Sony SEL35F18 35mm f/1.8 Prime Fixed Lens

MAKE SURE you update your lens' firmware (and camera firmware) to get the most from this lens. I have this, and the 50mm prime from Sony and I love both of them. I'm not an expert but I can tell you practically what these lenses are good for: - the 35mm is better for making sure you get SHOTS IN FOCUS (much more forgiving depth of field), it's better for video (because you don't want to use autofocus for video), and it gives you a wider field of view of course. It is similar to a 50mm on a 35mm. - the 50mm has more "reach" (zoomed in more if you like) and a smaller field of view. However, you get a MUCH shallower depth of field which makes getting beautiful bokeh very easy. That said, it can also make it a royal pain to get things in focus because especially at close range, the depth of field is super shallow. Still good for video, when you can't be right up in the action, but less useful than the 35mm. The 50mm is also going to show more hand movement (even with OSS) than the 35mm though OSS is EXCELLENT on both. The 1.8 aperture is good for indoors and low light situations, again, with the depth of field issue in mind for the 50mm. In confined spaces the 35mm would be better for both field of view and depth of field reasons ESPECIALLY in low light. I can generally shoot video at 1/50th at ISO 100 or 200 with some help from some small portable LED lights with no issues whatsoever. If you have any of the NEX cameras, then you probably know that you need to stay below ISO 400-800 for video unless you're a fan of noise. While it's fine up to ISO 1600, you really get a much nicer quality video in the lower ISO numbers. Past ISO 1600 you might as well be using a cheap camcorder. The 1.8 really opens up that door and when used properly can produce some really nice looking video. The 35mm also doesn't SEEM to moire as badly as the 50mm. I'm not sure if my 50mm is sharper than my 50mm or what the technical reason is, I just know that while moire is still present (that's a camera body issue not a lens one), it's not as bad in stuff I shoot with the 35mm. While I prefer my 50mm for the image it produces raw, I usually reach for my 35mm when I'm going to be walking around or maybe covering a birthday party or something silly like that. Mostly because I find that 35mm is wide enough for most indoor shots, though I might take my 16-50 with me in case I really need that super wide angle for some reason. If you can only pick one, between the 50 and the 35mm. I'd say that if you do a lot of video or shooting in something like a bedroom sized room (10x10) that you might want to grab the 35mm. It's more flexible than the 50mm. I do use the 50 quite a lot though. Oh, and the 35mm is roughly the size of the 16-50 kit lens, the 50mm is much larger and heavier to boot. That said, if you want that delicious bokeh, the 50mm is better for stills imho. As far as image quality...well, I'll leave that up to the pixel peepers and lens experts to explain. They look pretty sharp to me and BLOW THE KIT LENS AWAY.

EDIT #2: I have gotten ahold of and thoroughly tested the new Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8, with a review both here on Amazon and my website. Though the below review still stands, the Zeiss is overall an optically better lens. For handheld low-light and video applications, the Sony inches ahead. EDIT: As of February 4th, Sony has officially announced the release of a firmware update to the NEX-5r/6 to allow this lens (and many others) to function with the on-sensor PDAF. There is now even less to complain about on this lens' performance. END EDIT Original Review: I've already written a rather extensive review of this fine lens on my website (look up Matthew Durr Photography if you want to read more detailed information), but let me distill down the lens' major high points and bottom low points: The Good: -Even on the NEX-7, the 35mm f/1.8 provides good to great sharpness at most apertures -The OSS gives about 3-4 stops of shutter speed advantage, depending on how steady your hands are -Out-of-focus areas are generally pleasing for a lens of this type, save for some busyness with complex backgrounds (tree branches, for example) -Extremely compact, focuses quick, and is a good value for the money The Bad: -Even being a good value (the OSS is accounting for a majority of the lens' cost), $450 for a 52.5mm f/2.8 equivalent Field-of-View lens (on a full-frame 35mm sensor) is pretty high -Longitudinal chromatic aberrations at the wider apertures, mainly in the backgrounds, can be distracting (but can mostly be edited out) Okay, so why did I give it five stars with the above listed cons? It's simple. In nearly every shooting situation that calls for the 50mm field-of-view, this 35mm f/1.8 delivers. Low-light? OSS. Subject separation? f/1.8 Sharp landscapes? Shoot at f/5.6. Traveling? It's a compact kit! Ignore the naysayers griping about how it's not compatible with the NEX5r/6's PDAF yet, or that it's "just as good" as the kit lens at 35mm. For one, Sony will surely come out with an update eventually to allow the PDAF to function (though it isn't needed for anything besides moving subjects). Secondly, this lens lets in over five times as much light wide-open than the kit lens does at 35mm. This means that, all other image parameters made equal, a shot taken at 1/10 with the kit lens can be accomplished at 1/50 with this lens. Or, given the same shutter speed in a low-light scenario, the 35mm f/1.8 can shoot at ISO 400 while the kit lens' camera has to go up to over ISO 1600. Bottom line? The 35mm f/1.8 is a great lens that provides excellent image quality at the "normal" field-of-view that so many NEX photographers have been waiting for since the camera line's inception.

