Review
In this Review of the Sony E-Mount 35mm f/1.8 OSS Lens (SEL35F18), I will go over corner sharpness and overall quality using real world photography and the Nex-5r and Nex-6 for camera bodies.
The SEL35F18 lens is one of the newer E-Mount primes from Sony and goes for approximately $448 US. It’s extremely light weight at 5.47oz (155g), considering it’s fast and relatively large f/1.8 aperture and lens elements. The equivalent focal length for the sel35f18 lens on the Nex camera system is 52.5mm, and a very usable range for my style of shooting as it turns out 
It’s especially good for low light hand holding with the built-in Optical SteadyShot technology (OSS). I have some pretty slow shutter speed photos “hand-held” that would not normally be possible without OSS.
I shot raw quality using the Sony Nex-5r and Nex-6 for most of these photos unless otherwise noted. I also did not use any lens correction methods in Lightroom 4 to fix fringing or anything else on the test photos and 100% crops. Lightroom does not have a profile for this lens at the time of this review, so these are pretty much straight off the camera, and you can expect sharper results when shooting jpeg instead of Raw. Sony really pumps up the saturation, sharpness and noise reduction on the Jpeg photos making the lens harder to judge. Most people using the Nex cameras seem to shoot jpeg, according to Sony, so I think it’s important to note again that these sample photos were taken using RAW Quality.
Read on to get all the info you will ever need on the Sony E-Mount 35mm f/1.8 OSS Lens!!
E-Mount SEL35F18 Lens – A Closer Look
In this quick HD video I will go over the key specs of the SEL35F18 lens and show you up close every angle on my turntable so you asses the build quality and design for yourself!!
Be sure to select the HD quality for the best viewing experience as well
Sony E-Mount 35mm f/1.8 OSS Lens – SEL35F18
E-Mount 35mm f/1.8 OSS Lens – Sample Photos
I took a ton of real world sample photos using the E-Mount SEL35F18 lens and Nex-5r mostly, but I also used my Nex-6 for a few images. I’m going to start off the sample photos with some random shots to give you a nice feel for what this lens can do for you. After that I will get into the more technical stuff like sharpness testing etc..
The sel35f18 lens was a pleasure to use with its relatively small form factor and light weight. It also focused fast and accurately from all the testing I did.
To start off here is a a nice blue sky in the later afternoon sky shot wide open at f/1.8. It was very windy so the tall weed was m0ving quite a bit. The max shutter of 1/4000sec was used and the Nex-5r/ sel35f18 combo managed to pretty much nail the focus. Note how thin the depth of field is at the f/1.8 aperture when viewing the 100% crop below.
Be sure to Click on All These Images for the Large Crisp ~1000px Versions!!
Sony Nex-5r w/ sel35f18 Lens @ f/1.8, 1/4000sec, ISO 100, Handheld
100% Crop |
100% Crop |
This next scene was taken just down the road from where we live and you may recall it from the Nex-5r review It’s a nice mural painted on an old wall with lots of detail for visual interest. I wanted to show off the depth of field offered by the large APS-C sensor of the Sony Nex and f/1.8 aperture of the E-Mount SEL35F18 lens.
Sony Nex-5r w/ sel35f18 Lens @ f/5.6, 1/60sec, ISO 200, Handheld, slight vignette added
Be sure to Click on All These Images for the Large Crisp ~1000px Versions!!
100% Crop – Left side |
100% Crop |
f/1.8 vs f/5.6
A few more angles of the same scene are f/1.8 then f/5.6 for comparison. Note the detail of the background difference in the 100% crops!!
Be sure to Click on All These Images for the Large Crisp ~1000px Versions!!
Sony Nex-5r w/ sel35f18 Lens @ f/5.6, 1/60sec, ISO 640, Handheld
Sony Nex-5r w/ sel35f18 Lens @ f/1.8, 1/100sec, ISO 100, Handheld – 100% Crop
Sony Nex-5r w/ sel35f18 Lens @ f/5.6, 1/60sec, ISO 640, Handheld
Sony Nex-5r w/ sel35f18 Lens @ f/5.6, 1/60sec, ISO 640, Handheld
Here’s a snapshot of the Minolta MC Rokkor 58mm f/1.4 Lens taken with the sel35f18 and Nex-5r handheld.
