Used Sony 50mm f/1.4 (alpha)A Mount Standard Lens

2024-12-23T19:00:00

Super sharp and fast, beautiful photos with this lens.

Jet J.

Originally posted at

2023-05-12T20:00:00

Although this is a "modern" lens, it has no in lens motor, so relies on the screw drive from the camera. Focus is however fairly rapid and perfectly usable as not noisy. Being a smooth surface, it attracts no dust to any grip areas and the hood goes on easily and feels solid once engaged. The quality at f1.4 is acceptable, but sharpness improves at f2.8 in both the centre and corners. Compared to the Zeiss SSM lens, it it far more compact and a lot lighter, but certainly not as sharp. The bonus is that this lens costs about one third of the cost of the Zeiss. Recommended for A-mount users of full frame cameras, such as the A99, as a general walkabout lens.

TonyBk

Originally posted at

2023-05-12T20:00:00

Although this is a "modern" lens, it has no in lens motor, so relies on the screw drive from the camera. Focus is however fairly rapid and perfectly usable as not noisy. Being a smooth surface, it attracts no dust to any grip areas and the hood goes on easily and feels solid once engaged. The quality at f1.4 is acceptable, but sharpness improves at f2.8 in both the centre and corners. Compared to the Zeiss SSM lens, it it far more compact and a lot lighter, but certainly not as sharp. The bonus is that this lens costs about one third of the cost of the Zeiss. Recommended for A-mount users of full frame cameras, such as the A99, as a general walkabout lens.

AVLB

Originally posted at

2018-07-10T20:00:00

I upgraded from the much less expensive 50mm f1.8 and I can't say there is much difference. Also, the amount of chromatic aberration I've encountered with this lens has made me stop using it all together. I'm sticking with my 16-50 f2.8, which is a much higher quality glass.

MTLPHOTOGEAR

Originally posted at

2018-04-24T09:41:07

Use, provides nice images and is fast ( f/1.4 ).

Douglas L.

2018-02-11T19:00:00

Bought the 50mm f1.4 some time back, to use with an Alpha A77. Pleased with it's performance as a fast prime, in combo with the 77. I have now switched to an A7Rll (fantastic camera) and traded most of my old lenses for EF's, but kept the 50mm F1.4 to use with a LA-EA4 adaptor, an glad that I did. It has proven remarkably sharp, with the bokeh that I have always craved since changing to digital cameras. It produces a slightly soft image at F1.4, but by F2 and higher the image is great. Of course, at the larger apertures, accurate focus is critical, due to the narrow depth of field. A first rate lens, capable of producing very pleasing shots.

DigitalAlan

Originally posted at

2017-09-15T20:00:00

If you're wondering and looking for your second lens to accompany your Sony DSLR then it has to be this one. Razor sharp at 2.2 and above and more than acceptable right down to 1.4. You really can't go wrong.

Rick2304

Originally posted at

2016-08-07T20:00:00

Small, light, great image quality, and 1.4 aperture. A brilliant prime that encourages discipline in framing and composition.

goldsnapper

Originally posted at

2015-07-12T20:00:00

Color, crispness, clarity are all great, even in low light settings. Lots of flexibility when playing with the focal plane. The autofocus is fast enough and pretty accurate. For the price, this lens is a bargain.

analog

Originally posted at

2014-10-28T20:00:00

I bought is lens in 2012 with my a850 and have some wonderful photographs ideal for evening and low light work and crystal clear, if I have any problems it's the fact the lens hood does not fit that well.

Basil99

Originally posted at

2013-09-12T20:00:00

Value for Money

JPAP

Originally posted at

2013-07-01T20:00:00

I'm still amateur and have yet to put this lens to a full capability test, but I'm quite impressed already. To get a good lens doing 1.4 for this price is just amazing. I have no complaints.

DetroitPics

Originally posted at

2013-01-26T19:00:00

I go out of my way to use this lens. The 1.4 aperture is a lot of fun and gets great shots with beautiful bokeh. I've shot a couple weddings and this lens is indispensable in low light settings. I haven't really had any problems with focus or aberration. I'll switch to this lens from my zoom and run around to compensate because the quality of pictures I get is so superior in color, sharpness, and versatility compared to my other lenses.

rjr020

Originally posted at

2012-03-04T19:00:00

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. The Seller packaged the lens well, shipped the lens promptly, and it arrived right away in excellent condition.

arenem101

2012-02-16T19:00:00

This lens is very easy to blurry the background. Most times no need to use the flush light when take pictures inside.

Fred

2012-02-06T19:00:00

Use it with Sony alpha 100, 550 and 55. Outstanding resolution. Smal and light. f1.4 with only 55mm filter size. Use it mostly at indoors sport events with ISO 800 and 1/500s shutter speed. Great portrait lens with APS size sensor and macro with extension tubes.

Jakub

2011-11-21T19:00:00

Have bought this lens specifically for low light situations like in a aquarium etc. where the subject is not always holding still and fast shutter speed is required. The lens is very sharp. I use it on the A850 with excellent results. Can only recommend.

bbecker010

Originally posted at

2011-11-20T19:00:00

JUST BOUGHT THE 50MM 1.4 TO GO WITH MY A77. GREAT FOR LOW LIGHT ,GOOD COLOR , LIGHT WEIGHT, GOOD BOKEH. A GREAT LITTLE LENS FOR ANY CAMERA BAG.

