Review
In this Hands on Review I will be going over the Sony 50mm f/1.8 OSS E-Mount lens as tested on the Sony Nex-5n. I’ve done extensive testing with the SEL50F18 E-Mount lens and you will see exactly what it’s capable of in this review. At ~$300 US it’s easily one of the best bang for the buck Sony E-Mount lens currently available in my opinion. It has a super fast f/1.8 aperture, high quality ED Glass, Optical Steady Shot, and a Silent, Smooth as butter focus motor. Oh Yeah, and it costs hundreds less than anything else even remotely close to as good.
The 50mm focal length on a 1.5x crop factor sensor body, like the Nex cameras, works out to an effective 75mm. (50mm X 1.5x = 75mm) 75mm is an excellent focal length for portraits in particular and with such a fast aperture of f/1.8, in combination with the huge sensor on the Nex-5n, you can get awesome separation between your subjects and backgrounds. Just like an SLR!!
I took a ton of sample pics and I have some sample video that shows off just how smooth and quite the Sony 50mm f/1.8 OSS lens really when focusing from one subject to another, as well as focusing in really low light. I also wanted to note that I shot Jpeg for most of these images as that is what most users will be using when shooting with the Nex-5n in my opinion. Plus the fact that the camera fixes the lens flaws in jpeg mode!!
SEL50F18 – Sony 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens
Here’s the Sony E-Mount 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens w/ the provided lens hood.
Sony E-Mount 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens – SEL50F18
Sony E-Mount 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens – SEL50F18
Sony E-Mount 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens – SEL50F18
Here’s the Sony E-Mount 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens mounted to the Sony Nex-5n.
Sony Nex-5n and the Sony 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens
Sony Nex-5n and the Sony 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens and lens Hood
Sony 50mm f/1.8 OSS lens – Full Specs
| Optics/Lens | |
|---|---|
| Aperture (Max.) | f/1.8 |
| Aperture (Min.) | f/22 |
| Filter Diameter | 49mm |
| Lens Groups-Elements | 8 groups, 9 elements |
| Minimum Focus Distance | 15.3” (0.39m) |
| AF for Movie Capture | Yes |
| Angle of View | 32° |
| Aperture Blade | 7 blades (Circular aperture) |
| Dimensions (Max. Diameter x Length) | 2-1/2 x 2- 1/2” (62x62mm) |
| Direct Manual Focus | Yes |
| Exterior Finish | Metal |
| Focal Length (35mm equivalent) | 75mm |
| Internal Motor | Yes (Stepping motor) |
| Lens Weight | 7.25 oz (202g) |
| Low Noise During Movie Capture | Excellent |
| Maximum Magnification | 0.16x (APS-C) |
| Mount Material | Metal |
| Weights and Measurements | |
| Dimensions (Approx.) | 2-1/2 x 2-1/2” (62 x 62mm) |
| Weight (Approx.) | 7.25oz (202g) |
| Service and Warranty Information | |
| Limited Warranty Term | 1 Year Parts & Labor 1 |
Sony 50mm f/1.8 OSS lens – Full Feature Set
Built-in Optical SteadyShotTM image stabilization
The built-in Optical SteadyShot image stabilization system provides a 4-stop (approx.) shutter speed advantage, making it significantly easier to achieve crisp, blur-free images and video.
Large F1.8 aperture
The SEL50F18 has an innovative optical design to achieve clear, high-quality images by effectively minimizing distortion and chromatic aberration. Moreover, the large maximum aperture of this lens with its circular aperture design, can produce beautiful, creamily defocused backgrounds.
Smooth and quiet high-speed focusing
Lens operation is fast but at the same time smooth and quiet, minimizing noise and image jitter when shooting movies. A linear motor used for focus drive contributes to low-noise focus operation, while a stepping motor built into the lens, technology inherited from Sony’s professional camcorders, results in smooth, quiet aperture actuation ideal for movie shooting.
Compact and lightweight
The SEL50F18 is remarkably compact and lightweight for a large-aperture mid-range telephoto lens (50mm focal length/75mm equivalent in 35mm format). It is convenient to carry around for general photography, and particularly well suited to shooting portraits. The elegant aluminum alloy exterior of this lens affords an appearance that blends beautifully with the graceful design of E-mount bodies, and the engraved focus ring offers sophisticated appearance as well as superior grip and operating feel.
Direct Manual Focus (DMF)
Direct Manual Focus (DMF) allows the user to go directly to manual focusing after autofocus lock-on without having to switch modes. In cases where autofocus has trouble locking onto the subject, or when the user wants to focus at a specific point, DMF facilitates fast, easy fine focus adjustments. This can be particularly useful for portraits in which depth of field can be extremely shallow.
