{"id":4580,"date":"2015-01-29T18:24:27","date_gmt":"2015-01-29T23:24:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/?p=4580"},"modified":"2015-01-30T11:17:20","modified_gmt":"2015-01-30T16:17:20","slug":"review-sony-35mm-f1-8-oss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/review-sony-35mm-f1-8-oss\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Sony 35mm f\/1.8 OSS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sony’s APS-C lens lineup has grown steadily over the past several years with several quality prime lenses. One of those lenses is the Sony 35mm f\/1.8 OSS. Almost every camera system in the world has a relatively fast ‘normal’ lens, that is a lens that has a focal length similar to the length of the diagonal of the film or image sensor. While the fast normal prime lens is ubiquitous, only rarely has that normal lens been equipped with optical image stabilization. Of course, stabilization alone without optics to make use of that OSS system doesn’t mean much, so let’s see how this lens performs.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Sony 35mm f\/1.8 OSS on the Sony a6000<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

Construction and Handling<\/h3>\n

The Sony 35mm f\/1.8 is a compact, lightweight lens that is rather unremarkable in the looks department. Frankly, in pictures, I thought it was a somewhat\u00a0ugly and cheap looking lens, so I was pleasantly surprised to see the\u00a0feel of\u00a0the barrel and fit and finish are actually quite nice in person. The lens barrel is constructed of lightweight metal and the lens stays constant length while focusing. The broad focus ring is the only external control, and it too is metal and finely ribbed. The front filter threads and bayonet hood mount are plastic. Overall, the package is tightly assembled and feels very nice in the hand. The focus ring is nicely damped and turns smoothly.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Sony 35mm f\/1.8 OSS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Given the small size of the APS-C Sony bodies, a small lens is a great thing to have, and the 35mm f\/1.8 handles very well on something like the a6000, and should handle well on any E-mount body. Sony includes a petal-type lens hood made of high quality plastics that snaps securely in place and reverses tight to the lens body to keep the overall package very small when stowed in a camera bag.<\/p>\n

Autofocus and Image Stabilization<\/h3>\n

The 35mm f\/1.8 OSS is equipped with a very quiet and quick linear focus motor. The lens focuses quite quickly in almost any situation on the a6000. In dim light, focus definitely slows down, but even in these situations, it’s acceptable in speed\u00a0and maintains high accuracy, even wide open.<\/p>\n

One of the key features of the 35mm f\/1.8 is the Optical Steady Shot (OSS) system, which is Sony’s name for optical image stabilization. The OSS system is marketed as allowing for an additional 4 stops of stabilization for hand-holding. As with most stabilization claims, Sony’s assertion of 4 stops is a bit optimistic. Using the 1\/(35mm effective focal length) rule (which works for me), this would correspond to a typical shutter speed of around 1\/3 second, which is rarely achievable. I do think that 3 stops is a decent estimate of effectiveness, however, as I am able to get consistently sharp shots at speeds between 1\/6 and 1\/10 second. While this isn’t among the best optical stabilization systems I’ve used, it is quite a good showing and adds great extra value for low light shooting.<\/p>\n

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

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Image Quality<\/h3>\n
\"Ohio<\/a>
Ohio Statehouse – Sony a6000 with Sony 35mm f\/1.8 OSS @ f\/4.5<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sharpness<\/h4>\n

Most prime lenses tend to be quite good performers with regards to image sharpness, and the 35mm f\/1.8 OSS is no exception. Images at f\/1.8 are quite sharp in the center and even acceptable on the image borders. No resolution records are going to be set at this aperture, but there is more than enough resolving power for most situations.<\/p>\n

When stopped down, there is nothing to complain about. Images are extremely sharp in the center and still very good all the way to the corners of the frame, and this holds when focusing at any point throughout the focus range. The lens does a wonderful job for landscapes or times you need high-resolution across the image frame. \u00a0Click on the image to the right and then on the green arrow at the bottom to view\u00a0large and examine the sharpness you can expect from this lens.<\/p>\n

Bokeh<\/h4>\n

The Sony 35mm f\/1.8 does a very nice job in most situations with regards to bokeh. While f\/1.8 isn’t blazing fast for a normal prime, it’s certainly wide enough to throw backgrounds pleasingly out of focus at short and mid-range focus distances. The bokeh produced by the lens is quite smooth at closer focus distances and only has a bit of nervousness a bit further away.<\/p>\n

The bokeh isn’t perfect, however. As I’ll discuss further below, out of focus highlights can take on a green outline in some situations, and in the right circumstances, small ‘points’ can appear on specular highlights as shown in the image below. However, in the vast majority of shooting situations, the lens produces quite pleasing blurred backgrounds.<\/p>\n

\"Presents<\/a>
Presents – Sony a6000 with Sony 35mm f\/1.8 OSS @ f\/1.8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

The Sony 35mm f\/1.8 produces images with excellent contrast at smaller apertures and moderate contrast at f\/1.8. This makes it a good choice for environmental portraiture, where harsh contrast can sometimes be undesirable, as well as a nice\u00a0choice for landscapes and street shooting where higher contrast might be preferred. Color is neutrally rendered and takes adjustment well.<\/p>\n

There is very minimal\u00a0lateral chromatic aberration present, but it’s quite easily correctable in any post-processing software. Longitudinal chromatic aberration does show, however, with green shading behind the focus point and a reddish tint to out of focus areas in front of the focus point. In some situations this will show up in the bokeh as noted above, but only tends to be objectionable when out of focus areas are backlit or very high in contrast.<\/p>\n

Distortion, Flare and Vignetting<\/h4>\n

The 35mm f\/1.8 exhibits some mild barrel distortion, but the degree is minor. Only in compositions heavy on straight lines will the distortion become noticeable, and is easily fixed in your post-processing workflow.<\/p>\n

The 35mm f\/1.8 has only mediocre performance against bright light. \u00a0When the sun or a bright light source is near the edge of the frame, the lens does fairly well, but as that source moves towards the inner 1\/3 of the image frame, rather bright green ghosting can occur. \u00a0It’s very easy to see in the viewfinder, so keep an eye out for it and adjust the composition as necessary if you want to avoid flare.<\/p>\n

Overall image quality is on a rather high level. While not among the finest optics I’ve shot with, there are no real dealbreakers either. The lens produces sharp images with good bokeh, nice contrast and relatively minor aberrations.<\/p>\n

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

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\"hood\"<\/a>Conclusion<\/h3>\n

Pros:<\/h4>\n