There are Now Four Sony 35mm Lenses. Which One Do You Need?
We’ve reviewed all of the Sony 35mm lenses, and more.
We’ve said it before, and we’ll repeat it. 35mm primes are just about the most versatile prime lenses you can get. They are great for portraits, food photography, event and wedding photography, documentary photography, landscapes, and more. They’re a do it all lens, and no system is complete without one. With the new Sony 35mm f1.4 G Master’s arrival, there are three fast Sony 35mm prime lenses for the E mount. On top of these three, you have two fast options from Sigma (the 35mm f1.4 DG Art and the 35mm f1.2 Art DG DN) and another 35mm f2.8 lens from Sony. Whew! That’s a lot of 35mm primes to choose from. So, how do you pick the right one for you? Fortunately, we’ve reviewed all of them. After the break, we’ll compare them all for you.
The Big Three Compared
Here’s a quick look at the most important specs from each of Sony’s fast 35mm prime lenses. This should help you decide which lens is the right one for you.
| Sony 35mm f1.4 GM | Sony 35mm f1.8 FE G | Sony Zeiss 35mm f1.4 | |
| Aperture | f1.4 | f1.8 | f1.4 |
| Min Apt | f16 | f22 | f16 |
| Blades | 11 | 9 | 9 |
| Weight | 1.1lbs | 0.61lbs | 1.39lbs |
| Weather Sealing | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Coatings | Nano AR II and a fluorine coating | Multi coating optics | T star coated |
| AF Motors | XD linear motor | Linear actuator (magnetic) | DDDS – Dynamic Drive Silent Motor |
| Filter Size | 67mm | 55mm | 72mm |
| Min Focus | 10.6″ | 8.6″ | 11.8″ |
| Price | $1,399 | $748 | $1,598 |
From Our Reviews
We’ve reviewed pretty much every 35mm lens for the Sony system. And here are quotes from the ones you care about.
Sony 35mm f1.8 FE G
“This lens is small, lightweight, weather-sealed, fast to focus, and can deliver excellent image quality. For the photographers who need speed like street photographers, event photographers, and documentary shooters–it’s there. For those who want details and beautiful bokeh like portrait shooters, it’s also there. Combine this with the reliability put into the lens with weather sealing, and you’re getting a winning combination.”
Chris Gampat – Editor In Chief
Buy now: $748
Sony Zeiss 35mm f1.4
“The Sony Zeiss 35mm f1.4 is a hefty lens with fast autofocusing abilities, beautiful bokeh, sharp image quality, a solid build, and a heck of a price tag. It’s a beautiful lens that you’ll never want to put down, but we only recommend it if you’re planning on going pro.”
Chris Gampat – Editor In Chief
Buy now: $1,598
Sony 35mm f1.4 G Master
“The Sony FE 35mm f1.4 GM is a joy to use — and the photos a joy to look at. I found little to complain about. The lightweight design is excellent; the de-click aperture ring a pleasure to spin. The weather-sealing handled some light snow. I love both the colors and sharpness of this lens, while distortions and flare are kept to a minimum.”
Hillary Grigonis – Reviews Editor
Buy now: $1,399
Sony 35mm f2.8 FE
“On the A7, it will focus like a speed demon. On the A7r, it will resolve more detail than your mom will want to see in her face. Then when you’re all done with that, you can take it out into inclement weather with no problems. Then there is your excellent color rendition and class-leading sharpness.”
Chris Gampat – Editor In Chief
Buy now: $798
Sigma 35mm f1.4 DG Art
“This lens vignettes quite a bit when shot wide open, but like Zeiss lenses, it adds to the look. The photos have an almost medium format quality to them that is positively jaw dropping.”
Chris Gampat – Editor In Chief
Buy now: $629
Sigma 35mm f1.2 DG DN Art
“The color rendition of the Sigma 35mm f1.2 Art DG DN is pretty flat. I’d liken it to the look of early digital–almost. It’s not the stuff that you’d see in a Tarantino movie, but more akin to what the old Canon 5D Mk II used to do with RAW files and colors. Couple that with the versatility of modern-day camera sensors and you’ll be smitten with the images.”
Chris Gampat – Editor In Chief
Buy now: $1,499
Which One Will It Be?
There you have it. There are three solid Sony 35mm lenses and two stellar options from Sigma. We haven’t even covered the 35mm lens options from Rokinon/Samyang, Tamron, Lensbaby, and others. Photographers who shoot with Sony cameras are spoiled for choice! So, after seeing what we had to say about the lenses, and after glancing at the table above, which one of the Sony 35mm lenses (or Sigma) will you be adding to your lens library? Let us know in the comment section below.