Sony FE 35mm 1.8

The Sony FE 35mm f/1.8 is a decent performer but it doesn't excel in all categories. In terms of resolution, it is basically as good as it gets in the image center but the corners are "only" good to very good at mainstream settings and fairly weak corners at f/1.8. Lateral CAs are on the high side although this can be easily corrected. The slight pincushion distortion isn't an obstacle for auto-correction either. The same can't be said about vignetting which is very high in RAW files and still visible with activated auto-correction. The quality of the bokeh is pretty good, especially in the image background. Bokeh fringing (LoCA) can be visible at large-aperture settings though. The build quality is pretty good without reaching pro levels. You can feel that the outer metal shell is fairly thin but Sony made a decent effort for a consumer-grade lens. The chassis is dust- and moisture-resistant and it doesn't extend during focusing - as it should be. The broad focus ring is very smooth to operate. The AF is quick and noiseless. It would have been nice if Sony implemented an optical image stabilizer. However, most Sony cameras feature IBIS these days so it's an understandable decision in order to keep the costs at bay. The Sony FE 35mm f/1.8 is certainly a very reasonable option in this market segment. Thanks to its aperture of f/1.8, it avoids the bulk and costs of f/1.4 or f/1.2 lenses while still being way faster than any zoom lens. As such, it resides in a sweet spot albeit maybe not the most exciting one.

The Sony FE 35mm f/1.8 is a moderate-wide-angle prime lens for Sony Alpha full-frame and APS-C E-mount mirrorless cameras. It features 11 elements in 9 groups including one aspherical element to help reduce aberrations and field curvature, is dust- and moisture-resistant, and has a minimum focusing distance of 22cm with a maximum magnification of 0.24x. It features a near-circular 9 blade diaphragm which creates an attractive blur to the out-of-focus areas of the image, a customizable focus hold button, and an internal focusing mechanism which means the lens barrel doesn't move.

The Sony FE 35mm F1.8 is one of Sony's most versatile primes, worthy of serious consideration by all Sony full-frame shooters who desire high quality in a small, lightweight package. Autofocus is swift, and it's extremely sharp wide open. The lens renders out-of-focus areas very smoothly, but purple and green fringing can be an issue in high contrast situations.

The Sony FE 35mm f1.8 is a very good addition to Sony's 35mm full-frame lenses: It surpasses both its 35mm ZA siblings in optical performance but stays small and light, and has a reasonable price tag. It may not have the Bokeh of some larger aperture alternatives and I wish it would have less field-curvature around the APS-C-corner. But the nice magnification with very usable quality in close-up shooting and the multi-function focus hold button add up to an attractive package and makes Sony's new 35mm lens well worth a recommendation