Sony E 35mm f/1.8 OSS Lens Review

Sony E35mm f/1.8 OSS Handling and features

Build and design is typical of Sony's E-Mount lenses, with high quality black plastics that sport a glossy finish used for much of the lens barrel construction and a metal lens mount. Despite the very light weight of only 155g, the lens feels very solidly put together. The low weight makes sure the lens will match up perfectly with even the most compact NEX series camera bodies, and it handles very well on the Sony NEX-6 used for testing.

Auto focus is very fast and accurate as a result at distances over half a metre away, but sometimes the lens can struggle to focus adequately on closer subjects. Applying manual focus adjustments is a pleasure, thanks to the smooth action of the focusing ring, which is perfectly damped. Minimum focus is 30cm from the sensor plane, which is fairly typical for a lens of this type.

As focusing is performed internally, the 49mm filter ring does not rotate, which makes the lens ideal for use with graduated and polarising filters. A deep petal-shaped lens hood is supplied as standard, which attaches to the lens via a bayonet fitting.

For those times when slow shutter speeds are necessary, this lens comes equipped with optical image stabilisation. With care, sharp hand-held images can be taken at shutter speeds as slow as 1/6sec, which is roughly three stops slower than the usual rule of thumb for hand-held photography would allow.

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