bunch.

This quick shot of Loki also shows great focus and accuracy even at F1.4:

So while this may not be a pro sports camera, it will do all of the ordinary things that photographers do exceptionally well.

Sony a7IV Video Performance

The Sony a7III was a very popular hybrid camera for video work for several reasons. It had very good video quality even though it was capped at 4K30. The high ISO performance was very good, as was the autofocus quality. It had things like SLOG and other picture profiles. Expectations are of course higher still for the a7IV, and in many ways I think it delivers.

Here’s some of the video highlights of the a7IV courtesy of B&H Photo’s listing:

Making full use of the high-resolution 33MP sensor and fast processing capabilities, UHD 4K 30p XAVC HS 10-bit recording is possible using the full width of the sensor, offering 7K oversampling for impressive sharpness and realism.
There is also oversampled 4K recording, via a 4.6K capture area, with a Super 35 crop, that offers UHD 4K output up to 60p in 10-bit.
No recording time limit allows for unlimited clip lengths and the camera’s physical design features an improved heat-dissipating structure to promote longer possible recording times; longer than one hour of continuous 4K 60p 10-bit 4:2:2 recording, for example.
The a7 IV employs a pair of codecs to suit different workflows: XAVC HS, which uses HEVC/H.265 encoding to retain more detail at smaller bitrates and XAVC S-I, which is an intraframe codec for consistent performance and quality at bitrates up to 600 Mb/s.
S-Cinetone can be used to deliver distinct colors and healthy-looking skin tone rendering that matches the FX9 and FX6 cameras, along with the a1 and a7S III, and is based on technology from the professional Cinema Line cameras, such as the VENICE. This color profile offers natural mid-tones, soft colors, and especially well-controlled highlights.
HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma) support permits recording within a wide color gamut for producing HDR-ready content directly from the camera.
S-Log3 is also available for producing a 15+-stop dynamic range with increased grading control in the shadow to mid-tone regions of the image.

That’s obviously a lot of great video options there, and my only critique is having to deal with the crop factor to get 4K30. The biggest challenge there is if you want to get wide shots, so having a decent APS-C wide angle lens might be a good idea for shooting 4K60 and keeping a wide perspective. Other standouts to me are the lack of any recording limit, improved heat dissipation (getting more than an hour of 4K60 without overheating issues is great news!), and of course the practical advantages of the articulating LCD screen for front or side monitoring along with all of the autofocus tracking options.

We’ve also got a few new features to help with video capture. One is the focus breathing correction that helps certain lenses get a better result during focus changes. For more information and a list of lenses covered, check out this page. I tested it with my Sony 35mm F1.4 G Master lens (one of the supported lenses) and noticed a few things. First of all, there is a slight crop factor involved with the process. Secondly, I noticed a subtle improvement with focus breathing, but no magic cure at all. The concept is interesting, but thus far software seems no match for actual optical engineering in the lens for this video issue.

Another new feature is called “Focus Map”, which uses an overlay of brightly colored boxes to highlight what is before and after the plane of focus with only the in focus area being naturally colored. It’s a more visually pronounced way of seeing what is in focus relative to typical focus peaking color overlays, and I can see it being useful, though some might find the sheer brightness of the color distracts them from the actual process of engaging with whatever subject is onscreen.

There’s a wealth of professional video options here in terms of codecs, color profiles, and HLG. The footage looks great, with great detail and a good deal of versatility for low light performance and dynamic range. I also do like the look of the S-Cinetone profile that’s included. I’m not a serious videographer or cinematographer (I mostly shoot for my YouTube channel), so I’ll leave the detailed analysis to those more professional than myself.

I suspect that things are good enough here that some people may decide that spending the extra money on the a7SIII is unnecessary.

Sony a7IV Sensor Performance

Put simply, I’m loving the new 33MP sensor from Sony. I’ve petitioned for a camera at this resolution point for a while. Image resolution is 7008 x 4672 pixels, which is probably as many pixels as most people will ever need. It gives you reasonably high resolution but without any of the complications that extremely high resolution brings.

I also love having the Lossless Compressed RAW options, as most of the ARW (RAW) files are around 40MB, which is plenty for editing but not too onerous to store. There’s enough resolution there for a usable 16MP APS-C mode, too. Photos look great from the camera, with nice resolution, great dynamic range, and good color rendition. Look at the great detail even in the deep crop from the main image.

As this is a new sensor, I’ll take a deep dive into various aspects of its performance.

