Although the usual Macro lenses focal length many look at is around the 100mm mark, there are times when a smaller, portable, 50mm does wonders for a photographer’s or videographer’s that has to carry all gear around. The 71mm long with a weight of 236 g does exactly that.
Ideal for everyday photography, this versatile 50mm macro lens features a F2.8 maximum aperture that offers outstanding image quality and bokeh, while its 1:1 macro capability allows the photographer to get sharp close-up shots of their subject. Additionally, its comprehensive range of controls including focus-mode switch, focus-range limiter and the focus-hold button ensures a quality macro shooting experience for a wide range of users.
The information from Sony fits within my own experience, although with a different lens and a different sensor size. Although I own two macro lenses on the 100mm range, I’ve a 60mm f/2.8 EF-S macro lens from Canon, to use with APS-C bodies, because sometimes I like the small dimensions and lightweight it offers when compared to the regular 100mm macro. I use the 60mm macro both for photography and video.
Sony’s FE 50mm F2.8 Macro is also usable with their APS-C bodies, meaning it offers a field of view similar to a 70mm, making the lens also ideal for portrait and scenery, besides macro shots. With a 0.16m minimum focusing distance, the lens also offers, adds Sony, “a wider frame for capturing more background, compared to longer focal-length macro lenses”. It’s an interesting take on one aspect that many times is presented as a problem: the change in terms of depth of field.
Weighing just 236g, the lens is extremely lightweight and portable, making it easy to carry around and is built to be used in different weather conditions, although not guaranteed to be 100% dust and moisture resistant.
The new FE 50mm F2.8 Macro lens features ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass to effectively compensate for axial chromatic aberration at close focus, allowing it to create consistently sharp and high quality images. The circular aperture design produces beautiful bokeh effects and the optical and mechanical construction of the lens has less flare and ghosting even without a lens hood.
The FE 50mm F2.8 Macro (reference SEL50M28) will be available in October priced at approximately $500.