Sony E-Mount 50mm f1.8 OSS - Some Observations

The Sony E-mount 50mm f1.8 OSS lens has been one of my most wanted lens for my NEX camera system ever since it was announced.  As far as I know, it's the first with a lens-based stabilization 50mm lens in the world, and at a reasonable price. Finally, shortly after I got my NEX-6, I bought 50mm f1.8 OSS, and have been using it on occasions.

In a word, this is a fantastic lens, in terms of its optical properties. Extremely sharp lens even wide open. I use this lens at f1.8 most of the time and find that the only reason to stop it down is for more depth of field, or lower the shutter speed. I haven't shot any brick walls with it to check corner sharpness or distortion; only have used it as I normally would and it has not disappointed me, optically. It's a far departure from the serviceable, but mediocre 16mm f2.8 pancake.

The optical stabilization system works very well, in still photo or video. In fact, this is one of the best features besides the excellent optics. Very effective and easily gives two to three stops of usefulness. Despite my wish to have in-body stabilization on cameras, I still prefer in-lens stabilization system. It's far more effective as the system is tailored and optimized to the specific lens.

In terms of build, it's quite acceptable. The lens is surprisingly light weight despite the use of metal for the mount and outer lens barrel. It's no Leica in build quality, but few lenses are. For that, you will have to fork out a lot of cash, but I think it's a good compromise between cost, weight, and build quality.

The only gripe I have is the auto focus speed. It's painful if you are used to DSLRs or the later Olympus/Panasonic models. To be fair, the slow speed is probably not totally the fault of the lens, but the current NEX system as a whole. It's worse on wake-up from power save mode when you have to rack the focus from closes to infinity. If you need to shoot something quickly, and the camera is in sleep mode, by the time the camera wakes up and sets the lens in focus, the opportunity is often gone. I think this is the biggest problem for the NEX system at the moment. I am so used the quickness of my 1D III when I need auto focus, the NEX-5/5N/6 just drives me crazy. The only thing that saves my insanity is the fact that I shoot more manual focus lenses on the NEX-6 than AF lenses.

The Piano - Sony NEX-6 & 50mm f1.8 OSS @ f1.8. Click for larger

Walking the dog - Sony NEX-6 & 50mm f1.8 OSS @ f2. Click for larger.

Tree - Sony NEX-6 & 50mm f1.8 OSS @ f1.8.

2012 - A Year in Review

2012 is no doubt the year of Full Frame cameras.  We have had no less than 9 full frame cameras introduced in 2012 from Canon, Nikon, Sony and Leica, and the price of an entry full frame has finally come under $2000 (D600) for a new and current model.  I expect 2013 we will see the price will drop further to around $1700 for a full frame body.

On the mirrorless front, it's equally exciting. Great offerings from Sony with NEX-6, Fuji with XE-1, Olympus with OM-D EM-5 and Panasonic with GH-3.  All are fantastic and very capable cameras.

The most innovative camera company of 2012 has to be Sony.  The RX-100 basically redefines the premium point & shoot category and has made a lot of damage in sales to the likes of Canon G and Panasonic LX series of cameras.  The LX-7 has been on fire-sale.  Canon's G1X is basically selling at the same price as the RX-100 but simply can not compete with the RX-100's portability and great lens.  Let's not forget the mouth-watering RX-1.  What a marvelous camera and it's without peers!

The most disappointing company to me, is Canon.  I have invested heavily in the Canon system, but I haven't seen much in ways of innovation.  The EOS-M is so lame that it's been often made fun of. I simply can't imagine how a big company like Canon can make a mirrorless camera like the EOS-M in the year of 2012. What happened to its innovation, the technological lead that it enjoyed for years?  If you haven't read Roger Sicala's "A Corporate Connotation", it's an enlightening read. For me, I voted with my wallet and bought an NEX-6 and the E-mount 50mm f1.8 OSS this year.

Shamefully, I did not accomplish my goal of completing two photo-books. One of them is near completion, though, just working on a design for the cover and some final fine tuning, but this proved to be difficult for me as I am not artistically inclined.

One thing I am quite happy with is that I took a lot of pictures in 2012 and updated this blog with more frequency than 2011.  Sadly, my photographic skills hasn't improved much, if at all. Either I have reached the plateau or I haven't been trying hard enough.

In terms of gear, not much has changed.  Got rid of all entry level Canon bodies (XSi & T2i) and gave my NEX-5N to Dillon.  We can now share a pool of lenses and lens adapters.  Still have my Canon 1D Mark III, which will be my action camera for a while. Strangely, I no longer have a strong urge to buy a full frame camera, though I would still like to buy a 5D II or 6D, but in no hurry. With money from the XSi/T2i and some other stuff I sold, I bought a Sony NEX-6 with the 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 kit lens, an E-mount 50mm f1.8 OSS lens (what a fantastic lens it is!) and a Pentax Q with standard lens. The only camera I want in 2013, is a full frame camera. This may even be a 5D classic, which I came very close to buying at $530. As I said, there is no hurry for a full frame. I am completely happy with the NEX-6.

Megan - NEX-6 & 50mm f1.8 OSS @ f1.8. Click for larger.