FE24mm f/2.8, FE40mm f/2.5 and FE50mm f/2.5 G lenses.

FE24mm f/2.8 , Alpha 7C. ISO200, f/2.8, 1/3200sec.

Prior to launch date, Sony supplied me with their trio of new lenses so I could offer my feedback on the way they perform and thoughts on where the lenses sat in their line up.

My initial reaction when I first opened the boxes containing the lenses and saw each one was one of pleasant surprise. The lenses are really lightweight and compact, especially when you consider the widest aperture settings of f/2.5 on the 40mm and 50mm and f/2.8 on the 24mm. All three lenses are beautifully crafted from a metal construction with engraved markings that give the lenses a real quality look and feel in the hand. Each lens features an aperture control ring, which can be set to either 1/3 stop click steps or to a smooth transition making the lenses a great choice for either photography or video applications, a manual focus ring, an autofocus manual focus switch and a focus hold button. Each lens offers a high level of control without the need to access camera menus and offers professional control and reliability of use.

The lenses are all similar in size and weigh between 167g and 174g and work well as a set. Each one offers something different in terms of focal length and optical look, but they offer a consistent switch layout which makes using each of them and changing between them very easy.

The three lenses are ideal for people on the move who want to travel light with compact kit. With any one of the three lenses coupled to the A7C for example provides a lightweight compact solution that delivers professional results. The operability and superb build quality of the lenses all adds to the enjoyment of being able to travel light with an A7C and the three lenses fitting into a small camera bags. Lenses with a maximum aperture of f/2.8 are widely used by professionals so these three lenses having maximum apertures of f/2.8 and f/2.5 really live up to professional standards and expectations.

The three lenses all have high quality optics and have fast, quiet, accurate focusing and tracking. The 24mm being a wide angle lens lends itself naturally to landscape and cityscapes or any situation where I may want to include the environment as a narrative to the main subject. The 40mm perhaps is not a common focal length which bridges the gap between the 35mm and 50mm focal lengths and I found it to be an ideal portraiture lens that offered a different look to my existing lenses. The 50mm lens is traditionally a great focal length when wanting to produce images that are close to the view the human eye sees and is an extremely popular focal length for a lens in any photographers kit across many genres. All three lenses can be used interchangeably and offer between them many creative opportunities.

FE40mm f/2.5 coupled to Alpha 7C. ISO100, f//2.5, 1/1600sec

The autofocus system on all three lenses is fast and accurate on stills and video with great tracking accuracy. Each lens features double linear motors which operate silently making them ideal when capturing video. The image quality from all three lenses is excellent. They produce really sharp images throughout the aperture range even when using wide open apertures of f/2.5 and f/2.8 respectively, with the out of focus areas being smooth and creamy.

The small form factor and light weight make using the lenses enjoyable, especially if using and carrying them for prolonged periods of time. The compact lightweight form factor, in particular when attached to an Alpha 7C offers a really great solution for when I want to travel light but still have full frame quality and ability to work with quality glass for both stills and video. The ability to be able to shoot street and travel photography with such a small compact combination has many benefits including being less conspicuous in public areas and being able to travel lighter but still be able to obtain incredible quality.

The Sony 20mm f/1.8 G lens is a wide angle prime lens designed for use on Sony’s full frame Alpha camera system. It is light in the hand which makes it ideal as a carry around lens for holiday trips or landscapers who want to travel light. The Sony 20mm f/1.8 G lens though is a very capable lens and should be considered for many more reasons than just its weight and compactness. It is a very capable lens in many instances and genres of photography.

I have used the Sony 20mm f/1.8 G lens in a number of situations attached to my Sony A9 and Sony A7R3 and found that it handled faultlessly as you would expect a Sony lens to handle, with tactile switchgear and aperture ring giving intuitive control over the lens.

The Sony 20mm f/1.8 G lens has a fast widest aperture setting of f/1.8, making it ideal for when working in low light conditions. The wide aperture also helps with subject / background separation by creating a shallower depth of field that we don’t usually associate with such a wide angle lens and generates beautiful circular bokeh.

The lens features a physical switch to turn on and off autofocus which is easy to locate and operate even when wearing gloves. Aperture adjustments can be made via the lens aperture ring, which is a feature both photographers and videographers will appreciate. The aperture ring can be used with a click option, which adjusts aperture settings in 1/3 stop increments, from f/1.8 to f/22 when changing apertures settings. Or without the click option for a smooth transition between aperture settings. The aperture ring also has an ‘A’ for automatic aperture selection. The aperture can also be changed from the camera body control wheel or in the cameras menu system.

The Sony 20mm f/1.8 G lens has a function button to the side of the lens which can have a selection of functions assigned to it for the user to customise to their shooting preferences, for example, Eye a/f, white balance options etc.

There is a manual focus ring which is easy to find and turn which has a slight resistance and intuitive feel to it, this was easy to operate even when wearing gloves. The lens does not extend during focussing and remains the same physical size and the lens hood is small, making the lens an overall compact solution.

The sharpness from the Sony 20mm f/1.8 G lens is impressive, it is extremely sharp throughout the different aperture settings including when wide open at f/1.8. I was more than confident to shoot this lens with a wide open aperture or to fully stop it down and be happy I would have a sharp image.

When shooting against brightly lit backgrounds I could see no evidence of chromatic aberration from the lens. This was the case regardless of the aperture I used. Whatever Sony has implemented into this lens to control CA they have done a remarkable job. The vignetting I observed during my use of the Sony 20mm f/1.8 G lens was minimal.

Although the Sony 20mm f/1.8 G lens is a wide angle lens I didn’t notice obvious lens distortion and thought the lens performed well in a variety of different scenarios. The autofocus was also fast and accurate and extremely capable during the time I used it even in low light conditions.

Sony 20mm f/1.8 G Lens with A7R3. ISO100, 20mm, f/22, 30sec

The Sony 20mm f/1.8 G is a prime lens that occupies a unique position in the current Sony lens line up. It is a wide angle lens with a wide aperture. While some may consider and use this lens as a ‘fit all in’ lens, I have found it to be very versatile and useful to be able to draw more of the environment into the shot when shooting a portrait. I have found the level of detail the Sony 20mm f/1.8 G lens renders to be of a high quality with no evidence of CA and high levels fo sharpness when viewed at 1:1. The ability to shoot a wide angle lens with a wide aperture opens a whole new world of perspective and photographic opportunities and the 20mm f/1.8 G lens is an excellent addition to the current Sony lens line up and will be a firm favourite for astrophotographers, concert photographers, landscapers and travel photographers.

A Compact Trio - Sony launches 3 compact prime G lenses

Sony 20mm f/1.8 G Lens Review

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