so I have this massive product shoot this weekend and I'm freaking out a bit because my current glass just isnt cutting it for these high res prints. I'm stuck between the Sony 35mm GM and the Sigma 85mm f1.4 DG DN Art right now. My logic was the 35 is better for the tight studio space I'm in but then I read the Sigma is actually sharper edge-to-edge? But then there is the 50mm 1.2 GM which is like the gold standard but it pushes my $1900 budget to the absolute limit. I need to pull the trigger by tonight to get it in time. Which one is actually the sharpest of the bunch for a high-res body like the A7RIV?
Saw this a bit late but hope you havent bought yet! Before you drop two grand, what exactly are you shooting? Tiny jewelry or huge furniture? It makes a big difference!! If you want something fantastic that saves some cash:
- Sony FE 90mm f2.8 Macro G OSS - insanely sharp and super reliable.
- Sigma 35mm f1.4 DG DN Art - huge savings over the GM... Seriously dont overspend if you dont have to!
just catching up on this thread... honestly spending two grand on a lens for a single shoot feels like a huge risk. i tried some of those expensive g master primes and unfortunately had issues with the focus consistency that i didnt expect. it was just not as good as expected for that kind of money. for a high res body like yours, you really dont need to blow your whole budget to get the sharpness you want.
- Sigma 105mm f2.8 DG DN Macro Art
- Sony FE 85mm f1.8 the sigma macro is probably the sharpest thing i own and it costs way less than the gm glass. i dont really trust the hype around the super expensive stuff anymore since the quality control can be hit or miss. go with a macro for products... it makes way more sense for high res work anyway.
Honestly, if you're chasing every single pixel on that A7RIV, you might want to consider the Sony FE 50mm f1.2 GM despite the price tag. It's basically the gold standard for a reason and handles that high-res sensor better than almost anything else. Just be careful with the Sony FE 35mm f1.4 GM in a studio setting tho, cuz even though it's crazy sharp, you might deal with some perspective distortion on products that'll drive you crazy during editing. The Sigma 85mm f1.4 DG DN Art is technically a resolution beast and stays super sharp edge-to-edge, but like you said, 85mm is tough in tight spots. Make sure to double check your working distance before you pull the trigger by tonight. If I were you, I'd probably stretch for the 50mm GM if you can swing the cash, or just grab the Sigma if you've got the room to back up. That 35 is great but it's not quite as clinical as the 50... just my two cents.
Bookmarked, thanks!
Late to the party but i had a pretty rough time with the high end Sony glass lately. I grabbed that Sony FE 50mm f1.2 GM for a product job last summer and unfortunately had issues with the focus shift when stopping down. It just was not as good as expected for that crazy price point and it really stressed me out during the shoot. I ended up looking at the charts over on Phillip Reeve's site and realized i was overpaying for features i didnt need in a studio setup. If you want clinical sharpness without the GM tax, check these out:
- Voigtlander 50mm f2 APO-Lanthar Sony E - this thing is manual focus only but its probably the sharpest lens i have ever used on my A7RIV. Zero fringing at all.
- Sony FE 55mm f1.8 ZA - old but gold. You can find these used for like 400 bucks and they punch way above their weight in terms of center resolution. Saved me a ton of money and the clients honestly couldnt tell the difference between these and the expensive G Masters. Good luck with the shoot tho.
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