Good Morning
It is a bit tough to shot from this angle
Because the underpan of the car almost scrapped the camera
We took four shots just now
No.1, No.2, No.3 and No.4, in different focal length respectively
Which one do you prefer? Let me know in the comments below
And this, is our topic today
How to choose the prime lens for Sony Full Frame Mirrorless camera
My answer is absolutely Batis 40mm
By the way, I also got a 25mm and a 85mm lens
And lately, I just purchased a Batis 18mm
There are 5 Batis lenses altogether on the market
We have four of them except 135mm
We are definitely not buying them for the sake of collectomania
I’ve been using Batis family frequently during the last two years
As expected, they impressed me quite a lot
Now let's talk about the cost-effective Batis prime lenses family
Not another review
Nor hustling you into impuse buying
I just want to share my personal experience with you
Hope this video could help when you are purchasing the lenses
Highly recommend to watch this video towards the end
Then you will know which is your choice
By the way, are you currently using a zoom lens or a prime lens
Leave your comments below
Welcome to the Colorbee Photography, I am Brian
As I said these lenses are not expensive
It is not based on the brand-new retail price
For these lenses, we all bought from second hand market, except the 18mm lens
For example, the brand new 40mm cost about AU$20,000
while a used one cost just half of it
Considering the quality Batis, it definitely worth it.
Of course, a brand-new Batis lens is not a budget choice
Especially when you take Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 into consideration
which is nearly doubled in aperture, but they share the same price range
This is because Sony used 85mm, 25mm, 18mm lenses
from Zeiss for E-mount cameras few years ago before GM was published
After that, Sony released its high-end 85GM F/1.4 and 24GM F/1.4
as well as the light-weight 85mm F/1.8
Why I choose Batis series?
To be honest, the price is fair for second-hand
The sharpness and the image quality are awesome
You never need to concern the sharpness of the prime lens
Zeiss T* coating prmoises you with extremely detailed image and precise colour
In terms of spec sheet, Batis is not as eye-catching as GM lens
but it's just half the price of the latter one on second hand market
There is no reason to reject it
Of course, some people might think it’s the brand of Zeiss
or the special blue label complex which attracts me
But can such nostalgia really help your photography
I have an example about my favourite 35mm lenses
I have one Canon EF 35mm F/1.4LII and Leica 35mm F/1.4 Sumilux 11663
Both hobbyist and professional photographer gives them a very high mark
You could barely find them in second-hand market
which indicates most of their users wouldn’t resell this lens
even if someone sold it, it goes quickly
These two lenses represent the best standard both optically and tecnically
There should be no argument about that
But if I have to chose one lens for everyday use
I will still go with Batis. Why is that?
This is South Atlantic, 1,100km away from South Georgia
This is Tasman Glacier, covered with more than 300 meters of glacial cap
I remember I was the first one who woke up to enjoy the splendid sunrise
Drifting on the vast and empty ocean
My mind was mixed with nostalgia for my home which is 10,000km away
Plus anxiety and excitement for the coming 20 days of journey
I can hardly recall the name of our mountain guide
But his record of ascending the summit of Mount Cook 15 times impressed me a lot
As well as his washed-out red Jack Wolfskin softshell jacket
which stood out clearly under the sky
This is what journey left you with
There might be tons of clips and heaps of pics in your hard drive
But it’s those couple of scenes which will stay with you, till the end of time
Sound, colour and smell are the trigger of our memory
Bringing us back to the scene
What remains in my mind about sekumpul waterfall in Bali
Is stepping into the smooth and brownish red mud, to the bottom of the fall
And the loud noise which blocked the conversation
That day on Mt Buller, I could barely distinguish the skyline from the horizon
Rain, together with snow, sticked on me and my camera
Just like in the Tasman glacier ice caves, where the water drops down along the wall
Which trembled me with fear of the camera boke down
Seeing this pictures, I can even feel the freezing wind of those places
We need cameras to record pictures and colours
But not flattering colours
Nor bald colours
My expectation for a photo is, when I took a glance of it
All I can say is “Yes, that’s it!”
Following are my reasons to choose Batis Lenses
They are listed on the basis of importance
The first and foremost is compact size and lightweight
That is the main reason
It is not hard to find original prime lenses with high image quality
but not many can make the size so perfect
The Canon & Sony 35/f1.4 lenses are all big guys
When you go out to take photos, especially when you travel
The prime lens is a bonus when used occasionally
But it can be an encumbrance when taking up too much load
All series of Batis lenses weighs only 300-400 grams
The 85mm is only as light as half of the weight of the original 85mm/f1.2
Which makes it looks more like a 40mm lens
When you are in journey, having a meal at hotel
You can just grab it and take photos easily
When the Batis family is used for videographing
Every one of them can be mounted on a stabilizer
The extra capability of a gimble is even enough for a video microphone
The concerns of sound quality and picture quality are all been solved
Second, the batis lens is solidly built for all weather.
My two journeys to Antarctica are companied respectively by a 25mm and a 40mm,
I’m going back to find my tripod
When I was on the glacier in New Zealand
I also brought batis 25mm with me.
Only for its solidness.
