![\"Sony_FE_50mmf1p8-6\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Sony_FE_50mmf1p8-6.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The new Sony FE 1.8\/50 is the second more affordable lens after the FE 2\/28 <\/a>which I liked a lot. Has Sony created another winner?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n $248\u00a0at\u00a0amazon.com <\/a>or B&H photo, \u00a0<\/a>299\u20ac at amazon.de<\/a>\u00a0(affiliate links).<\/p>\n The Sony FE 1.8\/50 is an all plastic construction but a solid one<\/strong>. \u00a0It is probably as solid as Sony’s other all metal lenses but it doesn’t feel as nice as it’s bigger brother the FE 1.8\/55<\/a>\u00a0or the affordable \u00a0FE 2\/28<\/a> which both have a metal exterior.<\/p>\n The focusing ring is rubberized and very grippy with a pleasant amount of resistance and no play.<\/p>\n The FE 1.8\/50 is very light and quite short while the diameter isn’t small. The focusing ring is about 20mm wide and easy to use. So no complaints here.<\/p>\n The lens hood feels quite cheap and is made from rather thin plastic. I don’t think that it makes much of a difference since the front element is already quite recessed.<\/p>\n AF is the Achilles heel of the FE 1.8\/50.<\/p>\n My a7’s USB port is broken so I can’t update it to the current firmware and AF is super slow without that update. I felt myself reminded of my Minolta D7d in 2006.<\/p>\n But even with the update and more recent cameras many users have complained about the slow speed<\/a> of the FE 1.8\/50. Others have reported decent AF performance with the a7rII. So\u00a0AF performance seems to depend a lot on the camera you are using.<\/p>\n Unlike all other E-mount lenses the FE 1.8\/50 is not internally focusing but it extends when focused at closer distances. Manual focus was a positive suprise, the FE50 doesn’t use Sony’s frustrating non-linear manual focus implementation which makes focusing much more pleasant than with other FE lenses.<\/p>\n Of course it is still focus by wire so there is a very small but still annoying lag but all in all it is easier to focus manually than Sony’s other FE lenses.<\/p>\n Vignetting at f\/1.8 is quite pronounced<\/strong> and easily visible in images. Stopping down to f\/2.8 reduced it a lot but some vignetting remains even at f\/8<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Lateral CA are automatically corrected when the raw file is loaded into LR so I didn’t bother to check it. usually 50mm lenses have very little lateral CA.<\/p>\n LoCA can be a bit bothersome<\/strong> in some situations.<\/p>\n There is only a little<\/strong> distortion but it is the more complex moustache style distortion.<\/strong><\/p>\n The good news is that the FE 1.8\/50 can produce quite decent sun stars<\/strong> but only when your light source isn’t too bright.<\/p>\n If you shoot\u00a0into the sun directly you get some nasty flare<\/strong> and not very well defined beams.<\/p>\n Veiling flare is rarely an issue<\/strong> but ghosting can be annoying<\/strong>, Sony’s FE 1.8\/55 doesn’t have these issues.<\/p>\n The bokeh is lovely at very short distances, good at medium distances and it can become somewhat busy at longer distances.<\/p>\n The aperture blades are rounded\u00a0but even so you can see their shape if you stop down enough.<\/p>\n Since vignetting is rather strong at f\/1.8 so is the cat’s eye effect.<\/p>\n So far I haven’t seen any onion rings<\/strong> despite the one aspherical element.<\/p>\n All in all bokeh is a bit better than that of most other 50mm lenses but it doesn’t come close to that of the FE55<\/a>.<\/p>\n f\/1.8:\u00a0<\/strong>The center is sharp and the midframe region is sharp enough but shorty afterwards there is a significant drop at around r=14mm.\u00a0The corners are okayish.<\/p>\n f\/2.8:\u00a0<\/strong>The center is excellent now but the rest of the frame hardly improves. Compared to other 50mm lenses<\/a>\u00a0there is quite a lot of field curvature and the sharp area of a flat\u00a0scene\u00a0is quite a bit smaller.<\/p>\n f\/4:<\/strong> Midframe and corner region improve a bit but are still not great.<\/p>\n f\/5.6:\u00a0<\/strong>A significant improvement, the whole image is sharp now<\/p>\n f\/8:\u00a0<\/strong>Micro contrast ist significantly better than at f\/5.6. The whole image is very sharp but not as excellent as I am used to from my<\/a> other<\/a> 50mm<\/a> lenses.<\/p>\n So the FE50 is a sharp lens for most applications but it falls a little short of many older and much cheaper manual lenses.<\/p>\n You can find the full resolution test images in my Sony FE 1.8\/50 flickr\u00a0album<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sample variation has been a serious issue for Sony FE lenses so far. Lensrentals has some data <\/a>to back this up. They also measured 10 copies of the FE50<\/a> and they showed very little variation<\/strong>! This is a great step forward for Sony and makes buying a FE50 less of a game.