Sony FE 35 mm f/1.4 GM review - Introduction

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Sony FE 35 mm f/1.4 GM

13 January 2021

Maciej Latałło

1. Introduction

The history of 35 mm lenses designed for the full frame Sony FE mount started with the launch of that system in October 2013. Along the A7 and the A7R bodies was released the Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* FE 35 mm f/2.8 ZA, a small, shapely device so a perfect fit for these mirrorless cameras of compact dimensions.

Still no system can manage without classic journalistic parameters and, in response to that need, in March 2015 the Zeiss Distagon T FE 35 mm f/1.4 ZA was launched.

The Sonnar might be too slow for some and the Distagon – too expensive. Sony very sensibly assumed that they should offer another lens, this time with an aperture of f/1.8. Such a model was shown in July 2019 and not a long time ago we had an opportunity to test it.

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When you thought that the line-up of 35 mm primes produced by Sony was practically complete there was a surprise in a form of the Sony FE 35 mm f/1.4 GM, launched in January 2021. It features parameters identical to these of the Zeiss, the only difference being lower weight, smaller dimensions, more complex optics inside and a more efficient linear autofocus motor.

The following chart sums up basic parameters of different 35 mm lenses, described in this part of our test.

We are very grateful to the Sony company for sending us one final specimen of the tested lens before its official launch; because of that we were able to perform its full test very quickly.

You are also invited to get acquainted with our test procedure, described in the article "How do we test lenses?" If you feel it’s still not enough, please go to our FAQ section where you can find some further explanation.