Sony announced a new FE 35mm f/1.8 prime lens for full frame E-mount this morning, bringing their total to 34 full-frame lenses. The 35 f/1.8 is designed to be fast and lightweight (weighing only 280g / 0.62lbs, 73mm / 2.87 inches long) with excellent sharpness across the frame. The 35mm focal length is a very popular for travel and documentary photography: wide enough to surround a subject by their setting, without creating dramatic distortion. For food and other detail shots, the new lens can focus down to 8.66 inches (22cm) for close-ups.
The lens’s compact size makes it ideal for full-frame and APS-C shooters alike, and it is dust and weather sealed for those who want to take it out in the elements. The lens uses Sony’s linear-motor AF drive system for fast and quiet focus, making it well-suited to shooting photos and video and bokeh fans will appreciate the rounded 9-blade aperture diaphragm.
Price and Availability
The Sony lens will open for pre-orders on July 11th, and will begin shipping in August. Unfortunately, the diminutive lens will cost $750 US dollars, $800 Canadian, or €700 across Europe.
Though the lens may offer better image quality than existing lenses (that remains to be seen), it is also significantly more expensive. Nikon’s F-mount 35mm f/1.8 lens currently costs $476.95, and Canon’s 35mm f/2 costs $689.95, both of which cost about 30% less than the Sony.
However, Nikon’s 35mm f/1.8 lens in Z-mount is even more expensive, at $696.95. I guess that’s just how lens pricing is going these days. Rumor has it that Sigma will be announcing a new 35mm f/1.2 lens for Sony E-mount this summer, and I’ll be interested to see how they price it.
