{"id":2829,"date":"2013-12-27T13:28:58","date_gmt":"2013-12-27T18:28:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/?p=2829"},"modified":"2013-12-27T13:43:58","modified_gmt":"2013-12-27T18:43:58","slug":"review-sony-carl-zeiss-fe-35mm-f2-8-sonnar-t-za","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/review-sony-carl-zeiss-fe-35mm-f2-8-sonnar-t-za\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Carl Zeiss FE 35mm f\/2.8 Sonnar T* ZA"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the introduction of Sony’s A7 and A7r mirrorless cameras, the E-Mount gains new life, but also some new complications. \u00a0Existing E-Mount lenses are designed to cover an APS-C image circle, and as such, a new line of lenses is required to cover the full-frame image sensors in these new Sony flagships. \u00a0When the cameras were announced, Sony also announced five ‘FE’ lenses, as the full-frame E-Mount lenses are designated. \u00a0Three are designed by Carl Zeiss, AG and bear the Zeiss branding. \u00a0The first available Zeiss FE mount lens is the 35mm f\/2.8 Sonnar. \u00a0 While not stretching any boundaries with maximum aperture, it promises to be a very good lens. \u00a0Let’s see if it meets the lofty expectations.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Carl Zeiss FE 35mm f\/2.8 Sonnar T* ZA, mounted to the Sony A7<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you\u2019re not familiar with my reviews, I review from a real world shooting perspective. \u00a0You won\u2019t find lens charts or resolution numbers here. \u00a0There are plenty of other sites that cover those. \u00a0I review products on how they act for me as a photographic tool in real-world shooting.<\/em><\/p>\n

Around the Lens: Build Quality and Handling<\/h3>\n
\"Carl<\/a>
Carl Zeiss FE 35mm f\/2.8 Sonnar T* ZA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The 35mm f\/2.8 is a small lens, and I think Sony really wanted to make a statement that small lenses could be made for their full frame camera. \u00a0The size does come at the expense of speed, as the f\/2.8 maximum aperture is a little slower than I would like to see. \u00a0One of the advantages of full-frame cameras is the ability to better isolate subject from background, and yet the 35mm f\/2.8 doesn’t isolate the subject as much as something like the 23mm f\/1.4 from Fuji or the Voigtl\u00e4nder 17.5mm f\/0.95 for Micro 4\/3. \u00a0In fact, it isn’t a lot shallower than the 17mm f\/1.8 for Micro 4\/3. \u00a0Regardless of the aperture, however, they did build a very nicely constructed, small and lightweight lens.<\/p>\n

The lens barrel is constructed of lightweight metals, and that extends to the focus ring. \u00a0The lens is tightly assembled and while not very dense, feels very solid in the hand. \u00a0Due to the light weight, it handles beautifully on the camera.<\/p>\n

Included is a very small bayonet mount hood that has its own lens cap. \u00a0The hood is rather effective given its size, and because it is so incredibly small, it takes up essentially no extra space in the bag. \u00a0I wish more hoods were designed like this.<\/p>\n

Focus Performance<\/h3>\n

The FE 35mm f\/2.8 features a very quiet and quite quick autofocus motor. \u00a0When used on the A7, the lens was able to lock on to the subject with minimal delay in most lighting situations. \u00a0In very dim light it slowed down and could hunt a bit, but overall, I was quite impressed by the autofocus speed. \u00a0Accuracy was also excellent.<\/p>\n

When manually focusing, the wide ribbed focus ring felt very good in the hand and has a very nice resistance to it. \u00a0While it doesn’t conjure feelings of a good manual focus helicoid, it still feels nice to operate. \u00a0I’m very glad that Sony\/Zeiss have chosen to continue with the fine ribbed metal focus rings vs. the smooth rubber focus rings that Zeiss is using on their Touit and Otus lines. \u00a0I find that while they offer better grip, the tactile feedback is nonexistent, and I never know how much I’m actually turning them.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The 35mm f\/2.8 with its included lens hood<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Continue: Image Quality<\/a><\/h4>\n

