I'd used this lens a few times with Sony A7iii and very happy with its performance, even under low light conditions. Razor-pin-sharp image from f/1.8 and the focus is so accurate. Expensive but worthy. The sharpest lens I've ever use.
I currently use this lens on Sony a6600 and what a tremendous complement. What a great image quality, I had read that it was good but I was shocked to see it for myself. I do portrait, landscape and astrophotography photography, and boy, what a great lens Sony made.
@jessemartinez2606 hell yes I did! Launched an entire photography business on top of my current business lol. This lens is a beast. And I have 3 other lenses INCLUDING the 70-200 f/2.8 GM OSS ii.. and I STILL prefer this lens over that one! (For portraits)! Get this lens. It's amazing!
I love love love this lens! Frankly, its the only reason why I would not leave the Sony system. I have the (new) Sigma 85 1.4 DG DN too. While this is a spectacular lens, I will always use the 135 first (if i have the room to use it).
Wasn't expecting Neil Breen at the end there lol. Though not the first time we see references to him in Chris' lens reviews. That was a photo of a disc of his movies i believe. LOL.
I love it for landscape, close-up, portrait, arcitecture, street and allround photography, recently I used aa a close-up lens both at fullformat and in APSC mode on my Sony A7RIV, the pictures turned out very well, so it is good for nature close-up photography as well :) Happy New Year and gear ;) Before the Sony 135mm 1.8 GM, I had the Canon EF 135mm 2.0 L which is a very good lens, but the Sony are much better and that tells a lot ! The only thing I want are a 1.4X teleconverter for the Sony, I had a 1.4X for the Canon and I loved that combination, which I used many times. My kit of lenses are Sony 24mm 1.4 GM, Sony Zeiss Sonnar 55mm 1.8, Sony 135mm 1.8 GM, Sony 200-600mm 5.6-6.3 G and a lot of "classic" anaolog manually focusing lenses from Canon FDn, Leica R and Tamron.
Great review, but one small note. I use this lens with A9II and it is lighting fast with it (tracking works amazing). This sigma is a lot slower and hunt a lot (still very good option for portrait). New Sigmas (like 85) are much faster.
Tony Northrup discovered another big difference between when when shooting portraits that are heavily backlit, the Sony GM will retain the most contrast of the portrait face while the Sigma loses contrast to the flare. See the 1: 45 minute mark in his video.
I went with the Sigma 135mm because the prize was just at my limit... and it is fantastic! The only thing I find a bit lacking is the autofocus in low light, otherwise the Sigma is my absolute favourite lens to take photos with, despite its massive weight. It just inspires me to go out and shoot and I drag it along pretty much all the time.
This lens is a state of art. it's my nemesis. I do not own one, but every single time i had the opportunity to shoot it, i got very special images with it. Want it so so so bad, yet i cannot afford it and i know that for my use i wouldnt use it as much....
Frost, I know this might make your job harder, but your diffraction part of the reviews aren't accurate. In that, I mean diffraction is not just based on lens, but rather, primarily based on pixel size. That means a 40MP sensor will show diffraction earlier than a 20MP sensor, and a 20MP sensor will show diffraction earlier than a 12MP sensor. For example, 12MP full frame sensors are the ONLY sensors that can go to f/16 before diffraction shows up. It gets even worse when you factor in crop bodies. The maximum aperture for a 20MP APSC is around f/8! A ~20MP full frame sensor will start to see diffraction at around f/12. So the problem with your diffraction test, is diffraction sets in at different apertures with different sensor sizes and different megapixels. This is a reason why small sensor super zooms are soo soft. Their widest aperture is already beyond the diffraction limit. So for example, on a 1/2.3 sensor the diffraction limit sets in at something like f/4, regardless of the focal length. If they can't do faster than that zoomed in, they're going to be soft from diffraction at best. It also means that stopping these types of camera's down to say f/8, doesn't actually sharpen image quality, but just increases the diffraction further. Here's a set of calculators you can look up that visualize what's happening with diffraction and pixel size. www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/diffraction-photography.htm
Let’s wait for the Sigma’s mirrorless version 135mm f/1.8 for Sony E mount! I believe that will be much lighter than its predecessor and still cheaper than this Sony GM！
my favorite line from all your lens review is = "and related to bokeh, is longitudinal chromatic aberration" maybe it is because of your accent, this sounds very cool
I've been waiting on your thoughts on this lens for a while. (Wanted to wait until your review before buying but... Caved in a year back) Although this lens is a 135mm I think it's a super versatile lens and it's been a delight using it for landscape and portraits. If anyone is wanting this lens and is a student you can find it for $1650 on bhphoto making it a better value.