Minolta MC Rokkor 58mm f/1.4 Lens
I took this next photo of Chubs in Jpeg mode; so note how much sharper it looks in the 100% crop. The focus is slightly off, but I still thought the shot was a good jpeg sample considering I only had a few of them.
Sony Nex-5r w/ sel35f18 Lens @ f/1.8, 1/60sec, ISO 400, Handheld, Jpeg
Sony Nex-5r w/ sel35f18 Lens @ f/1.8, 1/60sec, ISO 400, Handheld, Jpeg, 100% Crop
More Jpeg Samples at a higher ISO
Be sure to Click on All These Images for the Large Crisp ~1000px Versions!!
Sony Nex-5r w/ sel35f18 Lens @ f/2.8, 1/60sec, ISO 3200, Handheld – Jpeg
Sony Nex-5r w/ sel35f18 Lens @ f/2.8, 1/60sec, ISO 3200, Handheld – Jpeg 100% Crop
ssssssssssssss
Sony Nex-5r w/ sel35f18 Lens @ f/1.8, 1/60sec, ISO 500, Handheld
An Outdoor scene.
Sony Nex-5r w/ sel35f18 Lens @ f/2.8, 1/320sec, ISO 100, Handheld
Be sure to Click on All These Images for the Large Crisp ~1000px Versions!!
100% Crop – Top Left |
100% Crop – Sharp Area |
My Dad from his 65th B-Day telling a story with his hands assisting
Dad – 65th B-Day – Nex-5r, sel35f18 @ f/1.8, ISO 200, 1/60sec
Be sure to Click on All These Images for the Large Crisp ~1000px Versions!!
100% Crop |
100% Crop |
Cheddar Cheese anybody??
Sony Nex-5r w/ sel35f18 Lens @ f/2.8, 1/80sec, ISO 100, Handheld
Sony Nex-5r w/ sel35f18 Lens @ f/2.8, 1/80sec, ISO 100, Handheld – 100% Crop
I took this next photo in the bright sun at f/8 and the Sony E-Mount 35mm f/1.8 OSS Lens is sharp!!
Be sure to Click on All These Images for the Large Crisp ~1000px Versions!!
Sony Nex-5r w/ sel35f18 Lens @ f/8, 1/250sec, ISO 100, Handheld
Sony Nex-5r w/ sel35f18 Lens @ f/8, 1/250sec, ISO 100, Handheld – 100% Crop of the nose
100% Crop – Teeth Area |
100% Crop – Top Right |
Chloe in Monochrome using one of my Lightroom 4 presets.
Sony Nex-5r w/ sel35f18 Lens @ f/1.8, 1/60sec, ISO 200, Handheld
Sony Nex-5r w/ sel35f18 Lens @ f/1.8, 1/60sec, ISO 200, Handheld
Layla’s magnets on the fridge and her little bowl full on the floor which turned into a nice ball of color!!
Sony E-Mount 35mm f/1.8 OSS Lens – @ f/1.8, 1/60sec, ISO 320, Handheld!
Optical Steadyshot Testing
I took a few slow shutter speed photos that turned out very sharp!! Check these out and the exif data is just below the photos. this first photo of Mickey was taken at 1/20sec
Sony E-Mount 35mm f/1.8 OSS Lens – @ f/1.8, 1/20sec, ISO 100, Handheld!
1/4sec
Sony E-Mount 35mm f/1.8 OSS Lens – @ f/1.8, 1/4sec, ISO 100, Handheld!!
Sony E-Mount 35mm f/1.8 OSS Lens – @ f/1.8, 1/4sec, ISO 100, Handheld!! – 100% Crop
.4 Seconds
Sony E-Mount 35mm f/1.8 OSS Lens – @ f/1.8, .4seconds, ISO 100, Handheld!!