<\/p>\n

Image Quality<\/h3>\n

Sharpness<\/h4>\n
\"Winter<\/a>
Winter Street – Sony A7 with FE 35mm f\/2.8 Sonnar @ f\/7.1 (click to enlarge)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With a moderate aperture and high price tag, the expectations for image quality are high, and the FE 35mm f\/2.8 delivers. \u00a0At f\/2.8, images are very sharp over the vast majority of the frame, with softness only appearing in the very corners. \u00a0Stopped down, the corners improve quite a bit, bringing sharpness to an acceptable level across the image frame. \u00a0The corners never get razor sharp, but they are certainly good enough for most any purpose.<\/p>\n

For me, sharpness is just one metric on a lens to evaluate, but my biggest concern in this regard is: “Can I use it at whatever aperture I choose and get high quality images?” and with the FE 35mm f\/2.8, that is certainly the case.<\/p>\n

Bokeh<\/h4>\n
\"Sunset<\/a>
Sunset – Sony A7 with FE 35mm f\/2.8 Sonnar @ f\/2.8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The FE 35mm f\/2.8 has a somewhat split personality with regards to bokeh. \u00a0At wide apertures and closer focus distances, the background blur is smooth and buttery, lending an excellent look to the images and providing plenty of pop for your subject. \u00a0At further focus distances, the bokeh can get a little nervous, however. \u00a0It’s never truly distracting, but it loses that smooth character a bit the further out you focus.<\/p>\n

There can be some visible onion-ring type texture to specular highlights if you examine them very closely, but they are mild and don’t distract from the image. \u00a0Otherwise, specular highlights tend to be generally evenly illuminated, though occasional light green rings can appear from longitudinal chromatic aberration, but even when this is visible it is mild. \u00a0Overall, a decent performance here.<\/p>\n

Color, Contrast and Chromatic Aberration<\/h4>\n

The FE 35mm f\/2.8 has a typically ‘Zeiss-like’ contrast curve. \u00a0It produces relatively punchy results at all apertures, producing strong contrast without being too overbearing. \u00a0It’s a very well-balanced rendering, which lends impact to static subjects, but is not too harsh for portrait use. \u00a0 \u00a0The color the lens produces is nice and rich, though not as saturated as some other Zeiss lenses I’ve used. \u00a0Overall, the rendering the lens produces is excellent.<\/p>\n

There is virtually no lateral chromatic aberration and only very minimal longitudinal chromatic aberration, though if circumstances are just right, it is possible to see a little of that green fringe in the background and light magenta fringe in the foreground.<\/p>\n

Distortion, Flare and Vignetting<\/h4>\n
\"SR-71<\/a>
SR-71 Blackbird Canopy – Sony A7 with Zeiss FE 35mm f\/2.8 Sonnar T* ZA @ f\/2.8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The FE 35mm f\/2.8 controls distortion quite well, with only very slight barrel distortion appearing, and only then if you are pixel peeping to an extreme degree and lining up the images with a grid. \u00a0In field use, you’ll never see it, and that makes it great for shooting architecture.<\/p>\n

Likewise, vignetting is held to a minimum as well. \u00a0 Indeed, the lens oozes optical quality throughout with the exception of flare control, which I found a bit lacking. \u00a0Even with the hood mounted, light sources on the edge of the frame, either just in or just out of the frame, cause some quite visible flare artifacts, with many little cone-shaped flares surrounding the light source. \u00a0The image to the right shows these, though even here they’ve been somewhat subdued by the processing of the image (I darkened the background, making the colored flares that continued outside the white flare disappear into the black). \u00a0Straight out of camera, the flare is much more visible.<\/p>\n

Overall, the image quality out of the FE 35mm f\/2.8 Sonnar is excellent. \u00a0The lens draws beautifully, with outstanding contrast and color, good distortion control, high image sharpness and fairly good bokeh.<\/p>\n

Continue: Conclusion and Image Samples<\/a><\/h4>\n

<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h3>\n

\"fe35_top\"<\/a>Pros<\/h4>\n