Admiring Light
Menu
  • Home
  • Review Index
  • Shop Talk
  • Technique and Vision
  • Opinion
  • Portfolio
  • Site Index
  • About
    • Privacy Policy
Menu

Review: Sony FE 50mm f/1.8

Posted on May 28, 2016November 13, 2019 by Jordan Steele

Contents

  • 1Construction and Handling
  • 2Image Quality
  • 3Conclusion
  • 4Sample Images

Conclusion

Pros

  • Decent resolution wide open and excellent sharpness stopped down
  • Very pleasing bokeh
  • Lightweight and compact
  • Well constructed for the price
  • Excellent color and contrast
  • Good control of lateral chromatic aberration
  • Low distortion
  • Reasonably priced

Cons

  • Autofocus is slow, noisy and can struggle to lock focus in low light or stopped down Edit: with firmware v03, Autofocus is reasonably quick and very accurate in a variety of shooting conditions, but can still struggle in backlit situations.
  • Some softness at f/1.8, especially close up
  • Longitudinal CA can be an issue in some cases
  • Average flare performance

The FE 50mm f/1.8 is a tough one to judge.  Optically, it’s really a very good lens.  It’s very sharp over almost the entire aperture range, it has beautiful color and contrast and very pleasing bokeh.  It’s also got low distortion and while the flare performance isn’t great, it’s not the worst I’ve seen.  While the cons list above is short, the first one is the only major issue with the lens, but it’s quite significant.  To be blunt, the autofocus on this lens sucks. It’s slow, it can struggle to lock in low light, it has some trouble stopped down even in good light Thankfully, Sony has remedied most of the earlier autofocus woes with the latest firmware.  While there are faster focusing lenses out there for sure, the FE 50mm f/1.8 on firmware 3 is plenty capable for everyday shooting. The DC motor used for focusing is a bit noisy.

When comparing to the venerable 55mm f/1.8, you get slightly less background blur and a bit softer images wide open.  Otherwise, the two lenses actually compare very favorably when looking at the optics.

But ultimately, when you consider whether you should buy the FE 50mm f/1.8, the question you have to ask is: how important is quick autofocus to my shooting?  If you can wait for it to lock, or will be using the lens for tripod work and can manually focus, it’s quite an outstanding lens. If you are planning on using the lens for event shooting or other situations where fast and accurate autofocus is critical, you’ll want to give this lens a pass and move to the FE 55mm f/1.8.

With the autofocus on the FE 50mm f/1.8 now predominantly fixed via firmware update, the choice between these two lenses becomes much more difficult. The 55mm f/1.8 does still focus a little faster, and much more quietly.  It’s also a little sharper at wide apertures, and more even throughout the frame stopped down.  However, given the wide gulf in cost, I think the average shooter will probably be better served by the 50mm f/1.8.  If you are a big 50/55mm fan, and will use the lens for a large portion of your work, or require a quieter focus motor (think weddings), the 55mm f/1.8 will be the one you’ll want. However, for daily shooting, I think most photographers will be better served by going with the 50mm and putting the extra $750 towards another lens or two.

Sample Images

Click on an image to enlarge

Blue Diamonds - Sony A7 II with Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 @ f/8
Blue Diamonds – Sony A7 II with Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 @ f/11
Dandelion - Sony A7 II with Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 @ f/1.8
Dandelion – Sony A7 II with Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 @ f/1.8
Columbus at Sunrise - Sony A7 II with Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 @ f/11 (stitch of 5 two-shot HDR images)
Columbus at Sunrise – Sony A7 II with Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 @ f/11 (stitch of 5 two-shot HDR images)

 

Pink - Sony A7 II with Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 @ f/1.8
Pink – Sony A7 II with Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 @ f/1.8
Black Curves - Sony A7 II with Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 @ f/8
Black Curves – Sony A7 II with Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 @ f/9
Columns and Glass - Sony A7 II with Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 @ f/11
Columns and Glass – Sony A7 II with Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 @ f/11
Highway Sun - Sony A7 II with Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 @ f/5.6
Highway Sun – Sony A7 II with Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 @ f/8
Flowers in the City - Sony A7 II with Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 @ f/1.8
Flowers in the City – Sony A7 II with Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 @ f/1.8
Natural Window - Sony A7 II with Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 @ f/8
Natural Window – Sony A7 II with Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 @ f/16 (focus stack of three images)
Glass and Columns - Sony A7 II with Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 @ f/11
Glass and Columns – Sony A7 II with Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 @ f/11

