Customer Reviews

Sony 50mm f/1.4 Lens for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Camera

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this lens because I needed a "portrait" lens for my K/M 7D when my Sigma 28-70 f/2.8 EX "Pro" lens took a dump on me. The lens hasn't been dropped or anything like that (that I'm aware of) but it suddenly is always out of focus and won't focus at infinity at all ... but that's a problem for the Sigma people, so I digress.

In need of a good "portrait" length lens for my 7D I opted for this Sony 50 f/1.4. I'd had a Maxxum 50 f/1.4 years ago but had gotten rid of it shortly after getting a zoom lens. Big mistake. In any case, because my Sigma lens mentioned above was in need of repair and I had a portrait shoot coming up, I got this lens and I must say it's been a worthwhile investment.

Wide open the lens is tack sharp at point-of-focus. Stopped down between f/2.8 and f/4, doing head and shoulder shots of an average-sized adult the lens provides fantastic portraits ... nice contrast, beautiful color and of course very sharp with beautifully de-focused backgrounds.

I shoot a lot of film with Medium format Mamiyas (RZ67 and 7II) and have very high expectations for image quality. With the purchase of this 50 f/1.4 I realized I've been compromising image quality on my 35mm cameras (film and digital) by using "off brand" lenses like Tokina and Sigma. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that Tokina and Sigma make flat-out junk. Just that I didn't realize that the image quality could be better in my 35mm cameras.

Up to now I'd thought that the sensor in the K/M 7D was just mediocre. And, I'm sure that some would say it still is. But, I'm here to tell you that this 50 f/1.4 proved to me that the problems I've thought were all in the body were in actuality all in the lenses.

I'm in the process of replacing all my off-brand "Pro" lenses with Sony/Minolta and Sony/Zeiss lenses. Today (14Nov07) I purchased a Sony 16mm f/2.8 lens (SAL-16F28) to replace my 17mm Tokina lens. The Tokina lens just doesn't cut it when it comes to image sharpness and resolution. I'm hoping this 16mm will perform on-par with my 50 f/1.4. If it does then the next step is a Sony/Zeiss 85 f/1.4 and eventually a Sony/Minolta 80-200 f/2.8 (to replace my Tokina 80-200 f/2.8 ATX PRO).

I know some people aren't as critical as I may be about image sharpness, resolution and contrast. And for those people I say ... to each his own. But, my experience and expectations are very high and I feel there is no reason to compromise. Spend the extra money and buy the best glass you can ... because it does make a difference.

This Sony update of the Konica-Minolta 50mm f1.4 will be a welcome addition to anyone wishing to shoot low-light candids or close sports photos.

Although the Sony A100 offers and anti-shake system, a large aperture lens has a few distinct advantages. First, sports photos require fast shutter speeds to stop action. While the AS system might allow you to hold a camera steady, such slow shutter speeds will blur sports action photos (or the 3 year old running around the house).

The larger aperture, more than 4x more light than any zoom for the Alpha, also gets more light to the focusing system. This allows both faster and more accurate focusing.

Another advantage is an increased flash range. Each aperture larger increases your maximum flash range 40%.

For many, another improvement will be the shallow depth of field (putting more background out of focus). Used wisely, this can really make some photos "pop".

The slight drawback is that this is a great 35mm focal length, but a rather odd on on the Alpha. It's a bit long for a "normal" lens, and a bit short for a portrait lens.

This is my first encounter with a fixed-focal length lens from Sony. After having used the SAL1780 and SAL75300 zoom lenses with my alpha 350, I've finally decided to spend some money on the fixed-focal length SAL50F14, given the good reviews the lens have been receiving.

This lens costs about twice as much as the SAL1780 and a little more than SAL75300, but what it can deliver over the two zoom lenses are undeniable : clear bright pictures under gloomy weather and powerful defocussing effect at low F numbers (between F1.4-2.0).

At 50mm (75mm for APS-C DSLRS), the lens can easily fill the camera's CCD with an entire face without much distortion. Therefore, your subject can really stand out in your portraits while the small F number will blur everything behind away.

Chromatic abberation and purple fringing are invisible with my A350's 14.2 CCD under normal usage, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that this lens contains neither Carl-Zeiss coatings nor ED (Extra Low Dispsersion) elements.

