photo:sonynex_fe
Sony FE E-mount full frame lenses
introduction
all Sony FE lenses to date are weather-sealed
Sony G master series (“GM”) of lenses are premium pro quality lenses with resolution to a 50 lines per mm standard instead of 30mm or less and optimised bokeh, in addition, have dust and moisture resistance, and also dedicated control buttons like AF/MF and Focus Hold
AF lenses
wide angle AF lenses
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Sony FE 12-24mm f/2.8 GM
Sony FE 12-24mm f/4 G
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announced April 2021
close focus 25cm
14 Elements in 11 Groups
9 rounded blades
Rear gel filters
Nano AR Coating II
460g; 83mm x 99.8mm
$US1598
Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN
coming late 2019
close focus 0.28m giving 0.14x magnification; 11 rounded blades; 18 Elements in 13 Groups;
twin-motor silent stepper motor
rear gel filter;
3.35 x 5.16″ / 85.0 x 131.0 mm;28.04 oz / 795 g
$US1399
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smallest and sharpest 14-28mm f/2.8 lens available
great for astroscapes - sharper with lower coma/astigmatism in the corners than the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 stopped down to f/2.8 which has much worse corner sharpness at f/1.8
almost matches the Sony 24mm f/1.4GM at f/2.8 although has more vignetting
nice sunstars at f/8, minimal flare
Sony Vario-Tessar 16-35mm f/4 Carl Zeiss ZA OSS
Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM
announced May 2017
fluorine coating on the front element of the large extreme aspherical element
11 blades; 82mm filter
two DDSSMs (Direct Drive SSM) AF motors
partial weathersealing “Not guaranteed to be 100% dust and moisture proof”
680g
$US2200
the highest DxO Mark score for any wide angle zoom lens as of 2017
smaller with much less vignetting, coma and star distortion than the Canon EF 16-35 f/2.8L III but lack's the Canon's mechanical MF ring with its infinity marking, making it a nice option for
astrophotographic landscapes of the Milky Way 1)
when used with a slide in filter holder, there will be vignetting at 16mm but should settle by 17mm; while sharp at f/2.8 edge to edge, optically is best at f/8-11, while sunstars are best at f/16 - perhaps one of the best lenses for sunstars, helped by the excellent flare control
2)
Sony FE 16-35mm f/4 PZ
Tamron 17-28mm Di III RXD f/2.8
Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8:
Samyang 18mm f/2.8
145g; 60.5mm long; 7 blades; close focus 25cm; 58mm filter; near silent linear STM motor;
no weathersealing;
$US329
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some complex moustache distortion and moderate vignetting (this clears by f/4 where image also sharpens further and best at f/5.6-8)
lat CA well controlled, minimal flare shooting into the sun, usable sun stars stopped down
mild wedge shaped stars towards the edges so it is reasonable for astro work
good travel lens and vlogging lens (but C-AF in video is apparently not great!)
more vignetting and less sharp at f/2.8 than the Zeiss while AF is more noisy but coma and CA in corners is fairly comparable
Sony PZ 18-110mm f/4 G OSS
Tamron 20mm F/2.8 Di III OSD M1:2
Tamron 24mm F/2.8 Di III OSD M1:2
Sony FE 20mm f/1.8 G
announced Feb 2020
9-blade aperture can be de-clicked using a built-in On/Off switch
two extreme dynamic (XD) linear motors
67mm filter;
close foccus 7.5“ 0.19m
accurate reproduction of point light sources with “high contrast and minimum sagittal flare” and minimal coma or astigmatism in the corners for astrophotographers but more vignetting (1.7EV wide open) than the 24mm f/1.4 GM
373g (13.2 oz); 73.5×84.7mm;
$US900
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Sigma 20mm f/2 DG DN
Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM
Samyang 24mm f/2.8
Samyang Rokinon 24mm f/1.8
Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2
Sony FE 28mm f/2
Sigma 35mm f/1.2 DG DN
Sony 35mm f/1.4 GM
announced Jan 2021 as a more compact yet higher quality lens
14 elements in 10 groups including two XA (extreme aspherical) elements, a single ED (extra-low dispersion)
Nano AR Coating II
close focus 27cm (10.6“) giving 0.23x mag.