ISO

The challenge when you raise resolution is that low light performance can suffer. Camera makers have gotten increasingly good at mitigating that, however, and that’s definitely true here. The a7IV has a native ISO range from 100-51,200, with an expanded range of ISO 50-204,800 available. Yes, ISO 204,800, which is certainly getting into silly territory. I’m not going to be recommending that you take any shots there, but the native range is another story. It wasn’t that long ago that I found ISO 51,200 to be joke range, but that’s far from true now. It’s still not my preference to shoot that high, but I’ll definitely say that even ISO 25,600 is very usable here. Let’s start by taking a look at our base ISO image, which looks excellent with great contrast, good color accuracy, and fine detail.

At ISO 1600 the result is scarcely distinguishable from base ISO (100) even at a pixel level:

At ISO 6400, there is the tiniest amount of noise in some of the shadows, but color saturation levels, color fidelity, and contrast are pretty much indistinguishable from base ISO:

Things are mostly similar at ISO 12,800, with black levels still quite inky. By ISO 25,600, you can start to see some uneven pixels in the black area (some white specs) and the “grain” is heavier, but things are still quite usable.

Often I see cameras fall apart in the last stop (say, from 25,600 to 51,200), and that’s somewhat true here, but ISO 51,200 is only slightly further deteriorated. I see a tiny green shift in the basic tone of the image (a Sony sensor hallmark), but the image still looks pretty good at a global level.

It doesn’t even look too bad at a pixel level. ISO 102,400 and 204,800 are mostly there for marketing (more green shift, less contrast, more rough noise…), but I do think that in a pinch ISO 51,200 could be used for certain applications. That’s as good a performance as I’ve seen from any camera. The a7IV is one of the best cameras I’ve used for high ISO performance, and the fact that it does it while moving up to a higher resolution point is impressive.

Dynamic Range

Dynamic range has become one those topics debated ad nauseum on photography forums and harped on by certain reviewers to the place where some perspective has been lost on the topic. It has become one of the key “stats” where brand fanboys either push their brand or bash another, causing many people to become disgusted with the term in general. That being said, there is no question that there are a number of situations where improved dynamic range gives the photographer (and particularly the post-processor) more latitude to fulfill their vision. This could be in the ability to recover a blown-out sky or shadowed area as a landscape photographer or the ability to balance a foreground subject with a background or sky for portrait photographers. I’ve also been able to save images where I captured something special but a flash didn’t fire.

Sony claims up to 15 stops of dynamic range for the a7IV, though they are not specific as to where one could expect this performance (S-Log video?) Many recent Sony cameras have been close in this metric (as you can see from Photons to Photos chart here). They show a slightly better performance from the a7IV than the a7III or Alpha 1, but it is by a few fractions of a percent. I felt like my experience with a7IV was that I saw the best dynamic range that I’ve personally seen from a full frame camera (only better with medium format bodies).

There are different aspects of shadow and highlight recovery, and I find it best to try to visually demonstrate my findings. In this comparisons I will intentionally under or overexpose by the correct number of stops and then try to recover the lost information by adding it back in post (either increasing or reducing exposure).

First of all, shadow recovery. Bottom line is that the Alpha 1 is simply fantastic at recovering shadows. At a global level you simply can’t tell a difference between a perfectly exposed image and an image underexposed by 5 stops and then recovered.

Even when I look at the image at a pixel level I am hard pressed to find any ill effects of shadow recovery. Everything looks clean.

Some people compare dynamic range by showing how much the highlight and shadow recovery sliders can open up shadows and recover highlights. I find that there is a LOT of latitude in images for recovering shadows in the sliders. Here’s a look at an original image with deep shadows and then the result after using Lightroom’s shadow recovery slider at 100%.

That’s obviously a lot of flexibility for whether you want to conceal or reveal details from the shadows.

Recovering highlights is something that cameras struggle more with, as when highlights are “blown out” there is often unrecoverable information loss. The a7IV does particularly well here, though, proving able to successfully recover 3 stops of overexposure with minimal loss of information and good color saturation levels…slightly better than what I’ve previously seen.

So far the practical limit has always been four stops of overexposure, and that’s true here.

There’s just information lost that isn’t recoverable, and the recovered image has a very unnatural quality to it. Some of the colors in the color swatches have been lost, and others have bled in odd ways. Somewhere between three and four stops is where the limit is, but that limit is definitely a little bit higher than anything I’ve seen before.

I find that recovering sky information seems to be particularly good with the a7IV. This shot was taken into extremely bright morning sun, and I was very pleasantly surprised when I could recover all the sky information.

That’s awesome! That kind of dynamic range is very useful, as it used to be that I had to bracket exposures for HDR to get that level of performance. There’s a good chance that I would never use HDR with the a7IV; I just wouldn’t see the need.

