Sony Lens Wish List
In February 2018, I listed 5 rival lenses that I wished Sony would emulate. Since then, I’ve been able to cross two off the list. In October 2018, Sony released the Sony FE 24mm F1.4 GM. (See my real world shots with it here). Sony just announced the Sony FE 135mm F1.8 GM. (See on Adorama). While the Sony 135mm F1/.8 GM isn’t quite as lightweight or affordable as the Canon 135mm F2 on my wish list, it’s close enough to cross off. Meanwhile, in the last year, Nikon and Canon have started releasing their mirrorless full frame lenses, Sigma, Tamron and others have continued to fill gaps with some interesting choices. So let’s update my lens wishlist. I wish Sony would release equivalent versions of these lenses. My perspective is that of an advanced full frame enthusiast.
In the last 12 months, Sony has released 3 lenses, so they have really slowed down their lens releases. In comparison, they released 5 lenses in 2017 and 8 lenses in 2016. For zoom lenses, Sony is mostly complete from 12mm to 400mm. For those shooting with prime lenses, they have plenty of choices between 24mm and 135mm, but there are still some gaps within that range, as well as at the wide and long end.
Ranking my wish list, leading up to my most desired lens in FE mount….
5. Nikon 8-15mm fisheye (Amazon) (Adorama)
There are great ultrawide options available for the Sony system with 3 great zoom lenses in the FE 12-24mm, FE 16-35 f/4, and FE 16-35 f/2.8 GM. There are some good ultrawide primes from Voigtlander, Venus and Samyang but fisheye options are rather limited. The only fisheye directly from Sony is the 16mm Fisheye converter that gets attached to the Sony 28mm F/2.
The Nikon 8-15mm fisheye is a unique lens (for now). It can create traditional 15mm fisheye images as well as 180 degree circular images. At just 485 grams, it would match the Sony mirrorless bodies very well and would open additional artistic abilities. This lens was on my list in 2018, and there is still nothing like it for Sony.
4. Canon RF 50mm F/1.2 L (See on Amazon / Adorama)
Back in the dSLR days, Canon was the only full frame camera maker that had 1.2 lenses. Both Sony and Nikon autofocus lenses were limited to an aperture of 1.4. Furthermore, Canon had only 2 such lenses, a 50mm F/1.2 and 85mm F/1.2, both of which were somewhat older designs and a bit soft by modern standards. Thus, there simply wasn’t a reason to be jealous.
But with the Nikon Z mount and Canon RF mount, both Nikon and Canon boast that the wide mount diameter combined with short flange distance will allow them to release faster lenses. Nikon’s roadmap includes 1.2 primes and Canon has already released their Canon RF 50mm F/1.2, which has gotten spectacular early reviews. (For example, this review from opticallimits).
Unfortunately, Sony shoehorned a full frame sensor into a mount that was really designed for aps-c. There are some really fast primes for Sony, but they are third party and manual focus. Whether Sony can really do a high quality 1.2 aperture autofocus lens or whether they are limited by the design of their mount is currently an unknown.
This lens is low on my list because I have limited personal interest in such fast and heavy lenses. The Canon RF 50mm f/1.2 weighs 950 grams, while the Sony 50mm F/1.4 weighs 778 grams and already feels too heavy for my taste. Still, it would be nice to know that 1.2 lenses are out there are options.
Sony Alternative: Sony 50mm f/1.4 Zeiss. (My review here). A truly amazing prime lens in terms of image quality and for practical uses, 1.4 is fast enough. See it on Amazon / Adorama.
3. Nikon 200-500mm F/5.6 (Amazon) (Adorama)
We know Sony lacks telephoto options, which hasn’t changed since last year. So this lens makes a return from the last list. It strikes a nice balance of speed, size , quality and price (at $1400), and provides a fantastic long telephoto option for advanced consumers.
Current Sony alternative
The Sony FE 100-400mm is basically double the price and doesn’t reach 500mm. The Sony is a spectacular lens. (My review here). Still, it would be nice to have a “consumer” option that is both longer and cheaper.
2. Nikon Z 35mm F 1.8s (See on Amazon / Adorama) Canon RF 35mm F/1.8 Macro (See on Amazon / Adorama)
Sony does offer two 35mm primes. Sony offers a 35mm F/1.4 Zeiss (See on Amazon / Adorama). (My review of the Sony 35mm F/1.4) In short, the Sony 35mm F/1.4 is expensive at around $1500, it’s fairly heavy at 630 grams, and it honestly isn’t a spectacular performer for the price and weight. Sony also offers a much more compact but slower Sony 35mm F/2.8 Zeiss. (See on Amazon / Adorama). Currently on sale for $750, it’s rather expensive for a lens with only a 2.8 aperture. On the longer end, Sony offers an 85mm F/1.8 (my review of the Sony 85mm F/1.8 here), which is a perfect compromise between size, weight, aperture and quality.
Would love to see Sony offer something similar in terms of a 35mm. The Nikon Z 35mm F1.8s is priced at $850, so just $100 more than the much slower 35mm F/2.8. Meanwhile, it weighs in at a very manageable 370 grams, 40% less than the Sony 35mm F/1.4. The Canon RF 35mm F/1.8 Macro is priced at only $450 and weighs a petite 305 grams. 35mm is a very popular focal length representing wide-normal, perfect for general walk-around use. Unfortunately, Sony’s two choices suffer from being akin to the first two bears of Goldilocks. For many enthusiasts, the 35mm F/1.4 is too big and expensive, the 35mm F/2.8 is too slow and overpriced. A 35mm F/1.8, weighing 300 to 400 grams, and costing $500 to $800, would be “just right.”
Current Sony Alternative: I’m current shooting with the Rokinon 35mm F/1.4. (Review here). The price is right, but it’s fairly heavy. I’d much rather have a lighter but similar priced 1.8 lens. (See the Rokinon 35mm F/1.4 on Amazon / Adorama).
…….. That leads us to #1, the lens I would most love to see for FE mount. The lens I would pre-order the moment it was announced:
1. Nikon 300mm F/4 E PF (Amazon)/(Adorama)
Another carry-over from my 2018. A top quality telephoto prime that weighs only 755 grams. This would be an ideal match for the Sony system combining top quality and small form factor. Even the price of $2000 can be considered quite reasonable. When I shot Nikon, I used this lens for all my wildlife shooting (sometime with teleconverter) for less than the price of a good 100-400, at a lower weight and higher quality.
Weight savings should be one of the major advantages of shooting mirrorless. But using the Nikon 300 F/4 Pf on a camera like the Nikon D750 can actually be less weight than current Sony alternatives. Sure, Sony has a massively heavy and expensive Sony 400mm F/2.8 GM, but enthusiasts would like a more affordable and light-weight F4 prime.
Current Alternative:
For now, the only native Sony alternative is the Sony FE 100-400mm. I haven’t tried it yet, supposed to be a fantastic lens, but it is slower aperture and weighs 1395 grams. So faster aperture, higher IQ and practically half the weight. A Sony version of this lens would be a real winner.
Conclusion
If I keep doing this list every year, it’s my hope that it becomes more difficult to compile with each passing year. Already crossed off two lenses that were on last year’s list, and hope to cross off more in the next year.
