Sony 14mm GM - Why I'm Buying It!

A portion of this video is sponsored by Squarespace. So recently, I've gotten a chance to play with the new 14 G Master, and the moment that I pulled it out of the box and held it in my hands for the first time, I was like, yup, I'm gonna get this lens. So I do wanna emphasize that this video is more of my personal reasons for getting this lens, and I've decided to make a video about it because, hey, maybe some of you might be having the same thoughts as me, maybe some of you guys have the same use cases, ask me for a lens like this, and maybe this will help you guys make a decision as well. Or it could confuse the hell out of you because I am having some internal debates right now. Either way, if you want a more objective take on this lens, I will have more videos about the 14 G Master once I get my own unit in. I just placed an order this morning, but don't tell Vivian. And then afterwards, I'll talk more about the 14 G Master against some of the other ultra-wide angle options out there, but for now, I'll be talking about how the 14 G Master stacks up to some of the ultra-wide angle lenses that I've personally used. Anyways, relatively speaking, this is the lightest, widest, fastest full-frame prime lens from Sony. Now, I'm gonna have to emphasize from Sony just because I know I'll be getting comments saying like, hey, well, there's the 10 millimeter full-frame option from Voigtlander and Laowa. Yes, yes, I know, but really, I'm talking about the lightest, fastest. But what I really mean is the lightest, widest, and fastest full-frame prime lens that can auto-focus. The Voigtlander and the Laowa are manual focus only lenses and they're capped at f5.6 and 4.5, respectively. So anyways, back to what I was talking about. Now, it's not the widest in the entire Sony lineup, right? We do have the 12 millimeter option from the 12 to 24 f2.8 G Master, but here's the thing. That lens is massively big, uncomfortably heavy. Okay, okay, okay, I'm exaggerating a little bit. It's really not that bad, it's a solid lens. However, in comparison to the 14 G Master, if we're talking about comfort, balance, and tolerability, then the 14 G Master is gonna seem like a feather. So my typical use cases for ultra-wide angle lens are gimbal operation, a master coverage, a static angle master coverage at events, interiors and architectures, and some landscapes. Now, most of what I do doesn't really require me to zoom in all that much or even at all. I've had this 16 to 35 G Master for about four years now, and 80% of the time that I use this lens, I'm always at the widest end, 16 millimeter. The versatility is really nice. You get a lot of coverage, 16 to 35, and when you put this into super 35 mode, you get about like a 24 to 50. So at the longest end, you get like close to like a 50 millimeter look. So very viable as a one and done lens for travel video, but it's the lens to a body balance that is, yeah, it does get pretty front heavy when you have to shoot with this all day. With the 14 G Master, it's better. I'm not gonna say you won't feel the front drag. You'll definitely feel it as an A7C user, but on an A7 III, A7R, S, A1, and all that jazz, it feels more balanced for sure. Speaking of balance, I balanced this setup on the DJI RS 2 gimbal, and it was a joy to fly this around. The 14 millimeter focal length just opens up so much more coverage. For the last year and a half, I've been using the 20 millimeter F1.8G, and while I do like the 20 millimeter, there was just this one little thing that prevented me from loving it, which is super strange for me to say because I've used it a lot over the last year and I should be loving it, right? But every time I use it on a gimbal to get a ultra wide coverage of something, especially for interiors, I just wish it was a little wider. And now, I don't have to wish anymore. The 14 millimeter is perfect. For those of you who've been following me for a while now, you guys know I'm hashtag team bodice, and the Zeiss Bodice 18 millimeter F2.8 has been my favorite ultra wide angle prime lens for years now. I mean, come on, the OLED display on these bodice lenses are dope as fuuuu- But oh, dare I say it, I don't want to admit this. I'm trying so hard not to accept this fact. I can't come to grips now that there's the 14 G Master out. Am I really going to retire this lens? Oh, this is tough. I'm literally having internal debates, internal monologues every day about this. I got this lens like what, five years ago? And at the time, this was the widest, fastest, and lightest full frame ultra wide angle prime lens that can auto focus, okay? Sony didn't even have something that came close to this. The 16-35 F2.8 G Master wasn't even out at the time. And of course, over the years, we started seeing a flood of new ultra wide angle lenses coming to the market, even including other third party manufacturers. But this one right here has remained to be my favorite all