[4K the-robot Review] Sony E 50mm f/1.8 OSS

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The Sony E 50mm f/1.8 OSS, is an APS-C prime lens, with a focal length perfect for portraits.
The headline goes to the Optical SteadyShot implementation, taking the low light flexibility
ahead: with up to 4-stops of compensation.
At 6.2 by 6cm of 202 grams of mostly plastics and metals, it is a small and light prime
lens, typical of the 50mm f/1.8 market.
Although not as short as Canon's or Nikkor's offerings on the full frame format, the Sony
E 50 is really small for an all-internal focusing lens, and a stabilized prime.
The build quality is also superior to the cheap, plastic-fantastic nifty fifties, opting
for a metal external finishing.
The usability is completely electronic, with no buttons nor switches, also lacking a rubberized
focusing ring.
In your hands, the ergonomics are perfect with mirrorless cameras, portable in nature.
Mounted on the Sony A6500, it's all very small without being uncomfortable.
Focusing is achieved via two ways: manually using the metal ring; or automatically using
the all-internal linear motor.
Given the lack of button or switches, the manual focus must be set virtually on the
camera's menu.
The focusing ring works fly-by-wire, via an electronic brush, lacking the precision and
speed of mechanical lenses.
However this makes possible to implement a linear focusing motor, that uses tracks and
magnetism to produce energy and motion; for smooth and instant focusing.
Tested on Sony's flagship APS-C A6500, when the subject is greatly lit and showing lots
of contrast, the camera doesn't hunt back and forth, going straight to the correct focus.
The built-in stabilizer promises up to 4-stops.
a standard hardly delivered by this lens.
Even tested with the A6500, that promises up to 5-stops, using both camera plus lens
sensors, I could hardly achieve 3-stops; a big let down from the system overall.
And during video capture, the results are even worse: there's a noticeable jitter
on every capture, not as steady as a tripod or steadycam
Finally at the front, it accepts small 49 filters.
They fix on a plastic thread that itself fits inside the lens hood thread, that comes included
in the box.
With a 9 elements in 8 groups optical formula, no special composite, nor special geometry
glasses, the E 50 f/1.8 OSS, delivers impressive results for its price.
The files are high-resolution, no matter the aperture, afterall this is one of the longest
"50mm" we've seen.
The 7-blade rounded aperture, makes the out-of-focus background as smooth as possible, comparable
to f/1.4 lenses, that also use as many glass elements.
Wide open, it almost always delivers resolution and contrast, that combined make for great
sharpness; one of the best in the market.
It's easy to see textures despite the very short depth of field, that shows more axial
chromatic aberrations, than a lack of resolution.
Stopping down to f/2.8, enhances resolution, perfect for precision work like landscapes.
Peaking between f/4 and f/8, it is excellent to compose wide landscapes, not distorting
the lines.
The resolution is also welcomed for 4K videos, that asks for high-end, glasses to resolve
so much resolution.
Chromatic aberrations happens mostly when wide open, and just on the Z-axis, near the
focal plane.
Flirting with double-Gauss formulas, the lateral aberration is invisible, perfect to shoot
high contrast lines, near the frame borders.
But unfortunately we see heavy color aberrations on the bokeh, that render any graphical element
with color bubbles.
Other distortions are kept to a minimum, like the perfect geometry, no matter the working
distances.
Internal reflections might happen under strong backlit situations, like the sun behind the
subject.
And the vignetting is also reasonably low, another benefit of the over sized optics,
that support the optical stabilization.
Finally the colors and the bokeh are mixed.
The reds, oranges and magenta tones, are notably more saturated, perfect for golden hour shots.
The blues and greens are still questionable, and must be balanced prior to publishing.
This renders vivid portraits instead of muted tones, a step ahead other Alpha cameras.
But it's the smooth bokeh, that seals the deal, with a colorful out-of-focus look, that
completely isolates the subject, even with busy background.
Be it for short depth of field portraits, making good use of your camera's large sensor,
or for creative effects on everyday shots, even under low light, it's a no-brainer
on Sony's Alpha, E-mount, APS-C lineup.
Nice shooting!
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[4K the-robot Review] Sony E 50mm f/1.8 OSS

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