I'd like to hear if you think it is worth the extra price over the Samyang 135mm f2. Sure it might be f2 and manual focus, but as you know it does give a great bang for your buck.
I am not 100% sure about this, but I think STM motors are much more durable than USM ones. For example Canon's 30 years old 80-200mm f2.8 lenses are still in perfect working condition, whereas it's smaller brother, which came out with it, the 24-80mm f2.8-4, with it's USM focus motor, is essentially no more
Another lovely review. I know the Samyang 135mm f/2 lens cannot be compared with this monster, though I would like to know your opinion if you just look at the final image which comes out. What is your opinion?
i have both. sure they can be compared, why not? other than the obvious focus mechanism. dont be shocked, i honestly prefer the samyang end product. samyang is every bit lovely as anything else ive tried and it has character. it reminds me of the sony RX1 zeiss type of charm. the gm doesnt give me anything special other than any other sony lenses i own that are just clinical without character. that said, i am gonna end up selling the samyang. the FL is a specialized length mainly for portraits, for me anyway, i have no intention of using it for anything else and for that, the manual focus just isnt going to cut it. way too shallow at 2.0 and at this FL to nail it everytime. it simply takes too long.
@@whatsup9879 thank you! As I was reading your reply I was thinking of getting the lens, but than you mentioned the hard to focus bit (at f2). I do already have the Tamron 70-180 f2.8, so if I am never using the f2 on the Samyang... whats the point? You will be selling your lens? Are you by any chance living in Holland?? 😆
Hi Chris, late to the party, and just picked up this lens. Do you notice any noise when focusing at higher apertures? Mine is silent at f1.8 but stopping down to f2.8 and there's noticeable noise when autofocusing. Thanks.
Christopher need your help buddy, i'm guessing you don't still have an m50? but i do need help with an issue that i have noticed, if you know or can get some one to also test the following hi i have a canon m50 and think i have found a focusing bug, i'm trying to get some other veiws on this as i have two bodies both with the same issue, one is new one is a year old the issue is the camera can't autofocus when there are only horizontal lines in the frame, ie a horizontal black line on a white background like a gap in a chest of draws. if there are any other objects in the frame the camera wi grab these. if you could do a quick focus test i'd appreciate it so i have more data for canon as i'm about to send mine in for analysis if you turn the camera 90 degrees into portrait orientation it will now do the same thing with vertical lines as the problem horizontal to the camera bodies point of veiw thanks if you can help.
ok i can confirm this is a limitation of the way canons dual pixel focus works, further confirmed by the developing quad focus system to eradicate the issue
Looks like a corker of a lens. There's something special about the 135mm focal length! In my humble opinion, the Fujifilm 90mm is the best of their lenses, with incredible sharpness and bokeh.
Great review, I might add however there is another alternative; The Sony zeiss batis 135mm f2.8 is a stunning alternative. I have rented the Sony 135mm f1.8 several times last year and was convinced it was the best until this year when I couldnt get one at my preferred price point. I was able to get the batis new at unbelievable price point and I havent been disappointed. The batis has image stabilization and is very fast to focus, colors are punchy its light as a feather as well. I reviewed all the footage from last year with gmaster lens and I discovered the Gmaster wasnt as reliable and consistent as the Batis. Please review Batis lens you won't be disappointed. I would also recommend the Sony 100mm f2.8 which may make you reconsider your sharpest lens reviewed. Thanx again! I shoot fashion photography a lot of runway and I used 135mm for last years oscars with mildly successful results.
