Sony 50mm Lens Options
The Sony shooter has no shortage of 50mm lenses. Almost every enthusiast photographer has owned a nifty fifty sometime, often early in their photographic journey. As a normal view lens on full frame cameras and a short telephoto/portrait lens on APS-C cameras, these lenses are extremely useful.
Not including third party lenses, Sony produces four different fast prime lenses in the 50mm range, and I have tested and reviewed all four. Each lens is quite different in size, build and price.
The full frame contenders:
As well as the APS-C SEL5018, Sony 50mm F/1.8, seen here next to the Sony Zeiss 55mm F/1.8:
Price and Size comparison:
- Sony E 50 mm F1.8 OSS: Price: $299 Weight: 202 grams Full Review
- Sony Zeiss 55mm F1.8: Price: $999 Weight: 281 grams Full Review
- Sony FE 50mm F1.8: Price: $249 Weight: 186 grams Full Review
- Sony Zeiss FE 50mm F1.4 Price: $1499 Weight: 778 grams Full Review
The Sony Zeiss 50mm F/1.4 is heavier than the other three lenses combined. Meanwhile, the Sony E 50mm F/1.8, an APS-C lens, is the only lens with optical steady shot (lens based stabilization). While the newest Sony bodies benefit from in-body stabilization, the three full frame lenses will not have any stabilization on older bodies.
Some Sharpness Comparisons:
See the full reviews if you want to see sharpness across the entire aperture range and the entire frame. But some comparisons are included here (click for larger):
Please note that the Sony E 50mm F/1.8 is taken with the Sony A6300 while the other three lenses were tested on the Sony A7riii. Thus, the E 50mm F/1.8 is being judged based on the corner of an aps-c frame while the other lenses are being tested on the corner of the full frame. At 1.8 aperture, three out of the four lenses perform very well, with only the FE 50mm F/1.8 doing very poorly. The Sony E 50mm F/1.8 did well on the aps-c camera but showed some purple fringing.
More corner samples:
Here we see both the E 50mm F/1.8 and the FE 55mm F/1.8 tested on the Sony A6300. The Sony 55mm F/1.8 may be a bit sharper but it’s pretty close. Turning to the 3 full frame lenses on the Sony A7riii, we again see the 55mm F/1.8 and 50mm F/1.4 producing sharp corner at F1.8 while the FE 50mm f/1.8 struggles.
Turning to a test just of the 3 full frame lenses in the corner at F4:
When stopped down to F4, similar results from all 3 lenses. Looking at the off-center/border areas, at F 1.8 on the full frame lenses:
The Sony 55mm F/1.8 and Sony 50mm F/1.4 are both basically tack sharp even off-center at 1.8. Meanwhile, the Sony FE 50mm F/1.8 is a bit soft but not completely unacceptable.
Sample Images and Comments:
Sony E 50mm F/1.8 on aps-c body:
On an aps-c body (the Sony A6___ series), the Sony E 50mm f/1.8 lens is the equivalent in field of view to 75mm on full frame, an excellent focal length for portraits. The Sony E 50mm F/1.8, when used with the less challenging aps-c frame, produces results comparable to its much more expensive cousins. It provides the added benefit of OSS. The only negative is that purple fringing (at wide aperture, in high contrast) is a bit worse.
Sony FE 50mm F/1.8
Especially compared to the other three lenses, the Sony FE 50mm F/1.8 has very basic autofocus — it autofocuses with a loud buzz, making it unsuitable for video work.
As shown in the above crops, it isn’t a pretty lens if you pixel peep. But when you’re not pixel peeping, it can certainly produce pleasing images with nice background blur. When shooting portraits, you don’t typically want or need razor sharpness. When shooting wide aperture, your corners are going to typically be blurred by the depth of field, making the corner sharpness even less relevant.
This is the cheapest and lightest Sony 50mm lens.
Sony FE 55mm F/1.8
Slightly more than 50mm, this was one of the first full frame lenses released by Sony, meant to show off the image quality of their new FE system. The lens is undeniably sharp while being reasonably small and lightweight. The lens isn’t perfect. Minimum focus distance of 500mm creates a maximum magnification of just 0.14x – you won’t be using the Sony 55mm F/1.8 for pseudo-macro shooting. Bokeh is a bit busy and flare is sometimes an issue. Still, this is the best 50-ish mm lens that you can buy from Sony while keeping the weight below 300 grams. I continue to believe at nearly $1,000, the Sony 55mm F/1.8 is overpriced but I’m not familiar with a better choice that is any cheaper.
Sony 50mm F/1.4
In terms of pure image quality, the Sony 50mm F/1.4 is probably the most flawless lens I have ever used. It is incredibly sharp with very few flaws except for some purple fringing at wide aperture. Bokeh is absolutely incredible. Weaknesses of the lens are that the autofocus is not totally silent and can be a bit slow. More notably, the Sony 50mm F/1.4 is a very heavy lens.
Other Contenders
Not yet reviewed on this blog, there are a few other options:
The $950, the Zeiss Loxia won’t save you money compared to the native Sony options. At F2, it isn’t faster aperture. Plus, it is manual focus only. Thus, I can’t recommend it for most shooters over the native Sony options.
The Rokinon FE 50mm F/1.4 is an interesting option. At $499, it is one third of the price of the excellent Sony 50mm F/1.4. If you have experience with this lens, please leave a comment. The reviews I have seen have been mixed. I doubt it can match the Sony 50mm F/1.4 but if you really want 1.4 aperture at a bargain price, it’s definitely a consideration.
The Sony FE 50mm F/2.8 macro does not make my list of Sony “nifty fifties” due to the 2.8 aperture. It’s a slow aperture compared to the other lenses. At $499, it fits in the middle of the price range. If you are looking for a fast aperture 50mm lens, then one of the other lenses would be a better choice. But if 2.8 aperture is fast enough for you and you want the extra benefit of 1:1 true macro shooting, the Sony FE 50mm F/2.8 macro can certainly be a consideration.
So Which Sony 50mm Lens?
If you are an aps-c shooter (Sony A6___) with no intention of upgrading to full frame in the near future, get the aps-c Sony E 50mm F1.8 and be done. It is a solid performer. It is only $50 more than the full frame FE 50mm F1.8 with the added benefits of silent autofocus and OSS. You won’t see a huge benefit from the more expensive FE 55mm F/1.8. The Sony 50mm F1.4 is simply too heavy to pair with the Sony A6___ cameras.
If you are an aps-c shooter who wants to plan towards a full frame upgrade, then get the Sony FE 55 F1.8 for optimal image quality. Get the FE 50mm F1.8 if you are on a tight budget and don’t mind the noisy autofocus.
If you are a full frame shooter who has no concern about weight and price, you want the optimal image quality, and the most beautiful possible bokeh, get the Sony FE 50mm F1.4. You won’t regret it.
If you are looking for the best possible balance of size, weight and image quality, get the Sony FE 55mm F1.8. While I continue to believe it is slightly overpriced, it will deliver exceptional image quality while keeping the benefits of a small mirrorless package.
If you’re exploring full frame on a tight budget, maybe you picked up the Sony A7 for under $1,000, maybe you’re just starting with a Sony A7iii and you want a nifty fifty but it isn’t a high priority for your lens spending, then get yourself the Sony E 50mm F1.8. I honestly believe that every enthusiast photographer should own at least one fast prime lens. Even the cheapest prime can produce better results than most zoom lenses and can give you more capability to manipulate depth of field.
My Personal Choice:
For my own use, I purchased the Sony 55mm F/1.8. I consider myself an IQ snob to some degree, but I also like to keep the total weight of my system down.
