Choose the right lens for your Sony Alpha with the help of our independent knowledge gained by writing many in-depth reviews.
We have an in-depth knowledge of many of the lenses listed here not only because we have used them, but also because we have reviewed many of them in detail. We are also independent from any lens manufacturer and when you check our reviews you will see that we do not hesitate to name any shortcomings of a lens.
We will also talk about lens aberrations, if you don’t know too much about these terms maybe have a look at our article Lens aberrations explained first.
Originally the idea of this guide was to include all available fullframe E-mount lenses. The number of fullframe E-mount lenses has significantly grown over the years though, so that has become an impossible task.
From now on this article will only include lenses that we find currently recommendable. That will make this article much easier to navigate and read and therefore more valuable. It should also make it easier for us to keep it up to date, as we don’t have to waste a lot of time adding uninteresting or mediocre lenses anymore. I also removed most of the super tele lenses, as we have too little experience with them. The aim is to generally keep this article below 10000 words, which is still a whole lot.
35mm is a very popular focal length with a wide range of applications ranging from landscape over astrophotography to environmental portraiture and many consider it the best choice when only using one prime lens. We decided to summarize our experience with all the native E-mount and a few legacy 35mm lenses for the Sony A7 series to give you a compact and independent resource for choosing the best 35mm lens for your needs.
Unlike most other review sites we have no association with any lens manufacturer apart from occasionally loaning a lens for a review. We prefer independence over fancy trips and nice meals.
Before any short introduction we tell you how long we have used a lens and if we have borrowed it from a manufacturer. But in most cases we have bought the lenses new from retail stores or on the used market. If you want to support our independent reviews please consider using one of the affiliate links. It doesn’t cost you anything and helps us a lot.
If we have left any question unanswered please leave a comment or contact us on social media and we will do our best to answer it.
We summarize our experience with all the native E-mount and a few legacy lenses in the 85-200mm bracket for the Sony A7/A9/A1 series to give you a compact and independent resource for choosing the best portrait lens for your needs.
Unlike most other review sites we have no association with any lens manufacturer apart from occasionally loaning a lens for a review. No fancy trips and meals.
Before any short introduction we tell you how long we have used a lens and if we have borrowed it from a manufacturer. But in most cases we have bought the lenses new from retail stores or on the used market.
If we have left any question unanswered please leave a comment or contact us on social media and we will do our best to answer it.
If you purchase the lens through one of the affiliate-links in this article we get a small compensation with no additional cost to you.
Last update: March 2025, several lenses added, cleaned up
We summarize our experience with all the native E-mount and a few manual legacy lenses in the 20-28mm bracket to give you a compact and independent resource for choosing the right wide-angle lens for your Sony A7/A9/A1 camera. In this summary we also included some adapted lenses we think are worth mentioning. We didn’t include any zoom lenses, you can find those in our general guide to FE lenses as well as the guide to 9-18mm ultra wide angle lenses.
Some of these lenses are manual focus only (MF) whereas others feature auto focus (AF). There is also a noticeable amount of lenses listed here that do not feature electronic contacts to communicate with the camera (no Exif).
We have no association with any manufacturer apart from occasionally loaning a lens for a review. Before any short introduction we tell you how long we have used a lens and if we have borrowed it from a manufacturer. But in most cases we have bought the lenses on the market. If you want to support our independent reviews please consider using one of the affiliate links. It doesn’t cost you anything and helps us a lot.
If we have left any question unanswered please leave a comment or contact us on social media and we will do our best to answer it.
Last update: March 2025, Voigtländer 28mm 1.5E Nokton, Viltrox 28mm 4.5 AF added
The 50mm lens is what used to be called a “standard” lens, though perhaps a very slightly shorter focal length gives the absolutely most natural perspective. For some of us here at Phillipreeve.net it’s a length we adore, and have more 50s than any other focal length. Others of us are less keen, finding it usually too short or too long. Obviously there is no right answer here, it depends on how each photographer sees the world.
