Lens Compensation

ahalpert said:
Hey Josh, do you have long-term use thoughts about the Sony GM 135? I'm looking at it now, and there are a surprising number of used copies available. It looks like a great lens (and is also available for about 2/3 of the new price on account of the glut of used copies), but I sort of wonder why so many people are unloading it. Maybe they replaced it with the 70-200 GM II?

Also, just got the GM 35. Beautiful lens. But the breathing is pretty pronounced as you had indicated. Probably breathes more than the 24. (The 50, by contrast, breathes relatively little.) I wonder if they could have reduced the breathing by increasing the size. I like how small the 35 and 24 are, but they're definitely breathers.

Another random note - there's a rumor that Tamron may release a 150-400mm f/2.8-5.6. I wonder if that lens could weigh in around 2 lbs, which is more or less the upper limit of what I like to fly on a gimbal. Could be cool...
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Hey! I still have and do use the 135 GM, but I'll be honest that after buying the 70-200 GM II, I don't grab the 135 near as often anymore. The 70-200 GM II is hands down one of my favorite lenses ever and the bokeh and overall image quality is just insane, not to mention how crazy lightweight it is. As such I plan to sell the 135 once Sony releases a new 85 GM as I feel I would use that lens more.

The breathing is definitely pronounced on the 35 GM, but I don't see it all that often in my work. I guess it's just how I shoot, but it's a fairly uncommon problem for me thankfully. I've linked a recent video below that I made using my 35 GM & 50 GM. I also used a 24 GM and a 70-200 GM II for just a couple of shots, but 95% of this project was shot with a 35 GM on an A7SIII on a gimbal and a 50 GM handheld on my FX6. Link: https://vimeo.com/rusticrivermedia/alphaxi

I read a rumor about that Tamron lens you mentioned. That would be an insane lens and I would buy one for doc work. That would be a crazy good doc lens.
 
Looks nice! So Texas, lol. Nice incorporation of drone.

I notice the breathing on the 35 and 24 mainly just on gimbal/slider reveals that rack from foreground to background, where it can be jarring. I'm not hugely opposed to breathing, but if it's pronounced enough for me to really notice then I don't love it. Probably a consequence of having such small lenses. But otherwise I'm really enjoying the 35. Beautiful lens. Not as nice as the 50 IMO but close.

Makes total sense what you're saying about the 70-200 ii. That's probably why so many used 135's are available. Usually, you only see that much used inventory when a new version of a lens is released.

70-200 ii looks really nice, although I'm shifting more and more to using primes. I just ordered the 135 and I'm dying for them to release the 85 1.2. What's taking so long, Sony?!

I thought about the Tamron 150-400 again, and realistically there is no way that the weight would be down around where I'd want it. Probably the best way for me to go to get that focal length at a reasonable weight would be the 70-200 ii with the 2x teleconverter...

On the original topic of this thread (lens compensation) - I'm thinking about experimenting with it off in some circumstances, particularly portraiture or anything where I want to achieve more "character." I saw some side-by-side shots of the 135 GM with lens corrections on/off in Dustin Abbott's review and I actually preferred the uncorrected vignetting and distortion. Makes me consider running some experiments with that lens and with my 35 and 50.

You don't have the 14 GM do you? That's one other lens I was considering, although I'm not sure I would use it enough to justify the purchase. And usually if I need to go that wide, I need to go as wide as possible. I wouldn't mind if my 12-24 were an 11-24 like Canon makes...
 
Joshua Milligan said:
Link: https://vimeo.com/rusticrivermedia/alphaxi
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Super clean and modern, great direction (did you guide them a lot?).

I also like the subtle sound design like the chalk across the board.

Just curious - which ISO did you use at night? The second native one and did you ever go past it?

You should maybe also consider a shorter version of this because I would be afraid people will miss some of the shots after a minute if they drop out. Now a certain niche interested in this won't drop out, but perhaps worth a consideration because you might not need so many similar shots like the same gimbal coverage of walking through campus, etc.
 
NorBro said:
Super clean and modern, great direction (did you guide them a lot?).

I also like the subtle sound design like the chalk across the board.

Just curious - which ISO did you use at night? The second native one and did you ever go past it?

You should maybe also consider a shorter version of this because I would be afraid people will miss some of the shots after a minute if they drop out. Now a certain niche interested in this won't drop out, but perhaps worth a consideration because you might not need so many similar shots like the same gimbal coverage of walking through campus, etc.
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Hey NorBro, l used 12,800 at night on my FX6 and A7SIII. Unlike the low base ISO, I tend to overexpose the high base ISO by 1 stop and the result is crazy clean. I’ve never needed to go past 12,800 with these cameras fortunately.

I appreciate your advice on a shorter version, however, the stats so far (hasn’t officially been made public by my client yet) show that almost everyone has watched all the way through.

I think at the end of the day it’s all about who it’s targeted for and for this project the target market is young college girls who are considering joining a sorority. That target market will watch the full video.
 
ahalpert said:
Looks nice! So Texas, lol. Nice incorporation of drone.

I notice the breathing on the 35 and 24 mainly just on gimbal/slider reveals that rack from foreground to background, where it can be jarring. I'm not hugely opposed to breathing, but if it's pronounced enough for me to really notice then I don't love it. Probably a consequence of having such small lenses. But otherwise I'm really enjoying the 35. Beautiful lens. Not as nice as the 50 IMO but close.

