Hands-on with Sony 100mm F2. 8 STF G Master and FE 85mm F1. 8 lenses Sony announced a pair of short telephoto prime lenses at this year's WPPI show in Las Vegas - the FE 100mm F2. 8 STF GM OSS and the FE 85mm F1.
8, both intended for use on the company's a7-series mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras.
Here's the FE 100mm F2. 8 STF GM OSS, which joins Sony's growing 'G Master' lineup, as one of the company's flagship lenses.
Hands-on with Sony 100mm F2. 8 STF G Master and FE 85mm F1. 8 lenses
The 100mm F2. 8 has a complex optical design, featuring 14 elements in 10 groups, including ED and aspherical elements. Somewhat unusually, this lens is a 'Smooth Trans Focus' (STF) design, which incorporates an APD (apodization) element. The APD element acts as a radial gradient filter, which - in simple terms - improves the quality of out of focus areas, by diffusing bokeh circles. Traditionally, we've seen APD elements in lenses specifically aimed at portraiture, for obvious reasons.
Unlike the Minolta-designed 135mm F2. 8 [T4. 5] STF lens that Sony still offers for A-mount cameras, the 100mm F2. 8 STF is an autofocus lens.
A 'macro' switch enables the lens to be focused down to 0. 57 meters (a little under 2 feet), and built-in stabilization should enhance its usefulness when hand-held.
Hands-on with Sony 100mm F2. 8 STF G Master and FE 85mm F1. 8 lenses
Eleven aperture blades means an almost perfectly circular aperture even when the 100mm F2. 8 is stopped down. This isn't the sole determinant of bokeh quality but it goes towards ensuring out-of-focus highlights remain circular.
Hands-on with Sony 100mm F2. 8 STF G Master and FE 85mm F1. 8 lenses
The FE 100mm F2. 8 features a 'manual' aperture ring. It's not mechanically linked, and offers an 'A' position to transfer aperture control to the camera body. The ring can operate either as a conventional 'clicked' dial with third-stop detents, or 'declicked' for smooth, stepless operation. For video work, 'declicking' allows for much more practical brightness adjustment during shooting.
Hands-on with Sony 100mm F2. 8 STF G Master and FE 85mm F1. 8 lenses
Like all of Sony's G Master lenses, the 100mm F2. 8 is built to a very high standard, and features dust and moisture sealing. A rubber grommet runs around the circumference of the lens-mount, to help maintain the seal between camera and lens. Despite the complex optical construction and high standard of build, the lens is relatively lightweight, weighing in at 700 g (1. 54 lb).
Hands-on with Sony 100mm F2. 8 STF G Master and FE 85mm F1. 8 lenses
Much lighter though, is the new FE 85mm F1. 8, a budget short telephoto prime aimed at enthusiast Sony FE shooters who don't need (or can't quite justify) the GM 85mm F1. 4. This affordable prime weighs in at 371 g (0. 82 lb).
Hands-on with Sony 100mm F2. 8 STF G Master and FE 85mm F1. 8 lenses
The optical design of the FE 85mm F1. 8 is much simpler in comparison with the 100mm F2. 8, comprising 9 elements in 8 groups. The button above the AF/MF switch can be customized and assigned together with functions in the camera body. On most bodies it's a focus hold control by default, but you could for instance assign it to EyeAF.
Hands-on with Sony 100mm F2. 8 STF G Master and FE 85mm F1. 8 lenses
Sony makes life easy for camera journalists by writing some key spec directly onto the lenses. Here, we can see that the filter ring is 67mm and minimum focus distance is 0. 8m (2. 6ft). Compared to the 100mm F2. 8 this isn't great (it's pretty standard for a short tele prime) but it's fine for mid-length portraiture, of the kind that lenses of this type are ideally suited to.
In contrast to the more expensive Zeiss Batis 85mm F1. 8, the Sony isn't stabilized. However, unlike the similarly unstabilized 85mm F1. 8s from Canon and Nikon, the Sony FE 85mm F1. 8 can be used with the second-generation a7 series cameras, which offer in-body stabilization.
Hands-on with Sony 100mm F2. 8 STF G Master and FE 85mm F1. 8 lenses
Despite its lower cost and lack of 'GM' designation, the FE 85mm F1. 8 is also dust and moisture sealed, although we don't know whether the amount of sealing is equivalent to Sony's high-end lenses. Like the FE 100mm F2. 8, the 85mm features a rubber grommet around its mount, to help keep dirt and moisture out of the lens throat.
Both lenses are expected to ship in March. The FE 100mm F2. 8 STF GM OSS will cost $1500, while the FE 85mm F1. 8 will sell for around $600.
. dpreview.com2017-2-9 22:42
