subscribe 0330 333 1113I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI 28 September 2019 45
LENS TEST T estbenchWitha five-yearheadstartover
CanonandNikonin building
itsfull-framemirrorless
system,it’snosurprisethat
Sonyhasa significantlylargerlensrangethan
itstwobiggestcompetitors.Butthere’sonelens
typethatbothitsrivalsmanagedto bringout
earlier– a 35mmf/1.8.Bothintroducedsuch
a lensondayoneof theirsystems,whereas
Sonystartedoutwitha compact35mmf/2.8in
2013,thenaddeda huge,premium35mmf/1.4
in 2015,beforerevealingitsf/1.8opticin July.
Interestingly,thethreefirmshavecomeup
with somewhat different takes on the idea.
Canon’sRF35mmF1.8IS STMMacro
is anopticallystabilisedlensthatusesan
extending-barreldesigntoachievehalf-life-
sizemagnificationat thecostof outright
focusingspeed.In contrast,theNikonNikkor
Z 35mmf/1.8S is a largeopticthatincludes
moreexoticglassforpremiumperformance.
Sony’sFE35mmF1.8is smallerthanthe
Nikonandhasa lowerRRP,suggestingslightly
loweraspirations.Indeedwitha launchprice
of £630,theFE35mmF1.8sitsalongside
theFE28mmF2andFE85mmF1.8in
Sony’smid-rangeline-up.Tellingly,it’scheaper
than the 35mm f/2.8, and less than half theWithitssmallsizeandfineoptics,
the35mmf/1.8is a greatchoicefor
discreetstreetphotography
Sony Alpha 7R III, 1/500sec at f/8, ISO 100Sony FE
AndyWestlakeexaminesalightweig
high-qualityprimethatfillsagapinSony ’slens
range for its full-frame mirrorless cameras
tively
cedFeatures
Optically,theFE35mmF1.8employs 11
elementsin 9 groups,includinga single
asphericalelementtosuppressaberrations
andachievehighersharpnesstowardsthe
cornersof theimage.A 9-bladeddiaphragm
providesa circularaperture,withtheaimof
producingattractiveout-of-focushighlights.
Theminimumfocusdistanceis 22cm,
whichgivesa maximummagnificationof
0.24x,orquarterlife-size.Whilethisdoesn’t
matchtheCanon35mmf/1.8,it’srathercloser
thanSony’sother35mmlensesachieve.As
usualfora modernlens,focusingis internal,
andmanualfocusoperationis of the
electronic ‘by wire’ type. Sony has