includeditsLinearResponseMFsystem,
whichmimicsthefeelof a traditional
manual-focuslens.
A petal-styleplasticlenshoodis included,
whichfeelsreasonablysturdywhilereversing
neatlyforstorage.Filterscanbeattachedusing
a 55cmthreadaroundthefrontelement.
Whileit’sdesignedforfull-framecameras,
theFE35mmf/1.8canalsobeusedon
APS-Ccameras,givinganangleof viewsimilar
toa 50mmlensonfullframe.Howeverthe
olderE 35mmf/1.8OSSis a morepractical
solutionforAPS-Cshooterswhoaren’t
planningtobuyintofullframe.It’ssmaller,
lighterandconsiderablycheaper,while
including optical image stabilisation.
Buildandhandling
At65.6mmin diameterand73mmin length,
the35mmf/1.8is almostexactlythesamesize
asSony’shighlyregardedFE55mmF1.8ZA.
Thismeansthatit’smuchmorecompactthan
themajorityof Sony’sfull-framelenses,anda
farbettermatchtothefirm’sfull-framebodies.
Its280gweightwillalsoputconsiderablyless
strainonyourshoulderthanthe630g35mm
F1.4,althoughit’slesspetitethanthe120g
35mmF2.8if youwanttotravelreallylight.
A welcomefeatureis itsdust-andmoisture-
resistantconstruction,withSonyincorporating
sealsaroundtheexternalcontrols,alongwith
oneencirclingthelensmounttoprotectthe
camera and sensor. Overall the lens feelssturdyandwell-made,andwelluptostandard
at thisprice.It balancesnicelyonthecamera,
andfeelslesscrampedagainstthehandgrip
thanlarger-diameteroptics.
Thelarge,finelyridgedmanualfocusring
rotatesniceandsmoothly,butisn’tsoloose
thatit willgetinadvertentlyknocked.It’sgreat
toseethatSonyhasincludeda properAF/MF
switch,andthere’salsoa largefocushold
buttononthebarrel,thefunctionof which
canbereassigned in the camera’s menus.Autofocus
Oneareain whichSonyhabituallyexcelsis
autofocus,andtheFE35mmF1.8followssuit.
It snapsintofocussilentlyandin theblinkof an
eye,withallof theunerringaccuracythatwe’ve
becomeaccustomedtofromtheon-sensor
AFsystemsof mirrorlesssystems.It’salsofully
compatiblewithSony’sEyeAFsystemfor
photographingpeopleoranimals.
Manualfocusworkswelltoo,onthosefew
occasionswhenyouneedit. Sony’slinear
responseAFsystemreallydoesgivea much
moreintuitivefeeltotheprocess,comparedto
lensesthatvarytheirresponsedependingon
howfastyourotatethefocusring.Asa result,
it’sstraightforwardtogetcriticallyaccurate
focus,particularlyif youhavemagnifi ed MF
assistenabledonthecamera.Performance
Turningourattentiontoimagequality,the
goodnewscontinues.In practicalusetheFE
35mmF1.8turnsoutfineimagesthatare
highlydetailedfromcorner-to-corner,with
minimaldistortionandlowlevelsof colour
fringing.It’snotperfect,butit’sverygood
indeed and easily justifi es its price.Distantbackgrounds
arerenderedwith
a verypleasingblur
SonyAlpha7RIII,
1/250sec at f/1.8, ISO 100
Attypicalworking
apertures,the
lensrecordsplenty
ofdetailfrom
cornertocorner
SonyAlpha7RIII,
1/60sec at f/8, ISO 100