But it is a very versatile focal length with a wide range of applications. It can be used for slightly formal portraits, moderately environmental portraits, landscape, architecture – most things except wildlife or sport. You can also, with a little quality loss, crop down to a more formal portrait angle of view, and you can – with a gain in both quality and hassle – stitch frames to get wider angles of view for certain kinds of landscape.
In this article we summarize our experience with all the native E-mount 50mm lenses to give you a independent resource in one place for choosing the best 50 mm lens for your needs. We will cover AF E-mount, MF E-mount with electronic contacts, and lenses with the E-mount but no contacts.
Unlike most other review sites we have no association with any lens manufacturer apart from occasionally borrowing a lens for a review. We prefer independence over fancy trips and nice meals.
Before discussing each lens, we tell you which of us had or has the lens, and whether it was purchased or borrowed for review. In most cases we have bought the lenses new from retail stores or on the used market.
If we have left any question unanswered please leave a comment or contact us on social media and we will do our best to answer it.
If you purchase the lens through one of the affiliate-links in this article we get a small compensation with no additional cost to you.
Last update: March 2025, Sigma 50mm 1.2 and Sony 50mm 1.4 GM added, Sony 50 1.2 GM, 50mm 2.5 G and Sigma 50mm 2.0 DG DN updated, cleaned up
5 Questions to consider before choosing a 50mm lens
There is no best 50mm lens for everyone, since individual needs are so different. This is why you won’t find any ratings in terms of stars or points out of 5 in this guide. Instead here are 5 questions to help you reflect on what you need in a 50mm lens. Some of you may decide you need more than one: be warned, that can start a very bad habit, as some of us here know well! If you already know what you need you can skip to the lenses discussion directly.
1. What will you use your 50mm lens for, and which performance aspects matter to you?
A lens might perform very well for one application and fail for others. The Voigtländer 50mm f2 APO Lanthar is maybe technically the best performing 50mm lens we have seen. It’ll be great for landscape. But if you want portraits at very wide apertures, it doesn’t have them. If you want autofocus for quick efficient event and wedding work it doesn’t have that either. On the other hand, the Sony Zeiss ZA 1.4/50, probably the best native fast AF 50mm, while it’s relatively compact for a modern design fast AF 50, is a beast in comparison, and not something that any of us would take on a long hike. That covers a couple of fifties that are best in class at certain things: but you may not want one of those either. You may just want a cheaper one, or you may want the best lens you can get that will do everything well even if it isn’t the best at any particular thing (looking at you Sony Zeiss 1.8/55), or you may want something that has a more specialised look.
Sony A7s |Zhong Yi Mitakon 50mm 0.95 | f/0.95
Just as we said in our guide to 35s, when shooting a wedding you will probably care most about bokeh, good sharpness across most of the frame from wide open, speed and AF which should be fast and reliable. Price may or may not be an important aspect. Requirements for shooting family are similar with a bigger emphasis on AF-speed for smaller children.
For astro-photography you want a fast lens with good coma correction and as little vignetting as possible. Many people also prefer manual lenses here.
Sony A7rII | Voigtlander VM 50mm 1.2 Nokton | f/8.0 | panorama from 4 shots
When photographing a landscape or architecture you will probably care about good sharpness stopped down, high contrast, good flare resistance, manual focus experience and maybe nice sunstars or small weight. You probably won’t get all those things in one package!
Sony A7s | Zhong Yi Mitakon 50mm 0.95 | f/0.95
If you are shooting portraits of the kind where you don’t have to get the shot – it’s not like a wedding or an event – but it matters a lot what the look of that shot is, you’ll need to delve a bit more deeply into the different looks that lenses create. You may want a modern fast high contrast look, you may prefer a smooth retro sonnar-like look or you may find the slight edge of many classic double gauss lenses at wide aperture what you prefer.
