The Sony Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f/1.4 ($1,499.99 direct) is the top-end standard-angle prime lens for Sony D-SLR cameras . It's a more expensive version of the older Sony 50mm f/1.4 , but it's one that's been designed with very little compromise in terms of optical qualities.

Impressively sharp; Excellent depth of field control; Captures a ton of light; Great build quality

Some barrel distortion; Big; Expensive

I use this now on my A77 and my results have been great with extremely clear photos that makes my 35mm pale in comparison. This lens is very well built and has a very high quality grip around the lens. Simply a must have!

Gary Wolstenholme reviews the Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f/1.4 ZA SSM lens, a standard prime lens for use with Sony A-mount cameras which sports a fast f/1.4 maximum aperture and silent focusing.

Superb build; Fantastically sharp when stopped down; Quick to focus; Reasonably lightweight ofr its size and build

High CA at fast apertures; Fairly poor sharpness towards the edges of the frame at f1.4

Sony 50mm f/1.4 (Full frame, 35mm and smaller-format coverage, 55mm filters, 7.8 oz. /221g, 1.5'/0.45m close focus, about $450 ).

cant wait to try in on hands, would be my first fixed length lens, except fish eye

it's Zeiss; come on

3 more month to release date

This is a super lens with awesome light gathering and great Bokeh from the round (as opposed to hex) aperture. This lens extends capabilities way beyond the usual 3.5 or 2.8 of other lenses.

Easily Interchangeable; Fast / accurate auto-focus; Nice Bokeh

I have been looking for this lens for a while, and it has always been expensive. There is something strange about this lens that it always stays at the same price all across the world, whether in shops, Sony website, any other websites, and there have never been any real deal on it.

This is a very nice small and light weight lens. Image quality is excellent by f/2.8 and it has typical Minolta colors and a lot of 3D too.

Excellent sharpness; light and small; color; 3D

Focusing ring not good for MF

Nice sharp lens, fast focus and great in low light.

The Sony 50mm f/1.4 is the smallest and lightest of the 50mm lenses on test, and it has a very neat, uncluttered design. It's also got the best set of depth of field markers, covering f/4, f/8, f/16 and f/22. It's much less sophisticated to use, though.