Sony E-Mount 35mm f/1.8 OSS Lens – @ f/1.8, .4seconds, ISO 100, Handheld!! – 100% Crop
SEL35F18 Sharpness Testing
I was about ~12 feet from the wall when taking these test shots using the Sony Nex-5r (Click for Review), 2sec self timer, Multi-segment focus mode, Raw quality, and my sturdy Manfrotto tri-pod.
Full Scene – Be sure to click these photos for the true 100% crop!!
Sony SEL35F18 Sharpness Test @ f/5.6
Be sure to click these thumbnails for the larger 100% Crop!!
| Center Area |
Top Left |
Door Knob Area |
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| f/1.8 |  |
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| f/2.8 |  |
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| f/4 |  |
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| Â f/5.6 |  |
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| f/8 |  |
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| Â f/11 |  |
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| Â f/16 |  |
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Shooting Into The Sun – Wide Open
Contrast is often effected when shooting into the sun, especially when wide-open!! Here is how the sel35f18 fairs in these really harsh conditions using raw quality. Note the lens flare towards the bottom of the image.
Sony E-Mount 35mm f/1.8 OSS Lens – Into the Sun @ f/1.8 – Raw
Clearly it needs some Contrast adjustments, but did a decent job considering how hard it is to handle the sun. Shooting raw also helps to recover the highlights and fix contrast more easily than on a jpeg image.
Sony E-Mount 35mm f/1.8 OSS Lens – Into the Sun @ f/1.8 – Raw – Contrast Adjusted
Sony E-Mount 35mmf/1.8 OSS Lens Review – Conclusion
The Sony E-Mount 35mm f/1.8 OSS lens is a pretty solid value for the dollar at ~$448 US in my opinion. I would have hoped the lens would be more like $350-400 though to be honest.
The Sony 35mm f/1.8 OSS lens is very sharp wide open at f/1.8 in the real world as you can see form all the sample photos. Corners keep more detail than lot of the other E-Mount lenses, and the optical steadyshot performs great in low light situations, and for hand holding while recording video.
When looking at the sharpness testing photos you can clearly see how f/1.8 is a little softer in the corners, and all around when compared to f/2.8 and f/4. This is totally normal for a lens in this price range and pretty much what I was hoping for. Nice work Sony on the optical performance!!
The AF and OSS are almost silent, which is killer for filming when you need the audio from the camera.
One other note that makes the Sony E-Mount lenses better than the competition for video in particular, is the focus transitioning technology. The focus transitions are very graceful when recording video with an ease in ease out effect. In photography mode it’s much faster and snappier compared to recording video. You can override the smooth transitions by pressing the shutter button while recording and that will jump-start the AF to wherever your trying to focus. Be sure to check out my Nex-5r review for some sample video of Layla and you will see what I’m talking about!
The 2-for-1 Sigma 19 & 30mm f/2.8 lens deal, which is about the same quality sharpness, but a bit slower at f/2.8 and has no OSS, is a better value for the dollar if your going for straight-up optical performance alone. If you factor in the OSS, smooth transition technology for video, faster f/1.8 aperture, and better build quality, the higher price of the SLE35F18 Lens makes sense. The SEL50F18 lens which I reviewed (Click Here), is also a killer value for the dollar at only $278 US at the time of this review publishing!
I hope you all got something out of this review, and please feel free to ask questions and or comment below!!
Jay
Sony E-Mount 35mm f/1.8 OSS Lens (SEL35F18) @ BHPhotoVideo >> $448 US
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Thanks,
Jay
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Thanks for a nice review – appears to be a quite sharp lens – but still pricy.
– but then the aperture is only 3.5-5.6 and it has less zoom than my Sony RX100 – which is 1.8 and nice for low light ( not zoomed ) – so how can I justify the 16-50mm lens ? 
