Hands on: Sony FE 50mm F1.8 and 70-300mm F4.5-5.6
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Sony’s already had a busy year, and it just got even busier with the announcement of an update to its RX10 series and two new FE lenses: the 50mm F1.8 and 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 OSS. We got to take a first look at them at a press event in San Francisco.
Hands on: Sony FE 50mm F1.8 and 70-300mm F4.5-5.6
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The FE 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 is the first full-frame E-mount lens to reach 300mm. It offers SteadyShot stabilization, as evidenced by the OSS on/of switch seen here.
Hands on: Sony FE 50mm F1.8 and 70-300mm F4.5-5.6
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The 70-300mm offers a minimum focus distance of 0.9m/2.9ft, a zoom locking mechanism and dust and moisture resistance. It’s fairly compact when used at the wide end…
Hands on: Sony FE 50mm F1.8 and 70-300mm F4.5-5.6
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…and extends quite a bit to reach that 300mm mark. For the extremely curious, we noted that the lens maintains its widest F4.5 aperture until the 85mm mark, when F5 becomes the widest option. This changes again at 157mm, at which point it stops down to F5.6.
Hands on: Sony FE 50mm F1.8 and 70-300mm F4.5-5.6
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Sony has posted MTF charts for the 70-300mm, and they show that this lens might be a cut above the typical telezoom. The 70-300 will go on sale in May for $ 1200.
Hands on: Sony FE 50mm F1.8 and 70-300mm F4.5-5.6
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And now, something a little different: the Sony FE 50mm F1.8. At $ 250 it’s going to be a much more wallet-friendly option than its 55mm F1.8 Zeiss-branded counterpart.
Hands on: Sony FE 50mm F1.8 and 70-300mm F4.5-5.6
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The 50mm features a 7-blade circular aperture and offers a 0.45m/1.45ft minimum focus distance. Sony emphasizes its compact and lightweight design and indeed, the lens weighs in at a svelte 186g/6.6oz.
Hands on: Sony FE 50mm F1.8 and 70-300mm F4.5-5.6
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Here’s another view of that 7-blade aperture. The lens comprises six elements in five groups, including one aspherical element. Like the 70-300mm, it’s expected to ship in May.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)