{"id":5255,"date":"2015-07-15T05:27:42","date_gmt":"2015-07-15T10:27:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/?p=5255"},"modified":"2020-06-03T10:26:52","modified_gmt":"2020-06-03T15:26:52","slug":"review-sony-fe-90mm-f2-8-macro-g-oss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/review-sony-fe-90mm-f2-8-macro-g-oss\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Sony FE 90mm f\/2.8 Macro G OSS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sony has been heavily concentrating on fleshing out the full frame E-mount system with quality lenses, which is something that they didn’t really do with their APS-C e-mount lineup. As such, less than two years after the introduction of the A7, the FE lineup has grown into a rather full featured system. \u00a0Today, I review the Sony FE 90mm f\/2.8 Macro, which fills two key niches in the system: a high quality macro lens and a short telephoto prime. \u00a0This is one of Sony’s top-tier ‘G’ lenses, and as such, expectations are high for good optical quality.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Sony 90mm f\/2.8 Macro G OSS on the Sony A7 II<\/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 90mm f\/2.8 is a large, solidly built lens. \u00a0As with many of Sony’s FE mount lenses, there really is no size or weight benefit with this lens compared to full frame DSLR macro lenses. \u00a0While large in both length and diameter, the 90mm is not quite as heavy as\u00a0I expected given the dimensions. \u00a0Still, it’s not exactly a light lens. \u00a0The lens is constructed of a combination of high-grade plastics and lightweight metals, and there are no creaks or flex points anywhere on the lens body. Due to the size of the lens in comparison with the Sony E mount bodies, it can be a bit front heavy and unwieldy depending on the body used. \u00a0While it handled decently on my A7 II, I have to say that it feels awkward when used on my a6000. \u00a0I’d imagine the first generation A7 series cameras would similarly feel a bit awkward due to the shallow grips on those cameras.<\/p>\n

The lens comes with a plastic lens hood that locks securely onto the bayonet mount on front. \u00a0The hood isn’t huge, but it adds to an already rather ample girth. \u00a0This can cause problems if you’re using a smaller camera bag for your Sony kit, as bags made for mirrorless kits aren’t generally designed to accommodate lenses with this large an outer diameter. \u00a0As such, I ended up leaving the hood out of the bag most of the time.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The lens has two control switches and a focus stop button<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The lens has a two position focus clutch mechanism for the focus ring, which is a broad metal ring with a dense check pattern for grip. \u00a0When the ring is pushed forward, the lens stays in autofocus mode, and the ring turns freely, allowing for direct manual focusing. \u00a0When the ring is pulled back, the lens enters manual focus mode and the damping of the focus ring increases. \u00a0The ring also engages the marked focus scale, and provides a true manual focus feel, with hard stops at minimum focus distance and infinity. \u00a0While the lens feels like it’s a direct mechanical connection to focus in this mode, it’s still by wire: there must be power to the lens to move the focus elements. The clutch mechanism works well, though I’d sometimes inadvertently pull it into manual focus and it would take a second to figure out why autofocus wasn’t working. \u00a0I wish the position of the ring was a bit easier to discern from a glance or a touch, as the movement between AF and MF modes is fairly slight.<\/p>\n

The lens also features an additional button on the side, which acts as a focus stop button. \u00a0When after locking focus, the button will hold that focus location until you release it, even if you press the shutter button multiple times.<\/p>\n

On the side of the lens, there are two switches to activate the focus limiter and the Optical SteadyShot (OSS) system. \u00a0The focus limiter can be set for the full focus range, from 0.5m to infinity, or from 0.5m to minimum focus distance. \u00a0I feel focus limiters are a must for any macro lens, so its nice to see one here. \u00a0The OSS switch enables or disables image stabilization. \u00a0Unfortunately, there’s no way to separate lens stabilization from in-body stabilization, as switching this off on the lens disables all stabilization, so you can’t use only the 5-axis IBIS on the A7 II. \u00a0However, as we’ll get to in a moment, this turned out not to matter at all.<\/p>\n

\"Sony<\/a>
Sony 90mm f\/2.8 Macro G OSS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One negative about handling and use in the macro range is a rather extreme level of focus breathing. \u00a0All internally focusing macro lenses have some focus breathing, as the internal focusing actually shortens the focal length. \u00a0However, the 90mm seems to do it more than many other macros I have used in the past. \u00a0In comparison to my Olympus 60mm f\/2.8, the breathing is very noticeable. \u00a0You really need to play with distance and focus to provide proper framing of your subject when you get really close.<\/p>\n

Autofocus and Image Stabilization<\/h3>\n

I have very mixed feelings on the autofocus capabilities of the FE 90mm Macro. In good light, the lens focuses extremely quickly, even in the macro range. \u00a0Using this for insect macros was easy and very accurate overall, allowing me to do nice handheld macro photography, such as the shot of the hoverfly below. \u00a0I held the camera below me for this shot, framed the image on the rear screen and snapped the shutter to lock focus and take the picture, yielding focus exactly where I wanted.<\/p>\n

