Thread: Sony 50

A few thoughts on and images from the Sony SEL50 on my blog.

Sony has taken a lot of - in my view often unjustified- criticism over the NEX lens line up. I think the company deserves some credit for coming up with this lens. It would be simple to produce another 50 1.8, no-one would expect anything different. By putting the OSS in it they have done what long established players have failed to do: provided a fast, short(ish) stabilised lens.

Combine f1.8 with OSS and the NEX3/5 performance at ISO3200/6400 and there aren't many static subjects you can't shoot.

Now to see what the promised standard lens will offer - 35 f1.8 seems obvious. It would be fantastic if they stuck OSS in that too.

It's nothing short of a miracle to score a 50/1.8 here in the US! Glad you were able to get it!

Picked it up in Munich. 50's and NEX 7's in every camera store there so I finally got a chance to play with a 7 as well. Very nice.

NEX7's are finally widely available in the US. Now the Zeiss 24 is non-existent. And there were barely any 50/1.8 in the US to begin with. So weird how the supply chain works.

I'm curious about what kind of subject one may shoot with a 50mm prime that would make stabilization useful? I'm not trolling here, it's a true question.

Troll! Just kidding.

How about low light portraits? On the NEX, 50mm would be about 75mm.

Well it's a 35mm equivalent of a 75mm lens. So I would think that IS will go a long way in natural light portraits and anytime I've had too much coffee, which is pretty much all the time.

If you mean a 50mm equiv then the same as the above plus any one who shoots street in low light.

Gordon

That was a stupid question I guess. I have to say I rarely ever shoot portraits in really low light, and also the X100 high iso has spoiled me so that I rarely think of the potential usefulness of stabilization on fast lenses, but you guys make a good point. That makes me think I should try some low light portraits in the near future for a change.

I love low light portraiture, especially natural side light. Just wish I did it well.

Originally Posted by Armanius

It's nothing short of a miracle to score a 50/1.8 here in the US! Glad you were able to get it!

Amazon has a bunch of them.