Sony GM 14mm F1.8 Lens

To be fair, the manufacturers also make it easy for them. Tell me, when is the last time a bad camera or a bad lens was released? Youtubers don't even need to feel all that guilty and there are definitely enough reviews on topside photography that tell you the negatives of a lens or camera or provide enough full resolution samples for you to make your own mind up. The availability of sample images is probably the biggest problem in UW-Photography, although that is also due to the fact that wet lenses are compatible with a variety of camera and lens combination and noone can test them all. I would prefer if they tested wetlenses on a variety of formats though instead of just one camera lens. For example, every single review of the Nauticam MWL-1 seems to be created with a FF sensor and all of them say that you need to stop down to f16. Not one tells you how different that would be on a crop sensor. Certainly you'll need to stop down less, but how much?

And yes, we really derailed this thread as thoroughly as humanly imaginable. 

9 hours ago, Davide DB said:

You don't realize how niche our market is. We are 4 cats compared to the global market.
If our market counted more than a zero point we would have had a native sony fisheye lens for years.

You are right, I tend to forget about that sometimes, even though I know its a niche I tend to forget how small of a niche this really is for us, when most Divers bring a GoPro or PS camera along on the dive.

4 hours ago, hyp said:

......

And yes, we really derailed this thread as thoroughly as humanly imaginable. 

LOL, probably but nonetheless a good discussion to be had I think?

I think it is wrong to assume that all of these Sony influencers are not pointing out flaws and have no negative remarks to be made about the Sony products they are reviewing, including cost. Sony has mastered the art of using social media to promote new products. They have chosen "influencers" that have huge following on social media some with over a million Youtube  followers. Most of the Instagram folks have over 50,000 followers, I just need about 49,650 more at IG philrudinphotography and perhaps I can get an invite to a Sony soiree. 

Also keep in mind that the lions share of these photo influencers also review products from Canon, Fujifilm, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic and others. Several are Sony Alpha Ambassadors that get some free equipment or at least advanced equipment for reviews. Like I said before the lions share get equipment directly from Sony to review which is then returned and used at those large Sony events referenced above. Guys like me as Senior Reviewer for Underwater Photography magazine don't get any equipment direct from the camera manufactures even though I have done almost 100 reviews for the magazine. The equipment I review comes from manufactures  of the underwater equipment I review and some of my personal gear. For almost every review I have done in the last seven years some or all of the equipment being reviewed was on load and returned after field testing. You may also be surprised to know that to own a dealership for any camera/lens brand has a minimum startup cost of over $25,000.00 on average, so while you may think that every U/W photo equipment dealer has this unlimited access to new gear prior to release that is just not the case.     

Also keep in mind that some of these new products are just that good compared to aging equipment. The new Sony A1 and Canon R5 for instance. The new Sony FE 50mm F/1.2 GM a $2000.00 lens has set a new standard for 50mm lenses and in spite of the cost they are on backorder all over the world primarily because of Sony's outstanding use of social media. If I was a Nikon mirrorless owner I could only hope that Nikon has such a strong presence on social media as they are sitting at number six in mirrorless which can't be good for the bottomline.  

And yea this original topic has gone completely off the rails. 

23 hours ago, Phil Rudin said:

...

Regarding the Sony FE 14mm F/1.8, Nauticam will likely recommend the 230mm dome port II and an extension in the 30mm range. I will likely know the extension length before getting the lens.

.....

Hmmm Nauticam chart shows Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN - N100-N120 Adaptor + 21140 Extension Ring 40 + 180mm Glass Dome 18809.

Yes there is also a 230mm Dome recommendation but for travel the 180mm looks great at least on paper :-)

Keep in mind that Sigma lens is a LOT larger than the Sony 14mm prime.

33 minutes ago, Xterra said:

Hmmm Nauticam chart shows Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN - N100-N120 Adaptor + 21140 Extension Ring 40 + 180mm Glass Dome 18809.

Yes there is also a 230mm Dome recommendation but for travel the 180mm looks great at least on paper :-)

Keep in mind that Sigma lens is a LOT larger than the Sony 14mm prime.

There's a footnote (*1) next to the the 230mm dome in the chart indicating that's the most recommended.  If you look at charts for other cameras where they list the 14-24 and the 14mm f1.8 lenses they list a 180mm dome option only for the zoom, the 14mm prime lens they recommend only the 230/250mm domes.  I assume this is because the small dome is quite OK from maybe 19/20mm onwards or so with soft corners at 14 - 19/20mm (or in the case of canon/nikon it most likely is fine for APS-C sensors).  