2. What is your budget?
The cheapest AF full frame E-mount lenses are the Sony 1.8/50 and the Samyang 1.8/45. You can also adapt a good legacy 50mm for under $50. From there the sky is the limit. As a rule of thumb more money gets you better optical quality, better build quality, better reliability and faster lenses. There are exceptions to this rule of thumb which is why you need to read our guide.
taken with a $30 Minolta MC 55mm 1:1.7
How much should you spend? If you are on a very tight budget but a competent photographer you will get very good results out of a $50 lens but you will have to deal with a few scenarios where you would have gotten better results with a more expensive lens. And that $50 lens will teach you a lot about photography. If you know what you are doing then spending more – even much more – will sometimes give you better results. There will be situations in which, frankly, it’s only a slightly better result – lenses don’t turn mediocre photographers into good photographers. But there will be images that you couldn’t get with that cheaper lens. Just perhaps not as many situations as the lens makers would have you believe. And a good lens is no substitute at all for good technique; it’s the icing on the cake of good technique. Don’t upgrade you lens because you aren’t satisfied with your pictures. The lens won’t help that. Upgrade you lens only once you are very sure about your technique, and you know exactly what it is that you want and which lens will give it to you, and how it make that happen.
Like we said in the last guide: we all know that guy who reliably gets bad results out of his $4000 Leica lens. Don’t be that guy. So how much should you spend? It depends on what you want to do with the lens, and what you can afford. So perhaps reading this guide will help a little with telling what they different lenses will do for you, and you have to consider the second thing!
When considering the price of a lens also look at the long term cost of it. A cheap $350 lens which breaks after 1 year of usage costs you $350 for a year of use. A more expensive $600 lens you bought used that can be sold after a year for $550 cost you $50 for a year of use. And it was probably more enjoyable to use in that year. A used lens may cost you only a few bucks a year if you sell it after a few years. There is also an effect called “early adopter tax”: the value of newly released lenses usually depreciates rather quickly in the first year. That’s fine, but think carefully: if the new Furtwängler Super Apo Magnifitar costs $2000 when it comes out, and is worth only $1200 at the end of the year, you paid about fifteen bucks a week to basically rent it over that year. You might be fine with that (some of us have knowingly made that choice). But think about it.
3. Size & Weight
The lightest 50mm E-mount lens is the Sony FF 1.8/50 at 186g and the Samyang 1.8/45 is even lighter at 162g, while the heaviest lens, the Sigma Art 1.4/50, weighs 910g. The three most important factors for the weight of a lens are speed, vignetting and the degree of optical correction. The Sigma 1.4/50 is not only half a stops faster than the Sony: its optical design is also a lot more complex which results in significantly higher sharpness and better correction of aberrations. The Sigma also has a lot less vignetting.
Again needs are very different: If you do a lot of hiking you probably don’t want to carry the very heavy Sigma, but a slower, lighter lens. As a wedding photographer on the other hand performance will usually be more important than weight. Lenses also need to fit into your camera bag.
A faster f/1.4 lens allows you to blur your background more than a slower f/2.8 lens and it also lets in more light, allowing for lower ISO or shorter shutter speeds. Faster lenses are usually bigger, heavier and more expensive than slower lenses but there are exceptions to both rules we mention in the discussion of each lens.
So how fast does your lens need to be? If you chose a f/1.8 lens over a f/1.4 lens this will seldom make the difference between a good and a bad picture but it often is one important factor for the look of your images. Also keep in mind that the quality of the blur (bokeh) can be more important than the amount of blur.
5. Do you prefer AF or manual focus?
Most users will answer that they want an AF-lens. In that case one needs to consider how fast and how reliable AF needs to be.
Some users prefer to focus manually because it makes photography more enjoyable to them. Even some native lenses are manual focus only and they are a joy to use since they have a proper focus helicoid and a smooth focusing ring. Almost all AF E-mount lenses are less pleasant to focus manually because they are focus-by-wire designs where there is a small but noticeable lag between the moment you turn the focus-ring and the actual change of focus and, secondly, the focus ring offers the wrong amount of resistance or even has some play. Many also have variable (non-linear) throw, meaning that the amount the focus changes when you turn the focussing right depends not just on how far you turn the focussing ring, but on how fast you turn it. In theory this helps you make big changes quickly, and then focus slowly for fine-tuning. In practice many experienced manual-lens-users find it hard to adjust to and very unpredictable.