Ho comprato questa lente per montarla sulla Sony alpha 6600 come "prime" luminosa "normale" ed è perfetta per lo scopo. E' una lente solo APS-C, con una "focale equivalente" di 52 mm rapportata al full frame, quindi perfetta per l'uso tuttofare. E' compatta e leggera e si adatta perfettamente alle dimensioni contenute della 6600 senza sbilanciarla. Nonostante il peso ridotto (circa 150 g) l'ottica è stabilizzata e consente scatti fermi a mano libera con tempi di 1/15s senza alcuna difficoltà. E ben realizzata, con barilotto interamente di alluminio e attacco in acciaio. Ha una ghiera di messa a fuoco manuale che per chi come me non era abituato a sony è un po' "strana": infatti non muove direttamente le lenti ma agisce come servocomando per la messa a fuoco manuale che deve essere abilitata sul corpo macchina. Il suo pregio principale comunque sono le qualità ottiche: è una lente nitida anche a tutta apertura (f1.8) con buona resa sia al centro che ai bordi. Chiusa a f.2.8 migliora significativamente e da f4 in su è eccellente in tutto il fotogramma. A f1.8 ha un bokeh davvero bello e morbido, che è il motivo per cui l'ho comprata ed è perfetto per i ritratti. H anche un buon contrasto e una buona resa dei colori. Ancora più impressionante è l'autofocus: è un fulmine, mai provato nulla del genere! Oltre ad essere velocissimo è molto accurato e totalmente silenzioso perfetto per il fuoco continuo durante i video. La lente non si estende fuocheggiando pertanto non cambia il suo bilanciamento su Gimbal. L'unico difetto ottico che ho potuto notare è un po' di aberrazione cromatica (purple fringing a green fringing) nelle situazioni ad alto contrasto molto luminose, ma è perfettamente correggibile quindi non è un grosso problema. Complessivamente è una lente eccellente per la sua fascia e non credo si possa trovare nulla di meglio a questo prezzo e con queste dimensioni. Consigliatissima!

The best prime lens , beautiful bokeh , focus and auto focus performance, bought it for my sony aps c 6400 camera , go for it

1er punto el artículo llegó antes de lo esperado 2do punto la calidad de construcción es excelente 3er punto lo compre el black friday a muy buen precio lo que lo convirtió en una calidad precio buenísima 4to punto yo venía del 16-50 en mi a6000 y este lente supone un nivel mucho más arriba en calidad de mis fotos 5to punto la distancia focal lo hace un lente mucho muy versátil no necesitas alejarte tanto de los sujetos y al mismo tiempo su distancia de enfoque es de solo 30cm Pides hacer fotografía de productos y alimentos, puedes hacer retratos y hasta paisaje, es un lente que muy difícilmente quitarás de tu cámara 6to la nitidez es brutal y el bokeh muy bien logrado MUY RECOMENDADO SIN DUDA ALGUNA

I bought this prime lens for my Sony a6000 after feeling a bit limited with the 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 kit lens that came with it. I have to say that I am really glad I bought this lens, although it was also on sale at the time which sweetened the deal and I had kept an eye on it for a while. The difference between f3.5 on the kit lens and the f1.8 on this lens really is impressive, I have attached some photos of thistles that were shot on this lens at that f-number which are (in my opinion) really nice. There is also a long exposure shot attached as well that is shot at a much greater f11 for 13 seconds. The thing I like most about this prime lens is that it feels like a great upgrade to the kit lens as it forces you to develop new skills and try new techniques. For example, that long exposure shot was the first I had ever tried something like that before, I sort of knew what to do in theory but it was not until I found something I could rest my camera on (I did not have a tripod at this point), stick a filter on the front of the lens (which I had never used before) and punched in some ballpark settings for a long exposure shot and waited to see if it would work. I was so surprised at how well the photos came out (in my eyes). I think the great thing about this lens is it is sharp, it has the optical steady shot (OSS) stabilisation built into the lens, which the a6000 lacks in the body. Essentially meaning the lens will correct for hand shudder when you are not using a tripod. For a beginner like myself, or someone with a camera that lacks in-body image stabilisation (IBIS) it is a great bonus to have. I do not tend to shoot much video but from what I have read it becomes more important if you are walking around videoing or vlogging with it so it is worth bearing in mind if that is how you plan to use it. I was torn between this and the Sigma 30mm f1.4, which would be the main rival to this lens from what I can tell. I was undecided on which of the two I would buy until this lens came down in price on sale, and if I am honest, from what I have read you probably won't go wrong with either as they both get rave reviews. As this is a Sony lens I would imagine the autofocus is slightly better than the Sigma but I can't honestly say that as I do not have the Sigma lens to compare, the autofocus is good but it can struggle in certain situations, although I am not skilled enough to know if that is due to error on my part in those situations! In conclusion, I am really happy with this lens, I feel like the main reason I got this prime lens was to try and develop new skills which is exactly what I have been able to do. It is light, compact, has OSS and comes with it's own lens hood and rear cap - which for some reason the kit lens lacks - which are all nice attributes for this as a whole package. If you are in doubt about what to get, read reviews and watch youtube clips about them, I found that really helpful. It feels like a bit of a risk every time you spend money on a lens and I felt the same when buying this, but I am really glad I did. Hope this helps!

Black Friday döneminin ortasında olmasına rağmen akşam sipariş ettiğim bu ürin ertesi sabah elimdeydi. Kit lens haricinde bir lens almayı düşünenlere bu lensi rahatlıkla önerebilirim. Auto-Focus hızı, keskinliği, bokeh etkisi fiyatına göre tatmin edici.