The Sony 35mm F/1.8 (50mm equivalent) lens is a small, light and fast standard lens for the NEX system. The lens has a fast F/1.8 aperture. It ships with caps, a petal shaped hood, box and a one year warranty in most countries. It is only compatible with Sony NEX camera’s. The Lens specifications are as follows:

Lens Type : E-mount 35mm F1.8
Lens Mount Type : Sony E-mount
Aperture Range : f/1.8 – f/22
Focal Length (35mm equivalent) : 52.5 mm
Filter Diameter : 49 mm Lens
Construction : 6-8
Minimum Focus Distance : 11.88″ (0.3 m)
Angle of View : 44° (APS-C)
Aperture Blade : 7 blades Circular Aperture
Dimensions Diameter x Length : 2 1/2″ x 2 13/16″ or 63 x 45mm
Exterior Finish : Black Steady Shot Mode: Active Lens-based Image Stabilization (OSS)

We are adding sample images from this lens. The review will follow.

We tested this lens on a NEX5n and the results were very very good. I think that it will be even better on the NEX6! This is a small, light zoom that covers the 35-70mm range for full frame. On a NEX crop it becomes 53-100mm equivalent. This lens demonstrates little lateral chromatic abberations, little fall off, and excellent colour contrast. You can expect the famous contax “look” and sharpness. Critical to any adapted lens is the adapter. We used a Kipon type adapter that allows the lens to reach infinity focus at the correct point.

This is a superb lens! You can expect extraordinary sharpness right from wide open. Smooth Bokeh and no, and I say again, no chromatic aberrations. The lens distinguishes itself by having excellent separation of the subject from the background, it’s very 3D. Colour contrast is high and images need very little processing when coming from dng files. The lens has a very special look, especially at mid-distances. Close up performance is also very good, due to the floating element. Close up images still retain interesting bokeh as well. Check out the parrot shot below. Vignetting also serves to enhance image quality ( I know that some will disagree), but I really like this lens and its output.

I am working on the review of this wonderful lens, that is sadly discontinued by Leica. It is a very light small lens ideally suited for travel. The nearest modern alternative would be the 90mm F/2.8 Summarit. The F/2.8 Elmarit is available on EBay and if one is careful, you can pick up a very good copy.