Colors and Gallery

I first started testing Sony mirrorless cameras at the a7RII stage, and I’ve watched Sony’s color science evolve along the way. At this stage, I find Sony’s color science to be quite good, and the Sony a7IV seems quite similar to my Alpha 1 in performance. This has happened for two reasons, I think. The first is that Sony has carefully tweaked their color science, and over the past three generations of new Sony product I’ve seen steady improvement. Colors are a little more balanced and less prone to becoming garish when “pushed” a bit. The second reason is that as Sony’s market share has increased, I think that major software makers like Adobe have invested more attention on properly “translating” their colors for RAW images. I’ve steadily found Sony’s colors easier to process and have been increasingly happy with the results. Here are a few images taken with different lenses that demonstrate that nice color.

In summation, I think that Sony has done a great job with this new sensor. It hits a sweet spot for me in terms of resolution, detail, contrast, color, dynamic range, and ISO performance. I suspect this sensor will get used in several other cameras, and it is definitely worthy of some regular use by Sony. Check out more images than I can share in this review by visiting the image galleries here.

Conclusion

Sony has moved the a7 series upmarket with the Sony a7M4, and I think the series is better for it. I think that Sony has positioned itself for a cleaner market separation, as I found the release of the a7C muddied the waters a bit. The a7III and the a7C were too similar in terms of performance, and it was somewhat hard to choose between the two. The a7IV is a superior camera to the a7III and has a corresponding price at the $2500 mark. An a7C successor (or some other budget full frame model) can now slot into the $1500-1700 range and have very nice market separation.

As I noted in my Alpha 1 review, I was a little underwhelmed by Sony’s previous generation of updates. I passed on both the a7RIV and the a9II without upgrading my a7RIII or a9 because I didn’t see a compelling reason to make the move. It’s been a different story with both the Alpha 1 and now the a7IV. Sony has made some significant strides in improving some of their areas of weakness, and I find that there is little lacking on the a7IV. Sure, I would like to see 4K60 without a crop factor, and I certainly wouldn’t mind a tracking/viewfinder experience more like the Canon R6, but it would also be a mistake to expect this camera to be an a9 or the Alpha 1. I think the best way to look at this camera is to view it as a budget Alpha 1 but without the specialized sports capabilities. It has less resolution, less video capabilities, less sports capabilities, but also does a lot of the same things that the Alpha 1 can do…and at a much, much more affordable price.

The most compelling upgrade here is the great new 33MP sensor. It ups the resolution ante while not compromising on any facet of ISO performance or dynamic range. The Sony a7IV feels like a great compliment to my Alpha 1, as it handles very similarly and produces images that a nice match. I am strongly considering picking up the a7IV as my second/backup Sony full frame body, particularly since the articulating LCD screen is a great help to someone like myself who spends a lot of time in front of the camera…and without someone behind the camera to run it! I have found a lot of reasons to praise the a7IV during my time with it, and frankly very little to criticize. It comes with my wholehearted recommendation.

Pros:

A lot of Alpha 1 DNA
Does basically everything well
Incredibly deep buffers
33MP resolution should be a sweet spot for many photographers
Upgraded autofocus system – more points, better sensitivity, more tracking options
Up to 4K60 recording (in Super 35)
No record limits (no 29:59 limitations)
No significant overheat issues
Lossless compressed RAW capture
Touchscreen menus (finally!)
Articulating LCD screen
Excellent dynamic range
Excellent high ISO performance
Webcam ready
Good layout of ports
Good dynamic range and ISO performance

Cons:

Small font sizes make navigating menus by touch imprecise
LCD resolution still very low
4K60 requires Super 35 crop
Viewfinder experience limits the potential of the great autofocus and deep buffers

Gear Used:

Purchase the Sony a7IV @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Samyang AF 50mm F1.4 II @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Sony 50mm F1.2 GM @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Sony FE 50mm f/1.4 Planar T*: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon.ca | Amazon UK | Ebay

Purchase the Sony Alpha 1 @ Camera Canada | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase a Sony a9M2 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase a Sony a7C @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Sony a7RIV Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Buy DA Merchandise https://bit.ly/TWIMerch

Purchase a Sony a7C @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Peak Design Leash Strap: Peak Design Store | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK

Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 1-Year Subscription
Exposure Software X6 (Use Code “dustinabbott” to get 10% anything and everything)
Visit Dustin’s Amazon Storefront and see his favorite gear

