Sony E 15mm F1.4 G Evaluation

Introduction

Ease of Use

The Sony E 15mm F1.4 G is a totally weather-sealed wide-angle prime lens with a devoted Sony E mount that’s product of metallic. Communication between lens and digital camera physique is offered by 10 electrical contacts.

Word nonetheless that with a purpose to take full benefit of the weatherproofing, you’ll need to mount it on a equally weather-sealed physique, not like the Sony ZV-E10 digital camera that we examined it with.

The weather-proofing conjures up confidence that the lens will survive all types of inclement situations, whereas its sturdy building and G-Grasp branding additionally provides it an air of top of the range.

The E 15mm F1.4 G lens is nicely constructed, totally dwelling as much as the skilled designation that Sony have given it.

Tipping the scales at simply 219 g (7.8 oz.) and measuring 66.6 x 69.5 mm (2-5/8 x 2-3/4 in.) in diameter and size, the Sony E 15mm F1.4 G is a compact and light-weight wide-angle prime lens you can carry round all day with out noticing.

The Sony ZV-E10 used for this check proved to be a superb match for the lens, providing pleasing steadiness and quick and near-silent auto-focusing.

The E 15mm F1.4 G prime options separate focus and aperture (iris) rings.

The aperture ring has 1/3ev stops starting from f/1.4 to f/16 with an Auto setting for camera-based management. It may be switched between a easy and notched rotation utilizing the devoted Click on On/Off change on the underside of the lens barrel.

This lens doesn’t characteristic built-in picture stabilisation, as an alternative counting on the digital camera physique to provide it, which can show irritating for homeowners of Alpha digital camera our bodies with out IBIS, once more just like the ZV-E10 that Sony despatched us for testing.

You possibly can rapidly and simply use the main focus mode change to toggle between AF and MF.

Handbook focusing is completed in a conventional vogue, with the adequately sized focus ring electronically coupled to the transferring lens parts and working with linear-response, though there are not any exhausting stops at both finish. Focusing is totally inside and the 55mm filter thread doesn’t rotate on focus.

With the E 15mm F1.4 G lens connected to a Sony ZV-E10 physique, focusing proved to be satisfyingly fast in most conditions because of the Linear Motor system which makes use of two separate motors.

This mix is able to locking give attention to a topic nearly immediately, even when alternating between shut and faraway topics, and it is nearly silent too.

In excessive low-light conditions you might expertise somewhat focus searching on the lengthy finish, though utilizing the quick f/1.4 most aperture largely helps to keep away from this.

The lens has a customisable focus maintain button which retains the lens locked to the present focusing distance, helpful when you’re auto-focusing and don’t desire the lens to attempt to discover focus once more. It might additionally, amongst different issues, be usefully set to Eye AF.

Included within the field is a slim petal-shaped lens hood (ALC-SH171), which is straightforward to connect to the lens – merely line up the purple line with the purple marking on the lens and twist into place till it clicks. You can too reverse the lens hood for lowering the general measurement when transporting the lens. This lens accepts 55mm entrance filters.

Focal Vary

The 15mm focal size offers an angle of view of 87 levels.

15mm

Chromatic Aberrations

Chromatic aberrations, usually seen as purple or blue fringes alongside contrasty edges, usually are not an excessive amount of of an issue with the Sony E 15mm F1.4 G lens, besides in areas of very excessive distinction.

Vignetting

With the lens set to its most aperture of f/1.4, there’s some mild fall-off within the corners, requiring you to cease down by a minimum of 3 f-stops to fully stop it.

Distortion

The Sony E 15mm F1.4 G does not exhibit very a lot barrel distortion in JPEG information, as you’ll be able to see within the photograph beneath, because of in-camera lens distortion controls which might be mechanically utilized (and which may’t truly be turned off).

JPEG

It is a totally different story for the Uncooked file, although, which reveals heaps of barrel distortion which you will must both appropriate in post-processing or apply a lens profile.

RAW

Sunstars and Flare

The Sony E 15mm F1.4 G is able to producing good sunstars when stopped-down to f/16, as proven beneath, though the lens is kind of prone to flare when taking pictures straight into the solar even with the provided lens hood fitted.

Macro

The Sony E 15mm F1.4 G is just not actually a macro lens, however it does supply a usefully shut focus level of 20cm when auto-focusing and 17cm when guide focusing, with a most magnification of 0.12x for AF and 0.15x for MF.

Bokeh

Bokeh is a phrase used for the out-of-focus areas of {a photograph}, and is often described in qualitative phrases, corresponding to easy / creamy / harsh and so on.

Sony have paid shut consideration to this side of lens use, using a 7-segment diaphragm with rounded blades, which mixed with the quick most aperture permits for extra pleasing bokeh.

In our view, their efforts have been pretty profitable for a wide-angle prime lens – see the examples beneath to evaluate for your self.

Sharpness

In an effort to present you ways sharp the Sony E 15mm F1.4 G lens is, we’re offering 100% crops on the next web page.