Price: ~$298.00 @ BHPhoto (Click Here)
Build Quality
As you can see from the high res images above, the build quality is very good on the Sony E-Mount 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens. It’s skin is metal so it’s rigid and strong, yet relatively light weight at 7.5 oZ considering the large f/1.8 Aperture. It also looks really sharp in my opinion and has tight tolerances all around. When focusing manually, the focus ring is smooth as butter and when in auto the AF motor is virtually silent. What stands out with the autofocus to me in particular is how it transitions from one focus point to another. It almost seems like it has a ease/ in, ease/ out effect on the focus transitions and you’ll see in the sample video below what I’m talking about. I don’t think it actually does that, but it’s super smooth unlike other lenses I’ve used.
The lens hood is really large, but does the job well as I had no flare issues shooting outside etc.. The Hood also screws into the lens front itself which ultimately gives it a slightly smaller profile and tighter seal. Again, a sign of quality that you normally do not get with a lens at this price point. Honestly, this lens should cost more like $5-600 if I were to rate it on quality and features alone. Sony can’t be making much on this lens!!
Sample Photos
I’ll Start with a few of my favorite pics, then I’ll go over in detail with 100% Crops the corner sharpness, lens blur (bokeh), vignette, etc..
Be sure to Click on the Photos for the Large 1200px version!!
A few of my favorite sample pics
I shot these first two African Daisy flower photos in Raw as I wanted to insure I captured as much highlight detail as possible.
Sony Nex-5n w. Sony 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens @ f/4, 1/800sec, ISO 100, Raw, Tri-pod, Manual Mode, BW Conversion
Sony Nex-5n w. Sony 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens @ f/4, 1/1250sec, ISO 100, Raw, Tri-pod, Manual Mode
A few of my favorite sample pics cont..
Nex-5n, Sony E-Mount 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens @ f/1.8 1/320sec, ISO 100, Hand Held
Nex-5n, Sony E-Mount 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens @ f/1.8 1/80sec, ISO 320, Hand Held
Nex-5n, Sony E-Mount 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens @ f/1.8 1/250sec, ISO 400, Hand Held
Nex-5n, Sony E-Mount 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens @ f/1.8 1/250sec, ISO 400, Hand Held – LR4 conversion
Nex-5n, Sony E-Mount 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens @ f/1.8 1/320sec, ISO 400, Hand Held – Vignette and vintage look added in LR4
Michele got me this cool fire-pit for fathers day, so we can all roast marshmallows and stuff together in a somewhat safe way. I prefer the raging fire pit, but I guess it’s not the safest and the portable fire-pit is really nice!! Layla was so kind as to be my little helper assembling it, and Michele took a few pics. I really like this one 
- “Layla, can I have the Screwdriver please??”
Nex-5n, Sony E-Mount 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens @ f/1.8 1/4000sec, ISO 200, Hand Held
Michele made me Pancakes for Fathers day as well!! Man am I lucky Look at those delicious juicy fresh blueberries!!
Nex-5n, Sony E-Mount 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens @ f/4 1/80sec, ISO 1600, Hand Held
Nex-5n, Sony E-Mount 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens @ f/4 1/80sec, ISO 1600, Hand Held
SEL50F18 Sharpness Test
This next series is a Real World sharpness test, and the results are solid performance across the board from the 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens. These were taken hand held with Auto ISO in order to maintain a somewhat constant shutter speed for the sharpness test. You may see a tad more noise in the f/8 images. Note the corner sharpness consistency!!
Be sure to Click on the Photos for the Large 1200px version!!
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- Nex-5n, Sony E-Mount 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens @ f/1.8 1/80sec, ISO 160, Hand Held
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- Nex-5n, Sony E-Mount 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens @ f/2 1/80sec, ISO 160, Hand Held
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- Nex-5n, Sony E-Mount 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens @ f/4 1/80sec, ISO 640, Hand Held
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- Nex-5n, Sony E-Mount 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens @ f/8 1/80sec, ISO 2500, Hand Held
Sony 50mm f/1.8 OSS lens Lens Flaws
The vignette is noticeable when shooting wide open at f/1.8, but goes away completely by about f/- f/2.8 or so.
nex-5n, Sony 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens @ f/1.8 – Vignette Test
nex-5n, Sony 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens @ f/5.6 – Vignette Test
Chromatic Aberrations are also somewhat noticeable in high contrast areas. When shooting in raw it’s more noticeable than when shooting in jpeg mode. It’s easy to fix this in any raw processing program though encase you decide to develop yourself 
Nex-5n, Sony 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens @ f/1.8 ,1/400sec, ISO 100, Hand Held
Nex-5n, Sony 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens @ f/1.8 ,1/400sec, ISO 100, Hand Held
Nex-5n, Sony 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens @ f/8 ,1/80sec, ISO 200, Hand Held
Nex-5n, Sony 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens @ f/8 ,1/80sec, ISO 200, Hand Held
Sony 50mm f/1.8 OSS lens – Lens Blur Test Shots
Be sure to Click on the Photos for the Large 1200px version!!