I used to shoot with a Sony A7RIII and a Zeiss 135 F/2.8. Probably the best lens I ever had in 40 years of photography (and several Leica bodies and lenses). Lighter and better than the 135 f:1.8 Sony I had on my Sony A850 (as heavy as this one). And F2.8 is better for portraits in my opinion to get the optimal DOF.
The main thing that is making me crave these overly expensive lenses is their compact size, my sigma art 24 1.4 is even sharper than the sony one but sooo much bigger :(
truth is, no one, and absolutely no one besides you is going to care or even notice. even other photographers arent going to notice cuz they dont pixelpeep other photographers photos like they do theirs.
Just passing by to listen to "due to the effects of diffraction".
Why does everyone like that so much hehe. Not even Neil Breen could distract the comments section from it ;-)
@@christopherfrost I like the "longitudinal chromatic abberation" better
@@christopherfrost can you get t shirts made with it?
This is the wrong lens for it, but I always anticipate the “fifteenAH millimeter”.
I'd used this lens a few times with Sony A7iii and very happy with its performance, even under low light conditions. Razor-pin-sharp image from f/1.8 and the focus is so accurate. Expensive but worthy. The sharpest lens I've ever use.
7:35 a wild Neil Breen appears!
Though I wouldn't call these a twisted pair of lenses ...
Glad you reviewed my favorite lens. I absolutely love it when it gives you that 3D look. This with A7RIV gives me mind blowing qualities on portraits.
Please do the 24mm 1.4 G master next!
I'm working on that over Christmas :-)
Yes please!!!
Agree with you
@@christopherfrost thank you very much
@@christopherfrost hope you get to see more G Master Lenses
I currently use this lens on Sony a6600 and what a tremendous complement. What a great image quality, I had read that it was good but I was shocked to see it for myself. I do portrait, landscape and astrophotography photography, and boy, what a great lens Sony made.
I'm literally sitting here with this lens in my shopping cart! Thank you for this review!
Did you buy it?
@jessemartinez2606 hell yes I did! Launched an entire photography business on top of my current business lol. This lens is a beast. And I have 3 other lenses INCLUDING the 70-200 f/2.8 GM OSS ii.. and I STILL prefer this lens over that one! (For portraits)!
Get this lens. It's amazing!
@@NDT-hw7nr nice
This is such a great review - short and sweet but somehow still manages to be thorough
I love love love this lens! Frankly, its the only reason why I would not leave the Sony system. I have the (new) Sigma 85 1.4 DG DN too. While this is a spectacular lens, I will always use the 135 first (if i have the room to use it).
Sony 20mm 1.8 G please
I have one. Beautiful Lens. G master in every respect except without the price and red G.
Cant believe you reviewed this lens. Never thought I'd see the day
Apparently this is actually the first time I saw Christopher Frost's face after seeing that Sigma 200-500mm f/2.8 review
One of my favorite lenses, I picked this one instead of the Sigma version mainly because of the faster AF, but it's also lighter and focuses closer.
Wasn't expecting Neil Breen at the end there lol. Though not the first time we see references to him in Chris' lens reviews. That was a photo of a disc of his movies i believe. LOL.
I thought I was hallucinating
I love it for landscape, close-up, portrait, arcitecture, street and allround photography, recently I used aa a close-up lens both at fullformat and in APSC mode on my Sony A7RIV, the pictures turned out very well, so it is good for nature close-up photography as well :) Happy New Year and gear ;)
Before the Sony 135mm 1.8 GM, I had the Canon EF 135mm 2.0 L which is a very good lens, but the Sony are much better and that tells a lot !
