Sony 90mm F/2.8 Real world images:
Sony FE 90mm F/2.8 Macro G lens review:
I’ve always enjoyed macro lenses. I shot with the Minolta 100mm f/2.8 macro on the Sony A99 and then the Nikon 105mm F/2.8 on the Nikon D750. Macro lenses bring a few benefits in my opinion.
Obviously, macro lenses allow for extremely close focus, permitting 1:1 magnification. Typically zoom lenses may allow magnification of between 1:3 and 1:6, so true macro lenses let you get at least three times closer to your subject, for extreme close focus as in these examples:
In addition to this specialized purpose, macro lenses can also simply make great multi-purpose primes (General advantage of primes versus zooms). 90mm is a very good portrait focal length. While not as fast as 1.8 and 1.4 primes, the 2.8 aperture still matches or exceeds the aperture of zooms. Though not particularly cheap, I’ve found that macro lenses deliver the sharpness that often requires much more expensive lenses.
Without further ado, let’s examine the Sony 90mm F/2.8 G Macro lens a bit more closely.
Body and Handling:
The build quality is exceptional. It is a solid metal construction with weather sealing. As depicted in the photographs, the lens has a decent amount of bulk but it is low weight considering the size, at 602 grams. It balances quite nicely on Sony full frame bodies. (For comparison, the Nikon 105mm F/2.8 is 720 grams and the Canon 100mm f/2.8 is 625 grams. So you end up with a slightly shorter and slightly lighter lens).
Focus switch is unique on the Sony 90mm F/2.8 Macro G. You clutch and pull back the focus ring to switch to manual focus, and extend it back into place for autofocus. I’m surprised this system isn’t implemented on more lenses as it allows switching to manual focus in one fluid motion. The lens also has traditional switches for Optical Steady Shot and focus limiting. The focus limiter switch has three options: near, far, and full focal range.
The focus is by wire and the focus ring as a nice ridged grip. There is a single focus hold button. I re-program the focus hold button to be used for Eye-AF. It is really nice to have when shooting portraits.
The Sony 90mm F/2.8 G features optical steady shot (OSS), which works in hybrid with the Sony A7riii’s IBIS system. Considering that when shooting macro, even the tiniest movement can throw off the shot, stabilization is handy for doing any handheld macro shooting. Some crops shooting between 1/40th of a second and 1/10th of a second
The effectiveness of the stabilization will depend on your own steadiness and technique. Personally, I did not find the stabilization system worked quite as well as some of Sony’s other lenses. At 1/40th of a second, most of my images were quite sharp. Any slower, it became harder and harder to get a sharp image. At 1/25th of a second, I got a lot of “almost sharp” images. At 1/10th, very few of my images were acceptable. In real world shooting, I’d keep the shutter speed at 1/50th of a second or higher. So definitely getting some benefit from the stabilization, but not as extreme as some other lenses.
Autofocus has some issues but this is expected by the large focal range covered by macro lenses. There is definite focus hunting at times, which is reduced by using the focus limiter switch. Focus is very very close to silent, but there is a very faint buzz during continuous AF.
Image Quality
By starting at F2.8, macro lenses aren’t pushed to the extremes of other prime lenses. In my experience with Nikon and Sony A-mount macro lenses, I’ve come to expect a very high level of image quality.
Vignetting
Vignetting is simply a non-issue for the Sony 90mm F/2.8 G lens. There is some subtle vignette at F2.8 which is easily corrected. At F4, it is even more subtle and it is non-existent by F5.6.
Flare/Ghosting/Backlighting
I was a bit surprised and slightly disappointed by the performance of the Sony 90mm F/2.8 G macro against strong light. On the good side, you don’t see defined bursts of flare. But you do get large ghost blobs, especially at smaller aperture, really taking away from the contrast of the image.
See below how the ghosting and flare progresses from F2.8 to F11:
Chromatic Aberration / Purple fringing
High contrast and backlit situations often can lead to significant chromatic aberration and purple fringing at wide aperture. Here, the Sony 90mm F/2.8 macro lens performed quite well. In the first back-lit image, there is absolutely no purple grinding to my eyes. In the second image, at the most extreme contrast situation, there is a small degree of correctable purple fringing.
Bokeh
Background blur and bokeh are two different things that are often confused for each other. Bokeh simply refers to the quality of the out of focus highlights. Ideally, they become perfect round smooth clean circles.
Perhaps due to the more complicated design of a macro lens, the bokeh is just a bit busy on the Sony 90mm F/2.8 G macro lens. Outlining of the circles is a bit harsh and the bokeh balls suffer from “onion rings” in the centers, as opposed to really being clean.
It should be noted that only “bokeh snobs” are likely to truly be critical of this bokeh.