this time, just simply because of how lightweight it is. I love this more than I love the 20 millimeter. I know it seems silly, it's just a two millimeter difference but when it comes to ultra wide angle lenses, every millimeter counts. So you can probably understand my struggle now that there's a four millimeter difference that exists in the market right now. Like what am I supposed to do? But the 18 millimeter bodice is still very desirable because it's still the lightest ultra wide angle prime lens that can auto focus. For reference, the 18 millimeter is lighter than a can of Coca-Cola, while the 14 G Master is slightly heavier than a can of Coke. Now, I'm bringing this in fully aware that the Zeiss bodice series is not from Sony. I know I prefaced this video by saying like, oh, we're gonna strictly focus on the widest options from Sony's lineup and not talk about third party manufacturers. But I've also said we're taking auto focus capability into consideration and Zeiss bodice lenses can auto focus on Sony cameras. And I've also said this was a personal video and because I do use the Zeiss bodice series in my arsenal on a daily basis, I might as well throw it in that and you know what, it's my video, I do whatever I want. We're talking about Zeiss bodice anyways, let's do it. But yeah, let me dive into this really quickly because not a lot of people know about this, but Zeiss bodice series are not part of the Sony lineup. I know, super confusing, right? Considering that Sony does have Zeiss variation lenses. Those are manufactured by Sony using Zeiss glass, similar to how phones that have Zeiss lenses. Zeiss doesn't make those phones, but the phone manufacturers use their lens, that kind of deal. So 16-35mm F4, 24-70mm F4, those are from Sony and will be serviced by Sony. They will not service bodice lenses, only Zeiss will do that for you. Okay, get it, got it, good, let's move on. I'm just gonna have to revisit this dilemma once I have the 14G Master in hand and use it for a while. Now, some of you will be like, well, why not just keep both? You have both, why don't you just keep both? I mean, yeah, but then it comes down to, even if I have both, it's like, which one am I gonna take out more, right? Am I gonna take the 14 out more or the 18 out more? I'm not gonna, yeah, I'm never gonna sell my 18 just because I don't wanna lose my collection. I have five, it's perfect, I don't wanna have a missing lens. But it's just gonna come down to debate of whether or not if I should keep the 14 or the 18. So if I really love the 14, then I have to keep both. But if I like the 18 more, then I'm gonna have to sell the 14. Terrible logic, am I right? Now, of course, there's another huge difference between these two lenses, not just in millimeter, but also in aperture. 1.8 versus 2.8. Now, some people would see the 1.8 as a huge advantage. And yeah, I agree. In some use cases like astrophotography or extreme low light conditions, that's gonna be a huge advantage. But since I don't typically shoot in those situations, it's not gonna be a big advantage for me. You see, when you're shooting wide and focused to infinity anyway, much of the stuff is gonna be in focus, so it's gonna be hard to distinguish if something was shot at F1.8 or at F8. Unless you're focusing really close to something, then of course, then the difference between the 1.8 and 2.8 is gonna be very apparent. But even if I'm caught in a low light situation with an F2.8 lens, hell, even an F4 lens, not gonna be a prompt because A7S III, baby. Oh, camera of the year. So, what about vlogging? I mean, yeah, 14 millimeters, definitely wide enough for vlogging. But would I vlog with the 14 G Master? Well, let's just say this. It wouldn't be my first choice. I mean, since I will be using this lens a whole lot for the use cases that I've listed out earlier, the 14 G Master will likely be the best option on hand. But why is it that it wouldn't be my first choice? So, I've been talking about how light the lens is, but it's all relative, right, depending on how you use it. When you're behind the camera, it feels nice and balanced. But when you're in front of the camera holding this setup, the story changes. To someone else, this can still be considered heavy. It's considerably lighter than the 16-35 G Master and about the same weight as the 16-35 F4. But at the end of the day, an APS-C camera like an a6400 paired with a 10-18 F4, it's gonna be a lot more manageable. It's a setup that I highly recommend for vlogging for anyone and to everyone if they don't mind sacrificing a bit of quality in favor of a much lighter setup. And really, the quality and difference isn't going to be much. 4K still looks just as good on an APS-C setup. But what if you can tell the difference? You just know that shot was taken on a full-frame sensor on APS-C sensors just because you have this intellectual power that you just distinguish between the two. What if you're just like, hey, I