The only thing I want are a 1.4X teleconverter for the Sony, I had a 1.4X for the Canon and I loved that combination, which I used many times.
My kit of lenses are Sony 24mm 1.4 GM, Sony Zeiss Sonnar 55mm 1.8, Sony 135mm 1.8 GM, Sony 200-600mm 5.6-6.3 G and a lot of "classic" anaolog manually focusing lenses from Canon FDn, Leica R and Tamron.
Got it last summer. It's an incredible optic
I want it so much. It's absurdly expensive and I'm not a portrait photographer, but the flowers! Oh the pictures of flowers I could take 🌻
In 2023, this perfect lens has competitors, Samyang 135 (half price); Sony 70-200 G2 (versatility); and possible New Sony 85 F1.2 (APSC equivalent)
That celebrity cameo near the end was unexpected!
Great review, but one small note. I use this lens with A9II and it is lighting fast with it (tracking works amazing). This sigma is a lot slower and hunt a lot (still very good option for portrait). New Sigmas (like 85) are much faster.
Thank you for an another amazing review Chris. God bless!
The Sigma being DSLR lens with sharpness as the the Sony GM, that says a lot about the Sigma lens.
Tony Northrup discovered another big difference between when when shooting portraits that are heavily backlit, the Sony GM will retain the most contrast of the portrait face while the Sigma loses contrast to the flare. See the 1: 45 minute mark in his video.
so happy you reviewed this lens it’s great imo i got usc to repost my graduation photos of one of they’re alumni earlier this year 😁
I went with the Sigma 135mm because the prize was just at my limit... and it is fantastic! The only thing I find a bit lacking is the autofocus in low light, otherwise the Sigma is my absolute favourite lens to take photos with, despite its massive weight. It just inspires me to go out and shoot and I drag it along pretty much all the time.
4:28 the bokeh is gorgeous!
This lens is a state of art. it's my nemesis. I do not own one, but every single time i had the opportunity to shoot it, i got very special images with it. Want it so so so bad, yet i cannot afford it and i know that for my use i wouldnt use it as much....
I really want to buy the 20mm 1.8 but i cant buy anything if you didnt reviewed it🙄🙏🙏
It’s amazing. I love mine
Frost, I know this might make your job harder, but your diffraction part of the reviews aren't accurate. In that, I mean diffraction is not just based on lens, but rather, primarily based on pixel size. That means a 40MP sensor will show diffraction earlier than a 20MP sensor, and a 20MP sensor will show diffraction earlier than a 12MP sensor. For example, 12MP full frame sensors are the ONLY sensors that can go to f/16 before diffraction shows up. It gets even worse when you factor in crop bodies. The maximum aperture for a 20MP APSC is around f/8! A ~20MP full frame sensor will start to see diffraction at around f/12. So the problem with your diffraction test, is diffraction sets in at different apertures with different sensor sizes and different megapixels. This is a reason why small sensor super zooms are soo soft. Their widest aperture is already beyond the diffraction limit. So for example, on a 1/2.3 sensor the diffraction limit sets in at something like f/4, regardless of the focal length. If they can't do faster than that zoomed in, they're going to be soft from diffraction at best. It also means that stopping these types of camera's down to say f/8, doesn't actually sharpen image quality, but just increases the diffraction further.
Here's a set of calculators you can look up that visualize what's happening with diffraction and pixel size. www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/diffraction-photography.htm
Funny how ppl are saying this is an expensive lens. It’d nothing compared to the canon RF lenses
It's still expensive
@@logitech4873 i disagree. for a top of the line lens, its not expensive at all.
what a dream, this lens is crazy
I recently had the opportunity to shoot with the 135 and yes, it is top-heavy but the photos are stunning.
This is what im waiting for👍👍👍
Now this is a impressive piece of Sony glass.
Thank you very much. I “ve just bought this lens. It would be grateful if the next GM is 85GM 😃
Please review 200 600G, i'm planning to get this lens next year.