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Keywords: Sony Alpha 7IV, Sony A7IV, Sony Alpha 7IV Review, Sony A7IV Review, ILCE-7IV, ILCE-7M4, Sony, a7IV, A74, Review, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Sensor Performance, ISO, Dynamic Range, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, Sony a7III, Sony a7C

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Sony a7IV (ICLE-7M4) Image Gallery

Dustin Abbott

January 31st, 2022

Perhaps no Sony camera series has benefitted as much from the “trickle-down” effect as the a7 series. The a7III set a new benchmark for the “full frame affordable(ish)” category by being basically good at everything. It inherited an amazing focus system from the Sony a9 that actually gave it better focus capabilities than the more expensive a7RIII, which itself had been a huge step forward. The a7III also benefited from a lot of a7S video capabilities, which resulted in it being a better video body than either the a9 or the a7RIII. It got the new battery, the new control layout, and a host of other improvements. Fast forward a few years and we’ve seen Sony release the truly incredible Alpha 1 (my review here), which advanced Sony design on almost every level. The downside? It cost $6500 USD! The new Sony a7IV (technically the ILCE-7M4) is not necessarily an Alpha 1 clone (it has a much lower burst rate, lesser video capabilities, lower resolution, etc…) but I do see a lot of Alpha 1 DNA in this camera. The Alpha 1 is my most used camera these days, so I’m very familiar with its performance and handling, and I can say that you’re getting a lot of Alpha 1 for the $2500 price point of the Sony a7IV.

The Sony a7IV is designed around a brand new 33MP Full-Frame Exmor R CMOS Sensor. This ups the resolution from the 24MP seen on previous a7 bodies and brings us to what I consider a sweet spot for performance. It always felt like there was too much of a gap between the a7 series (24MP) and the a7R series (typically 42-61MP). This new 33MP sensor feels like a series step up, but it also sits in a sweet spot for today’s performance. As we’ll see in this review, this new sensor is among Sony’s best in dynamic range, high ISO performance, and seems to have improved color handling. Images are highly detailed, and I don’t feel a huge chasm between these images and my 50MP Alpha 1 images like I did with the a7III. Image resolution is 7008 x 4672 pixels, which is probably as many pixels as most people will ever need. Images from the a7IV look great:

Also useful is the fact that you still get 15MP in APS-C crop mode, which is a much more useful figure than the roughly 11MP figure on the a7III and other 24MP bodies. I found the 33MP resolution point and the new sensor helped make the a7IV feel more upscale than the a7III, which is appropriate, as it has moved upscale in terms of pricing. The a7III debuted at a bargain price point of around $2000, but the a7IV has jumped to $2500. This does create a little more room for Sony to release a budget full frame model under $2000 (a space occupied at the moment by the a7III and a7C cameras). The a7III will probably get phased out as current supply is sold off. Does the Sony a7IV justify this price increase?

Here’s a quick look at the major specs and features.

33MP Full-Frame Exmor R CMOS Sensor
Up to 10 fps Shooting, ISO 100-51200
Much deeper buffer depth (up to 828 uncompressed RAW + JPEG)
4K 60p Video in 10-Bit, S-Cinetone
No recording limit
3.68m-Dot EVF with 120 fps Refresh Rate
3″ 1.03m-Dot Vari-Angle Touchscreen LCD
759-Pt. Fast Hybrid AF
Real-time Eye AF (including bird AF in stills and video tracking)
Focus Breathing Compensation
5-Axis SteadyShot Image Stabilization
4K 15p UVC/UAC Streaming via USB Type-C

Like the Alpha 1, I feel like the Sony a7IV has “enough” of everything that I don’t feel like I’m missing much. That in itself adds up to a very compelling camera. But is it the camera for you? Find out by reading my text review or watching my definitive video review…or just enjoy the photos from the gallery below.

Thanks to Sony Canada for getting me a loaner of Sony a7RIV.

Photos of the Sony a7IV

Photos Taken with the ILCE-7M4

Gear Used:

Purchase the Sony a7IV @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Samyang AF 50mm F1.4 II @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Sony 50mm F1.2 GM @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Sony FE 50mm f/1.4 Planar T*: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon.ca | Amazon UK | Ebay

Purchase the Sony Alpha 1 @ Camera Canada | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase a Sony a9M2 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase a Sony a7C @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Sony a7RIV Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Buy DA Merchandise https://bit.ly/TWIMerch

Purchase a Sony a7C @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Peak Design Leash Strap: Peak Design Store | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK

Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 1-Year Subscription
Exposure Software X6 (Use Code “dustinabbott” to get 10% anything and everything)
Visit Dustin’s Amazon Storefront and see his favorite gear

Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. You can also make a donation here if you would like. Visit my Amazon page for some of my gear of choice! Thank you for your support.

