Members Martin Vronsky Posted February 22, 2023 Members Share Posted February 22, 2023 Press Release: Sony Electronics Introduces Newest Compact Addition to the Full-Frame Lens Line-Up with a 50mm F1.4 G Master Latest Addition to Sony’s G Master™ Series Delivers Extraordinary Resolution, Beautiful Bokeh and Fast Autofocus in a Remarkably Lightweight Design SAN DIEGO, CA – Feb. 21, 2023 – Sony Electronics has announced the 50mm F1.4 G Master (model SEL50F14GM) as the newest addition to its acclaimed G Master full-frame lens lineup. This e-mount lens expands the Sony lineup with a premium 50 mm prime lens packed into a remarkably compact and lightweight design. The 50mm F1.4 G Master delivers first-class image quality, including high-resolution and naturally rendered bokeh known to Sony’s top-tier G Master™ series. When paired with the latest Sony cameras, it is an ideal option for a wide variety of uses in both still and video including portraiture, landscapes, travel, and weddings. “At Sony, we are continually listening to the needs of today’s content creators and are proud to announce the newest innovative option with the 50mm F1.4 G Master lens, the latest addition to the E-mount lens line-up,” said Yang Cheng, Vice President, Imaging Solutions, Sony Electronics Inc. “This prime lens is a great option for both photography and videography use and delivers excellent image quality at 50mm, one of the most popular focal lengths. Being able to pack our latest G Master technology into such a compact form factor brings ultimate versatility to a 50mm for Sony.” Sharp Imagery and Beautiful Bokeh The advanced optical design and elements unique to Sony’s top-of-the-line G Master series brings outstanding image quality to the 50mm F1.4 G Master. Spherical aberration control at both the design and the manufacturing stages contributes to beautiful bokeh. The lens offers naturally rendered bokeh with an 11-blade circular aperture and sharp realism is offered throughout maximum aperture range. Deep, creamy bokeh at F1.4 is ideal for a variety of shooting scenarios including making portrait subjects stand out from their surroundings. The 50mm F1.4 G Master is packed with two XA (extreme aspherical) elements that effectively correct field curvature and most types of aberration. This lens is also designed with one ED (extra-low dispersion) glass element that suppresses chromatic aberration to maintain clear and sharp images without color bleeding. The design combination of the XA and ED elements help achieve high-resolution throughout the entire frame. Sony’s original Nano AR Coating II on the lens suppresses reflections even in a backlit scene. In addition, the minimum focusing distance of the 50mm F1.4 G Master is up to 0.41 meters and maximum magnification is up to 0.16x when autofocus is used i. This level of close-up performance provides extra flexibility when shooting both stills and videos. Remarkably Compact Design for Maximum Versatility The 50mm F1.4 G Master has Sony’s most advanced optical design technology including the precisely positioned XA elements, high-thrust XD (extreme dynamic) linear motors, and the latest compact circular aperture unit. These elements are critical for realizing a large-aperture, high-resolution lens that is only 80.6 mm in diameter, 96.0 mm in length, and approximately 516 grams in weight. These measurements allow for a lens that is up to 33% lighter and 15% less volume when compared to conventional models with the same specifications ii. The compact size of the 50mm F1.4 G Master paired with a Sony camera body makes this lens extremely versatile in both still and video shooting situations. With this type of mobility and low-light performance, this lens is a great choice for everything from portraits, landscapes, weddings, and travel. The compact size also makes it an ideal lens selection for gimbal and drone operation. Fast, Precise, and Reliable Autofocus The 50mm F1.4 G Master’s autofocus is extremely fast and precise, making it an ideal choice for reliable content creation. The autofocus is as much as 1.9x fasteriii than conventional models with the same specifications ii. The lens’s focus group is driven by Sony’s high-thrust XD linear motors and incorporates an advanced control algorithm for smooth, responsive focus drive. When paired with the latest Sony’s Alpha cameras, this lens can quickly acquire focus and track subjects, even when using the shallow depth of field available at F1.4. The XD linear motors and control algorithm optimize response to control signals so that focusing is precise, and vibration is minimized for refined, quiet AF operation. This is extremely advantageous when shooting movies allowing movie subjects to be smoothly captured and tracked even when shooting at 120 fps or other high frame rates. The ability to leave focusing to the camera when shooting solo or with a small team can dramatically enhance efficiency and creative flexibility. Also, the 50mm F1.4 G Master features the latest lens technology to reduce focus breathing to ensure that the highest quality images are captured. In addition, the 50mm F1.4 G Master supports the breathing compensation iv function provided in compatible Sony’s Alpha cameras. Intuitive Operability and Outstanding Reliability The lens has been designed intuitively to help provide creators maximum workflow efficiency while shooting.Linear Response MF ensures that the focus ring responds directly and repeatably to subtle control when focusing manually. As an exciting evolution to the premium G Master line-up, the 50mm F1.4 G Master also features an iris lock switch, which is the first to ever be offered on a Sony prime lens. Additionally, this lens features a 