\"Hoverfly<\/a>
Hoverfly – Sony A7 II with Sony FE 90mm f\/2.8 Macro @ f\/8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, indoors and in dimmer light, the autofocus can struggle. \u00a0On both the A7 II and the a6000, I found the lens would often fail to find focus at all in dim light, leading to a full in-and out rack of focus past my desired subject. \u00a0I found this to be the case both in the macro range and in more moderate portrait distances. \u00a0When it does lock in, speed is slowed considerably in dimmer light. \u00a0It’s a good idea to turn off exposure preview when using this lens, especially in the macro range where you will likely be shooting stopped down. \u00a0This is because exposure preview on Sony cameras also stops the lens down to working aperture during focusing, which robs the sensor of much-needed light. \u00a0I still had problems focusing in low light even with exposure preview turned off, but it becomes very difficult to get a lock with it on.<\/p>\n

Update: May 2018 – I normally don’t update my reviews well after they’ve been published, but I recently acquired a 90mm macro for my personal use, and have been using it with the new A7 III.\u00a0 The autofocus experience with this lens and the A7 III (and by proxy the A9), is very different than on my A7 II, noted above.\u00a0 On the A7 III, autofocus does still slow down a little in dimmer light, but it is dramatically improved from earlier bodies, and still what one might call quick.\u00a0 I also have had very little observation of hunting in dimmer light with the 90 Macro and the A7 III.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

However, I have no complaints on the optical image stabilization. \u00a0The FE 90mm Macro has the steadiest stabilization I’ve used on a Sony lens, giving me around 3-4 stops of extra handholdability over unstabilized performance. \u00a0It works well with the IBIS of the A7 II as well, providing very steady results in the macro range. I was able to get a handhold shot very sharp at 1\/20s while handheld at 1:1 magnification using the A7 II, which is rather remarkable. \u00a0At 1:1, one generally needs 1-2 stops faster speed than at normal focus distances, so I was quite surprised to see sharp shots there. \u00a0I also managed some sharp shots at 1\/8 second on the a6000, which is a bit over 4 stops of stability.<\/p>\n

\"Foosball<\/a>
Foosball – captured at 1\/20s, handheld, at 1:1 magnification<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I have to say, the biggest difference between the optical stabilization of the lens by itself and the hybrid in-body and optical stabilization when mounted on the A7 II was in framing in the macro range. \u00a0The extra 3-axes of stabilization helped to keep the viewfinder much steadier than the 2-axis OSS of the lens by itself.<\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n

Image Quality<\/h3>\n

Be prepared for lots of superlatives in this section. \u00a0Most macro lenses tend to be optically excellent; high magnification photography demands well-corrected optics. \u00a0However the Sony 90mm puts itself in the top-tier even among macro lenses.<\/p>\n

Sharpness<\/h4>\n

The Sony 90mm Macro is sharp, essentially everywhere, right from f\/2.8. \u00a0While the absolute corners aren’t\u00a0tack<\/em> sharp at f\/2.8, they are plenty usable. \u00a0It isn’t as sharp as it gets wide open, but stop down a bit and the images are extremely crisp from corner to corner. \u00a0This 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. \u00a0To see the sharpness, click here for a 100% crop of the eyes<\/a>. \u00a0When 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. \u00a0Stopped down, the 90mm is just as good at infinity as it is in the macro range.<\/p>\n

\"Drawing<\/a>
Drawing – Sony A7 II with Sony 90mm f\/2.8 Macro @ f\/2.8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The 90mm f\/2.8 also performs very well on APS-C E-mount cameras. \u00a0Using my a6000, I found that overall resolution is slightly worse than on full frame, but still excellent. \u00a0Here, 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).<\/p>\n

Bokeh<\/h4>\n

The Sony 90mm has fairly good bokeh. \u00a0Like almost all macro lenses, the bokeh is exceptionally creamy when shooting in the macro range. \u00a0This is largely a function of the extreme amounts of blur created by the very shallow depth of field when focusing ultra-close. \u00a0Further away, the bokeh is more hit and miss. In certain circumstances, backgrounds can become a bit busy, and there’s a\u00a0swirly nature to the bokeh towards the edges of the frame.\u00a0 It’s never terrible in these situations, but it’s certainly not as smooth and nice as it is at closer focus distances. \u00a0The image below shows the excellent blur capable in the macro range.<\/p>\n

\"Hoverfly<\/a>
Hoverfly – Sony A7 II with Sony 90mm f\/2.8 Macro @ f\/8, 1:1 magnification, handheld (click to enlarge)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

The Sony 90mm f\/2.8 Macro puts in an excellent performance when it comes to color and contrast. \u00a0Color is rich and vibrant throughout the aperture and focus range, and contrast remains on a high level in all circumstances as well. \u00a0There is a real bite to the images taken with this lens, with crisp detail and tone definition. \u00a0At no point does any spherical aberration harm contrast, even at closest focusing distance.<\/p>\n

Chromatic aberration is also extremely well controlled. \u00a0While not apochromatic, it’s not too far off. \u00a0Only 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. \u00a0Lateral CA is also very well controlled. \u00a0A very impressive performance here indeed.<\/p>\n

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

Like most macro lenses, the Sony 90mm f\/2.8 G has very low distortion. \u00a0There is no field relevant distortion to speak of, as straight lines remain straight. \u00a0Vignetting 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.<\/p>\n

\"Pillars<\/a>
Pillars of Sunrise – Sony A7 II with Sony 90mm f\/2.8 Macro @ f\/7.1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Flare generally isn’t a concern with this lens either. \u00a0Part 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. \u00a0Shooting into the sun, I saw no\u00a0major ghosting. \u00a0Some minor reduction of contrast in the vicinity of the sun was visible, but it’s still quite manageable.\u00a0With 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.<\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h3>\n

Pros<\/h4>\n