Sony 50mm f1.8 on a FS5?

[Nigel Davey]

Just wondering if anyone has used the Sony E mount 50mm f1.8 OSS lens on a FS5?

I shoot a fair amount of church events where poor light and people randomly moving around are the key challenges. Currently I have a Nikon 50mm f1.8 coupled with my FS5 via a speed-booster. So that keeps the poor light issues under control, but all standard electronics (ie autofocus, aperture IS/OSS) are lost.

But it's the people randomly moving about that's the remaining challenge since manual focussing and aperture adjustments (unless you rely on auto ISO) are a faff. By the time you've nailed them, the subject has moved.

So I'm considering getting the Sony 50mm because I'll gain OSS, full AE (with iris) and autofocus. I accept that the latter probably won't work too well down at f1.8, which is one the key reasons I'm giving this context and asking folks if they've used this lens on a FS5.

What was your general experience with autofocus, IQ and overall performance?

[Alex Leith]

Image quality is lovely. Auto iris is handy. Stabilisation is great. Focusing is a pain! :-D. The AF is a little sluggish but has a relatively natural "feel" to it... A bit like having a sleepy grandparent pulling focus for you. But because it's all electronic, manual focus is like spinning wheels in the snow. You never quite know whether you're going to end up overshooting or not quite moving far enough!

I'm very tempted by the Sigma adapter, which gives you "native" emount (with AF, etc) with their EF mount lenses. Which (because they have mechanically coupled focus rings - I think) would give the option of "assisting" the auto-focus yourself, and keep all the other electronics. It's a lot more money, though.

[Nigel Davey]

Thanks Alex that's very useful. Do you happen to own the Sony 18-105mm f4 (FS5 kit) lens? If so is the autofocus and manual focus on the 50mm better, worse or the same?

Right now my prefered method with this kit lens is to use push auto focus rather than full auto. It's not ideal, but I've learnt to live with it. I assume I'd end up doing the same on the 50mm.

[Alex Leith]

I don't have the 18-105 kit lens I'm (so I can't give you a comparison to that). It behaves very similarly to the other e-mount crop sensor primes I have (20mm, 35mm), apart from the ridiculous amount of turning you have to do to get a full rack focus...

I'd be happy (enough) to use it in AF for non-critical work, but I wouldn't trust my pay-check with it ;-)

The 35mm f1.8, however, I use quite frequently.

[Nigel Davey]

Thanks Alex. Is the AF better on the 35mm compared to the 50mm in terms of hunt and lock times? In one respect I would expect it to be, given the wider DOF on the 35mm, but nonetheless.

[Jay Allen]

I have the 50mm and the kit lens. the 50mm auto focus is faster than the kit lens.
I use the push auto focus or the face detection, but never manual because it simply doesn't work well on either. The auto focus is a bit slow for my taste and is faster on my fs700.

[Nigel Davey]

Thanks Jay. Good advice re the push auto focus. I now tend to rely on that with the 18-105 kit lens.

Interestingly I just pushed the button on the Sony 35mm f1.8 OSS yesterday. I know it's not the best from a cinematic perspective, but I do quite a lot of run and gun in church (sometimes dark) scenarios. So of the limited choices I finally settled on the 35.

Also I think it will be an interesting lens once Sony release the auto ND update. I look forward to shooting outdoor at a constant f2 (or there abouts). It could give me a look/style I haven't been able to have before, at least not in uncontrolled scenarios.

[Chad Johnson]

Keep in mind that the 50mm becomes a 75mm on the FS5, with it's 1.5 crop factor. If you want a fast 50 look there's the Rokinon 35mm that will give you an effective focal length of 52.5mm. The T1.5 is about the same as f1.4.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1078637-REG/rokinon_ds35m_nex_ds_35mm_t1_5_cine.html

[Nigel Davey]

Thanks Chad. The only problem with the Rokinon is I won't have the electronics, which is crucial for about 60% of the run and gun stuff I do.