NEX5 with Sony 35/1.8 SAM

[Rurouni76]

Here's my very quick review of the 35/1.8 SAM on NEX5:

Pros:
- Cost effective lens with A-mount adapter. Still cheaper than a M-mount 35/1.4 with M-mount to NEX adapter
- AF possible, AF lock is accurate with no apprant focus errors (though I expect this with CDAF)
- From a rough gauge of sample shots, seems in the ballpark range of expected sharpness for a entry/mid prime lens
- Not too big, around same length as 18-55E mount kit, though a bit fatter
- Nice close focus distance of 23cm
- Good for low light photography

Cons:
- AF while possible is slow. It will take approx 5 secs to lock on (It does a 2 sec focus, followed by a 3 sec juddering focus) Don't expect to use this for more than stills or simple portraits/group shots
- AF is not optimised for video, its too noisy for video though will be fine for general shooting. (To set expectations, the NEX shutter is louder than the lens focus)
- Plastic lens mount rear
- Build quality does not feel great
- AF/MF switch needed, no full time override
- Not as tiny as an NEX with M-mount lens

Overall however, I really like this lens for the 52mm focal length equiv and that nice thin DOF, it does make a difference. I will probably shoot with this as my main standard lens and use the 16/2.8 as a prime wide.

Good lens for seasoned enthusiasts, but the cons may make it less palatable for novice NEX users. If you have a A-mount APS-C SLR though, this is a def must have lens imo.

Here's a couple of quick samples, done in a rush in a dimly lit room. Prob ISO1600 or 3200.

Close up of Keyboard - http://flic.kr/p/8K2TJd


Integrated Amp - http//flic.kr/p/8K2Qxw

[bossel]

Thanks, very helpful information!!

[pakodominguez]

Here's my very quick review of the 35/1.8 SAM on NEX5:

Cons:
- AF while possible is slow. It will take approx 5 secs to lock on (It does a 2 sec focus, followed by a 3 sec juddering focus) Don't expect to use this for more than stills or simple portraits/group shots
- AF is not optimised for video, its too noisy for video though will be fine for general shooting. (To set expectations, the NEX shutter is louder than the lens focus)
- Plastic lens mount rear

Hi,

Did you tried your lens on a DSRL? how "fast" it focus? My SAM 85f2.8 is not fast on the A850 -I have better memories of the SAM 28-75 f2.8 AF speed, but I understand that the SAM 28-75 is not on the ‘Easy Choice’ (Sony's marketing for this lenses) category.

Did you managed to AF whit this lens while shooting video on the NEX-5? I did a very small test with the SAM 85f2.8 and the Zeiss 24-70 f2.8 and none of them AF on video mode.

Plastic mount: looks not that comfortable, right? I'm not scary anymore doh...

Regards

[Rurouni76]

Hi Pako,

The NEX5 is my first Sony camera, I've been a Nikon shooter all this time but decided to go NEX as I find the NEX series to be really innovative so I can't comment on AF speeds on Alpha mount. However, I would think that the SAM lenses would focus as fast as the other lenses from Canon or Nikon. The AF (on NEX) is actually pretty swift when it does the initial focus, the 'problem' is when the NEX tries to finetune the focus, and that takes a good 3 secs from my rough estimation. I note that this is a 'problem' as I never really expected to have AF on an adapted mount.

Sony could try to reduce the finetuning time of the focus, if they can get the focus times to around 3 secs on average in the next firmware update, the AF would become more useful for less static situations.

The 35/1.8 can AF during video mode, but the tracking speed is really bad and the AF noise adds to the 'problem'. However the shallow DOF really looks good in Video as long as you do it smoothly in MF. And yes plastic mount does bug me, I've no idea why the big camera makers these days see the need to squeeze costs to such an extent. To be fair though, plastic mounts do seem to hold up fairly well still.

The E-mount lenses so far are the best I've seen for Video in such a compact format.

[pakodominguez]

The 35/1.8 can AF during video mode

Hi,

I meant "continuous focus" like the SEM lenses. At the speed SAM or SSM lenses perform on the NEX, I prefer to manual focus, specially doing video.

Regards