Thanks for the review Dustin. I've watched it numerous times as I looked for my replacement for my 16-35 f4 I sent back. I found a screaming good deal on a used Batis 18 and just got it in. I've only taken a few test shots around the house for fun but I think I'm going to love this lens! It's going with me this Labor Day weekend and I'll see how it fares. I'm excited to say the least!
As always, very informative, detailed and eloquently presented. I needed a wide angle lens and was between the Sony 16-35 F4 and the Batis 18mm. I chose the Batis partly due to this review. I already have the very capable 24-105 F4 and I would have used the zoom 16-35 probably at 16 or 18mm. Another factor was the F2.8 which would be great for interior and astrophotography and the low weight for travel/hiking. It is definitely not cheap but the resale value is excellent.
Based on the images, milvus 18 seems to have an additional depth/dimension, it's more visually rich than batis 18..it can be quite easy to notice this, just like the samyang 45mm which has that unique analog rendering
On eye AF on 18mm, we need to remember this is mainly purposed for landscape/lowlight shooters. And does amazing job! Portraits with 18mm is absolutely not desirable. Same with Bokeh, with wide angle it is almost impossible to do and not purposed for landscape / high detail lens. Great review once again! Karo
I don't think you can make a blanket statement that no one will use 18mm for portraits (that's not true), but it is true that Eye AF doesn't generally work as well on wide angle lenses as it does on telephotos.
I do have some budget E mount reviews coming shortly, but they are for APS-C. I'll do a 35mm showdown soon, and will include some less expensive options.
I picked the Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8. The balance of image quality is not the same as the Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2, but you can take a series of pictures and combine them in Photoshop to result in basically equal image quality over the whole picture. How is the sharpness of the Batis 40mm compared to the 18mm? I’m interested in selling my Sony Zeiss 55mm to buy the 40mm. The focal length and close focus seems better for my use.
Dustin Abbott I did watch it, but I’m not sure how sharp that is. Is it close to the Batis 18mm? I got that lens, and that’s about the sharpness that I reach for in lenses. I’ll probably mostly use it at f/2 - f/2.8 for interesting close-ups and sometimes f/5.6 for specific street scenes, and some less wide landscape pictures.
Dustin Abbott Thank you, sir! I should probably stop thinking about it. It’s probably sharp enough. It’s a Zeiss lens, after all. The close-focus sounds interesting, and 40mm suits me better for street photography over 50-60mm. Going to save up for it and sell the 55mm.
Thank you so much for the review! Love it! Recently I wanna buy a wild angle lens, but I can't easily decided between Batis 18 and Loxia 21, if the MF is not a problem, which one would you recommend more? Thanks in advance!
Hey Dustin, love your reviews. This lens is not for me as I'm building a second system around the Voigtlander 40/1.2. I'll be looking for a 25 and 15. I just cannot wait to see what you think of the CV 40/1.2. have a great weekend! Rob
It's always a challenge to determine what focal lengths work for you, and then build around those. I'm looking to review some of the Voigtlanders in the near future.
Thanks Dustin, I enjoy your lens reviews even when it's for a lens that has little application for me. I've increasingly relied on manual focus lenses since moving to Sony from Canon. I understand that I'm in the minority.
I know that these are two completely different lenses and for completely different systems, but how do you think that the Zeiss Milvus 18mm compares to this in terms of color rendition and extreme corner sharpness?
Dustin Abbott It was stupid of me to ask. I should have known. Thank you for your time! I’m also spending too much time thinking about optical perfection, even though I nearly reached the border when it comes to full-frame with the Sony A7Rs and the Zeiss lenses. Maybe medium format is the next step for me.
Very informative video. I shoot mostly landscapes and I really need a wide angle lens. Do u think the distortion for Batis you talked about in your video affect landscapes stills too like they might do for architectural work or should look for 16-35 f4. Thanks
I haven't tested the 16-35 yet, but if it is like most all such zooms I've tested, don't expect the distortion to be any lower. If your priority is low distortion, go with the Laowa 15mm F2. It's manual focus, but a great lens.