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- Nex-5n, Sony E-Mount 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens @ f/8 1/40sec, ISO 100, Hand Held
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- Nex-5n, Sony E-Mount 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens @ f/4, 1/100sec, ISO 100, Hand Held
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- Nex-5n, Sony E-Mount 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens @ f/1.8, 1/500sec, ISO 100, Hand Held
Nex-5n, Sony 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens @ f/8 ,1/500sec, ISO 100, Hand Held
Nex-5n, Sony 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens @ f/2 ,1/125sec, ISO 100, Hand Held
Nex-5n, Sony 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens @ f/2 ,1/125sec, ISO 100, Hand Held
Sample HD Video Testing
Here is two sample clips showing how the Sony 50mm f/1.8 OSS lens performs in the focusing department in various lighting conditions. I also recorded the Naked Nex-7 Video with this set-up!!
Be sure to select the 720p quality option for the best viewing experience.
Conclusion
Overall I had a blast using the Sony 50mm f/1.8 OSS lens with the Sony Nex-5n, and I highly recommend this lens for anybody in the market. Like all the E-Mount lenses in my opinion, the 50mm is a killer value for the dollar at ~$298.00 US. The 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens is sharp from corner to corner and has a very pleasing bokeh in my opinion, similar to that on the 55-210mm E-Mount lens. The OSS works really well and as you can see in the video is very smooth and quiet.
The focal length, wide aperture, and OSS, make this lens a no brainier for anybody interested in portrait photography, and low light photography in particular. Wedding reception always comes to mind. You could even take some excellent HD video and get top quality professional grade results with this lens.
As far as lens flaws go, they are so minor and easily correctable that I would not worry about them very much. For the price point, it’s incredible how good this lens is. I gave it a 5 Star rating as it’s the best E-Mount Lens for the money I have tested to date!! I may actually have to lower some other lenses ratings after some further analysis, but I don’t think so.
That is all for this review on the Sony 50mm f/1.8 OSS lens, and please feel free to ask questions if you have any!
Jay
Price: ~$298.00
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Check out the E-Mount Lens Guide >>
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Thanks,
Jay
About the Author
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Hey,
This is a really good review and i’ve got a question which could influence a major buying decision for me. I’ve been looking at the NEX series as a possible buy with the major advantage being the size. Between the 7 and 5N, I feel the knobs and customization should make the NEX7 a camera that I won’t grow out of. The only problem i feel is that the whole package is quite more expensive than say starting out on a T3i or a 5100.
I’ve been thinking of taking a 18-135 all purpose zoom and a 50/1.8 to cover what I think I want. Now, the glass for the Cannon/Nikkon is around 110-120 USD while this one is more than double that price. Is this jump justified?
Thanks in advance!
Ishaan,
Thanks for the comments!!
With the Nex Cameras, you are paying a bit more for the compact size. Your also losing the super fast Phase Detection AF. I’m assuming you were planing on going with a Nex-5n and the LA-EA2 lens adapter and then A-Mount lenses on top of that?
If so, I would look at the Sony A35 or A37 instead. The Sony Lenses can be a bit more depending on what focal length and aperture, but you are getting top quality optics!! Canon and Nikon have awesome lenses, but they also make a ton of crappy lenses. Sony really only makes good or great lenses from what I’ve seen so far.
Check out my review of the a35 and perhaps you could pic one up used? Otherwise Sony A37 or the Nikon are the best bang for the buck in my opinion. A35 Review >>
I hope this helps,
Jay
Hi Jay,
I want to purchase an NEX-5n primarily for creating music videos. A very shallow DoF is critical for the look I need when filming the singer. The DoF in the pictures you posted is indeed very shallow and looks perfect. My question is, will a video also have a similar DoF, everything else being equal (same distance to subject, same aperture)?
Thanks,
-Leon
Hello Leon,
Thanks for the comments and question!
The Depth of Field of the Sony 50mm f/1.8 OSS lens will be identical for video and photography with the same settings. It’s the lens itself that controls the depth of field more than the camera really. Although the aperture setting is also very important as it relates to depth of field
Best,
Jay
Nice review Jay. This lens looks superb! Going to highly recommend this to NEX users =D
Thank you Gary
I greatly appreciate the comments, and you sharing the review!!