Let’s wait for the Sigma’s mirrorless version 135mm f/1.8 for Sony E mount!
I believe that will be much lighter than its predecessor and still cheaper than this Sony GM！
Or they may go for an equally-sized f/1.4...! ;)
135GM & 12-24GM: Master of the Masters
my favorite line from all your lens review is =
"and related to bokeh, is longitudinal chromatic aberration"
maybe it is because of your accent, this sounds very cool
i wish you review in future the SONY 85mm f/1.4 GM
thank you
Hi there another good review yet as usual. Is this lens got an AF mode? Thanks 🙏
I've been waiting on your thoughts on this lens for a while. (Wanted to wait until your review before buying but... Caved in a year back) Although this lens is a 135mm I think it's a super versatile lens and it's been a delight using it for landscape and portraits.
If anyone is wanting this lens and is a student you can find it for $1650 on bhphoto making it a better value.
Can you please compare it with Nikon 135 f/1.8 Plena?
Ahh last focal length to buy then I’ll have officially collected all the lensamon. I’ll only have to defeat the gym leaders next.
Would love a review of the fuji 90 f2
My favorite lens :D I'm happy I own one.
Eyes on Breen!
I'd like to hear if you think it is worth the extra price over the Samyang 135mm f2.
Sure it might be f2 and manual focus, but as you know it does give a great bang for your buck.
It's blow my mind. Sharpest lens ever.
How does this compare to the RF85 F1.2 from a technical standpoint: sharpness, bokeh, etc. thanks!
This lens id the holy grail :)
I am not 100% sure about this, but I think STM motors are much more durable than USM ones. For example Canon's 30 years old 80-200mm f2.8 lenses are still in perfect working condition, whereas it's smaller brother, which came out with it, the 24-80mm f2.8-4, with it's USM focus motor, is essentially no more
Is it possible for you to upload some raw files from your reviews for us? It would be so great to have a look at these by myself
Laowa 15mm Zero-D tilt-shift, please. Thanks!
Unfortunately its just a shift lens
Please sir compare 24-70 nikon vs tamron G2 vs SigmaArt 🙏
Please compare this lens with the Sony zeiss 135mm 1.8 A mount version
More GM lenses please!!
Why no lens stabilization??
Pricey but worth it all the way, magnificently good optics, I mean both, Sony and Sigma.
Is the Sony 1.4 FE teleconverter compatible with the Sony 135MM GM lens?
Another lovely review. I know the Samyang 135mm f/2 lens cannot be compared with this monster, though I would like to know your opinion if you just look at the final image which comes out. What is your opinion?
i have both. sure they can be compared, why not? other than the obvious focus mechanism. dont be shocked, i honestly prefer the samyang end product. samyang is every bit lovely as anything else ive tried and it has character. it reminds me of the sony RX1 zeiss type of charm. the gm doesnt give me anything special other than any other sony lenses i own that are just clinical without character. that said, i am gonna end up selling the samyang. the FL is a specialized length mainly for portraits, for me anyway, i have no intention of using it for anything else and for that, the manual focus just isnt going to cut it. way too shallow at 2.0 and at this FL to nail it everytime. it simply takes too long.
@@whatsup9879 thank you! As I was reading your reply I was thinking of getting the lens, but than you mentioned the hard to focus bit (at f2). I do already have the Tamron 70-180 f2.8, so if I am never using the f2 on the Samyang... whats the point? You will be selling your lens? Are you by any chance living in Holland?? 😆
Impressive! But it looks absolutely enormous compared to my "little" Canon 135mm F2.
Hi Chris, late to the party, and just picked up this lens. Do you notice any noise when focusing at higher apertures? Mine is silent at f1.8 but stopping down to f2.8 and there's noticeable noise when autofocusing. Thanks.
The focus is motorised, so I'm guessing that's the audible sound.
and its being sold as a kit lens for the a7r3!!
Really?