Makes total sense what you're saying about the 70-200 ii. That's probably why so many used 135's are available. Usually, you only see that much used inventory when a new version of a lens is released.

70-200 ii looks really nice, although I'm shifting more and more to using primes. I just ordered the 135 and I'm dying for them to release the 85 1.2. What's taking so long, Sony?!

I thought about the Tamron 150-400 again, and realistically there is no way that the weight would be down around where I'd want it. Probably the best way for me to go to get that focal length at a reasonable weight would be the 70-200 ii with the 2x teleconverter...

On the original topic of this thread (lens compensation) - I'm thinking about experimenting with it off in some circumstances, particularly portraiture or anything where I want to achieve more "character." I saw some side-by-side shots of the 135 GM with lens corrections on/off in Dustin Abbott's review and I actually preferred the uncorrected vignetting and distortion. Makes me consider running some experiments with that lens and with my 35 and 50.

You don't have the 14 GM do you? That's one other lens I was considering, although I'm not sure I would use it enough to justify the purchase. And usually if I need to go that wide, I need to go as wide as possible. I wouldn't mind if my 12-24 were an 11-24 like Canon makes...
Click to expand...

I too want the 85 1.2 GM. I’m ready whenever Sony is!

The breathing is definitely there on the smaller GM primes. I just don’t rack focus enough to see it. And the times I do, I can use the FX6’s breathing compensation to eliminate it. So to me it’s easily worked around. Then you get all the benefits of working with the GM primes which is handling, image quality and size. They are fantastic in all three areas, even with linear focus now.

I don’t have the 14 GM, but I’ve looked hard at the 12-24 GM. I just don’t like not being able to mount NDs to the front as even a matte box might get in the way.

I understand where you’re coming from about liking the character sometimes of non-corrected lenses. I’m the exact same way.
 
Joshua Milligan said:
Hey NorBro, l used 12,800 at night on my FX6 and A7SIII. Unlike the low base ISO, I tend to overexpose the high base ISO by 1 stop and the result is crazy clean. I’ve never needed to go past 12,800 with these cameras fortunately.

I appreciate your advice on a shorter version, however, the stats so far (hasn’t officially been made public by my client yet) show that almost everyone has watched all the way through.

I think at the end of the day it’s all about who it’s targeted for and for this project the target market is young college girls who are considering joining a sorority. That target market will watch the full video.
Click to expand...

Because of the content, most will probably watch the full video, ha.
 
Joshua Milligan said:
I too want the 85 1.2 GM. I’m ready whenever Sony is!

The breathing is definitely there on the smaller GM primes. I just don’t rack focus enough to see it. And the times I do, I can use the FX6’s breathing compensation to eliminate it. So to me it’s easily worked around. Then you get all the benefits of working with the GM primes which is handling, image quality and size. They are fantastic in all three areas, even with linear focus now.

I don’t have the 14 GM, but I’ve looked hard at the 12-24 GM. I just don’t like not being able to mount NDs to the front as even a matte box might get in the way.

I understand where you’re coming from about liking the character sometimes of non-corrected lenses. I’m the exact same way.
Click to expand...

A7siii/fx3 don't have breathing compensation (yet). All in all, I'll take the small size even if the consequence is breathing. But it would be great if they just didn't breathe

I have the 12-24 G f/4, not the GM 2.8. The GM is definitely sharper in the corners. But I recall that the distortion was equivalent, and that's way more important to me in an ultra-wide. I probably won't get the 14 because it's probably not worth the money to me for how much I'd use it. But f/4 is occasionally too dark for my ultra wide needs. And I have a lens addiction

You can put ND right in front of the sensor. I have a filter for use with the 12-24. 4 or 5 stops I think. Maybe it's made by Kase? I'd have to check. The 14 has an actual rear filter slot, I believe

I agree with NorBro that the sorority video is relatively long in the age of tiktok and Instagram - however, I think it's totally fine since the audience is targeted and/or self-selecting. You're only interested in students at that school, and if someone is seriously thinking about joining a sorority, they're going to spend hours and days considering the decision.

But for the product commercials we put on Christie's Instagram, they're generally about a minute or less. The social media team pressures the video team to make them 15 seconds max. But you can't show much in 15 seconds, and typically we compromise by cutting something in the 30's. Also, the social media cuts are mostly vertical. But the version edited to show on their website is typically longer and 16:9
 
Wow that 135gm is a nice, sharp lens. Basically what I expected in every regard. I didn't account for how much more detail it would provide on CUs than I want. I've ordered a Black Satin 1/4 in 82mm which may become a permanent fixture on the lens, provided that it doesn't cause crazy interreflections with my VND. (I'm currently using Freewell Magnetic VND systems, which also contain a Mist base option, but it's a bit strong, probably not the look I'm going for, and probably won't cut as seamlessly with unfiltered footage. But it may be my only option if filter stacking won't work. Or maybe I could modify the clear vnd base to give ne a subtler diffusion)

a review i read about the samyang 85 called its softness "fit for purpose" since its typically used as a portrait lens. This is true. Samyajg just has worse contrast, back-lit performance, chromatic aberration, and--the deal breaker for me: far inferior AF

People on sonyalpharumors say the 85 gm 1 2 should arrive in autumn....
 
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