Best,
Jay
Hi Jay ,
.
Greeting from Indonesia and thanks for this great lens review . I just sold my Canon 60D and bought my NEX-6 a week ago . So far i am really happy with what my NEX-6 can do, the image quality , the fast AF and the less intimidating form factor
Now i plan to buy the E 50mm f1.8 lens , should i update the lens firmware for my Nex-6 so it can work properly like the new power zoom 16-50mm lens ? Is there any update yet ?
Thanks,
-Ricardo
Hello Ricardo,
Congrates on the new purchase, and unfortunately no, that lens is not supported yet.
Here is the link to the latest firmware updates. Just scroll down a bit for the lenses: http://blog.sony.com/alphafirmwareupdates
It’s not on the list.I also checked the Sony updates area and nothing for the SEL5018 Lens.
Hopefully they will have it soon!
Jay
Yeah, I just bought an NEX-6 with the standard 16-50 zoom and the 50 f1.8. I do a lot of low light shooting and video. The 1650 with the hybrid autofocusing is fantastic in low light fast and accurate, especially for moving subjects (bands in this case) but the 50 without hybrid hunts and often gets it wrong. I hope they update the firmware soon to use hybrid AF. it si SO much better! FYI, the NEX-6 is awesome in low light all around. I tried a fe much more expensive cameras including the A77. None of which gave me anywhere near the low light useability of the 6.
Awesome Info Rick, thanks for sharing and I can’t help but agree about the Hybrid AF performance being excellent. It’s a shame Sony is so slow to release support for what seems like a basic feature. Hopefully soon!!
Jay
Hi Jay , Thanks for the feedback and the link . Yeah , i hope they will have it soon .
Hi Jay,
Some amazing pictures. really captured the mood there. I have a sony nex5n with the kit lens. thinking to buy a 50mm f1/8 OSS to capture some close ups of my 8 month old daughter. But since this lens does not have a fisheye, I was wondering if there is fisheye converter I can use with sony 50mm f1/8 ? Or would you suggest altogether a different lens for capturing both macro photography and wide angles ? Thanks in advance.
Mukesh
Hello Mukesh,
Thanks for the comments and great questions!!
The 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens is a great way to go for baby portraits!! It is far from a wide angle lens though and as far as I know there is no quality fisheye adapter for it. The 50mm lens is also not a macro lens. Macro Photography is really super high magnification when the camera lens is only inches from the subject. If your looking for that, the 30mm Macro lens (click here for review) does a great job for the money!!
Fisheye wise, you can get the adapter for the 16mm wide angle lens, or go with the awesome Rokinon 8mm f/2.8 fisheye lens I recently reviewed here >>
I hope that helps!
Jay
Thanks Jay! correct me if I am wrong but are you saying that I should use 50mm for portraits and 30mm for macro ? or is 30mm good for both purposes ? Thanks
Mukesh
The 30mm could be used for both purposes, but it is also a Macro lens. The 50mm lens is Not a Macro.
50mm is a bit better for Portraits than 30mm in my opinion, but often you can’t get far enough away. In that case the 30mm will be a better choice. The Macro 30mm is a bit slower with an f/3.5 aperture though. Indoor will be harder. The New 30mm f/1.8 OSS lens is pretty awesome though. Check out some sample photos in the Nex-5 Rolling Review Here >>
Best,
Jay
Thanks Jay. Picked up a 50mm at the moment and the close-ups/portraits are coming out great! excited to explore it further. not sure if i can use manual settings with this lens in a low light settings.
No problem at all Mukesh, anytime!!
Manual works well with the zoom in feature and focus peaking, but it’s hard on moving subjects and to focus with such a narrow depth of field
Best,
Jay
Hey there, great pictures !
I own a NEX 5 and wanted to pick up a fast prime lens for it. At almost 25,000 rupees (i’m in India) it is a little steep for me. I was thinking of picking up an EOS lens adapter and an EOS 50mm/1.8 to go with it.
What I wanted to ask was whether focusing manually on the NEX is pain and how easy is it to get used to manual focusing all the time. Because, when focusing manually on the NEX the image is magnified on the display but with no contacts on the adapter I’m guessing that wont happen with a ‘non e-mount lens’.
Thanks,
Abhi.
Hello Abhi,
You will have magnification with non e-mount lenses!! Even fully manually lenses like the old school Minolta lenses I’m using on my Nex-6 work great with the magnify feature and focus peaking!! Check it out Here Manual Focusing on the Nex!! Using Lens Adapters on the Nex >>