FE 50mm F1.8 Standard Lens (SEL50F18F), Black | F/1.8 aperture with 50mm focal length and metal mount for portraits, low-light photography and video

I have a confession. I am a bonafide pixel peeper. It’s a problem and I know it. Nothing gets me more excited about photography than to snap a picture and immediately review it, zoom it in 100% and see a sharp, clear image. I wouldn’t call it an obsession but the hunt for equipment that can deliver these type of results has cost me a lot of time and money. People always say to spend more $ on the glass and less $ on the body, well I tried that. I recently bought a Sony A6500 and instead of buying several cheap lenses I bought one really good one. The beloved SEL24F18z. Don’t get me wrong, that lens and body combo is really sweet but after trying it out for a few weeks I ended up returning both. The images were nice but zoomed in at 100% they weren’t $2300 nice. So I did some more research and decided to go in the opposite direction. Expensive body, cheap lens. For the same price of the A6500 and the Zeiss 24mm I got an A7rii (Amazon Warehouse used like new) and this “cheap” lens and I’m telling you the difference is night and day. I’ve never seen images this sharp. Every picture I take with this setup looks professional (which I’m definitely not). I was concerned that the high megapixel sensor would show this lens’ weaknesses but quite the contrary. I will say for optimum sharpness to keep it stopped down to at least f2.8. As with most lenses, wide open is pretty soft. Even the Zeiss 24 was soft at 1.8. Quick Tip: Update your camera body AND the lens As soon as I put this lens on and started using it I noticed some very sporadic focus hunting going on. It wouldn’t lock onto anything at all. The short time I had with the Zeiss 24 kind of got me spoiled with ridiculously fast auto focus. So I knew something was wrong. I plugged the camera into my computer and checked for updates. Both the body and lens were one version behind current. As soon as I updated them it was smooth sailing. Well smooth might be an overstatement. This lens is quirky. In good lightning it works perfectly. A little jerky but locks on. But in low light/low contrast it’s another story. It still hunts and is very hit or miss. For the price and image quality I’m willing to overlook poor low light focusing performance. Bottom Line. If you’re like me and scrounged up your last pennies to get the expensive body and are looking for a budget lens that has image quality over focus performance, this is it.

This is a great starter lens. As a beginner photographer (as I am) this is the perfect lens for me to take portraits with. The background blur and bokeh is really good for such a *cheap* lens. It also does pretty well in low light as seen in the first pic. I use the hood that comes with it almost constantly. I don't really like how the light comes in without it but I think that's just a personal preference. If I had other lenses I would definitely call this an ol' reliable. Even as my camera kit grows and my knowledge continues to expand, I can always see myself coming back to a 50mm 1.8. It just makes sense. An easy, lightweight, affordable lens that has great quality (I'm huge on quality) and blurs out the background to give you that nice crisp portrait effect? Of course, I will buy. Now cons: I will say that the autofocus is a tad bit slow. But, as I'm sure many other reviews have said, you get what you pay for. It's an affordable lens and you're getting pretty great quality. You might have to wait an extra second or two to get that thang focused but honey, once you do? I mean, you see the pics. I don't need to say more. Point is: beware of the shutter speed and the autofocus. If you're not taking your own pictures of yourself (like I am) then manual focus on your subject and you should be fine. Other than that this is a good lens. 10/10 highly recommend. Follow me on the gram for more usage of this lens lol @anaiahlateherr

If you're reading this and you see it for under $250, get this lens! This nifty fifty is light and takes very sharp photos. The bokeh is creamy too for the price you pay. We all know Sony lenses can cost an arm and a leg, so this is a refreshing and relatively inexpensive lens to consider. It's known to be best for portraits, but you can still use it for a number of styles of photography. However, I will admit the autofocus sound is a bit buzzy, so it may not be ideal for video unless you're attaching a microphone to the camera or dubbing over the audio with music. I've had it for weeks now and this 50mm is one of the sharper lenses I've had the chance to use.

This lens delivers sharp, detailed images — especially when you stop down a little (e.g. f/2.8–f/5.6). At wide-open aperture f/1.8, the center performance is solid enough for portraits or casual shooting, and as you narrow the aperture, sharpness improves across much of the frame. Nice background blur (“bokeh”) and subject isolation: The f/1.8 maximum aperture gives a shallow depth of field, so you can isolate subjects from backgrounds effectively — useful for portraits, street photography, and low-light scenes. Many users and reviewers praise the smooth bokeh and natural subject separation that this lens offers. Compact, lightweight, easy to carry: At about 186 g and relatively small dimensions, the lens is easy to mount on full-frame or APS-C Sony E-mount cameras, and is convenient for travel, street photography, everyday shooting. Its small size means you’re far more likely to carry it around with you than a heavy, bulky lens. Affordable and good value for money: Compared with many premium full-frame lenses, this 50 mm f/1.8 offers a lot of flexibility at a modest price. As a “standard prime” it gives you a great introduction to prime-lens benefits — shallow depth of field, better low-light performance, sharper images — without spending much. Versatile everyday lens: The 50 mm focal length is “classic” — on full-frame bodies it gives a natural perspective close to what the human eye sees; on APS-C bodies, it becomes roughly a 75 mm equivalent, often great for portraits, tight framing, or medium-distance subject work. In short: for portraits, street scenes, casual portraits, travel photos, everyday shooting — this lens delivers a compelling mix of good image quality, portability, background blur, and affordability.