Native 50mm Lenses with AF
Samyang 45mm f/1.8 AF
Budget Recommendation
Very good central sharpness wide open, good midframe and corners, best across frame at f/5.6
Very small and extremely light
Build quality is below average: lens barrel is completely made of rather cheap feeling plastic but at least the lens mount made of metal
Bokeh is neutral with rather high contrast and onion rings
LoCA is acceptably controlled, significantly better than the FE 1.8/50 and 1.8/55 ZA.
Low barrel distortion (+3)
Fast and reliable AF, also for tracking operation (On the A9 with stock firmware, A7RIV needs software update via lens dock for improved reliability)
At first glance, it looks like an expensive alternative to the Sony FE 1.8/50, but it is more than that. Thanks to its virtually silent linear AF drive, is more comparable to the Sony FE 1.8/55 ZA. While it lacks the ultimate corner sharpness already wide open, it is already very good where it matters at f/1.8 and across the frame just a few stops down.
A small and lightweight prime lens with great build quality. It is not as fast as many other lenses on this list, but the bokeh is pretty smooth and undistracting so in the end you might even prefer it to that of some of the faster lenses. Performance at wide apertures appears to be somewhat lower at shorter distances. There seem to have been some AF inconsistencies at medium distances, so if you want to buy it make sure it fits your needs within the return period.
The half-a-stop faster successor to the Sony FE 50mm 1.4 ZA. If you are looking for a lens with these parameters this one won’t disappoint. Just like the Sony FE 35mm 1.4 GM a lens with hardly any flaws that comes at a very substantial price.
Sigma’s 50mm 1.2 lens is about the same size and weight as the Sony FE 50mm 1.2 GM. The Sigma doesn’t offer the Sony’s amazingly high resolution at f/1.2 and I also doubt it offers its amazing autofocus capabilities. It is noticeably cheaper though.
This lens has been a bit of a surprise to me, as it had been released not that long after the Sony FE 50mm 1.2 GM. Considering the competitor’s 50mm 1.4 offerings, this one is rather expensive. Optically it is hard to find any flaws with this lens, except for high (optical) vignetting.
very good central and corner sharpness and contrast from wide open.
Decent bokeh
Above average correction of of axial colour for a fast lens
Much better build quality than other ZA lenses, better finish and alloys, nice damped aperture ring.
Fairly low distortion
Reduced (but still decent) midfield resolution for the first few apertures
Reasonable AF, accurate and reliable but not among the fastest.
Fairly big and heavy
If you don’t care too much about size and price this lens delivers an exceptional peformance and has a rather distinctive look. Now the Sony FE 50mm 1.2 GM and Sony FE 50mm 1.4 GM are offering the more appealing package for those looking for a high end 50mm lens though.
Below average sharpness: Okay in the center, soft outside of it unless stopped down to f/5.6
Below average CA correction
Annoying manual focus and some AF-issues
Large size and weight
Moderate Vignetting
Overall we find it hard to recommend the Samyang. Maybe consider it if you care a lot about smooth bokeh and less about sharpness and CA. The MK II version is much better.
Compared to the predecessor this MK II version is noticeably lighter, a bit smaller and has improved sharpness while maintaining really nice bokeh. The cheaper alternative to the Sony FE 50mm 1.2 GM.
This lens has just been announced and we don’t know much about it yet. It is similarly sized as the Sigma 35mm 1.4 Art DG DN so much smaller and lighter than the former DSLR version of the 50mm 1.4. The DSLR version was famous for its very low vignetting, this is not the case with this improved version anymore.
Very good sharpness from wide open across the frame, excellent stopped down
Bokeh can be a bit nervous
Above average CA correction
Low vignetting and very good coma correction
AF/MF-Switch and nice manual focus ring
The biggest and heaviest AF lens on this list
Good price/performance ratio
If you don’t care about the size/weight of a lens and high sharpness is more important to you than an “as smooth as possible” bokeh rendering this lens might be for you.