There is however, at the widest aperture of between F1.4 to F1.7, visible "halos" surrounding certain contrasting edges when I am shooting under very bright conditions. My lastest Sony body, the SLT-A55 picks up this halo effect very effectively, which is unfortunately, very detrimental to resolution and clarity. One however should be able to appreciate the fact that this lens has been around even before the DSLR-A100 (with only 10.2 MP), so before these high resolution sensors came into the market, these little imperfections would have not been visible on prints as the sensors did not have enough resolving power to see them. Sony has discontinued their first multi-purpose zoom, the SAL1870 only a few years ago as it was no longer able to provide enough details to their newer, higher resolution cameras. I suppose the SAL50F14 will be replaced with a better version of itself in the future, but for the moment, it remains as the best 50mm lens in the Sony DSLR system.

Should you get a chance to test this lens out before purchasing, do try it out. The blurring effect of the lens is so strong that it is visible on a 3" LCD, and the low F number lets you turn the ISO dial all the way down to 100 to capture plenty of low noise, high quality pictures in dimly lit environments. Under the bright sun and at a low F number, the lens will freeze just about any moving object by letting your shutter speed go as high as 1/4000.

I bought this lens to try out with my Alpha 350 to take flashless indoor pictures of my ever moving 2 year old, and the results were Amazing!

The sharpness is way better than I had ever gotten with my kit lenses, and the speed of the lens makes sure that I get no blurs, or noisy dark pictures.

Strongly Recommended.

I bought this lens a while ago and have used it a lot, mainly doing portrait shots. I must say it surprised me, it's better that I had hoped. It's very bright, delivering clear and sharp pictures with great colors. I must say that compared to the Canon lenses of similar class, the Sony lens comes out victorious. I really think that the guys at Sony are doing a great job with their SLR camera.
(P.s. I'm not working for Sony or anything like that, I'm just really happy with my lens :)

I like this one a lot. It is very sharp. It is very quick to focus. The wide aperture means you can shoot in very little light and that you can have really shallow depth of field for portraits. Be careful though. Like with all 1.4s the depth of field is very shallow indeed at 1.4 and it takes some skill to make sure you nail the focus because the in focus area is so small at that aperature. On an APS-C crop camera such as the Sony A100 and A700 this lens makes for a great portrait lens at a reasonable price.

One thing though. The lens is awesome but I don't know if its a gigantic enough upgrade from a used Minolta 50 1.7 to justify paying more than three times the price.

One of the best prime lenses ever made, and an excellent update by Sony to keep it in the lineup. A great choice for various portrait work even professional, indoor/low light shooting, and for landscapes when a wide angle isn't needed or you prefer to stitch several images together (distortion free images help with this greatly).

Will be an excellent lens for full frame as well, whether by film or the new upcoming A900.

Highly recommended.

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I received this lens as a Christmas present and I have been very pleased with it. I of course had to try a head-to-head with my 85mm f1.4 to see how the bokeh compared. It was close, very close to being a draw. I was floored by the buttery smoothness of the 50/1.4's bokeh.

I was also surprised to find that at f1.4 the lens was pleasantly sharp with soft and suttle blurring melting away from the sharp point of focus. I had expected it to be f2 or higher for such sharpness and detail. At f8 - f11 it is just absolutely brilliant!

From my experience with this lens (and 85/1.4) I am now drooling for a 35mm f1.4 G! I am so hoping for a Sony full-frame to truely exploit the full potential of this lens - but I digress.

If you have a KM/Min 50/1.7 (and I do) you will find the f1.4 version is significantly better in bokeh and detail. The plus comes in with this being a "D" lens so it has the ADI flash advantage.

If you you do not have a 50mm lens then this is what you are looking for and you will not be disapointed.

This lens is tack sharp and provides beautiful color reproduction. The size and weight are convenient for frequent use, and the focal length on a camera with an APS-C
size sensor is very useful for both portraits and general photography. For all its qualities, and at the Amazon price, this lens is an exceptional value in the Sony lineup of lenses.

My first fixed lens. Great shots, super sharp, fast focus, light weight, but a little expensive.