twin XD (extreme dynamic) linear autofocus motors; Linear Response MF
de-clickable aperture ring
11 rounded blades
67mm filter
524g (1.16lb), 76 mm dia. x 96 mm
$US1400
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Samyang 35mm f/1.4 FE
announced Oct 2017
11 elements in 9 groups, 2 aspherical lenses, 2 high-refractive lenses, and ‘Ultra Multi’ Coating
Linear Supersonic AF motor, close focus 0.3m
9 circular blades, 67mm filter; 645g w/o lens cap/hood; 115mm long
$US790
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Samyang 35mm f/1.4 FE II
Samyang 35mm f1.8
Sony FE 35mm f/1.8
announced July 2019
weathersealed; 55mm filter;
Linear Response Manual Focus for fine, responsive manual focus control; customizable Focus Hold button
quiet linear-motor AF drive system
280g; 73mm long; 9 circular blades; close focus 0.22m giving 0.24x macro;
$US750
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Sony FE 35mm F2.8 Carl Zeiss
Tamron 35mm F/2.8 Di III OSD M1:2
Samyang 35mm f/2.8
announced June 2017
close focus 0.35m; 49mm filter; only 86g w/o lens hood and 33mm long!
7 elements in 6 groups, contains 2 aspherical elements and one “High Refractive” element
7 aperture blades; UMC coating; not weathersealed; MF not great but AF is good except in low light but not silent;
1.5EV vignetting wide open which reduces as close down; quite sharp wide open with minimal improvement stopping down although edges are best at f/5.6-8. Minimal CA; Some barrel distortion; Similar optical performance as the Sony 35mm f/2.8.
a handy super light, relatively inexpensive travel / street photography lens for social media use.
$US299!
standard AF zoom lenses
Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM
Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Art
announced Nov 2019
Super Multi-Layer Coating, Nano Porous Coating, 3 aspheric lenses, 11-blade rounded diaphragm
dust and splash-proof body and zoom lock mechanism
close focus 0.18m at 24mm giving 1:2.9 magnification (1:4.5 at 70mm)
Samyang 24-70mm f/2.8 parfocal
announced Oct 2021
close focus 35cm; 17 Elements in 14 Groups; 9 blades; 82mm filter; 88 x 128.5mm; 1,096g;
linear manual focus control
optional Cine Kit, consisting of focus gearing, follow focus and tripod mount
Sony 24-70mm F4 Carl Zeiss OSS
Sony FE 24-105mm f/4 G OSS
Sony FE 24-240mm f/3.5-6.5 OSS
Sony FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS
kit lens for the A7
$AU329
Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 FE
Sony FE PZ 28-135mm F/4 G OSS power zoom lens:
Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III VXD G2
Tamron 28-200mm f/2.8-5.6 Di III RXD
announced June 2020
moisture resistant; 18 elements in 14 groups
flourine coating; 7 rounded blades; zoom lock switch;
minimum focusing distance of 7.5″ giving 1:3.1
RXD (Rapid eXtra-silent stepping Drive) autofocus motor
67mm filter; 1.27 lb / 575.5 g; 117mm long;
$US729
Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 Di III VXD
40-65mm prime lenses
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Zeiss Batis 40mm f/2 CF close focus
Samyang 45mm f/1.8 compact
Sigma 45mm f/2.8 DG DN
Sony Planar T* FE 50mm f/1.4 ZA Carl Zeiss
Samyang AF 50mm f/1.4 FE
Sony 50mm f/1.2 GM
announced March 2021 should be available May 2021
11 circular blades
14 elements in 10 groups incl. 3 extreme aspherical XA elements
Nano AR Coating II plus fluorine front element coating
four XD (extreme dynamic) Linear Motors
floating focus mechanism to provide high resolution across focus range
close focus 15.7 ” (40 cm) giving 0.17x, closer than the Canon and Nikon versions!
27.4 oz (778 g) (lighter than the Canon and Nikon mirrorless versions)
~$US2000
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“Wide-open at the f/1.2 aperture, the cat-eye effect near the edges of the frame are at their most prominent, but hardly a distraction or enough to qualify as “adding character” to an image. By f/2.8, we see nice, even circular bokeh across the frame. The entire aperture range is free of onion ring effects inside the bokeh balls or any kind of pronounced impurities.”