And if you are into astrophotography to do some stitching this is the best 50 thanks to low light falloff and very good coma correction.
Slow AF on A7II and other older models. Fast on A7III and other newer cameras. AF is also a bit noisy.
Average bokeh: Smooth up closer, more nervous at longer distances
Very light
Cheaper build quality
Below average flare resistance
The Sony FE is an obvious choice if you are on a tight budget. Yes, you will have to compromise a bit in every area from sharpness over bokeh to build quality but the end result will be pleasing none the less. Most of the time.
An almost as well corrected lens as the Voigtländer 50mm 2.0 Apo-Lanthar E, but with autofocus. If you don’t need faster than f/2.0, this is an appealing, compact 50mm lens.
Excellent sharpness at all apertures and distances
Moderate high to high contrast
Outstanding macro performance
Good colour correction
Affordable
Very light
Poor bokeh in many conditions at portrait distance
Sluggish autofocus though better on recent bodies
shape of OOF highlights in some situations a bit angular.
This is not the all-round fifty you want; nor is it the best at anything. If you want a normal macro lens for actual macro work go for it. It’s excellent: truly excellent, as in as good as many far more famous ones, even if it feels a bit cheap. But it is cheap, so that’s fair enough. Should anyone who is not a macro enthusiast buy it? The other use case we recommend it for is hiking. It is much sharper at infinity than most macros, and unless you care about sunstars and so on will give you excellent landscape images, and the macro focussing will allow to to close up nature photography.
Very sharp wide open and good across frame stopped down.
fast and accurate focus
Shows onion ring structures in out of focus highlights
More axial colour (LoCA, PF, spherochromatism) than you would like in a premium lens
Decent bokeh
Slightly less contrasty than you might expect
Average coma correction and average vignetting
Slightly below average sample variation by current standards
Lowish distortion, fully correctible.
No aperture ring or button.
Poor manual focus experience: non linear by-wire
The Sony FE 55mm 1.8 ZA is a real allrounder. Need to carry a lens easily for hiking? Forget the GM 1.2/50 or ZA 1.4/50. Need an unobtrusive fast AF lens for an event or somewhere where a big lens will stick out? This lens is your choice. It can do great sharp landscapes (but not as well as some of the best manual options.) It can do wide aperture AF portraits (but not as well as the ZA, GM or Samyang MK II). It can follow action. It travels well. It’s good for hiking.
Compared to the recent offerings from third party manufacturers (especially the Samyang 50mm 1.4 AF II) this is too expensive when bought new, better look for a used one.
Very smooth SA-bokeh (similar to Sony FE 85mm 1.4 GM)
Slightly dreamy at f/1.2, but more than sharp enough
High contrast and good sharpness stopped down (in the center always)
Very good flare resistance
Okay to fair coma correction, vignetting and CA correction
Nice sunstars stopped down
Not so great near minimum focus distance, also shows slight focus shift
Very compact considering its performance
Great portrait lens if you can live without AF. Good as a dual use lens for portrait/landscapes if you don’t need great corner resolution at wider apertures.
More expensive than legacy f/1.2 lenses, but also a clear step up in terms of image quality.
Also comes in a lighter and cheaper “SE” edition with the same optics (SE version has been discontinued in January 2023).
Weight: 440g | Filter Thread: 58mm | Price (January 2023): $799/$749 for SE Review | Sample images
Sony A7rII | Voigtlander 50mm 1.2 Nokton E | f/1.2
Zeiss Loxia Planar 50mm f/2.0
Great build quality
High contrast and decent flare resistance
Beautiful, well defined sunstars
Very sharp stopped down
Mediocre bokeh, especially at longer distances bokeh can be busy
Obvious midzone dip, for best across the frame sharpness stopping down to f/8 is recommended.