I’m am just learning photography and someone recommended this lens to me. I was previously using the kit lens on the a6100 and it was fun, but wow! I am blown away and so excited to use this lens from now on. I got this lens used but like new. It came well wrapped/protected and in its original box with the hood and lens cap. I’m very happy with how clean the lens was! Not a single trace of dust. So glad I got this “Nifty Fifty!” Some people mentioned that it is pretty noisy. I recorded a video of it on my phone so you can hear it focusing. I also took a video on my camera and played it so you can hear the sound my camera picks up of it focusing as well. It was no problem for me while I was outside, but it might be a little annoying for others if you are somewhere quiet. Since I’m a beginner, I’m also not sure how well this ranks as far as speed, but I went to a live photoshoot and I was able to keep up without losing any shots because of focus! The quality is pretty great for being so lightweight and compact. I don’t feel that is cheaply made, especially for the price. Big thanks to my husband for getting this for me. I love youuu 💗

Everyone needs a Nifty Fifty! Especially those new to photography who are yearning for that creamy beautiful background blur and beautiful soft bokeh. This lens will provide that and more and it's cheap compared to other lenses that are a step up. It's also a camera lens that should be in everyone's camera bag. Looking for your first lens that's not the kit lens? Look no more. Is it Perfect? No, if you really want perfect you're gonna need to spend a lot more money! This lens does have some issues with chromatic aberration but it's easily fixed in Photoshop and in my opinion worth dealing with from time to time to make beautiful pictures on a budget. Before this I was shooting on a bridge camera with a zoom lens. While I do miss the zoom the picture quality is much better now on my new Sony camera with this lens. ( like 1,000 times better. ) If you are new to photography and are shopping for a new camera as well here are some factors to think about. Look for a camera with a good sensor size, they capture more light and make better pictures especially where low light is concerned. Full frame cameras will deliver better quality photos. If you do need to get a crop sensor camera this lens will show less of the picture you might see in a full frame camera. You may also consider looking for something with focus peaking as it makes focusing a lot easier as well and will show you color filled areas where your focus is sharpest. If you aren't sure what these terms mean just google it up, it's worth doing so you don't spend money on some camera that the manufacturers site tells you is awesome. Do your research.

I am not a professional photographer so my comments are for persons just getting into photography and wanting an honest review on this lens. BUY IT! Trust me, I own a Sony A7rii and I started out with a Sigma 30mm F1.4 Contemporary DC DN Lens for SONY E Mount Cameras, that lens gave me no ends of trouble with autofocusing, bokeh, and capturing all I needed in a photo & I especially hated my edges, pictures were ok though with editing and cropping & it wasn't that bad for video, but I literally thought it was my camera that was terrible. Eventually the lens had some huge problem so i got a refund and I decided I HAD to get a kit lens to truly see the potential of camera. With a budget under US$300, the internet said this was my best choice, and it truly was. Yes, the autofocus is not good (I just use manual focus which I much prefer anyway, & focus has worked fine for interview videoing), yes its very noisy, BUT these are the best photos I have ever taken, I love everything about this lens, the colors look better, the bokeh is still great, and I honestly don't think there is a better 1st lens choice for a Sony camera! Go ahead try it out and SAVE those coins for when you are ready for a true beast lens.

I've been a Sony camera fan for 15 years and have owned one or several of them for that long. I don't know if they are "better" than the competing brands because I've never really given them a chance. Sony has always managed to convince me that my pictures turn out better than they should, because their cameras are better at photography than I am. That's all really want in a camera is to know that I am limiting its potential and not the other way around. I moved to full frame with te a7 and on to the a7ii which is what I used this lens on. I had previously used the zeiss 55 1.8 as prime on a7, which might have ruined me on the topic because that lens is magical. I had hoped this would come close with a vastly lower price tag so I gave it a chance. It is a good lens. But when placed on the a7ii in my hands it rapidly presents itself as the weakest link. Despite updating firmware the autofocus just didn't do what Sony does so well, which is get me the picture without much input from me. It's priced fairly and you'll get nice shots at the 50mm range with it for sure, so if you just need a cheap good lens I give it five stars for that. But if you're shooting full frame the follow up question is why you are putting a good cheap lens on a $1,500 camera. I couldn't answer that to my satisfaction, and this is the only lens or Sony camera product I've ever opted to return. Not because it isn't good, but because it isn't just totally amazing. If you're in the a7 line, spring for the zeiss 55. It really is worth it. The non-zeiss Sony 28mm and the Sony 85mm 1.8 (not the G just the basic) are fantastic as well. All three of these deliver what I want in primes, the 50 gives me no enthusiasm over a variable lens. It's just a good cheap lens. With funk af AF...