I think a 14mm prime in a 180mm dome would be stretching the friendship somewhat - people complain about the corners on the 16-35 with full frame.  Using a 180mm dome with such a lens might be acceptable for big animals in blue water but possibly a bit wanting for corner performance on reef scenics or wrecks where you have detail in the corners.  The zooms are also more suitable for big animals in the blue compared to a very wide prime.

Here's a page with a shot from a 17mm lens in a 170mm dome (same radius as the 180mm dome), it's at f8 and no doubt f11-13 would be better.  Different lens of course but indicative of the sort of soft corners you might expect.  Some lenses do better in domes than others for a variety of reasons, but there's no escaping having to get all of the curved virtual image in focus.  https://uwaterphoto.com/?p=839

Another option would be the Nauticam N120 8.5"Acrylic Dome 18802 a LOT cheaper and given the Sony 14mm Lens has no markings in the front element, reflection should not be an issue. JMO, but lets wait until Nauticam does some testing and updates their portchart :-)

I now have the Sony 14mm F/1.8 in house and I have done a few tests. Using the Nauticam NA-A1 housing for the A1 camera and the N100 to N120 35.5 port adapter II the 14mm will  vignette with an N120 30 extension using the 230mm port. I ended up using the N120 20 extension and it worked well but I believe you could go to a 25 extension without vignetting because with the 30 it was not at all sever. 

These were taken with the 230mmm dome and 20mm extension at a site called Teardrop off Palm Beach, Florida. Female Loggerhead Sea Turtles that are resting on shallow 40-50 ft reefs after laying eggs during the night on the beach. Sony A1, Sony FE 14mm F/1.8 with Zen 230mm dome port and 20mm extension. First photo ISO-250, F/16, 1/160th, second photo ISO-320, F/14, 1/160th sec. Both shot using two Inon Z330 flashes in manual. 

With puravidadivers.com on the vessel Aurellia, excellent crew and boat. 

Thank you @Phil Rudin for posting those sample images and trying it out. Really appreciate it

The images look a bit soft but ok not sure its because of the "guessed" 20 extension or the lens sharpness falls off at that F-Stop.

Still sitting on the fence aquiring this lens simply because its not readlily available and currently use the Sigma 14-24 f/2.8 for its versatility on land.

Plus I would need to switch to the LARGE expensive 230mm Dome

Nauticam has today updated the port charts for Sony cameras. The new 14mm F/1.8 lens is included and the recommend port extension for the 230mm Nauticam port is the 30mm. I stand corrected on the use of the 30mm extension with the Zen port after further tests I can find no vignetting with the 30mm extension. Nauticam has also introduced a new N100 to N120 25 port adapter to use the 14mm with the WACP-2 the AOV with this configuration is 140 degrees.

On 6/20/2021 at 10:57 AM, Phil Rudin said:

Nauticam has today updated the port charts for Sony cameras. The new 14mm F/1.8 lens is included and the recommend port extension for the 230mm Nauticam port is the 30mm. I stand corrected on the use of the 30mm extension with the Zen port after further tests I can find no vignetting with the 30mm extension. Nauticam has also introduced a new N100 to N120 25 port adapter to use the 14mm with the WACP-2 the AOV with this configuration is 140 degrees.

 

Thanks for the update. Can you post the updated images you took with the recommended 30mm extension and Zen 230mm Dome please? For comparison purposes. I'd really appreciate it. ("after further tests I can find no vignetting with the 30mm extension")

As I said before (please no offense, I appreciate your work) the images with your "guessed 20mm extension" look a bit soft. Not sure it was due to the "guessed" extension ring or the high Aperture value.

Thanks a bunch

I've recently ordered the Sony 14mm 1.8GM and was shooting with the 18mm 2.8 Batis prior so I'll try to do some comparison tests.  Unfortunately I can't contribute to the info regarding the dome size since I have a Seacam housing but I found this thread entertaining and still have found very little info regarding the 14mm 1.8GM for underwater.  

We like to chat over a good glass of wine 

I reviewed the Sony FE 14mm F/1.8 lens for UWPMAG.com, back issue #122 and it is now my goto wide lens when using a dome port. Opinions will very regarding how important max corner sharpness is to you. As I have stated a number of times water contact lenses like WACP-1 and WWL-1B are going to have better corners and allow you to shoot at F/numbers in the 11-8 range rather than the F/13 to F/16 range with a dome. If you are looking for the ultimate in both corners and ability to shoot splits  shots my recommendation would be the Sony 14mm with WACP-II if you can afford the very best. My review is a free PDF download. 

I have also used the Sony FE 12-24 F2.8 in the same 230mm port and while more versatile I like the 14mm for its size and AOV.