Hello Dustin, how do you think does the Batis18 compare against the Milvus18 in terms of image quality? I remember your review about the Milvus18, you seem to be more impressed by the Batis than by the Milvus. Best Christian
Thank you very much for your quick answer! :-) BTW there’s one lens which should be an even better performer than the Batis25mm and that is the Loxia21. I rented it together with the Batis for last Christmas and it was quite stellar! And one lens that is even better than that, is the Milvus25 via Adapter which is amazing for wide angle portraits and for self Defence as well:-)
So glad i found your channel,verry informative and helpful! I would be interested to see comparison betwen batis and loxia line ☺ keep up the good work,you definately deserve more subscribers!
Is the 18 mm a good lens for concert/fashion event photography from the stage and back stage? I also have the Sony 24-105 F 4.0 or is the 16-35 F 4.0 better ?
Hello Dustin, i recently switched to Sony a7r3 and tried to use metabones adaptor with my canon lenses unfortunately AFC is total loss in my eyes especially on the 70-200. Not to waste your time i decided to go for sony primes, zooms are way too expensive and i believe primes will give me better IQ. Im just wondering how this lens compares to lest say canon 16-35 f4 at 18mm obviously. Is it better, im sure it will be better in the middle of the frame but how about the corners? Is it worth getting it over my 16-35 f4 in IQ stand point. No zoom i can live without i still have my feet working well and can do that my self. I didnt see you reviewinb 16-35 f4 and f2.8 from sony so no idea if you know how it compares vs them Thanks
Im sure i will, but my only problem is that i already have the metabones V adapter and 15-35 f4 cannon lens goes for 700-800 in mint condition, and the batis is twice that much. So im trying to figure out if its worth it.
@@DustinAbbottTWI I do have a Sony 16-35 GM. But I also find it heavy, and I also seem to always be on the wide end. Would you say the Batis 18mm might be a good replacement as far as size and weight. But how about image quality? Basically I'm looking for best reasonable Image quality but in a small size...
@@DustinAbbottTWI thanks for your reply mr Abbot In your opinion and expertise which focal length is best for my use on a7iii camera and if there is a lens suggestion you can help me with
Why are there no ultra-high end lenses this compact? I would gladly shell out ~5K bucks for each of 18,28,50,90... (perhaps some more focal lengths come to mind) f2.8 lenses with a performance even higher than the Otus lenses (shouldn't be very difficult to make them), and weighing in at ~300 grams. I think there is a market for ultra compact ultra high performance lenses.
Dustin Abbott I'd say as big of a market as for the Otus lenses themselves, so no, not a big one. But I don't understand why everyone thinks that ultra high performance must go hand in hand with ultra fast (f1.4). Slower lenses are always seen as a budget solution (the IQ standard is not as high). Zeiss said they compromised nothing designing the Otii, but in my view, they had to make the greatest of compromises - they made the lenses huge and heavy. I would want something like this Batis, or, for instance, the 35mm f2.8 Zony lens, with Otus-surpassing IQ.
I see what you mean, and yes, I do agree that always going for the largest possible (at least within reason) aperture can be a net negative (as it has been for Sigma on some of their ART series lenses).
Man, for that kind of money, you could get a Rokinon 12mm f2 and an APSC body, which would achieve the same focal length and virtually as good of image quality (unless you're printing wall-sized prints) and still have a lot of dough left over!
The Rokinon is a great little lens, but that lens + APS-C will absolutely not produce similar image quality. I owned that lens for years, so I'm not making this up.
Dustin Abbott obviously you would know better than me having spent a lot of time with all of this expensive gear, but I would absolutely be willing to concede as a given that the setup I described would not come close to the setup you are reviewing here in terms of sheer detail resolving power. I assume that lots of people would be disappointed if this weren't the case, given the high premium people pay for such gear. Do you have any insight into how pronounced the differences are in image quality when you're looking at uncropped side-by-side images of Instagram posts or 8/10 prints? Again you would know better than I, but I suspect the differences are not enough to justify the price for a lot of photographers, amateur, hobbyists, and pros alike. Unless of course you need to print big. Or you have money to burn and want the best.
Certainly if you are talking about Instagram as your standard, all bets are off. I'm looking for much better image quality than that! Even using that metric, however, expect to see much better color rendition and microcontrast. The ability to deeply crop (the lens is resolving most of the 42MP of the a7R3 sensor) is pretty amazing as well.