love that full-frame look. I will not compromise for less. Just tell me what I should get, what full-frame lens I should get for vlogging on a budget. Well then, the 20mm F1.8G might be the best bang for your buck. Seriously, the 20mm is just wide enough to vlog with and I personally enjoy it as a vlogging lens. But I do find that if you have the setup, if you're holding the setup like this and you're resting your elbow onto your body, then it might cut off your hair a little bit, especially if you have short arms like me, unless you have a giraffe-sized arm then you don't have to worry about it. But it's gonna happen. When you're gonna be vlogging and talking like this for long periods of time, you're gonna subconsciously drop your elbow down to your body. And with the 20mm again, it kind of cuts off my hair but I don't have this issue when I'm trying to vlog with a 14 or even the 18 because it's just wide enough to fit everything in. Not really a big deal but just something to consider if you have short arms. But for real though, even if you're using the APS-C 10-18 on a full-frame setup, just simply zoom to like 12mm or 14mm. It'll get rid of that corner vignetting and it'll be a nice lightweight vlog setup. You'll still be using a full-frame camera for your other full-frame lenses, but for vlogging, just use the APS-C lens and it'll be a light setup. But unless you are an absolute unit of a Chad and you really want that full-frame look, 14 G Master F1.8, money. Quality, quality is money. Money is quality. What else do I have to talk about? Oh, okay. So I do wanna talk about the Laowa 10-18 because it's a manual focus only lens. I know, I know, but because I have it and because I have used it, I wanna squeeze this in really quickly, okay? This is a gem of a lens because it's a 10-18 full-frame. Repeat after me, 10-18 full-frame lens. Not the same as the Sony APS-C 10-18. This is a really good option if you do interiors and need something really, really wide for all that coverage, right? Because you're just like, well, 12-24 GM, 12-24 F4, those are too big for me. Those are too heavy for me. This is a lens that you might wanna consider. Now, this does have a pretty hefty vignetting at 10 millimeter, but for the compromise of having an even wider coverage, it may be worth it for some folks. But do keep in mind, it is a manual focus only lens and surprisingly, it is slightly heavier than the 14 G Master. Overall, the 14 G Master takes the cake for me. It's got autofocus, 1.8 aperture and has way better corner sharpness compared to the Laowa. So both of these lenses, including the 12-24 variants, have a rear filter to put ND. If you mount filters on the front, you will need a specialized kit. Now, since I'm not all about that, I don't mind jacking up my aperture just to have everything in focus and to compensate for bright lighting that way. Again, like I said, once you're shooting that wide and you want everything in focus, even at the widest open aperture, everything just seems to be in focus so it doesn't really matter if you're shooting F1.8 or F14. The only issue that I foresee is just I have to make sure that my sensor and the lens is clean. Otherwise, I'm gonna run into a lot of dust issues. Yeah. But hey, if you're not a fan of that, you still want to use an ND filter to compensate for your lighting, then you will need that specialized kit. Or if you don't want that hassle at all, then the 16-35, 18 bodice and the 20 millimeter lens will be able to screw on a front element ND filter. You just would have to buy a bigger size filter over your lens to avoid that vignette look in your footage. Ah, shoot, your boy just got the Tamron 11-20 F2.8 in hand. I like how I just got this, like literally just shooting this video. So I'm gonna have to make a whole separate video talking about this, but hey, look forward to it. Tamron 11-20 for APS-C might just be another great option for vlogging on an APS-C setup. Anyways, let me know what you guys think. 14 GM, yay or nay? Or what ultra wide angle lenses are you rocking or considering? As always, if you enjoy what I do and you want to support the channel any way you can, the best way to do that and the most simple way is just to listen to what my sponsor Squarespace has to say. Squarespace is an all-in-one platform to create beautiful websites. No coding knowledge whatsoever. Perfect for people like me because I just want to make YouTube videos for you guys and not have to worry about coding my entire website. Simply just select one of their templates to get started. Every aspect is easily customizable with their drag and drop feature. Whether you're in need of a portfolio, an e-commerce store, or even a simple blog, design it with Squarespace. Use my link down below to test it out and when you're ready to launch your first website or domain use my code Jason Vong to save 10% off. Guys, thank you so much for watching. I'll see you guys in the next video. Peace.