Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 Review

Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 Performance

The lens has some excellent qualities, and of particular note is the near perfect drawing, with a measurement of just -0.282% barrel distortion. Architectural subjects will not be a problem.

MTF
 

How to read our charts

The blue column represents readings from the centre of the picture frame at the various apertures and the green is from the edges. 

The scale on the left side is an indication of actual image resolution as LW/PH and is described in detail above. The taller the column, the better the lens performance. 

For this review, the lens was tested on a Sony a7r camera body using Imatest.

CA (Chromatic Aberration) is extremely well controlled in the centre of the frame and it is only at the edges that fringing becomes visible. This can, of course, be corrected in software.

Bokeh is very acceptable, the smoothness of the out of focus areas being relaxed and pleasing to the eye. It is not in the same league as some more specialised lenses, but very acceptable for general purpose use.

CA

How to read our charts

Chromatic aberration is the lens' inability to focus on the sensor or film all colours of visible light at the same point. Severe chromatic aberration gives a noticeable fringing or a halo effect around sharp edges within the picture. It can be cured in software.

Apochromatic lenses have special lens elements (aspheric, extra-low dispersion etc) to minimize the problem, hence they usually cost more.

For this review, the lens was tested on a Sony a7r camera body using Imatest.

Flare control is excellent and is unlikely to be a problem. Multi-coating is obviously very effective and in any event, with just six elements in the lens construction, there is a smaller chance of internal reflections.

Centrally, sharpness starts off well with a very good performance at f/1.8. This becomes excellent at the peak of f/2.8 to f/4, showing the general tendency of modern lenses to peak quite early at wider apertures. Results are very good from f/5.6 to f/11 and are still of a good standard at f/16 and f/22.

The edges do not fare so well and are soft by comparison. Results can be described as fair, but f/8 and f/11 do deliver a good level of sharpness.

Value For Money

The Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 appears to be aimed at the “nifty fifty” market, but the price of £239 does pitch it a little high. It is almost inevitable that this price will fall to more realistic levels over time. When this happens, the lens will be a much more attractive proposition.

The full frame competition would be from DSLR lenses. The Canon 50mm f/1.8 STM lens is priced at £97, the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 G AF-S at £169 and the SMC Pentax-DA 50mm f/1.8 (APS-C format) at £89. These prices can vary quite dramatically so it is worth looking out for bargains.

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