Dustin Abbott interesting. Thanks for the info. It might be fun to do some side-by-side testing with a budget setup vs. premium setup to really see what the differences are.
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Thanks for the review Dustin. I've watched it numerous times as I looked for my replacement for my 16-35 f4 I sent back. I found a screaming good deal on a used Batis 18 and just got it in. I've only taken a few test shots around the house for fun but I think I'm going to love this lens! It's going with me this Labor Day weekend and I'll see how it fares. I'm excited to say the least!
Good for you. It's a sweet lens.
As always, very informative, detailed and eloquently presented. I needed a wide angle lens and was between the Sony 16-35 F4 and the Batis 18mm. I chose the Batis partly due to this review. I already have the very capable 24-105 F4 and I would have used the zoom 16-35 probably at 16 or 18mm. Another factor was the F2.8 which would be great for interior and astrophotography and the low weight for travel/hiking. It is definitely not cheap but the resale value is excellent.
Enjoy your lens!
Great review of an incredible lens. Been enjoying this one immensely, it's such a brilliant match on the A7RIII and using it is a joy.
It is a fabulous lens.
Thanks for a great series on the wider angle Batis lenses.
My pleasure.
I would love to see video that you compare sony g 20 f1.8 with this lens 👍
I will review the 20mm F1.8, but probably won't be comparing it to the Batis.
Which one would you pick? The Zeiss 18mm or Sony 20mm G? I’m looking to buy one and right now price is pretty close to
Based on the images, milvus 18 seems to have an additional depth/dimension, it's more visually rich than batis 18..it can be quite easy to notice this, just like the samyang 45mm which has that unique analog rendering
The Batis lenses are, in many ways, less "Zeissy" than their other lenses.
On eye AF on 18mm, we need to remember this is mainly purposed for landscape/lowlight shooters. And does amazing job!
Portraits with 18mm is absolutely not desirable. Same with Bokeh, with wide angle it is almost impossible to do and not purposed for landscape / high detail lens.
Great review once again!
Karo
I don't think you can make a blanket statement that no one will use 18mm for portraits (that's not true), but it is true that Eye AF doesn't generally work as well on wide angle lenses as it does on telephotos.
Dustin Abbott well, true. When looking for certain niche they do play a role but most def not a mainstream approach.
really enjoys the Sony FE reviews, but cannot afford this one
will you review some budget options?
I do have some budget E mount reviews coming shortly, but they are for APS-C. I'll do a 35mm showdown soon, and will include some less expensive options.
Dustin Abbott I hope you wait for the native Sigma art 35 for that one! Should be available very soon.
Maybe Samyang 14 mm FE for budget wide angle option? Thank you for helpful content.
I picked the Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8. The balance of image quality is not the same as the Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2, but you can take a series of pictures and combine them in Photoshop to result in basically equal image quality over the whole picture.
How is the sharpness of the Batis 40mm compared to the 18mm? I’m interested in selling my Sony Zeiss 55mm to buy the 40mm. The focal length and close focus seems better for my use.
I would recommend you watch my Batis 40 review to get the full picture, but it's a very sharp lens.
Dustin Abbott
I did watch it, but I’m not sure how sharp that is. Is it close to the Batis 18mm? I got that lens, and that’s about the sharpness that I reach for in lenses. I’ll probably mostly use it at f/2 - f/2.8 for interesting close-ups and sometimes f/5.6 for specific street scenes, and some less wide landscape pictures.
I didn't directly compare them, but I document every lens pretty well in my tests. I can't really offer you more than what my reviews say.
Dustin Abbott Thank you, sir! I should probably stop thinking about it. It’s probably sharp enough. It’s a Zeiss lens, after all. The close-focus sounds interesting, and 40mm suits me better for street photography over 50-60mm. Going to save up for it and sell the 55mm.
I think that is a pretty good wide lens for travel and weddings. I keep my FE 24-70 f4 at 24mm all the time anyway :)
It definitely is.
Any plans to review the Tokina FiRIN 20mm F2 Auto Focus for Sony FE?
It's on my radar but not scheduled.
Thank you so much for the review! Love it! Recently I wanna buy a wild angle lens, but I can't easily decided between Batis 18 and Loxia 21, if the MF is not a problem, which one would you recommend more? Thanks in advance!
