All I ever really wanted was a Sony 35mm f1.8 FE lens–and I never thought they'd make one. But when I received a call last week about testing a product not yet announced, I was quite shocked. The company has its 35mm f2.8 FE and a 35mm f1.4 FE lenses; both are quite good in their own respects.

In my tests the Sony FE 35mm f1.8 left a very good impression: It is pretty sharp across the full-frame sensor, has a nice Bokeh, and can be shot confidently under adverse contra-light situations.

Very good resolution at normal distances; Very good contrast under contra-light situations; Good close-up performance; Weather sealing against moist and dust; Fast and reliable AF operation; Focus hold button

Coma not well controlled; Field-curvature makes APS-C-corner soft

With fast autofocus, a great build and the ability to capture very sharp images at even its widest aperture, this is a stellar addition to the FE lineup.

Very fast autofocus; Excellent sharpness – even at f/1.8; Generally pleasing defocused areas

Some longitudinal chromatic aberration; Vignetting at wider apertures; Not cheap for such a lens

There is no perfect lens. If you want good and small this is your lens. But if you want great and character I prefer the sigma 35 1.4 art (rented recently). Of course the sigma has the heft. But it's also more than $100 less than the Sony.

The Sony FE 35mm F1.8 is one of Sony's most versatile primes, worthy of serious consideration by all Sony full-frame shooters who desire high quality in a small, lightweight package. Autofocus is swift, and it's extremely sharp wide open.

Portrait and low light shooters that need tack sharp images wide open; videographers; and those that require fast autofocus

Portrait photographers shooting in high contrast light where chromatic aberration may be distracting; and astrophotographers

The 35mm focal length is very useful and having that focal length in a prime lens often brings the benefit of a wide aperture. While not an f/1.4 lens, this lens' f/1.8 aperture is still wide and the moderately wide aperture size enables a compact, lightweight design that has its own obvious...

The Sony FE 35mm F1.8 is proof that you don't need an exotic f/1.4 lens to get crisp shots with blurred backgrounds.

Good wide-open resolution; Excellent when stopped down; Light, compact build; Dust and splash protection.

Pricey.

Still, apart from fully expectable disadvantages, you get also a long list of significant assets. Overall, when it comes to the performance of the lens, there are practically no serious reservations. If I wanted to complain a bit, I would carp only and solely about the price.

solid and sealed mechanical construction,; excellent image quality in the frame centre,; sensible image quality on the edge of the APS-C sensor,; moderate lateral chromatic aberration,; lack of problems with spherical aberration,; negligible distortion,; very low astigmatism,; good performance...

image quality near the maximum relative aperture on the edge of full frame could have been a tad better,; huge vignetting that reacts weakly on stopping down,; significant coma,; noticeable longitudinal chromatic aberration.

With fast autofocus, a great build and the ability to capture very sharp images at even its widest aperture, this is a stellar addition to the FE lineup.

Very fast autofocus; Excellent sharpness – even at f/1.8; Generally pleasing defocused areas;

Some longitudinal chromatic aberration; Vignetting at wider apertures; Not cheap for such a lens

The Sony FE 35mm F1.8 is one of Sony's most versatile primes, worthy of serious consideration by all Sony full-frame shooters who desire high quality in a small, lightweight package. Autofocus is swift, and it's extremely sharp wide open. The lens renders out-of-focus areas very smoothly, but purple and green fringing can be an issue in high contrast situations.

Portrait and low light shooters that need tack sharp images wide open, videographers, and those that require fast autofocus;

Portrait photographers shooting in high contrast light where chromatic aberration may be distracting, and astrophotographers;