<\/p>\n Sony FE 1.8\/55 ZA<\/a>:<\/strong> It is a bit bigger and significantly more expensive but it performs great from f\/1.8 across the frame, has smoother bokeh at longer distances and feels quite a bit nicer thanks to an all metal hull. Most importantly it focuses fast and noiseless. Sony E 1.8\/50 OSS<\/strong>: If you want to use the lens on an APS-C camera like the a6000 (and only then) I would certainly recommend to go for Sony\u2019s own 1.8\/50 OSS which has much better bokeh, silent AF, OSS and it is also sharper in the corners for less money. Minolta MD 2\/50<\/a>: <\/strong>\u00a0With adapter it is only a bit bigger and it very affordable. The fully manual Minolta MD 2\/50 has much sharper edges from f\/2.8 to f\/5.6 and even at f\/8 it is still a bit sharper. The FE 1.8\/50 has nicer bokeh and higher contrast though.<\/p>\n *=Affiliate Link<\/p>\nSample Images<\/h1>\n
![\"Sony](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/DSC03178.jpg\")
![\"Sony](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/DSC03244.jpg\")
![\"Sony](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/DSC02981.jpg\")
![\"Sony_FE_50mmf1.8-17\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Sony_FE_50mmf1.8-17.jpg\")
Specifications<\/h1>\n
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Build Quality<\/h1>\n
Size, Weight and Handling<\/h1>\n
![\"Sony_FE_50mmf1p8\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Sony_FE_50mmf1p8-7.jpg\")
<\/p>\nLens Hood<\/h1>\n
![\"Sony_FE_50mmf1p8-3\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Sony_FE_50mmf1p8-3.jpg\")
<\/p>\nAutofocus<\/h1>\n
\nIt also makes an audible noise when it focuses, this noise is certainly a step back compared to other FE lenses but it isn’t as loud as that it would be a big\u00a0issue.<\/p>\nManual Focus<\/h1>\n
Image Quality<\/h1>\n
Vignetting<\/h3>\n
![\"Sony_FE_50mmf1p8_vignetting\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Sony_FE_50mmf1p8_vignetting.jpg\")
<\/p>\nChromatic Aberations<\/h3>\n
![\"Sony](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/DSC03129.jpg\")
![\"Sony](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/DSC02898.jpg\")
![\"CA\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/CA.jpg\")
<\/h3>\nDistortion<\/h3>\n
![\"Sony](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/DSC02951.jpg\")
Sunstars<\/h1>\n
![\"Sony](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/DSC02888.jpg\")
![\"Sony](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/DSC02890.jpg\")
Flare Resistance<\/h3>\n
![\"DSC03139\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/DSC03139.jpg\")
![\"Sony_FE_50mmf1.8-7\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Sony_FE_50mmf1.8-7.jpg\")
Bokeh<\/h3>\n
![\"Sony](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/DSC02941.jpg\")
![\"Sony](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/DSC03248.jpg\")
![\"Sony](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/DSC02962.jpg\")
![\"Sony](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/DSC02893.jpg\")
![\"Sony_FE_50mmf1.8-15\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Sony_FE_50mmf1.8-15.jpg\")
![\"Sony](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/DSC03251.jpg\")
![\"Sony_FE_50mmf1.8-5\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Sony_FE_50mmf1.8-5.jpg\")
Sharpness<\/h3>\n
![\"Sony_FE_50mmf1p8_infinty\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Sony_FE_50mmf1p8_infinty.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSample variation<\/h3>\n
Alternatives<\/strong><\/h1>\n
\nEbay ~670$ used<\/a>* | Amazon 898$<\/a>* | 281g | My review<\/a><\/p>\n
\nEbay ~200$ used<\/a>* | Amazon 248$<\/a>* | 281g<\/p>\nConclusion<\/h3>\n
![\"Sony](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/DSC02992.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Sony](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/DSC02882.jpg\")
![\"Sony](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/DSC03166.jpg\")
![\"Sony](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/DSC03152.jpg\")
![\"Sony](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/DSC03168.jpg\")
![\"Sony_FE_50mmf1.8-9\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Sony_FE_50mmf1.8-9-800x533.jpg\")
![\"Sony_FE_50mmf1.8\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Sony_FE_50mmf1.8-800x1200.jpg\")
![\"Sony_FE_50mmf1.8-2\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Sony_FE_50mmf1.8-2-800x533.jpg\")
![\"Sony_FE_50mmf1.8-19\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Sony_FE_50mmf1.8-19-800x533.jpg\")