@@garvsabbarwal3000 yeah, really.
@@arihkm FML 😭😂😂😂😭😭😂😭
Honestly, the Sigma being bigger is a plus for me. For some reason, I can hold heavy lenses steadier for longer.
May well be a quality lens, however how many can afford lens at this price?
That is what the sigma is for.
Enough for Sony to effectively market it. There are rich people and professionals around
great video as always, how about testing some Zeiss Milvus lenses in the future? I'm especially interested in the 25mm f/1.4
Coming soon!
@@christopherfrost wow thanks, you're the best
Christopher need your help buddy, i'm guessing you don't still have an m50? but i do need help with an issue that i have noticed, if you know or can get some one to also test the following
hi i have a canon m50 and think i have found a focusing bug, i'm trying to get some other veiws on this as i have two bodies both with the same issue, one is new one is a year old
the issue is the camera can't autofocus when there are only horizontal lines in the frame, ie a horizontal black line on a white background like a gap in a chest of draws. if there are any other objects in the frame the camera wi grab these.
if you could do a quick focus test i'd appreciate it so i have more data for canon as i'm about to send mine in for analysis
if you turn the camera 90 degrees into portrait orientation it will now do the same thing with vertical lines as the problem horizontal to the camera bodies point of veiw
thanks if you can help.
ok i can confirm this is a limitation of the way canons dual pixel focus works, further confirmed by the developing quad focus system to eradicate the issue
Looks like a corker of a lens. There's something special about the 135mm focal length! In my humble opinion, the Fujifilm 90mm is the best of their lenses, with incredible sharpness and bokeh.
I'll defo take the sigma! And I have!
Review of Tokina 100mm Macro ATX please🙏🙏🙏
can i use on 6100
Yup
Great review, I might add however there is another alternative; The Sony zeiss batis 135mm f2.8 is a stunning alternative. I have rented the Sony 135mm f1.8 several times last year and was convinced it was the best until this year when I couldnt get one at my preferred price point. I was able to get the batis new at unbelievable price point and I havent been disappointed. The batis has image stabilization and is very fast to focus, colors are punchy its light as a feather as well. I reviewed all the footage from last year with gmaster lens and I discovered the Gmaster wasnt as reliable and consistent as the Batis. Please review Batis lens you won't be disappointed. I would also recommend the Sony 100mm f2.8 which may make you reconsider your sharpest lens reviewed. Thanx again! I shoot fashion photography a lot of runway and I used 135mm for last years oscars with mildly successful results.
Cool but only one stop from the 70-200 2.8 I wouldnt buy both
Sony 100mm/f2,8 gm please
Note for future self: this lens has nicer bokeh than the sigma.
I used to shoot with a Sony A7RIII and a Zeiss 135 F/2.8.
Probably the best lens I ever had in 40 years of photography (and several Leica bodies and lenses).
Lighter and better than the 135 f:1.8 Sony I had on my Sony A850 (as heavy as this one).
And F2.8 is better for portraits in my opinion to get the optimal DOF.
The main thing that is making me crave these overly expensive lenses is their compact size, my sigma art 24 1.4 is even sharper than the sony one but sooo much bigger :(
@Foto4Max depends what matter to you, sigma has better center sharpness open, Sony has better corner sharpness, stopped down they're both tack sharp
truth is, no one, and absolutely no one besides you is going to care or even notice. even other photographers arent going to notice cuz they dont pixelpeep other photographers photos like they do theirs.
Would have liked to see the chromatic aberration without in camera corrections.
Neil Breen
Hahaha 7:36 got me good...So funny
Sigma bokeh as buttery as Sony?
Take a look at the sample pictures from my reviews - it's up to you which you prefer :-)
Can't stand SONY glass. Nikkor, Fujinon Leica and Canon is where it's at.
Nah, sonys better
Your loss...
Sony should remove the ugly apture ring … people are lazy nobody uses that in 2024
Eyes on Breen!