|
Sony 50mm f/1.4 ( SAL-50F14 ) - Review / Test Report |
|
Lens Reviews -
Sony Alpha/NEX (APS-C)
|
|
Page 1 of 3
Review by Klaus Schroiff, published March 2008
Special thanks to Klaus Wagner for providing this lens for testing!
Introduction
The Sony 50mm f/1.4 is currently the only standard lens available in Sony Alpha mount. Most
likely it is not a new lens but simply the relabeled variant of the old Minolta AF 50mm f/1.4 RS plus
ADI encoding.
On an APS-C DSLR its focal length is equivalent to about 75mm and as such within the
classic range of portrait lenses. Thanks to its ultra-large aperture it is also
an obvious choice for available light photography but naturally it is not limited
to that - these 50mm lenses are about as good as it gets when used at medium aperture settings
but more on this later.
The build quality of the lens is very decent. The lens barrel is made of good quality
plastics combined with a metal mount and the all-rubber focus ring located at the very front
of the lens operates smooth. Unfortunately the focus ring is not decoupled in AF mode so it
rotates during AF operations. The lens uses an extension system for focusing so the inner lens
tube is moving accordingly. The filter mount does not rotate.
Typical for conventional Sony lenses the 50mm f/1.4 does still rely on the classic
focusing system driven by the camera (via a slotted drive screw). Consequently
the AF produces a moderate degree of noise during operations but thanks to the
low weight of the glass elements the AF is pretty fast.
| Specifications |
|---|
| Equiv. focal length | 75 mm (full format equivalent) |
| Equiv. aperture | f/2.1 (full format equivalent, in terms of depth-of-field) |
| Optical construction | 7 elements in 6 groups |
| Number of aperture blades | 7 (rounded) |
| min. focus distance | 0.45 m (max. magnification ratio 1:4) |
| Dimensions | 66 x 43 mm |
| Weight | 220 g |
| Filter size | 55 mm(non-rotating) |
| Hood | barrel-shaped, snap-on, supplied |
| Other features | - |
|