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sharpest at f/4 but still very good central sharpness at f/1.2 although drops away significantly towards APS-C edge but by f/4 even the corners are shaper than the centres of many lenses
wing-like aberrations on stars in the corners wide open (although better than the Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f1.2) but OK at APS-C crop
moderate astigmatism;
FF vignetting 2.9EV at f/1.2, 2.35EV at f/1.4; 1.3EV at f/2.0; 1EV at f/2.8-4;
APS-C vignetting 1EV at f/1.2, 0.56EV at f/1.4; 0.3EV at f/2.0;
55mm F1.8 Carl Zeiss
65mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary
announced Dec 2020
62mm filter
405g
$US699
AF macro lenses
portrait prime lenses 75-105mm
Samyang/Rokinon AF 75mm f/1.8 FE
announced Apr 2020
10 elements in 9 groups, close focus 0.69m (2.26ft), 58mm filter; 9 blades; 65mm x 69mm long; 230g;
not weathersealed;
can use the Rokinon/Samyang USB dock ($US59) as with the 35mm f/1.8 AF/FE lens
$US399
a new mode switch on the lens barrel allows you swap the functionality of the focusing ring so that it controls the aperture
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some corner coma, astigmatism which improves by f/2.5
Image quality in image corners significantly behind its competitors
If you jump from 24 megapixels to 61 megapixels, then you’ll start to see a faint amount of image quality issues at f/1.8, but they’re a fair trade-off for such a portable, affordable lens.
Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 G
announced Feb 2016
11 aperture blades
ring drive AF
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$A2799
Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art
announced Aug 2020
completely new optical formula 15 elements in 11 groups incl. 5 special low dispersion elements + 1 aspherical
smaller focusing lens is paired with the stepping motor optimized for both PDAF and CDAF
11 rounded blades
77mm filter
close focus 85cm / 33.5in giving 1:8.4 magnification
compact, dust-and splash-proof design smaller and lighter than the dSLR HSM version
de-clickable aperture ring with new Iris Ring Lock Switch that prevents unintended movement of the aperture ring during image capture;
Lens Fn button;
630g/ 22.2oz. 94.1mm/ 3.7in in length;
$US1199
Samyang AF 85mm f/1.4 FE
Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8
Sony FE 85mm f/1.8
Viltrox 85mm f/1.8 STM
Tokina atx-m 85mm F1.8 FE
Sony FE 100mm F2.8 STF
Sigma 105mm f/1.4
announced July 2018, designed for dSLRs
17 elements in 12 groups incl. 1 ASPH
closest focus distance = 1.0m (giving 1:8.3)
HSM (Hyper Sonic Motor)
105mm filter; weathersealed;
116 x 129mm (lens hood adds 43mm)
1496g plus 104g for the carbon fiber lens hood and 123g for the detachable tripod collar (Arca-Swiss style interface) = 1.7kg!
compatible with Sigma’s USB-dock
can pay to have the mount swapped for a different system (Canon EF, Nikon F)
$US1400
short telephoto prime lenses 135mm
telephoto zoom lenses
super-telephoto lenses
manual focus E-mount full frame lenses
Carl Zeiss Loxia lenses
these premium lenses are designed primarily for Cine shooters
they are COMPACT, weathersealed, all have same filter thread size and position of aperture and focus rings
focus rings have a long throw for more precision work
aperture ring can easily be de-clicked by turning a screw on the mount using their de-click key set
can be a bit hard to remove from camera as sealing gasket makes it tight and there are few places to grab on the lens which doesn't turn
they can be bought as a kit for $US6000
Zeiss Loxia 21mm f/2.8
Zeiss Loxia 25mm f/2.4
Zeiss Loxia 35mm f/2
Zeiss Loxia 50mm f/2
Zeiss Loxia 85mm f/2.4
Samyang Xeen Cine lenses
Other MF lenses
Laowa 9mm f/5.6 FF RL rectilinear
widest rectilinear lens for full frame
announced June 2020 to be available in Leica M, Sony FE, Nikon Z and L mount.