Above average amount of vignetting
Before we had the Voigtlander 50mm f/2 APO-Lanthar that performs better in every regard, the Loxia 50mm f/2 was the best native option for landscape enthusiasts. Good flare resistance, beautiful sunstars, high contrast and good across the frame sharpness stopped down combined with its small dimensions make it a very good option for shooting landscapes. Still worth considering for that purpose since used prices have come down.
Best in class sharpness and contrast from wide open
Best in class CA-correction
Neutral bokeh with only slightly nervous corners at longer distances
High contrast and very good flare resistance
Well defined sunstars stopped down
Very compact considering its performance
Above average amount of vignetting
Excellent handling
Going by technical performance alone this is one of the best 50mm lens you can buy with Sony E-mount. It is also a pleasure to handle thanks to its compact size and nice mechanical design. At the same time it is a relatively slow lens and not that cheap in absolute terms. A good choice if your focus is on landscape photography and you want ultimate image quality.
surprisingly sharp for an f/0.95 lens, also usable for landscape shooting stopped down
nice bokeh at close to mid distances
15 rounded aperture blades for undistracting bokeh stopped down
good build quality and handling
big and heavy lens, but reasonable considering the specifications
The sharpest of the f/0.95 lenses listed here.Unfortunately the bokeh in the corners at longer distances suffers from a combination of optical vignetting and field curvature, so best used for half body portraits or closer.
Dreamy look at wide apertures, especially at close distances
Sharpness and contrast ok, stopped down pretty good
bad flare resistance, high loCA, high coma
MK III has smoother bokeh but straight aperture blades
Heavy
Special purpose portrait lens if you look for that dreamy bokeh. If you don’t intend to shoot at f/0.95 often better have a look at the other options though.
decently sharp at portrait distances, also usable for landscape shooting stopped down
nice bokeh at close to mid distances
high vignetting
bad flare resistance
good build quality and handling
average CA correction
bad Coma correction at wider apertures
cheapest f/0.95 lens
The cheapest of the f/0.95 lenses. Flare resistance is bad and vignetting is high, but it sharpens up nicely when you stop down so unlike the Zhong Yi lenses can even be used as a general purpose 50mm lens. Unfortunately – similar to the Laowa 45mm 0.95 – the bokeh in the corners at longer distances suffers from a combination of optical vignetting and field curvature, so again this is best be used for half body portraits or closer.
really bad flare resistance, really high loCA, really high coma
huge field curvature
mediocre build quality
huge and heavy
Considering this is a modern lens that hit the market in 2019 it is extra disappointing that it’s the worst lens I have ever reviewed. When I saw the dimensions I was hoping it might improve on the Zhong Yi Mitakon. It didn’t. Don’t buy it.
good sharpness and contrast over most of the frame, even at f/1.05, but corner sharpness is never great
comarably low (optical) vignetting
average CA correction, Coma correction and distortion
bad flare resistance
average size, weight and build quality (no click-stops on aperture ring)
The 7Artisan’s bokeh will appeal to those that like the high contrast look that we also know from the Leica Asph lenses and many of the fast modern Zeiss lenses. If you felt lenses like the Voigtländer 50mm 1.2 or Mr. Ding 50mm 1.1 (see next entry on the list) were too soft for you this one might be what you are looking for.
good sharpness at portrait distances and also at infinity when stopped down
average CA correction and vignetting
low distortion
bad flare resistance
noticeable focus shift
likable build quality and handling
small and lightweight construction
very attractively priced
M-mount works equally well on M and E-mount cameras and also great with the Techart LM-EA9 AF adapter
Afaik the “official” version is the one sold under the Mr. Ding Optics/Studio branding but I initially reviewed an Syoptic branded lens and I heard in some countries these are also sold under the name Vlogmagic.
The Mr. Ding version only comes in M-mount, whereas some of the OEM ones are also available for E-mount, but this is one of the very few lenses where the M-mount version works equally well on M-mount and E-mount cameras. You can even combine it with a TTArtisan 6-bit adapter to get Exif data or with the Techart LM-EA9 to turn it into an AF lens.