Great News! I can now offer a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52018DA in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews!

Keywords: Sony Alpha 7IV, Sony A7IV, Sony Alpha 7IV Review, Sony A7IV Review, ILCE-7IV, ILCE-7M4, Sony, a7IV, A74, Review, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Sensor Performance, ISO, Dynamic Range, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, Sony a7III, Sony a7C

DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Samyang AF 85mm F1.4 Series II Review

Dustin Abbott

November 1st, 2022

Samyang AF 85II Build, Design and Handling

Autofocus Performance

Samyang AF 85mm F1.4 II Image Quality

Conclusion

Pros:

Cons:

Purchase the Samyang AF 85mm F1.4 II @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Samyang AF 50mm F1.4 II @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DN ART @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Sony a7IV @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Sony Alpha 1 @ Camera Canada | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase a Sony a9M2 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Want to support this channel? Use these affiliate links to shop at: B&H Photo | Amazon | | Camera Canada | Ebay | Make a donation via Paypal

Use Code “DUSTINHDR” to get $10 off ($15 CDN) any Skylum product: Luminar, Aurora, or AirMagic

Related Articles at DustinAbbott.net

Samyang AF 85mm F1.4 Series II Image Gallery

Dustin Abbott

November 1st, 2022

Photos of the Samyang 85mm F1.4 Series II

Photos Taken with the Samyang AF 85mm F1.4 Series II

Purchase the Samyang AF 85mm F1.4 II @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Samyang AF 50mm F1.4 II @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DN ART @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Sony a7IV @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Sony Alpha 1 @ Camera Canada | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase a Sony a9M2 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Want to support this channel? Use these affiliate links to shop at: B&H Photo | Amazon | | Camera Canada | Ebay | Make a donation via Paypal

Use Code “DUSTINHDR” to get $10 off ($15 CDN) any Skylum product: Luminar, Aurora, or AirMagic

Related Articles at DustinAbbott.net

Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 FE Review

Dustin Abbott

February 14th, 2022

Viltrox AF35 Build, Design and Handling

Viltrox AF 35mm STM Autofocus Performance

Viltrox AF 35mm STM Image Quality

Conclusion

Pros:

Cons:

Purchase the Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 STM @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Viltrox Store (use Code DUSTINABBOTT for a discount) | Pergear | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK

Purchase the Viltrox AF 50mm F1.8 STM @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Viltrox Store (use Code DUSTINABBOTT for a discount) | Pergear | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK

Purchase the Viltrox AF 24mm F1.8 STM @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Viltrox Store (use Code DUSTINABBOTT for a discount) | Pergear (Worldwide) | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK

Purchase a Sony a7C @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Sony Alpha 1 @ Camera Canada | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase a Sony a9M2 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Sony a9 Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay Sony a7RIV Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Buy DA Merchandise https://bit.ly/TWIMerch

Purchase a Sony a7C @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Peak Design Leash Strap: Peak Design Store | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK

Related Articles at DustinAbbott.net

Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 Image Gallery

Dustin Abbott

February 14th, 2022

Photos of the Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 STM

Photos Taken with the Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 STM

Purchase the Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 STM @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Viltrox Store (use Code DUSTINABBOTT for a discount) | Pergear | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK

Purchase the Viltrox AF 50mm F1.8 STM @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Viltrox Store (use Code DUSTINABBOTT for a discount) | Pergear | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK

Purchase the Viltrox AF 24mm F1.8 STM @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Viltrox Store (use Code DUSTINABBOTT for a discount) | Pergear (Worldwide) | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK

Purchase a Sony a7C @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Sony Alpha 1 @ Camera Canada | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase a Sony a9M2 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Sony a9 Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay Sony a7RIV Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Buy DA Merchandise https://bit.ly/TWIMerch

Purchase a Sony a7C @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Peak Design Leash Strap: Peak Design Store | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK

Related Articles at DustinAbbott.net

Sigma 20mm F2 DG DN (iSeries) Review

Dustin Abbott

February 9th, 2022

Sigma i20 Build, Design and Handling

Sigma 20mm F2 DN Autofocus Performance

Sigma i20 Image Quality

Conclusion

Pros:

Cons:

Purchase the Sigma 20mm F2 DG DN @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Sigma 24mm F2 DG DN @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | eBay

Purchase the Sigma 24mm F3.5 DN @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Sony a9 Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay
Sony a7RIV Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Sony a9 Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay
Sony a7RIV Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Sony a9 Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay
Sony a7RIV Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Sony a9 Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay
Sony a7RIV Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay