Gary Wolstenholme takes a look at this budget 50mm lens for APS-C DSLRs sporting Sony's new smooth autofocus.

Lightweight; Quality when stopped down; Cheap

Basic design may be off-putting to some; Softness at maximum aperture; AF hunts occasionally

The sony DT 50MM F1.8 is excellent! Compare with CANON EF 50MM F1.8II, the build quality is slightly better, it doesn't make a big noise like CANON 50 1.8II when it's trying to focuse. The price is a little higher but its resonable and it's still affordable.

Make the move from the standard zoom and explore the world of portrait photography with the SAL-50F18 lens for your α DSLR camera. It boasts a large aperture which makes it easy to get great-looking portrait shots.

I use the lens for close up shots or just shooting for fun.
I like the fact that this lens is good for natural setting photos and great for doing people candids.
It takes a quick minute for the auto-focus to acquire the target, but a very good lens.

Consistent Output; Durable; Easily Interchangeable; Fast / accurate auto-focus; Lightweight; Rugged; Strong Construction

Slow Focus

The Sony DT 50mm F1.8 SAM is a small and lightweight short portrait lens that won't break the bank. Sure, build quality isn't that great and it's a little hesitant and very noisy to focus, but overall this 50mm optic reliably delivers excellent results.

"There's always a question in the beginner's mind as to whether they should buy a prime lens or a zoom lens. The answer I've gotten from asking many people is both. And so I bought this lens. It is amazing.

The lens would effectively give you a 75mm focal length on a APS-C camera. It gives beautiful colors and sharpness and the bokeh is good too. At f/1.8 it is a relatively fast lens and pretty good for low light photography.

Cheap; light; nice bokeh

for this price; none

This is the first lens I have bought since getting my alpha 55 a few months ago, and I love it. Great for portraits, making your subject really stand out against a lovely soft background and a fabulous price. What's not to like

Lightweight; Quick Focus; Sharp Focus

nice lenses, value for money, good quality

Great lens works great and the prices is amazing.. Its about 20 bucks cheaper on this site then on sonys site and with the cheap shipping you seriously cant beat this price