Contents
Conclusion
Pros
- Compact and well-built body handles beautifully on the camera
- Autofocus is fast and accurate
- Excellent manual focus feel
- Images are sharp right from f/2.8 across most of the frame, and stopped down, images are sharp throughout
- Outstanding contrast provides plenty of pop while still producing pleasing portraits
- Excellent color that is vibrant without being oversaturated
- Minimal distortion
- Excellent control of chromatic aberration
- Low vignetting
- Fairly good bokeh
Cons
- Fairly expensive for a 35mm f/2.8 prime, at $800 US
- Flare can be an issue with light sources near the edges of the frame
- Really should be f/2 for the price
Carl Zeiss and Sony have created an excellent wide-angle lens for the FE lineup. The lens produces images that are sharp and contrasty, with excellent color, low aberrations and fast autofocus in a small, lightweight and well-built package. The lens handles beautifully on the A7, and indeed, many shooters will feel at home being able to shove an A7 or A7r with this lens into a jacket pocket and get extremely high image quality out of this portable combo.
The only real downside to the lens is that it’s not a very fast lens, especially given the price. For $800, this really should be an f/2 lens, especially as a 35mm option on a full-frame camera. The lens is only $100 less expensive than Fuji’s 23mm f/1.4, which is two full stops faster, allows for one full stop shallower depth of field and has similar optical quality (and in some ways superior optical quality). Canon’s 35mm f/2 IS for their SLRs is $200 cheaper, a stop faster and has image stabilization. The modest maximum aperture, while keeping size down, negates one of the big benefits of a full-frame camera, and that’s the ability to use faster lenses and get shallower depth of field. If they had chosen to make a slightly larger f/2 lens with similar quality, and charge slightly more, most people would have no need for any other 35mm lens. As it is, Sony or Zeiss will likely end up adding a 35mm f/1.4 to the system, which given the prices of current FE lenses, will likely cost an arm and a leg.
On its merits alone, however, it is an excellent lens. Whether it is worth the money to you will be up to the individual, but know that if you do shell out the cash, you’ll be gaining an outstanding optic in a small, well-built package.
Image Samples
Click on an image to enlarge
Thanks for the down to earth review of the Sony/Zeiss 35mm Sonnar. I am about to buy one of these for my Sony a7.
If you think that this lens is expensive in the USA you will have to pay £700 GBP if you lived here in the UK.
Fortunately for me a friend is hopefully bringing me one from the states this week for $800 = £487GBP.
Well, thats Cameron’s rip off Britain for you !
Thanks a lot for the review. Very nice images here, but the real reason for my post is I can’t resist pointing out that in your “shadow of myself” shot, your shadow bears an uncanny resemblance to that of Chief Wiggum from The Simpsons. I assume we can’t see his right arm because he’s busy eating a doughnut!
Great review. I just got the a7rii with the 35 mm. Its a Great lens, because it’s so portable – AND for aVIDEO it’s perfect, since I like to use the 35 mm crop, so it’s equivalent to a 50mm. The continuous focus in video works great as well on this versatile lens! However, I’m looking forward to try out my NIKON nikkor 50 mm 1.4 on this camera! Also a small , light and much cheaper lens with fine results on the Nikon.
Ps. What do you recommend for editing the new raw format on mac? Lightroom / photoshop? Aperture can’t handle those files…
Interesting. I just sent mine back because the vignetting was terrible but when I look at your shots I can’t see it. Almost like mine was faulty. I was shooting jpeg,f8,shadow comp auto, hood off on an A7R and still had bad drop off – not just in the corners but up the whole side. And it was not symmetrical as the right side was slightly worse than the left. I don’t understand why the camera did not compensate?
Peter, I have the Nikkor AIS 50mm 1.4 with a Fotodiox adapter and it is excellent on the A7R. Far better than I expected and far better than the afore mentioned FE 35/f2.8. It is not as sharp as the FE but it is very sharp and consistent across the frame with no vignetting at all. Jpeg straight out of the camera with no correction is all excellent across the frame. It is obviously a bit mushy at 1.4 but still good and by f2.8 everything is great. By f5.6/f8 it’s incredible. I have owned that lens for 25 years! I even toyed with buying a second hand Nikkor AIS 35/f1.4 to replace the FE 35/2.8 but that is probably pushing my luck!
Everything is very open with a very clear description of the issues.
It was definitely informative. Your website is useful.
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for this review! It would be extremely interesting to compare this lens to canon 40mm f2.8 + adapter combination. The size and focal length are close to the zeiss, the price is only one third of the zeiss’.
Great review, very thorough. I have after much searching found the lens I’m looking for. Once again great review and thanks.
Interesting to see this one against the almost identical Samyang 35 2.8!