Do you want to do video work? The Loxia is a little more biased towards video; the Batis a little more towards stills. I would use those priorities
@@DustinAbbottTWI Thank you so much Dustin! Got it!
A good thorough review as always Dustin, Zeiss lenses are something special, yet the Laowa is extremely commendable looking at your results
Yes - though with some caveats due to the nature of having no electronics in the lens.
Thanks for the detailed video
Glad it was helpful!
Hey Dustin, love your reviews. This lens is not for me as I'm building a second system around the Voigtlander 40/1.2. I'll be looking for a 25 and 15. I just cannot wait to see what you think of the CV 40/1.2. have a great weekend! Rob
It's always a challenge to determine what focal lengths work for you, and then build around those. I'm looking to review some of the Voigtlanders in the near future.
Thanks Dustin, I enjoy your lens reviews even when it's for a lens that has little application for me. I've increasingly relied on manual focus lenses since moving to Sony from Canon. I understand that I'm in the minority.
I know that these are two completely different lenses and for completely different systems, but how do you think that the Zeiss Milvus 18mm compares to this in terms of color rendition and extreme corner sharpness?
I don't feel like I can give a reasonable answer to that. I reviewed them too far apart and, as noted, on completely different systems.
Dustin Abbott
It was stupid of me to ask. I should have known. Thank you for your time! I’m also spending too much time thinking about optical perfection, even though I nearly reached the border when it comes to full-frame with the Sony A7Rs and the Zeiss lenses. Maybe medium format is the next step for me.
Very informative video. I shoot mostly landscapes and I really need a wide angle lens. Do u think the distortion for Batis you talked about in your video affect landscapes stills too like they might do for architectural work or should look for 16-35 f4. Thanks
I haven't tested the 16-35 yet, but if it is like most all such zooms I've tested, don't expect the distortion to be any lower. If your priority is low distortion, go with the Laowa 15mm F2. It's manual focus, but a great lens.
Hello Dustin,
how do you think does the Batis18 compare against the Milvus18 in terms of image quality?
I remember your review about the Milvus18, you seem to be more impressed by the Batis than by the Milvus.
Best
Christian
Both aren't mind-blowing in the corners, but I think the Batis lens is a bit sharper overall, particularly in the center of the frame.
Thank you very much for your quick answer! :-)
BTW there’s one lens which should be an even better performer than the Batis25mm and that is the Loxia21. I rented it together with the Batis for last Christmas and it was quite stellar!
And one lens that is even better than that, is the Milvus25 via Adapter which is amazing for wide angle portraits and for self Defence as well:-)
Hi. Maybe somebody already asked this, but: what is the other (15MM) lens he has in the review? Thank u
Laowa 15mm F2
So glad i found your channel,verry informative and helpful! I would be interested to see comparison betwen batis and loxia line ☺ keep up the good work,you definately deserve more subscribers!
I've got the Loxia line on my radar for the future.
What about a review of the Batis 85mm to complete the set?
I plan to do that when I run an 85mm FE showdown. I'll throw in the Sony 85/1.8, G Master, and maybe even the Sigma 85 in FE form.
Great! I have the Batis 85 and will be very interested to have a comparison with the other lens in the same FL
Is the 18 mm a good lens for concert/fashion event photography from the stage and back stage? I also have the Sony 24-105 F 4.0 or is the 16-35 F 4.0 better ?
This would be a good option, I think. Very lightweight and low-profile, and the f/2.8 aperture will be useful.
thank you !
Thanks for another excellent review. יהי רצון שיהוה יהיה איתך תמיד
You’re welcome
Hello Dustin, i recently switched to Sony a7r3 and tried to use metabones adaptor with my canon lenses unfortunately AFC is total loss in my eyes especially on the 70-200. Not to waste your time i decided to go for sony primes, zooms are way too expensive and i believe primes will give me better IQ.
Im just wondering how this lens compares to lest say canon 16-35 f4 at 18mm obviously. Is it better, im sure it will be better in the middle of the frame but how about the corners?
Is it worth getting it over my 16-35 f4 in IQ stand point. No zoom i can live without i still have my feet working well and can do that my self.
I didnt see you reviewinb 16-35 f4 and f2.8 from sony so no idea if you know how it compares vs them
Thanks
I think you will really enjoy the Batis lens. It's a beautiful pairing for your a7R3.