67 mm thread mount, allowing for a filter to be interchangeable with the FE 24mm F1.4 G Master and FE 35mm F1.4 G Master lenses. Focus hold buttons and a focus mode switch provide extra shooting versatility for content creators. Customizable focus hold buttons are present in two locations, which can be further assigned to several other functions from the camera’s menus. The focus mode switch makes it possible to switch between autofocus and manual focus on the fly, to quickly adapt to changing shooting conditions. The 50mm F1.4 G Master’s front lens element features a fluorine coating that repels and allows for easy removal of fingerprints, dust, water, oil, and other contaminants v. A dust and moisture resistant design provides extra reliability for outdoor use in challenging conditions. These additions allow creators to use the lens with confidence in almost any shooting environment. Pricing and Availability The new 50mm F1.4 G Master lens will be available in May 2023 for approximately $1299.99 USD and $1799.99 CAD. It will be sold at a variety of Sony’s authorized dealers throughout North America. Notes: I. 0.38 meters and 0.18x when manual focus is used II. Such as the Planar T* FE 50 mm F1.4 ZA III. Sony test conditions. IV. Compatibility info at: https://www.sony.net/dics/breathing/ Available in movie mode only. Angle of view and image quality may change slightly when this function is used. Compensation may not be able to cover all situations. V. Not guaranteed to be 100% dust and moisture proof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Martin Vronsky Posted February 22, 2023 Author Members Share Posted February 22, 2023 Specs: Principal specifications Lens type - Prime lens Max Format size - 35mm FF Focal length - 50 mm Image stabilization - No Lens mount - Sony E, Sony FE Aperture Maximum aperture - F1.4 Minimum aperture - F16 Aperture ring - Yes Number of diaphragm blades - 11 Aperture notes - Rounded aperture blades Optics Elements - 14 Groups - 11 Focus Minimum focus - 0.38 m (14.96″) Maximum magnification - 0.18× Autofocus - Yes Motor type - Linear Motor Focus method - Internal Distance scale - No DoF scale - No Physical Weight - 516 g (1.14 lb) Diameter - 81 mm (3.19″) Length - 96 mm (3.78″) Filter thread - 67 mm Hood supplied - Yes Tripod collar - No Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Martin Vronsky Posted February 22, 2023 Author Members Share Posted February 22, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Martin Vronsky Posted February 22, 2023 Author Members Share Posted February 22, 2023 Quote That's right: Sony has released a 50mm f/1.4 lens for the G-Master lineup! Photo and video professionals will enjoy the impressive features in this lens, such as a high-performance autofocus, improved focus breathing, de-clickable aperture ring and more. Join us for a hands-on review of the Sony FE 50mm f/1.4 GM! 0:00 Intro 0:33 Key Specs 1:48 Real-World Test 4:33 More Specs 6:58 Final Thoughts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Martin Vronsky Posted February 22, 2023 Author Members Share Posted February 22, 2023 Quote 00:00 - Introduction and alternatives 01:25 - Sony FE 50mm f1.4 GM design and controls 03:25 - Sony FE 50mm f1.4 GM autofocus 05:24 - Sony FE 50mm f1.4 GM focus breathing and compensation 07:00 - Sony FE 50mm f1.4 GM landscape distant quality 08:42 - Sony FE 50mm f1.4 GM portrait quality 10:20 - Sony FE 50mm f1.4 GM bokeh quality 11:56 - Sony FE 50mm f1.4 GM macro closeup quality 12:59 - Sony FE 50mm f1.4 GM Chromatic aberration 14:03 - Sony FE 50mm f1.4 GM sample images and verdict Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Martin Vronsky Posted February 22, 2023 Author Members Share Posted February 22, 2023 Quote E-Mount shooters looking for a high quality 50mm prime will almost certainly be comparing the recently announced Sony 50mm F1.4 GM to the Sigma 50mm F1.4 DG Dn Art. Which is the better option? Chris took both these lenses to the Calgary Boat and Outdoors Show to find out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Martin Vronsky Posted March 1, 2023 Author Members Share Posted March 1, 2023 Quote Sony just announced the release of the new 50mm f/1.4 G Master lens which was an interesting move in that just 2 years ago they released the sublime f/1.2 version. This makes Sony the second full frame camera manufacturer to offer an f/1.4 professional lens. Panasonic released their own in 2019 and Nikon and Canon only offer f/1.2 professional prime lenses. So is the 50 f/1.4 G Master any good? Compared to what? In this video I want to compare the optical quality to 3 of what I think are the best 50mm lenses ever made - the Sony f/1.2 GM, the Leica 50mm Summilux f/1.4 ASPH. and the Zeiss Otus 55mm f/1.4. How does the optical quality compare? If I could only choose 1 50mm lens for the rest of my career, which one would it be? Lets talk about that in this video. 0:00 Sony 50mm f/1.4 G Master 0:26 Field Curvature and Edge to Edge Sharpness 1:00 Image Quality and Handling 1:46 Compared to the Sony 50mm f/1.2 G Master 2:56 Early wide-aperture lenses 5:00 Bokeh Tests 6:27 Weight and Ergonomics 7:37 Build your website with Squarespace 9:09 Compared to the best 50mm lenses ever made 9:50 Leica 50mm f/1.4 Summilux-M Asph 11:08 Zeiss Otus 55mm f/1.4 12:26 Lenses Compared 13:37 What is the best 50mm lens? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Martin Vronsky Posted March 21, 2023 Author Members Share Posted March 21, 2023 Quote 0:00 - Intro and Concept 2:14 - Build and Design 6:10 - Autofocus 10:07 - Image Quality 24:55 - Conclusion and Pricing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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