After testing 35 35mm lenses...here are the 7 sharpest!

This year, instead of making videos about the sharpest lens I’ve ever tested, I’m going to break them down into categories – I thought that might be more interesting :) with the arrival of a bunch of new 35mm lenses recently...let's get on with those.

I don't know what I'm more excited about, by the way: how many fanboys of various camera systems get infuriated by this video, or how many people try to convince me that this video is rubbish because such-and-such a lens has 'Better Microcontrast and 3D-Pop' etc, hehe.

Follow the links below for full reviews and Amazon affiliate links, which go towards supporting this channel! Be sure to get the right lens for your camera system.

0:00 Introduction

01:29 Samyang AF 35mm f/1.4 FE ($600 / £450)

02:15 Canon EF 35mm f/1.4 'L' USM II ($1,800 / £1,800)

02:52 Samyang XP 35mm f/1.2 ($1,100 / £900)

03:38 Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM 'Art' (for Digital SLRs - $800 / £700)

Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG DN 'Art' (For Sony E / L-mount cameras - $900 / £750)

04:49 Sigma 35mm f/1.2 DG DN 'Art' ($1,500 / £1,460)

Tamron SP 35mm f/1.4 ($950 / £880)

06:00 Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM ($1,400 / £1,500)

[neatengineering]

It's amazing to someone who bought lenses last century that Sigma got anywhere near this list. A real testimony to that company to go from being generously called 'cheap and cheerful' to be a genuinely high quality lens maker.

[AiurMedia]

I'm astonished that you've tested 35 35mm lenses, what a career!

[MarcelVolker]

Looking forward to the next instalments in your series "I have reviewed 50 50mm lenses" and "I have now tested 85 85mm lenses" ;)

[mabball]

I purchased the Tamron 35mm 1.4 when it was released and I've never looked back. It's a fantastic lens!

[lovetravelphoto]

I have been following your reviews for several years; You became stronger and more dominant month by month and season by season; And recent reviews and comparisons of several lenses are excellent and lovely.

[dominicvideograph]

The Canon 35mm F1.4 L II has a significant advantage over the others: It not only is very sharp and has an excellent build quality (look up lensrentals teardown of the lens), but furthermore it suffers almost no visible focus breathing and therefore is an ideal lens for photographers that do a lot of video too. E.g. the in most other aspects excellent Sony G-Master is unfortunately very weak in this regard. That should also be considered nowadays. But thank you for the great comparision!

[helisoma]

I've had the Sigma Art 35mm f1.4 for years and it's always terrific...thanks for such a comprehensive ranking review...again impeccably presented. I'd like to say as well that your sample photos are so much nicer and consistent and informative than any other lens review channel i've seen 👍🏻

[MWB_FoolsParadisePictures]

To me, contrast and lack of chromatic aberration are the two most important qualities of a lens--far more so than sharpness. An image can still be beautiful if it's a little soft, but if backlight washes it out, or if color fringing ruins the edge details, it can ruin the whole picture. Vignetting literally never bothers me. I think it's kind of pretty, most of the time, and it can more easily be fixed in post than the other issues I mentioned.

[BennyBlawnk]

That Nikon z 35mm 1.8 is as sharp as the Sony g master. I have the z6 and Sony a7iv. Don't know how it's a honorable mention.

[parshua]

If you want beautiful rendering next to sharpness on the Sony system, it'll be the Sony 35/1.4 GM, Sigma 35/1.2 ART or the Sigma 35/2 DG DN. Speaking from painful experience. I settled on the Sigma 35/2 myself, but of course YMMV.

[FlosBlog]

I am using a Tamron 35mm f2.8 Mark III and I am super astonished by the images - especially given the price

[PiotrTomaszewskiPhotography]

What about Samyang 35mm f.1.8? I use it with a7iii and i recommend it

[SilatShooter]

I love all these fast 35mm, but for the way I use this focal length I prefer something smaller and lighter, so I'm using the Sony 35mm f1.8.

[sphaera]

Compactness is a big plus to me. Out of all these 35mm lenses, the Sigma f/2.0 is my preferred.

[jeroenvdw]

I have the Sigma 35mm 1.4 for a few years now and it didn't let me down. It's heavy though, but worth it.

[Narsuitus]

Thanks for the video.

The 35mm focal length on a full-frame camera has been my favorite one-lens/one-body focal length for decades.
I had a 35mm f/3.5 for my Pentax Spotmatic SLR.
The first lens I purchased for my Nikon F SLR was a 35mm f/2. Later, I upgraded to a 35mm f/1.4 Nikkor.
The first lens I purchased for my Leica M6 rangefinder was a 35mm f/1.4.
The first lens I purchased for my APS-C Fuji X mirrorless was a 23mm f/1.4 (35mm equivalent).

[mphoto]

One not tested here and I fully understand why, is the wonderful Zeiss f2 which was around £3500 back in the day and came with a free compact full frame camera incorporated into the design. I sold it due to that camera which had terrible menus and manual focus but the lens was certainly missed …

[mediavienchinh]

Most of the reviews on youtube are for advertising and selling. Therefore, a truly quality product like the 35Lii is rarely mentioned, because everyone keeps it close to them so it is rarely sold. When they come across this favorite lens, they will be absorbed in taking real photos and no longer have to compare it with any other lens. The rest of the people, because they don't have much money, have never touched it. They deduce that they don't see people paying attention to it by making videos about it. It's funny, but it's true. Before, I was very worried about finding the best 35mm focal length to experience, but since owning the 35Lii lens 4 years ago, I no longer have that worry, I also no longer care about watching videos about it until today I accidentally saw this video!

[brandoncastillo]

35mm GM has been my only lens for my a7siii. From video to photography. The legendary focal length paired with GM quality has made sure i don’t impulse buy another lens that doesn’t rival its quality

[DavidWilliams-wjsc]

I can't believe you rank the sigma 35 f1.4 over the canon 35 f1.4 L II. I had both. It was no comparison in every regard. No other review places the sigma over that particular canon lens. To me, the $1800 price wasn't ridiculous at all. This isn't fan-boying, I love my sigma 135 f1.8 which you've said was the sharpest lens you've ever tested at any focal length.