Sony 35mm 1.8 FE Lens Review [video]

In this video, Chris Turner reviews the Sony 35mm 1.8 FE lens.

Sony 35mm 1.8 FE

This is what Chris thinks of the lens:

Build quality

• While the build quality is quite good, it feels a step behind the 55mm 1.8 Zeiss lens. It’s about the same as the 85mm 1.8. It doesn’t feel high-end.
• Has the function button on the lens which you can use to focus hold or eye focus. You can program it to a heap of different stuff.
• It also has the AF/MF switch to change from auto to manual focus easily.
• It is small – just slightly smaller than the 55mm 1.8 – with about the same thickness. It’s compact for travel unit.
• Focus is speedy and performs flawlessly. It also works well in low-light and backlight situations. The video focus is also fast and accurate.
• The lens isn’t weather sealed.

Image quality

• The Sony 35mm 1.8 takes high-quality images. While the 55mm 1.8 has some really weird flaring in certain situations, the flaring in the 35mm is well controlled with a nice glow. If you’re backlighting an image, it’s going to look really nice with this lens.
• Chromatic aberration is definitely present. It’s not great in terms of aberration control. It’s quite bad at f/1.8
• The lens is incredibly sharp. It is easily sharper than the 35mm 1.4 zeiss, especially wide open. If you stop it down, it just gets better and better. If you are putting something in the edge of the frame, it still is quite sharp.
• The colors are very nice and have plenty of contrast.

Overall, the 35mm 1.8 is an impressive lens.

Chris says while the 35mm is a great lens, it won’t replace his favorite lens, the 24mm G-master.

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