This is also one of the few lenses where the rendering qualities stand out to me as aesthetically very pleasing
buy from official Mr. Ding Studio shop (M-mount only), can also be found on ebay.com, but here you may get an OEM lens without product support (affiliate links)
Sony A7III | Mr. Ding 50mm 1.1 | f/1.1 | LM-EA9
AstrHori 50mm 1.4 Tilt
sharpness at infinity leaves something to be desired
good flare resistance
surprisingly nice suntars
average bokeh quality
average flare resistance
average distortion
average build quality
untilted average vignetting, but tilted completely black corners
unintuitive and annoying handling
The image circle of the lens simply isn’t big enough – or there is a problem with the mechanical design – as there are completely black areas when fully tilting. The mechanical execution of the whole tilt mechanism also leaves a lot to be desired, as it is almost impossible to properly center the lens. Make sure to also have a look at the following two lenses before pulling the trigger.
average CA correction, Coma correction, vignetting and distortion
not so great flare resistance and coma correction
nice sunstars
small size but has some heft to it
very fair price, especially considering the great build quality
The TTArtisan offers surprisingly good bokeh for a small 50mm lens as well as good sharpness where it matters.
It manages to accomplish something where even some of the more expensive lenses fail: stopped down it is plenty of sharp across all of the frame, too.
This makes it a great allround 50mm lens that can be used for portraiture as well as landscape and infinity shooting.
The TTArtisan 50mm 1.4 Tilt can be bought for $199, same as the AstrHori 50mm 1.4 Tilt. Which is the better lens? I honestly fail to see a clear winner. The AstrHori was a pain to use due to its mechanical design, but the optics were mostly fine. The TTArtisan on the other hand was more fun to use, but its optical performance simply isn’t good and there are several mechanical design flaws.
If you don’t need the tilt function the TTArtisan 50mm 1.4 E non tilt is a much better lens and similarly priced.
nice sharpness from f/2.8, good enough for landscape shooting stopped down
average CA correction, vignetting figures and distortion
not so great flare resistance and coma correction
build quality better than it should be at this pricepoint
This lens doesn’t offer record breaking performance, but the price/performance ratio is simply stellar, as this lens only sets you back $69. This is less than you usually pay for a semi-decent 40 years old SLR 50mm f/1.8 lens with bulky adapter these days and less than some people pay for a lens hood only.
For that price it is also a great option to bring next to your big zoom lens, if you want to travel light or need a bit more speed every now and then.
Good sharpness in the center from f/1.8, midframe needs f/4, corners f/8 to look good
smooth bokeh up close, somewhat nervous at longer distances
Well defined 12-pointed sunstars from f/8
Small Size and ok build quality
No aperture stops
Bad flare resistance
Though it has small size and a good aperture design going for it, the BrightinStar 1.8/55 is a bit hard to recommend since it isn’t much cheaper than a used Sony FE 1.8/50 which is a better performer for most applications, and many somewhat larger legacy lenses perform as well in most areas for half the price.
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Sony α | Leica M | Nikon F/Z New article every week
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corners, best across frame at f/5.6
and weight as the Sony FE 50mm 1.2 GM. The Sigma doesn’t offer the Sony’s amazingly high resolution at f/1.2 and I also doubt it offers its amazing autofocus capabilities. It is noticeably cheaper though.
released not that long after the Sony FE 50mm 1.2 GM. Considering the competitor’s 50mm 1.4 offerings, this one is rather expensive. Optically it is hard to find any flaws with this lens, except for high (optical) vignetting.
open.
don’t know much about it yet. It is similarly sized as the Sigma 35mm 1.4 Art DG DN so much smaller and lighter than the former DSLR version of the 50mm 1.4. The DSLR version was famous for its very low vignetting, this is not the case with this improved version anymore.
excellent stopped down
50mm 2.0 Apo-Lanthar E, but with autofocus. If you don’t need faster than f/2.0, this is an appealing, compact 50mm lens.
down.
shooting stopped down
shooting stopped down
corners f/8 to look good