350g, 6cm long; close focus 12cm; 14 elements in 10 groups;
100mm wide filters can be used without serious vignetting via an optional 100mm magnetic filter holder
5-bladed aperture where a clean and appealing 10-point sunstar
$US799
TTArtisan 11mm f/2.8 fisheye
announced Jan 2020
10 blades
close focus 17cm
485g
$US215
Laowa 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6
14 elements in 10 groups
close focus 15cm giving 1:4
5 straight blades to produce well-defined 10-pointed sunstars
Clicked/clickless aperture can be toggled by a switch on the lens barrel
can screw in a rear 37mm filter
can use an optional 100mm front filter holder
70 x 90.9 mm; 496g
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Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift lens
announced Oct 2020
±11mm shift and lens barrel can be rotated through 360° and it clicks every 15°.
angle of view is 110°
65mm image circle diameter
17 elements in 11 groups incl 2 ASPH
5-bladed aperture creates 10-point Sunstar rendering
20cm close focus
597g
lens support is specially designed for perfect panorama stitching as the optic axis remains unchanged
$US1,199
also available in Canon EF, Nikon F, Canon RF, Nikon Z mounts
NiSi 15mm f/4 sunstar lens
Voigtländer Nokton 21mm f/1.4 Aspherical lens
Voigtländer Color-Skopar 21mm f/3.5 Asph
announced Feb 2018
compact
Voigtländer 35mm f/1.2 SE
Voigtländer 40mm f/1.2 SE
Voigtländer 50mm f/1.2 SE
Mitakon 50mm f/0.95
Meyer Optik Görlitz Lydith 30mm f/3.5 II
ZY Optics Mitakon Speedmaster 35mm T/1.0 Cine
Meyer Optik Görlitz Trioplan 50mm f/2.8 II
Meyer Optik Görlitz Primoplan 58mm f/1.9 II
coming 2020
12 aperture blades; swirling bokeh effect;
“unusual design, in which a central dispersion lens is flanked by two groups of lenses, each acting as a converging lens. The rear group consists of a single biconvex converging lens, resulting in a subtle brilliance over the entire frame.”
Meyer Optik Görlitz Primoplan 75mm f/1.9 II
coming 2020; original optic designed in 1936;
14 aperture blades; unique, dreamy, creamy bokeh;
“an enhancement of the Cooke triplet, in which a central dispersion lens is flanked by two groups of lenses, each acting as a converging lens. The rear group consists of a single biconvex converging lens. ”
Meyer Optik Görlitz Trioplan 100mm f/2.8 II
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Suitability for high resolution sensor cameras
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most lenses do not have the resolution to give you 61mp even if you shoot at low ISO with a fast shutter speed
lenses that could give 61mp in the right conditions include:
Sony 135mm f/1.8 GM
Sony 24mm f/1.4 GM
Sony 20mm f/1.8 - but has significant vignetting
Sony 50mm f/1.4 Zeiss
Sigma 105mm f/1.4
Sigma 35mm f/1.2 DN ART
Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DN ART
Sigma 135mm f/1.8 ART
Sony 400mm f/2.8 GM
Sony 600mm f/4
Voigtländer 65mm F2 Macro
Voigtländer 110mm F2.5 Macro Apo Lanthar
Voigtländer 50mm f/2
Tamron 24mm f/2.8
Tamron 35mm f/2.8
not quite as sharp but still “excellent” sharpness:
Sony 12-24mm f/2.8 GM
Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 GM
Sony 24-105mm f/4 G - but significant distortion and vignetting although mostly corrected in-camera
Sony 100-400mm GM
Sony 200-600mm G
Sony 100mm f/2.8 STF GM
Sony 55mm f/1.8 Zeiss
Sony 35mm f/1.8
Sony 90mm f/2.8 Macro G
Samyang 12mm f/2.8
Samyang 35mm f/1.8
Samyang 85mm f/1.4
Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8
Sigma 14mm f/1.8 ART - but lots of coma, astigmatism below f/4
some Sony GM lenses will not even give 41mp resolution across the frame and are best suited to 24mp sensors:
Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM
Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 GM
photo/sonynex_fe.txt · Last modified: 2022/03/28 17:48 by gary1