Contents
Image Quality
Be prepared for lots of superlatives in this section. Most macro lenses tend to be optically excellent; high magnification photography demands well-corrected optics. However the Sony 90mm puts itself in the top-tier even among macro lenses.
Sharpness
The Sony 90mm Macro is sharp, essentially everywhere, right from f/2.8. While the absolute corners aren’t tack sharp at f/2.8, they are plenty usable. It isn’t as sharp as it gets wide open, but stop down a bit and the images are extremely crisp from corner to corner. This is especially true from the macro range to medium focus distances, such would be used in portraiture. Check out the image below for a portrait example at f/2.8. To see the sharpness, click here for a 100% crop of the eyes. When shooting distant subjects, things aren’t quite as sharp at f/2.8 as they are closer up, but the lens still produces images with plenty of resolution. Stopped down, the 90mm is just as good at infinity as it is in the macro range.
The 90mm f/2.8 also performs very well on APS-C E-mount cameras. Using my a6000, I found that overall resolution is slightly worse than on full frame, but still excellent. Here, the 90mm has the same field of view as a classic 135mm lens on full frame, providing nice framing for portraits, as well as providing a bit more working distance when shooting macro (for the same framing).
Bokeh
The Sony 90mm has fairly good bokeh. Like almost all macro lenses, the bokeh is exceptionally creamy when shooting in the macro range. This is largely a function of the extreme amounts of blur created by the very shallow depth of field when focusing ultra-close. Further away, the bokeh is more hit and miss. In certain circumstances, backgrounds can become a bit busy, and there’s a swirly nature to the bokeh towards the edges of the frame. It’s never terrible in these situations, but it’s certainly not as smooth and nice as it is at closer focus distances. The image below shows the excellent blur capable in the macro range.
Color, Contrast and Chromatic Aberration
The Sony 90mm f/2.8 Macro puts in an excellent performance when it comes to color and contrast. Color is rich and vibrant throughout the aperture and focus range, and contrast remains on a high level in all circumstances as well. There is a real bite to the images taken with this lens, with crisp detail and tone definition. At no point does any spherical aberration harm contrast, even at closest focusing distance.
Chromatic aberration is also extremely well controlled. While not apochromatic, it’s not too far off. Only the slightest hint of longitudinal CA can be seen in front of and behind the focus point and then only if viewing very high contrast subjects such as black text on white paper. Lateral CA is also very well controlled. A very impressive performance here indeed.
Distortion, Flare and Vignetting
Like most macro lenses, the Sony 90mm f/2.8 G has very low distortion. There is no field relevant distortion to speak of, as straight lines remain straight. Vignetting is decently controlled, with some visible corner darkening at f/2.8 that is mostly gone by f/4 and completely gone by f/5.6.
Flare generally isn’t a concern with this lens either. Part of that is due to the nature of the lens: as a telephoto lens, there often aren’t a lot of situations where this becomes an issue. Shooting into the sun, I saw no major ghosting. Some minor reduction of contrast in the vicinity of the sun was visible, but it’s still quite manageable. With smaller point light sources up close, some complex ghosting can be induced, but I don’t think it’s something that you need to worry about in everyday shooting.
Thanks Jordan for your detailed and interesting review of the lens. It helped me to make my decision of buying it.
I’ve been a Nikon and Hasselblad (enthusiast) photographer since the 60’s. I’ve also worked as a constructor/designer on the Hasselblad camera factory during the 80’s (here in Gothenburg, Sweden).
4 years ago I went over to have mirrorless equiment (Fujifilm and Sony) in my bag – and I will never regret that!
All my earlier Nikon and Hasselblad cameras (and lenses) are nowdays placed in a private little museum – so I easier will be able to explain for my grandchildren what SLR cameras (and film) once was…
Best Regards
Mikael
Sweden
PS
Your images, specially on the insects, are incredible. I’m sure thats not only because of your use of the actually equipment – it’s even more because of your professional knowledge!
Did you try it on the Sony A6000?
My thoughts on the lens on the a6000 are in the review.
Please test Leica DG 45mm F2.8 Macro
according to lens design patent FE90G is reference form Leica DG45mm F2.8
the lens structure is also very similar
I am keen to know which one is better? or they perform very like?
I owned the 45mm f/2.8 Macro a while back, though I don’t plan to write a formal review on it. It’s a very good lens, but to be honest, I prefer the Olympus 60mm for Micro 4/3. I did compare those two lenses a ways back: https://admiringlight.com/blog/macro-battle-olympus-60mm-f2-8-vs-leica-45mm-f2-8/
https://admiringlight.com/blog/macro-battle-part-2-olympus-60mm-vs-leica-45mm/
Since you’ve reviewed both do you have any thoughts on comparing the Sony 90 to the Fuji 90? I own both systems and am leaning towards the Sony for stabilization. I’m also thinking the Fuji has better IQ especially with regards to sharpness.
Thanks for all your efforts, it’s nice to get your thorough reviews before I make these extravagant investments!
With regards to sharpness, there’s almost nothing between them. Both are exceptionally sharp lenses. I can’t imagine a situation where one would notice a significant difference in sharpness. I think the Fuji 90 has better bokeh, and image stabilization does come in handy on the Sony. The big difference is one is a macro lens and one isn’t (though the Fuji can focus fairly close up for flower shots and the like). The Sony is larger and the Fuji focuses a lot more surely in dim light….different lenses that just happen to share a focal length.
