Sony FE 35mm f/1.8 Review

April 6, 2020 | Mark Goldstein | Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star Half rating star

Sharpness at 35mm

The sharpness tests for this review were carried out using a real-world subject rather than a test chart. The Sony FE 35mm F1.8 lens was attached to a Sony A7 III camera body, which in turn was mounted on a sturdy tripod. Self-timer mode was activated. Slight tonal changes are due to slight changes in natural light during the session.

The full frameThe full frame at 35mm

The centre is slightly soft wide open at f/1.8, with the peak performance achieved in the f/2.8-f/11 range. Diffraction sets in at at f/16. The edges are soft from f/1.8-f/2.8, sharpening up at f/4, with f/5.6-f/11 the optimum settings.

Aperture Centre Crop Edge Crop
f/1.8 f4.jpg f4.jpg
f/2 f4.jpg f4.jpg
f/2.8 f4.jpg f4.jpg
f/4 f4.jpg f4.jpg
f/5.6 f5_6.jpg f5_6.jpg
f/8 f8.jpg f8.jpg
f/11 f11.jpg f11.jpg
f/16 f16.jpg f16.jpg
f/22 f16.jpg f16.jpg