TOOBAD2

Originally posted at

2011-10-01T21:00:00

I used this lens to take my grand daughter's pictures. It blurry the background. Make the portray looks good.

Fred

2011-09-07T20:00:00

Out of the box, this lens was amazingly sharp with very accurate auto-focus. After about two months & 300 shots, the calibration on the auto-focus started to degrade. It now focuses about three inches further away at f/5.6 at eight feet than what you are actually focusing on. It's not the camera (an A33), which is still quite accurate with all my other Sony lenses. I sent it to Sony, but they were evidently unable to recalibrate it, as the performance was unimproved when they returned it to me. The good news is that it's still incredibly sharp when focusing manually...

Parsec

Originally posted at

2011-09-05T21:00:00

I don't have any negative feedback to offer on this lens. As close to negative as I can get is there's no SSM focusing, but that would cost more anyway so it seems to be a fair trade off. For the price it's an excellent piece of equipment that is necessary for anyone wanting to take their photography to the next level. f1.4... I love you! It's wonderful to be able to hand hold action shots all the way till dusk without cranking the ISO up. A must have for low light shooting.

Brandon

2011-06-11T20:00:00

50mm is not too far or too close. In fact, 50mm is actually the most similar with human eye's sight (consider how much you can actually pay attention on or focus on) with f/1.4 it gives you very artistic feel of photos. Usually, lens has lower performance in the extreme fx of its own. however this 50F1.4 does not. Its image is almost perfect in f/1.4. and the price is so reasonable that you have to buy one, just in case to want to take some picture with it. (dark environment, flowers, close shot, etc)

GaryJohnson

Originally posted at

2011-05-12T20:00:00

It just came to my house today. It took one day to ship! Even though they said 5-7. I alms ordered expedited too. I don't know why I didn't order these lens earlier when it was on sale! It's so perfect. I just got it and I'm 100% loving it an satisfied. Sure it's a bit costly, but in my opinion, well worth the money.

ChuckO

Originally posted at

2011-05-04T20:00:00

Oh, how I love this lens!! I consider myself to be a "prosumer", so no fancy techy talk, just starting to build up a portfolio. Great for natural light and with a Sony Flash, handles low light situations well. I've a passion for my Sony 700, and saving up for the Big Boy 850 - then we'll see what this lens can do!

ajphotoimages

Originally posted at

2011-04-23T20:00:00

I love the colors this lens gives. Other, more expensive, lenses don't even come close. I use this lens instead of a the more expensive zoom I have because I can crop photos taken with the lens and they are still sharper and have much more dynamic range.

Robert237

Originally posted at

2011-03-23T20:00:00

I wanted to get good pictures with a very narrow focal plane. All I can say is the pictures are great and the price is amazing! The only drawback (which others have noted) is that f1.4 is VERY hard to focus. The focus is slightly off and hard to do with a moving target (like my godson in my pictures). I am now using it a f1.7, and seems to be much easier. But when you do get it right, the pictures are amazing.

asterix2112

Originally posted at

2011-02-06T19:00:00

This lens is great for walk around and low light. Use your feet more instead of standing in one spot. It's light weight and a pleasure to use with my Sony a850 My copy of this lens is sharp at all f/stops. I love it. Buy it if you can.

bill

2010-07-10T20:00:00

I use this on my alpha 850. The lens, like most fast 50mm lenses regardless of brand, has some focus shift (change of focal point when stopping down), which for me only comes into play when shooting very close up (like 2-3feet or so; I either focus manually or use microfocus adjustment of minus 10 to 15). For more distant shots I use a microfocus adjustment of minus 5 and my shots turn out fine. The focus ring rotates when focusing, and sometimes my hand gets near it, so I wish it had SSM instead. However the focusing is very fast. I like the Bokeh the lens provides and I find F1.4 to provide a soft, background swirling effect that I like very much for some shots. F2 - 2.8 provides xlnt bokeh and good sharpness in the center and is useful for a wide variety of shots. Closing the lens down further, say to F5.6 or more provides pinpoint sharpness over the entire image and is great for landscapes for example. I'm pixel peeing at 100% screen mag with a 24mp camera, so this is high praise. This lens is a keeper!

Photojoe

Originally posted at

2010-06-27T20:00:00

This lens is better than you'd expect. It performs well, especially given the price. Images look great at the widest apertures, and superb at f/2.8. Limited depth of field definitely adds a nice touch to many images. Autofocus is generally accurate and is acceptably quick. The build quality is much better than the f/1.8 50mm. If you're on the fence between this and the cheaper f/1.8 50mm, I'd recommend this one every time. For the extra money you're getting a faster lens, a better built lens, and better image quality. The only bad thing I can say is that the focus ring rotates during autofocus and I tend to have my fingers resting there, which is startling, but that's nothing more than a minor issue.

pulseHEAD

Originally posted at

2010-05-15T20:00:00

This thing is fantastic. color rendition is fabulous. sharpness is crazy. I love it. despite that this does not have a SSM motor or anything, it focuses really quickly and with no fuss at all most of the time. You have to try really hard to NOT get the focus you were looking for. Love the colors. Love the sharpness. Love the accuracy. Love everything about it. Well almost....Build quality could be better to be honest. Theres this glue thing around the rim of the lens that keeps pealing away. But it is very minor and I'm sure that this is just an exception. I highly recommend this lens to everybody on earth. This is much better than its rival from Canon. The rival from Nikon is quite good too to be honest but the Sony is sharper and has better colors.

Sehrawy

Originally posted at