Testing the Sony FE 50 mm F1.4 GM: light luxury

Another 50 millimetre from Sony? They already have four, even five depending on how you count! True, colleague David Lee even compared the three compact variants last year in this article. But until now, anyone looking for more quality or speed had to either reach for the rather outdated and heavy FE 50 mm F1.4 ZA from Zeiss, or immediately make the leap to the FE 50 mm F1.2 GM. It’s good, but expensive and heavy on top. Now Sony has introduced a compact 50 mm, up to date and state of the art.

Lenses

EUR1599,–

Sony FE 50mm f/1.4 GM

Sony E, full size

15

Lenses

EUR1599,–

Sony FE 50mm f/1.4 GM

Sony E, full size

15

The FE 50 mm F1.4 GM is a third lighter than the F1.2 at 516 grams. In addition, it’s much more compact and cheaper as well. The only thing you give up in exchange is a hint of brightness. The focus is on modernity: both linear motors are fast and near silent. The latter is important when filming. Otherwise, Sony promises an excellent resolution, few image errors and a nice bokeh. I tested to see if that’s true and how the new model compares to Sony’s other two fast options – the FE 50 mm F1.8 and FE 50 mm F1.2 GM.

Sharper than sharp

First, I do some pixel peeping, capturing the same book page using all three lenses and different apertures. To eliminate focus errors, I focus manually. In pictures where I enlarge the corner, the focus is placed exactly on that spot. As a camera, I use the 50 MP Sony A1.

Even with a completely open aperture, the new FE 50 mm F1.4 GM is extremely sharp in the centre of the image. The F1.2 also achieves great shots when fully open, I can’t see any difference between the two lenses. Only the F1.8 falls completely short, but that one is much smaller and costs a fraction of the other two.

Starting at f/5.6, all three lenses feature sharp image centres. The smallest of the bunch has a slightly lower resolution, but this tiny difference doesn’t matter in practice.

At the edge of the image, it’s more of the same. Sharpness drops only slightly between both the 1.2 and 1.4, even with an open aperture.

At f/5.6, the level of detail is still a touch better with the two large lenses – but for everyday use, this wouldn’t influence my choice of aperture. This changes with the 50 mm F1.8, where there’s a considerable gain in sharpness with a smaller aperture.

Immediate focus

The new lens focuses as fast as I expect for the price. On my Sony A1, it focuses virtually instantly. In a cross-comparison, it even seems to focus a bit faster and more silently than the more expensive F1.2. The budget F1.8 lands several steps lower, chasing back and forth until it finds the focus. It takes its sweet time, and produces a loud noise all the while. Out of the question for video recording, to be used only for photos of stationary objects.

Enjoyable bokeh

The new FE 50 mm F1.4 GM features eleven aperture blades. This should ensure even and round shapes in out-of-focus areas of an image – in short: a beautiful bokeh. Following my test, I can solidly confirm this. There’s no onion rings, and the blur looks harmonious, if a bit jittery. Which bokeh you prefer is a matter of taste anyway.

Image errors: hardly a problem

Vignetting is a reality with open apertures. However, I can easily eliminate the falling brightness in RAW converters such as Lightroom, so it’s irrelevant in practice. The situation is similar with distortion. As you can see from my completely unedited book photo, straight lines become slightly pillowy with the new 50 mm. The effect is similar to that of the F1.2. It too can be corrected in Lightroom.

Chromatic aberrations – colour fringing on edges with high contrast – are completely under control, on the other hand. Even backlit branches possess almost no green or magenta edges whatsoever.

Another non-existent backlight problem: lens reflections, or «Flare». Not even at open aperture do I notice any disturbing effects, and the contrast remains high.

Verdict: quality and size, beautifully balanced

Sony’s latest 50 millimetre is a great lens. It’s visually close to perfection, and the focus speed and processing are extremely tight. Only the price at market launch leaves me slightly shocked: while 1700 francs is 775 fewer than the larger FE 50 mm F1.2 GM, it still isn’t cheap.

The FE 50 mm F1.4 GM is much smaller and lighter than its big brother. If you don’t necessarily want that last bit of speed, it’s a much better choice. Comparing it to the budget FE 50 mm F1.8 is unfair anyway, as the G-Master plays in a completely different league. Sony stands out from the competition with its new lens, too: neither Canon nor Nikon offer a comparable combination of moderate weight and good imaging performance for mirrorless cameras.

In the end, the Sony FE 50 mm F1.4 GM is my new favourite among fixed focal lengths – just the right balance between speed, quality and size.