Hi,
Have a few questions of the FE 2.8 use with the a6000.
Are all of the controls on the FE 2.8 Macro compatible with the a6006
Will there be any vignetting when using the FE 2.8 with the a6000?
Should the Steady Shot on the camera be turned off if you use Optical Steady Shot on the a6000?
Thanks for your thoughts on these questions.
Yes, no, and there isn’t any steady shot in the body of the a6000.
Jordan Hello , I have this lens a month ago and I’ve used both the A6000 and the A7II .
I am very pleased with the quality, extraordinary detail and color representation .
However I am not satisfied with the approach in situations of low light or backlight can not focus and also the absolute size of the lens cap light assistance approach.
I do not regret buying , but I think it is a lens that can not be used at social events or weddings and other similar situations.
I agree with you. I note the same behavior in this review. The lens can really struggle to find focus in lower light. I didn’t have this lens and the A7R II at the same time, but I wonder if it would be better on that body. I found the A7R II to focus much more surely in lower light with my other lenses.
Thanks for answering my comment.
Another thing that I found is that the lens for focusing required to be attentive to properly position the distance limiter correctly , otherwise also in good light situations may have trouble focusing quickly.
I am not having any trouble with focussing in low light with the FE 90 macro and the A7r II. Using the focus limiter does help in all light situations.
Jordan
Please excuse my ignorance in using this lens but I have a few what may seem like some simple questions
You said in your review that “It’s a good idea to turn off exposure preview when using this lens” I am not sure what you are referring to with “exposure preview. Also, what model Sony do you think would be best for use with the FE 90 Macro. And what exposure mode would you recommend when shooting insects in the macro mode?
No problem. I probably should have explained better. Sony cameras are odd in that they will focus at whatever aperture you have set if you have live exposure preview on. (Most manufacturers will preview exposure but no depth of field, thus focusing the lens wide open and stopping down when the exposure is made. Sony will keep the aperture open if exposure preview is off, but will attempt to focus with the lens stopped down to, say, f/8 if the exposure settings are set to f/8. This reduces precision and, in lower light, may make it difficult to achieve focus at all. With the 90mm indoors, it’s important any time you are setting the aperture smaller than f/2.8. With macro shooting, this is going to be most of the time.
The specific setting is (on the A7 II menus) Live View Display (gears tab, page 3). To turn preview off it should say Setting Effect Off. The down side to this is that exposure adjustments won’t be reflected in the live view. I really wish Sony would change this so that you could focus wide open but still have live exposure preview. All the other mirrorless manufacturers do this, but Sony is the odd one out for some reason.
Jordan, thank you for your notes. I also purchased this lens for my A7R, and have experienced the same frustrating issues you have in low light. I disabled the Live View Display, as you noted, and unfortunately, it made no difference for my A7R. By chance however, I disabled the ‘Pre-AF” setting (located just below the Live View Display). At least for the A7R – it has greatly improved the autofocus capabilities in low light situations – why I’m not sure, but wanted to pass this along in case it helps other people! I created a custom menu so I can toggle on/off.
Can this lens be considered as hybrid macro/portrait .. compared to zeiss batis 85mm ?
How would you compare Sony 90mm. with Zeiss Batis 85mm. if I have to choose between the two. I Photographers slightly different things and can see several advantages with Sony 90mm., but is it good enough for serious portraits?
Many greetings from
Jess Demant Aggeboe (Denmark)
It’s definitely good enough, though a few things to consider. Of course, the Batis can blur the background more for the same framing and the 90 can do macro. If either of those are more important than the other, then there’s your decision. However, I also found the 90 to have a harder time focusing in dim light, so if you shoot in lower light, the Batis will do a nicer job at getting you the shot.
I’m looking to purchase a macro lense for my a6000. If you had to choose between the Zeiss touit 50mm 2.8 and the Sony FE 90mm 2.8 which would you choose?
Thank you!
It depends on what you’re shooting. Both are optically excellent. If you plan on shooting a lot of insects, I’d get the 90, as it will give you much better working distance. The Touit 50 has a very short working distance at 1:1. If you’ll be shooting mostly static macro, I’d go for the Zeiss, as it’ll handle a fair bit better on the a6000.
^ *lens 😉
Hi, should I turn the steady shot off on the FE 90mm macro lens as well as Image Stabilisation in my A7Rii when using a tripod
Thanks for this great review. Bought the lens yesterday and could test it now on my Sony A7R II. What a perfect “couple”: Daisy
Jordan– I have to say I’m impressed by your macro shots. I have the Sony 90mm and the a7RII that I use for macro as well as the a7SII for low-light. I know that the Sony can’t get down close enough to fill the frame with an insect in full-frame, so I assume your fly shots were cropped a little bit. Would you care to fill us in on some of the technique you used, such as lighting and how you set up your flower to get the fly to land on it, etc?
Another great review! For the times that you failed to find focus at all in dim light, was exposure preview turned on or off? Thanks.
You Missed an important factor. Since the focal length changes in Manual, it impossible to do focus stacking. Never had a macro lens that did that and focus stacking always worked. Why did Sony do that?