– I guess my diss like of the current 18-55mm kit could help with that 
Why does my Canon 50mm 1.8 cost $150 and my Nikon 35mm 1.8 $196 and my Panasonic Lumix 20mm 1.7 $348 ( for micro 4/3 ) and the Sony $448 ??? I have the Sony NEX7 and NEX5n and the RX100 and have on order both the WX300 and the HX300 – ( the WX300 for super zoom and ultimate small sizeand the HX for ultimate zoom ) – so very much a Sony fan – but they are charging premium for their lenses – I went with Tamron for my 18-200 for my NEX cameras for $739 vs the Sony at the time for $1000 – I must say that I enjoy the Sony RX100 most – the menu system in the NEX cameras is bad bad – hope they change to what the RX100 and the DSLR’s and the RX1 have – so much nicer – I do have the 16mm 2.8 and the macro lens and the 18-55 kit lens as well as the Tamron 18-200 which so far I have used the most.
I just got my notification from B&H on the 16-50mm and the 35mm 1.8 few days prior – I think your photos have convinced me to get the 35mm 1.8 – although I would have preferred a 20mm or 25mm 1.8 – or something close to a 35mm – 40mm just feel sometimes the 50mm focal length is a bit long some times indoors and not wide enough for street shooting – ( love the Panasonic 20mm 1.7 on my Olympus OMD-5 ) – So I am still debating on the 16-50mm kit lens – I love the smaller size and that it is black to match my camera bodies – It would make my NEX5n and NEX7 almost able to fit in a big jacket pocket
Again, nice to have so many pics to review for IQ etc – really helps -
So now I am just waiting for Sony to release the next NEX – NEX8 with a full frame sensor – with the menu system of the RX1 /RX100 – interchangeable lenses – with a dual function viewfinder optical/OLED like the Fuji X-PRO1 – with a bit more retro look – but the same nice grip as the NEX6/7 have. – for around $1400 body only – not asking for much
Hi John and thanks for the comments and thoughts on the review/ lens!!
The Canon thrifty 50mm lens is really cheaply made. I have one
It is very sharp, but junk in comparison to the SEL35F18 as far as build quality is concerned. It’s also designed for the EF mount which is spaced way further away(~35mm I think) from the sensor than on the E-Mount camera system which is only (18mm). This is why the lens adapters space the lenses out when using them on the Nex cameras. It needs to get the lens to the correct distance from the sensor in order for the optics to work. Apparently it’s a much harder challenge optically to have a 18mm sensor to flange distance. Sony also does not sell anywhere near the amount of lenses as Canikon, so that will effect price as well. No question Sony lenses are more expensive than the competition!! They are generally built better though on the lower end in my opinion. Especially in the optical department.
I am jealous of all your cameras!! WOW!! I’m going to get the HX300 to review as that 50x zoom has me drooling
Please let us know what you think of them once you get them!!
I agree about the beginner based menu system as well. The RX100 is a Pro grade camera, hence the pro menu system!! I much prefer that also, but new folks to photography get to confused with all the tech terms in the pro menu!
I’m not sure if you will like the 16-50mm lens, especially on the Nex-7. It’s soft in the corners for sure!! I actually prefer the 18-55mm kit lens over it, but I seem to be in the minority from what I can tell
Your going to be waiting a while if your looking for a retro style Sony to come out! Not going to happen in my opinion, but the FF Nex-8 or 9 should be killer!! I’m hoping for a very refined Nex-7 style with a beefy chassis for holding those heavier lenses
Thanks again for the comments,
Jay
Hi Jay, thanks agains for you work and informations.
I am about to order my SEL35 too, no question with that, but you did not mention the PDAF feature with this lense. Is it ready for Hybrid AF ? or should we wait for a sony firmware ?
thanks,
Jerome
Hello Jerome,
The SEL35f18 and Hybrid AF works with the current firmware on the Nex-5r and Nex-6!!
Here is the article with all the firmware details as well: http://sonyalphalab.com/2013/02/new-firmware-updates-for-sony-alpha-and-nex-cameras/
Take care,
Jay