Sony has added four lenses – including three primes – to its full-frame E-mount lens range, compatible with the A7 family of mirrorless interchangeables.
Two lens converters – two of them full-frame – complement the latest Sony lens announcements.
Sony now has 25 E-mount lenses, 17 of which are designed for use with full-frame mirrorless interchangeables, in its range. The new lens releases move towards negating the criticism of a limited lens range for the ground-breaking A7 cameras.
The FE 28mm F2 (SEL28F20) full-frame wide-angle prime lens features a f2 maximum aperture and 9-blade circular aperture for attractive bokeh. It’s light (200g) and compact and designed to resist dust and moisture, with a high-grade aluminium finish.
Construction includes one AA (Advanced Aspherical) element – and two ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass elements for excellent edge-to-edge sharpness. All lens surfaces are multi-coated to suppress flare and ghosting.
The internal focusing mechanism is driven by an advanced linear ‘actuator’ (motor?) for quiet AF, with no lens protrusion when focusing.
The FE 28mm F2 will be available in April with an RRP of $699.
The Zeiss Distagon T* FE 35mm F1.4 ZA (SEL35F14Z) delivers the A7 range a premium wide aperture (f1.4) wide angle prime, with a 9-blade construction and minimum focussing distance of 30cm.
Corner-to-corner sharpness – even at maximum aperture – is assisted by an optical design that features aspherical elements including one Sony AA (Advanced Aspherical) element. The Zeiss T* coating suppresses flare and ghosting for natural colour reproduction and excellent contrast.
The Direct Drive SSM (DDSSM) system enables fast and quiet precision focusing, while a dedicated aperture ring can be set for smooth, continuous operation – ideal for movie-makers – or with click-stops to provide tactile feedback when shooting stills. The lens is dust and moisture resistant for shooting outdoors.
The Zeiss Distagon T* FE 35mm F1.4 ZA has an RRP of $2499 and will be available in April
Sony says the FE 90mm F2.8 Macro G OSS (SEL90M28G) Macro G lens is ‘tailor-made for the macro or still-life photographer’, but it should also be handy for portraiture. It features built in Optical SteadyShot (OSS) image stabilisation, ‘allowing pin-sharp images at up to 1:1 magnification even when shooting handheld’.
The Direct Drive SSM (DDSSM) mechanism drives two ‘floating’ focus groups independently, ensuring extremely precise focus positioning, ‘crucial for macro photography’.
Also useful for macro photography is the internal focusing mechanism that ensures no protrusions. There’s also a focus hold button and sliding focus ring that instantly switches between manual and autofocus.
Pricing and availability are yet to be announced.
The versatile FE 24-240mm F3.5-6.3 OSS (SEL24240) full-frame zoom 10x lens should appeal to the traveller who doesn’t want to lug around a selection of lenses.
The advanced design includes five aspherical elements and one ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass element in a compact, easy-to-handle body. An advanced linear motor drives the focusing mechanism for quick, smooth response through the zoom range.
The FE 24-240mm features built-in Optical SteadyShot (OSS) image stabilisation and a dust and moisture resistant design.
The FE 24-240mm F3.5-6.3 OSS has an RRP of $1499 and is available this month.
Lesn Converters
When used with the new FE 28mm f2.8, the optional SEL075UWC Ultra-wide Converter (available April, RRP $399) and SEL057FEC Fisheye Converter (available April, RRP $499) respectively increase the viewing angle to 21mm or 16mm fisheye with full 180-degree coverage. The maximum aperture of the converters is f2.8 and f3.5 respectively when mounted on the SEL28F20. In a first for Sony lens converters, corresponding EXIF data is generated with either converter attached to the lens.
The VCL-ECU2 Ultra-wide and VCL-ECF2 Fisheye APS-C Converters are compatible with APS-C format E-mount lenses.
The VCL-ECU2 adapter is compatible with the SEL16F28 16mm F2.8 and SEL20F28 20mm F2.8 wide-angle (APS-C) lenses, boosting ultra-wide-angle performance to 12mm (with SEL16F28) or 16 mm (SEL20F28). The VCL-ECF2 Fisheye Converter creates exaggerated perspective effect, with a full 180-degree field of view for the SEL16F28, and 133 degrees for the SEL20F28.
Sony has also announced new software updates to enhance lens functionality for selected current E-mount lens models. Details will be available at http://www.sony.com.au/section/support.
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