The lightweight body covered with metal shell, which is cold and hard
Reassure the safety of your lens from any impact
I wonder if the designers at Zeiss are a little too cognizant of the word "modern"
The batis lens goes from a traditional mechanical look to a curvy design
which is ugly at first glance, but looks great once you get used to it
It is also the first to use OLED to display lens information
and the focus distance is accurate to the centimeter
Except the 40mm, there are no extra buttons on the lens to switch it on and off
Which reduced the possibility of malfunction
The batis lens is the one that you can bring with when I went to Bali
And shoot under the waterfall like taking a shower
It has the thickest seal of any splash-proof lens I've ever used
and it hasn't loosened at all in all the years it's been in use
and it still has to be screwed on tightly and makes it so reliable
The third thing is the Zeiss characteristic, which some people may refer to as metaphysics
It's that unique color representation
Some people say that the lens characteristics is a metaphysics
I know colour is not something quantifiable
And your display devices usually different from mine
The color perception between people is also different
Maybe it's my subjective judgment
But the expression of color in Zeiss Batis lenses is the kind of intense
Not heavy nor greasy, reflecting the warm colors, like red and yellow
Are not impetuous but make people feel warm
Blue is solid but feels transparent
Maybe it's purely subjective and someone may say
That is just some adjustment on the HSL curve
But none of the Sony lenses could deliver such special color feeling
Except the first generation of Canon EF 35mm/f1.4
In addition to the aforementioned small size, lightweight
The unique imaging characteristics of Batis family
The focusing speed which is almost identical to the original
makes me feel nothing but comfortable
Why did I prefer these 4 lenses
They each have their own characteristics and areas of expertise
Or each lens has its own individual personality and attributes
Let's talk about them one by one
The 85mm lens is the most suitable for commercial shooting
with portrait and object close-ups
However, just using it for commercial shots is not utilizing its full potential
With a long focal length and optical image stabilization
this lens is still small in size, looks more like an 40mm
For street photography, wide angle lenses require the photographer
to be aggressively close to the object
But this 85mm lens can be used undercover and shoot
from a long distancewith a fast focusing speed
With a simple press, we can capture the natural expression and movement from far away
haha, that magpie buddy is coming for food again
The 40mm lens is best for day to day shooting
We have been saying too many good things about this lens and will just keep it down today
If you are interested, check out my channel
we have videos about how to use this one lens during traveling
It is really versatile and it has the most natural angle
It has been my go-to lens most of the time
The 25mm lens is best for video recording
The framing is pretty similar to the 40mm lens
Pretty suitable for shooting daily life
The difference between them is just the view angle
With our testing, the 25mm lens has approximately the same view angle as a 24 mm lens
If you like to use the wide end of 24-70mm or 24-105mm zoom lenses
This 25mm lens may be a good choice for you
It is also the lightest lens among all these
Which can be easily mounted on a gimbal
If you are switching between full frame and super 35mm
it provides 25mm and 37.5mm focal length
which is good for both wide to mid angle shots
Thus, it is the number one choice for videos
The 18mm lens is suitable for any topics that are showing space
like traveling and showing places
Here is one more reason to get it
Post-recording stabilization using gyroscopic data is equipped on the newly launched A7C
which is not even mentioned on the Sony website
The A7C is equipped with gyroscopic sensor
You can find the imagae is shaking like hell when the stabilizer mode is off
But this is not something you need to worry about
A 5-axis gimble is a decent tool for videographing
But you can not use a gimble at anytime
Such as this
What is the most robust creature in Australia
Definitely the roos
wait, what
Sorry mate
How dare you
My apologies, I'm not intentional
It's 30 degree today, he will be fine soon when it's sunny
After our testing
Manual lens is not supported
Converters are also blocked
Moreover, post-recording stabilization using gyroscopic data will require cropping
Thus, wider lenses work better when post-recording stabilization is needed
Comparing wide lenses: Gmaster 16-35mm is too big and bulky
16-35ZA’s aperture is too tiny
12-24mm is with too much distortion and too expensive
In the end, 18mm is our best option
Recently, I have been using A7C with the 18mm lens, which is super light
It has been so fun walking around shooting with this setup
Well, should we choose prime lenses
We have also made a lot of bad purchases
At the beginning, we don’t understand the parameters and specs, so we pick zoom lenses
Then, we look for the better specs and start buying prime lenses
At the end of the day, we start discovering the best lenses randomly
and picking out what is right for ourselves
This is a journey as hard as finding a partner
Nowadays, the sharpness and the wide aperture of zoom lenses are comparable to prime lenses
Also, the framing achieved by prime lenses can definitely be achieved by zoom lenses
There seems to be no reason to buy a prime lens which torture you at times
For any once in a lifetime situation, bring your zoom lenses
because you won’t know what will happen in the next second
Capturing it is the most important thing
If you have plenty of time or you can take hundreds of shots of the same subject
or nothing war related, try prime lens
It can strenghthen your sense of the space and distance
which will enable you to capture the image as you wish
You will also be surprised by how well you can use a zoom lens
once you get better at using prime lenses
so, among 18mm，24mm，40m and 85mm
which is your choice
Leave your comment below
Don't hesitate if you got any question about these lenses
Thanks for watching, I'm Brian
I'll see you in the nest video