Leading up to its official launch, a select group of Sony Artisans Of Imagery and Sony Alpha Imaging Collective members had a chance to try out the new Sony 35mm f/1.4 G Master. Photos by Jeremy Cohen (@jermcohen), Crissi Beth Cooper (@crissibeth), Sal D’Alia (@timbuz), Caroline Jensen (@carolinej), Nino Rakichevich (@nino_rakichevich) and Chad Wadsworth (@chadwadsworth_atx). 

In advance of its official launch, a select group had a chance to use the new Sony 35mm f/1.4 G Master – see the photos!

Photo by Nino Rakichevich. Sony α7R IV. Sony 35mm f/1.4 G Master. 1/5000-sec., f/1.4, ISO 100

"The 35mm focal length is my favorite and if I had to choose one this would be it. I use 35mm for portraits, fashion, street – pretty much everything. Right away I loved the sharpness of the Sony 35mm f/1.4 G Master. It's sharp corner-to-corner, it's beautiful and it's not heavy. I also like the fast aperture because I like to use available light and the f/1.4 allows me to focus in low light conditions." – Nino Rakichevich

Photo by Caroline Jensen. Sony α7R IV. Sony 35mm f/1.4 G Master. 1/400-sec., f/2, ISO 2500

“The Sony 35mm f/1.4 G Master is the quintessential storytelling lens. From portraits to landscape and food to macro, it covers all the bases for photographers that want to tell beautiful stories with one lens.” – Caroline Jensen 

Photo by Chad Wadsworth. Sony α9 II. Sony 35mm f/1.4 G Master. 1/1250-sec., f/4, ISO 160

"The new Sony 35mm f/1.4 G Master is as sharp of a 35mm as I think you could find. Optically it is a 10 out of 10 lens – there's no doubt about it. It's so compact and the build quality is fantastic. It's not just the build quality, though. I appreciate that Sony is creating a design language with their lenses. People do like to covet their gear, and Sony has really, in my opinion, created a nice design language with their G Master lenses: the clickable aperture ring, the focus button, and the AF/MF switch. It's familiar and we as photographers know right where all of these elements are going to be. The materials are the same. The quality is super high and they're really hitting a home run with this G Master line." – Chad Wadsworth

Photo by Jeremy Cohen. Sony α7R III. Sony 35mm f/1.4 G Master. 1/8000-sec., f/1.4, ISO 160

Photo by Caroline Jensen. Sony α7R IV. Sony 35mm f/1.4 G Master. 1/200-sec., f/1.4, ISO 1250

“It is the perfect everyday lens. It's really tiny and lightweight, but well made and great for indoors and out. It is beautifully sharp wide open if you are like me and love shallow depth of field. I found it to be just the right size for walking around with no compromise in weight.” – Caroline Jensen

Photo by Chad Wadsworth. Sony α9 II. Sony 35mm f/1.4 G Master. 1/640-sec., f/1.4, ISO 100

Photo by Crissi Beth Cooper. Sony α7R III. Sony 35mm f/1.4 G Master. 1/160-sec., f/5.6, ISO 100

“This lens is fantastic – easily the best 35mm I have ever used. Sony is constantly innovating and setting the new standard in what constitutes top-of-the-line in photography. From the design of the elements to the super high-quality glass to the nano and fluorine coatings to the dual fast motors, this lens is no exception. I was very impressed how small Sony was able to make this lens, considering the quality. I love how you have both manual and automatic options and can easily switch back and forth between them. The bokeh is also beautiful and silky for any lens, but especially for a 35.” – Crissi Beth Cooper

Photo by Caroline Jensen. Sony α7R IV. Sony 35mm f/1.4 G Master. 1/640-sec., f/2, ISO 200

Photo by Sal D’Alia. Sony α7S III. Sony 35mm f/1.4 G Master. 1/60-sec., f/4, ISO 250

“The Sony 35mm f/1.4 G Master is a great improvement from the previous 35mm – smaller and lighter but also with better autofocus and custom button. It's extremely sharp and worked great for handheld video but also with gimbal stabilizers because of the weight and the fast and intelligent autofocus tracking. I was surprised by how they were able to fit G Master quality glass in such a small and lightweight body. I loved my Sony Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 but this is the perfect upgrade I was waiting for, not just quality but also size and weight. I love that these aspects are always taken into consideration when developing new gear. Having a smaller and lighter lens might give you the chance to fit another lens in your backpack and get more coverage – it's not just a matter of commodity.” – Sal D’Alia

Photo by Caroline Jensen. Sony α7R IV. Sony 35mm f/1.4 G Master. 1/4000-sec., f/2, ISO 1250

“Gorgeous lenses like this tend to be heavier, I love that this is small and well-built. It was sharp and had no chromatic aberration in really tricky backlit scenes! It focused and tracked really fast too.” – Caroline Jensen

Photo by Crissi Beth Cooper. Sony α7R III. Sony 35mm f/1.4 G Master. 1/160-sec., f/4, ISO 1250

Photo by Jeremy Cohen. Sony α7R III. Sony 35mm f/1.4 G Master. 1/1600-sec., f/1.4, ISO 640

“For portraits in general, whether it’s up close and personal, or more environmental, 35mm is my favorite focal length lately. I spent about three weeks with the Sony 35mm f/1.4 G Master, mostly shooting portraits and some other things. It's the best 35mm I’ve ever shot with. The f/1.4 aperture truly makes a difference, especially since I almost always shoot wide open. And it's sharper than a penguin in a tuxedo. Besides the sharpness, the two things that stood out the most for me were the size and weight. I really value the size of lenses when purchasing a lens because I like to pack and shoot minimally when traveling. The fact that this is a f/1.4 lens and yet as small and light as it is is incredible to me. This lens will 100% be a part of my kit." – Jeremy Cohen

Photo by Sal D’Alia. Sony α7S III. Sony 35mm f/1.4 G Master. 1/160-sec., f/2.5, ISO 1250

Photo by Chad Wadsworth. Sony α9 II. Sony 35mm f/1.4 G Master. 1/10000-sec., f/1.4, ISO 125

Photo by Crissi Beth Cooper. Sony α7R III. Sony 35mm f/1.4 G Master. 1/160-sec., f/2, ISO 2000

Photo by Jeremy Cohen. Sony α7R III. Sony 35mm f/1.4 G Master. 1/400-sec., f/1.4, ISO 3200

Photo by Chad Wadsworth. Sony α9 II. Sony 35mm f/1.4 G Master. 1/1600-sec., f/1.4, ISO 100

Photo by Sal D’Alia. Sony α7S III. Sony 35mm f/1.4 G Master. 1/160-sec., f/2.8, ISO 1250