Gefertigt ist das Gehäuse komplett aus Kunststoff mit einem Bajonett aus Metall, insgesamt macht es aber einen wertigen Eindruck. Hinzu kommt, dass es mit 186 g sehr leicht ist. Das einzige Bedienelement ist der gummierte Fokusring. Die Bildschärfe ist insgesamt sehr gut und die Offenblende f1.8 ergibt bei Bedarf ein weiches Bokeh und erlaubt auch in Situationen mit weniger Beleuchtung gute Bilder. Der Autofokus funktioniert in Kombination mit meiner Alpha 6400 sehr gut, in dunkler Umgebung gibt es leichte Abstriche, jedoch haben da teilweise auch teurere Objektive Probleme. Auch ist dieser nicht der schnellste im Vergleich zu anderen, teureren Linsen, ich finde ihn aber auch nicht langsam. Und ja, er macht Geräusche beim Fokusieren, was mich aber nicht stört, da ich vorwiegend Fotos mache. Allerdings passt die Linse weniger an meine Nex 7, der Fokus funktioniert nur im AF-S-Modus, im AF-C-Modus versagt er völlig. Ich empfehle vorher auf der Sony Homepage auf die Kompatibilitätsliste zu schauen, bevor Du einen Kauf in Erwägung ziehst. Da ist das Objektiv z.B. für die gesamte NEX-Reihe nur eingeschränkt nutzbar, die Details, womit es jeweils hakt, sind ausführlich beschrieben. Übrigens gibt es auch bei der Alpha 6000 massive Einschränkungen, was hier ein Käufer bemängelt. Witzigerweise ist auch die Alpha 6400 als eingeschränkt kompatibel beschrieben, erklärt wird das damit, dass die Bildstabilisierung nicht funktioniert. 🤣 Ich habe das Vollformat-Objektiv im Angebot für 149,- € erstanden, das ergibt für mich ein sehr gutes Preis/Leistungsverhältnis. (Wobei der aktuell genannte UVP von 329,- € absoluter Nonsens ist!) Von mir gibt es eine klare Empfehlung.

The Sony 50mm f/1.8 lens is an excellent choice for beginners and enthusiasts. Its wide aperture delivers great bokeh and good details, ideal for portraits and low-light shots. Compact and lightweight, it’s easy to carry around. Autofocus could be faster, but overall, it’s incredible value for the price!

He estado probando el Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 durante varias semanas, sobre todo en interiores (bibliotecas, salas de estudio y espacios con luz controlada), y la verdad es que me ha sorprendido muy positivamente. Lo primero que destaca es su calidad de imagen. A pesar de ser un objetivo bastante asequible dentro del sistema full frame de Sony, ofrece una nitidez muy buena, especialmente en el centro, incluso a aperturas amplias. Para retratos o detalles en interiores, cumple perfectamente. En condiciones de poca luz, como en bibliotecas, se comporta muy bien gracias a su apertura f/1.8. Permite mantener ISOs relativamente bajos y obtener imágenes limpias, con un desenfoque de fondo agradable y natural. El enfoque automático es correcto para fotografía tranquila. No es el más rápido del mercado, pero para uso general, retrato o escenas estáticas funciona sin problema. Eso sí, el motor de enfoque es algo ruidoso, especialmente en entornos silenciosos, aunque no afecta a la calidad final de las fotos. Además, es un objetivo ligero y cómodo, ideal para llevarlo montado sin que pese demasiado, algo que se agradece en sesiones largas. En resumen, es una opción muy recomendable si buscas un 50mm económico, luminoso y con buena calidad óptica. Perfecto para interiores, retrato y fotografía cotidiana con resultados más que satisfactorios. Si quieres un buen objetivo, por un precio razonable, puedes adquirirlo sin miedo.

I ordered a used lens and it's as new. If you have a good lighting setup, this is a great lens for portraits.

I was having SOny 24-70 F2.8 GM2 lens. It was weighing a ton..so heavy. I wanted something very lightweight & should give me sharp & excellent quality images. Since Sony FE 50mm lens is inexpensive, I thought it wont be good enough. Bought it out of curiosity. After using it for 1 month, I can say this is an excellent lens. Its super duper light weight. Boque effect is amazing and pictures and sharp. But 24-70 lens was more sharp I feel. Its overall a great lens.