 

Pages: 1 2 3

9 thoughts on “Review: Sony FE 50mm f/1.8”

  1. Pingback: Sony 24-70mm Gm review by Digitalrev: “it’s stupendously good” | sonyalpharumors
  2. Michael Jardeen says:
    May 29, 2016 at 7:32 pm

    Your review is spot on with mine. I got mine the 1st day they were delivered and returned it after 2 week. Perhaps if Sony does a firmware update to allow Phase Detection in the A7II and older I would reconsider, but as it they should have spent an extra $50 to provide a better AF. I was so irritated to have to return it.

    Reply
    1. Joel says:
      August 29, 2016 at 1:45 pm

      Agree with your frustration, it sucks to be hampered by such an obvious drawback, and I wish this was a first for Sony. However, I think it is a bit more complicated than a $50 upgraded part. The 50 1.8 is the only FE lens (to my knowledge) that does use an SLR design (double guass—like most nifty fifties) and moves the entire optical component instead of using internal focus. Moving that much mass in a CDAF system is difficult. Fuji’s original 35mm f1.4 struggled as well for the same reason I believe. Certainly a better motor would help but even the top shelf GM 85mm (which is internal focus but uses much heavier elements) is relatively slow.

      I hope you’re right and improvements in Sony’s PDAF system will yield acceptable results in the new low- mid-range A7 models. For now I’m sticking with the FE 55mm. I waiting patiently and snagged my copy (very good) for ~$500. Still much more than the 50 but closer…

      Reply
      1. Aaron says:
        September 9, 2016 at 2:31 pm

        You can’t paint all double Gauss lenses as a SLR designs, especially when it comes to 50mm. There are quite a few 50mm dougle Gauss rangefinder lenses, plenty of RF double Gauss lenses at 35mm and 90mm as well. Obviously a lot of double Gauss SLR lenses as well, but that doesn’t make it an “SLR design.” A double Gauss makes a lot of sense for RF flange distances between 35-90mm. I think there were even double Gauss 28mm lenses (Canon LTM IIRC), something you could never pull off on an SLR.

        Reply
  3. Radek says:
    September 20, 2016 at 8:35 am

    Quick update – after latest firmware update on 09/09 autofocus is much better (although not perfect). Tested on a6k, continuous focus works quite good, singiel is improved and works “ok”.

    Reply
  4. Pingback: Review: Sony Zeiss FE 50mm f/1.4 ZA Planar T* - Admiring Light
  5. Pingback: ???????FE??????? FE 50mm F1.8 ?????????????????? | ?????????????
  6. Pingback: ??? FE 50mm F1.8??????????????AF???????????? | ?????????????
  7. Pingback: Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 Lens Review | GearOpen

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Follow Me:

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterFollow Us on RSSFollow Us on Instagram

Most Popular Posts

  • "Full Frame Equivalence" and Why It Doesn't Matter (286)
  • Fuji X-Pro 2 vs. Sony A7 II: Noise Comparison (70)
  • Fuji 56mm f/1.2 vs. Panasonic Leica 42.5mm f/1.2 Nocticron (63)
  • Review: Metabones Speed Booster (Canon FD to Fuji X) (56)
  • Review: Olympus OM-D E-M5 (48)

Recent Comments

  • Eric Wojtkun on My Favorite Photos of 2020
  • Harry on Review: Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VXD
  • Jordan Steele on Review: Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VXD
  • Harry on Review: Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VXD
  • Harry on Review: Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

Archives

©2021 Admiring Light | Theme by SuperbThemes
We use cookies to personalize content and ads and to analyze our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you’ve provided to them or that they’ve collected from your use of their services. You may consent to the use of cookies or opt out. Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.