The wide-angle pancake lens provides the
view angle which is equivalent to a 30mm lens using on a 35mm camera and costs
for about $465. The maximum of f/2.8 is one of its prides as it helps focusing
reasonably, fast and quietly.
Handling and features
The high-quality black plastic forms a
glossy case which is used widely for many barrels and the mount of the lens is
made of metal. As you may expect, with such compact optic, it is quite light
when just weights about 69g.
It
is quite light when just weight about 69g
It seems to be very fast for it to focus,
but sometimes it has to struggle to have precise focus, especially at close
distance. The manual control also pleases the users thanks to the narrow but
well-performed damped ring. The minimum focus is 20cm from the sensor plane,
which is perfect for shooting in narrow environment for occasional close-up
shooting.
The
metal mount
As the focus is conducted internally, the
49mm filter ring does not rotate, the lens is ideal to be used with graduated
and polarizing filters.
Performances
The sharpness in the center of the frame
just achieves the good level at the maximum aperture, at which the clarity
towards the frame’s edges does not fall behind. The sharpness peaks at the
stopped aperture of f/5.6, at which we can see the excellent sharpness across
the frame.
The
sharpness in the center of the frame just reaches good level at the maximum
aperture
How
to read our chart?
The blue columns represent the figures recorded
in the center of the frame at many different apertures, and the green ones show
that towards the edges. Their advantages make up the red columns.
The scale on the left indicates the real
resolutions of the image. The higher the column, the better performance the
images have, just as simple as that.
For this review, the lens is tested on the
Sony NEX-5R using Imatest.
The chromatic aberration is quite high at
high aperture for the image’s edges. Here, the fringing just exceeds one pixel
width, which can be seen around the high-contrast edges.
Extreme
chromatic aberration provides sharp fringing or halo effect
How
to read our chart?
Chromatic aberration indicates the
inability of the camera to focus on sensor of film all of the visible light
color simultaneously. Extreme chromatic aberration creates sharp fringing or
halo effect around the sharp edges of the frame. They can be eliminated by
software.
The Apochromatic lens owns special elements
(aspheric, low-polarized...) which can minimize the problems, so it usually
cost more.
For this review, the lens is tested on a
Sony NEX-5R camera using Imatest.
It can be clearly seen that the falloff of
illumination towards the frame’s edges is quite obvious. At f/2.8, the corners
are 2.48 stops darker than the image’s center and the light is not visibly
uniformed until the aperture is stopped to f/8.
For a fixed focal length lens, the
distortion is quite strong. While testing, the Imatest detects many
distortions. Fortunately, the distortions are uniform across the image, making
it reasonably easier to edit by using software.
The contrast is good when shooting into the
light and there are very few sign of glare, even when shooting under very
extreme conditions.
Sample
photos
The
excellent sharpness when stopping the aperture | 1/250 sec | f/6.3 | 20.0 mm |
ISO 100
Glare
is not a problem for this lens| 1/250 sec | f/2.8 | 20.0 mm | ISO 100
The
minimum focus is 20cm | 1/160 sec | f/4.0 | 20.0 mm | ISO 100
The
lens provides the view angle equivalent to a 30mm lens using with a 35mm camera
| 1/60 sec | f/8.0 | 20.0 mm | ISO 125
1/60
sec | f/5.6 | 20.0 mm | ISO 160
1/80
sec | f/5.6 | 20.0 mm | ISO 100
1/100
sec | f/3.5 | 20.0 mm | ISO 100
1/80
sec | f/6.3 | 20.0 mm | ISO 100
Value
With the price tag of $465, it seems to be
quite expensive, especially when the Sigma’s 19mm f/2.8 just costs about $150.
Both are proud of the internal focus and the maximum aperture of f/2.8.
The Sigma seems to be quite bulky, as it is
not a pancake lens, but its cost is just one third. Therefore you can make up
for the different price by a bigger jacket pocket.
Verdicts
This lens offers a good reasonable
performance, but it is absolutely not its primary value, because it is the
smallest lens for the Sony NEX system camera, it is perfect for those who wish
to owns the as-small-as-possible system. Other may feel that the price is too
high.
The
view angle is equivalent to a 30mm lens
Advantages
·
Good build quality
·
Good performance when stopping down the aperture
·
Compact
·
Close focus
Disadvantages
·
Quite expensive
·
The optic might be better (although certainly
not poor)
Verdict
·
Feature: 4.5/5
·
Handling: 4.5/5
·
Performance: 3/5
·
Value: 3/5
·
Overall: 4/5
Specifications
|
General
·
Lens Mounts: Sony E Mount
Lens
·
Focal Length: 20mm
·
Angle of View: 70°
·
Max Aperture: f/2.8
·
Min Aperture: f/16
·
Filter Size: 49mm
·
35mm equivalent: 30mm
·
Internal focusing: Yes
Focusing
·
Min Focus: 20cm
·
Stabilized: No
Construction
·
Blades: 7
·
Elements: 6
·
Groups: 6
Box Contents
·
Box Contents: Lens hood, lens cap, lens rear
cap.
Dimensions
·
Weight: 69g
·
Height: 20.4mm
|