Distortion:
Distortion is a non-issue…
Sharpness
I measured autofocus from several distances. We will start each set with “far,” over 25 feet away. The second set, “medium,” is about 12 feet from the target, and the last section, “near” is just about 3 or 4 feet from the subject. I suspected this lens may be sharper from closer distances. I didn’t test “macro” sharpness, but you can see in the gallery that this lens is certainly sharp for macro purposes Click any image for larger..
Center crops from “far”:
Center crops from “medium” distance:
Center crops from closer distance:
The centers are always sharp, though they truly become tack sharp at F4. While the centers are sharp from all distances at all apertures, the “distant” shots aren’t quite as razor sharp as shots taken from closer distances.
Looking at the border area from “far”:
And borders from medium distance:
Borders from close distance:
Border performance is exceptional at close and medium distances. Just a tad of softness wide open at F2.8, but by F4-5.6, the borders are exceptionally sharp. It appears to me that the lens isn’t quite as sharp at long distance. The sharpness is quite acceptable at the borders at F4, but not as sharp as closer distances.
Turning to the more extreme corners, from long distance:
The extreme corners at medium distance:
And finally the extreme corner from near distance:
The story at the corners is a continuation of the story at the borders. From a distance, the corners are “ok” throughout the aperture range, just sharpening slightly on stopping down. This isn’t a bad result — the corners are never ugly, just not completely tack sharp. As you get closer to your subject, the corners get sharper. F2.8 is just a tad soft, F4 is acceptably sharp and F5.6 is like looking at center sharpness.
Bonus: Sony 90mm F/2.8 vs Sony 85mm F/1.8
Considering the similar focal length, I’ve seen some Sony shooters trying to choose between the two lenses. I’ll address this comparison in my conclusion below, but or now, I decided just to test 2.8 sharpness near the corner from about 5 to 6 feet away, a portrait distance…
See my full Sony 85mm F/1.8 review here. These images are just a bit shy of the extreme corner. To the extent the lenses display different levels of sharpness, I expected it would be most evident in the corners at wide aperture. These two lenses have reputations as being among Sony’s sharpest. It appears those reputations are well deserved. Neither lens displays perfect sharpness in the near-corner at F2.8, but they are both acceptable. (And both become exceptionally sharp by F5.6). In fact, I can’t pick which is sharper — very very similar performance in terms of sharpness.
Overall:
Every system has a macro lens between 90 and 105mm. Sony’s entry into that field,the Sony 90mm F/2.8 G Macro lens is unquestionably a winner.
Used for the specialized purpose of actual macro shooting, the lens renders contrasty sharp beautiful images. When used as a normal 90mm prime lens, the Sony 90mm F/2.8 Macro G produces high quality images that are mostly sharp across the frame. But there are a couple of caveats when using it for “normal” shooting. Backlit situations can produce some low contrast ghosting. Further, images aren’t quite as sharp when shooting closer to infinity. Still, in most cases shooting under 15 feet, including most portraits, I wouldn’t hesitate to use this lens.
The weight and size of the Sony 90mm f/2.8 Macro G is very reasonable though not really any smaller than a comparable 90mm dSLR lens would be. Price really is just slightly higher than Canon and Nikon macro lenses, at $1100, compared to $900 for the Canon and Nikon. I can say with certainty from experience that the Sony 90mm F/2.8 macro outperformed the Nikon 105mm F/2.8. (I don’t have personal experience with the Canon).
I’ve seen some people ask whether they should get the Sony 90mm F/2.8 Macro G or one of the Sony 85mm lenses. (Sony 85mm F/1.8 or the Sony 85mm F/1.4 GM. ) If you are looking primarily for a portrait or general purpose lens, the 85mm lenses are better choices with better bokeh, better low light capability and better autofocus. Not to mention, the Sony 85mm F/1.8 is significantly cheaper or lighter. On the other hand, if you want to do some macro shooting and an occasional portrait, the Sony 90mm F/2.8 may suffice for both purposes. Ideally, if you shoot portraits and macro, there is no substitute for owning both, the macro and an 85mm prime.
In scoring this lens, I considered the fantastic macro rendering, the sharpness at most focus distances, excellent build quality, and nearly reasonable price tag. Sharpness is less perfect from far distance, but this isn’t a lens you would really want to use for those purposes anyway. If you have any interest in macro shooting, I can wholeheartedly recommend the Sony 90mm F/2.8 Macro G lens.
Rating (1-10): Score: 8.5
(About my scoring: 9-10 is a superb lens which could have a place in the bag of almost every photographer. 6-8: recommended with caveats. 3-5: A compromised lens that may still be suitable for some shooters and situations. 1-2: Just stick to your phone camera)
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