{"id":21320,"date":"2019-09-22T14:39:14","date_gmt":"2019-09-22T13:39:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/?p=21320"},"modified":"2024-04-21T13:35:00","modified_gmt":"2024-04-21T12:35:00","slug":"review-sony-fe-35mm-f1-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/review-sony-fe-35mm-f1-8\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Sony FE 1.8\/35 – versatile but a bit expensive"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Sony FE 1.8\/35 has been one of Sony’s most anticipated lenses. So can they live up to the expectations? Read on if you want to know.<\/p>\n

Sony FE 1.8\/35 Review<\/h1>\n

Most images in this review can be found in full resolution in my Sony FE 1.8\/35 flickr set<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Specifications<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Diameter<\/td>\n66 mm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Length<\/td>\n73 mm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Filter Thread<\/td>\n55 mm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Weight (no hood, no caps)<\/td>\n280 g<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Max. Magnification<\/td>\n0.24<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Close Focusing Distance from the sensor<\/td>\n22 cm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Number of aperture blades<\/td>\n9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Elements\/ Groups<\/td>\n11\/9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mount<\/td>\nE-mount<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The Sony FE 1.8\/35 has a recommended price of $749. Check current prices at amazon.com,<\/a>\u00a0B&H<\/a> or ebay.com<\/a>. In Germany the recommended price is 699 \u20ac. Check at amazon.de<\/a>. If you purchase the lens through one of these affiliate-links I get a small compensation with no additional cost to you. .<\/em><\/p>\n

Disclosure<\/h2>\n

This copy was loaned to me free of charge from Sony Germany for two weeks.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Features<\/h2>\n

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The Sony FE 1.8\/35 offers a focus-hold button<\/strong> which can be programmed to useful functions such as eye AF. It also features a AF-MF switch<\/strong>. Another feature is highest magnification of any current 35mm E-mount lens of 1:4.<\/p>\n

Build quality<\/h2>\n

The Sony FE 1.8\/35 feels nice thanks to a metal hull and a wide focus ring with a pleasant resistance. In the past Sony’s metal hulls have scratched rather easily and it will be interesting to see how well the Sony holds up long term.<\/p>\n

Sony claims that it is a weather resistant design<\/strong>. I have no way to verify that without risking serious trouble with Sony so if you find a teardown please tell me.<\/p>\n

Handling<\/h2>\n

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AF<\/h2>\n

I used the Sony FE 1.8\/35 only on my a7II wich is a much slower focusing camera than the a7III and Sony’s other new models. I was generally happy with the nearly noiseless AF. Reading other photographer’s reports it seems that the 1.8\/35 also performs really well on faster cameras. Some called it the fastest focusing 35mm prime in E-mount right now<\/p>\n

Focus Ring<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The well damened focus ring\u00a0<\/strong>travels around 150 degrees from 22cm to infinity and focus is linear. While this is one of the best implementations it is still a focus by wire lens with the usual small but annoying lag.<\/p>\n

Hood<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Theo Sony FE 1.8\/35s hood is made from plastics, locks safely into place and protects the front of the lens well without taking ip too much volume so I always left it attached to the lens.<\/p>\n

Size and Weight<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Samyang 1.4\/35 | Sony FE 1.8\/35 | Voigtlander 1.2\/40<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At just 280g the Sony FE 1.8\/35 is very light weight especially for its speed. It weights less than half as much as the available 1.4\/35 E-mount AF-lenses while being just half a stop slower. It is significantly larger and heavier than the tiny 2.8\/35 lenses from Sony and Samyang though. On the a7II it felt very well balanced.<\/p>\n

Optical performance<\/span><\/h2>\n

These results are based on the use with a Sony Alpha 7II.<\/p>\n

Flare Resistance<\/strong><\/h3>\n

As always evaluating flare is a complex matter since you can get any lens to look bad if you push it hard enough and a slight change of scenario will affect results a lot.<\/p>\n

I would rather the Sony FE 1.8\/35 as average. I read quite a few other reviews praising its performance in this regard but those were mostly lab based and I had quite a few images where significant ghosting and veiling flare affected images. In other scenarios it hold up well.<\/p>\n

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<\/div>before: unprocessed image | after: processed image with lifted shadows<\/p>\n

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Sunstars<\/h3>\n

9 rounded aperture blades result in average at best sunstars even stopped down a lot.<\/p>\n

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Bokeh<\/h3>\n