Im sure i will, but my only problem is that i already have the metabones V adapter and 15-35 f4 cannon lens goes for 700-800 in mint condition, and the batis is twice that much. So im trying to figure out if its worth it.
have you done the Voigtlander 21mm yet?
Not the new version.
Great Video! Now I'm debating to sell my Laowa 15mm f2 for this Batis 18 for the weight....
The Batis lenses are certainly light.
@@DustinAbbottTWI I do have a Sony 16-35 GM. But I also find it heavy, and I also seem to always be on the wide end. Would you say the Batis 18mm might be a good replacement as far as size and weight. But how about image quality? Basically I'm looking for best reasonable Image quality but in a small size...
This or the 20mm 1.8 g lens ?
I will put one lens always as travel and personal family photos
I like the 20G better, myself.
@@DustinAbbottTWI thanks for your reply mr Abbot
In your opinion and expertise which focal length is best for my use on a7iii camera and if there is a lens suggestion you can help me with
Like I said, I think the 20G is great.
Do you think the batis is sharper and better than the 16-35 f2.8 GM?
I haven’t used the 16-35 GM, Kerim, so it’s hard for me to comment.
Hey love your informative videos. Could you do a review of the Zeiss 35 1.4 FE?
My plan is to do a 35mm shootout down the road at some point.
Awesome! looking forward to it.
Why are there no ultra-high end lenses this compact? I would gladly shell out ~5K bucks for each of 18,28,50,90... (perhaps some more focal lengths come to mind) f2.8 lenses with a performance even higher than the Otus lenses (shouldn't be very difficult to make them), and weighing in at ~300 grams. I think there is a market for ultra compact ultra high performance lenses.
There is a market, but it's not a big one. Still, if there is anyone who could do it, it would be Zeiss.
Dustin Abbott I'd say as big of a market as for the Otus lenses themselves, so no, not a big one. But I don't understand why everyone thinks that ultra high performance must go hand in hand with ultra fast (f1.4). Slower lenses are always seen as a budget solution (the IQ standard is not as high). Zeiss said they compromised nothing designing the Otii, but in my view, they had to make the greatest of compromises - they made the lenses huge and heavy. I would want something like this Batis, or, for instance, the 35mm f2.8 Zony lens, with Otus-surpassing IQ.
I see what you mean, and yes, I do agree that always going for the largest possible (at least within reason) aperture can be a net negative (as it has been for Sigma on some of their ART series lenses).
Thank you.
You're welcome.
6:42
Which of the 21 links?
Watch my review the Batis 135mm for a demonstration.
18mm batis is full frame lens or not??
Definitely is.
SIr, waiting your Sigma 14-24 f2.8 Art final review + IQ. thanks
It will be coming soon. I don't rush those because I want to be thorough with my results.
Thanks you sir.
Man, for that kind of money, you could get a Rokinon 12mm f2 and an APSC body, which would achieve the same focal length and virtually as good of image quality (unless you're printing wall-sized prints) and still have a lot of dough left over!
The Rokinon is a great little lens, but that lens + APS-C will absolutely not produce similar image quality. I owned that lens for years, so I'm not making this up.
Dustin Abbott obviously you would know better than me having spent a lot of time with all of this expensive gear, but I would absolutely be willing to concede as a given that the setup I described would not come close to the setup you are reviewing here in terms of sheer detail resolving power. I assume that lots of people would be disappointed if this weren't the case, given the high premium people pay for such gear.
Do you have any insight into how pronounced the differences are in image quality when you're looking at uncropped side-by-side images of Instagram posts or 8/10 prints? Again you would know better than I, but I suspect the differences are not enough to justify the price for a lot of photographers, amateur, hobbyists, and pros alike. Unless of course you need to print big. Or you have money to burn and want the best.
Certainly if you are talking about Instagram as your standard, all bets are off. I'm looking for much better image quality than that! Even using that metric, however, expect to see much better color rendition and microcontrast. The ability to deeply crop (the lens is resolving most of the 42MP of the a7R3 sensor) is pretty amazing as well.
Dustin Abbott interesting. Thanks for the info. It might be fun to do some side-by-side testing with a budget setup vs. premium setup to really see what the differences are.
Dusty, a bit too talkative for me.
Thank you for your feedback.