Initial Impression and Review of the Sony 50mm F1.8 SAM (SAL50F18)

Well, many moons ago, I posted briefly about the Sony SAL50F18 prime lens and mentioned that I intended to get one soon.  Well, I finally managed to get my hands on a used model and here are my first impressions of lens.  To keep it straight to the point, here are a few observations;

• The lens mounting is made of plastic similar to the SAL1870DT kit lens.  This gave the lens a cheap feel to it. See image above.

• The ring size of the lens is 49mm, which is rather small and you can’t use the filters that fit your kit lens.  The lens is actually quite deep (far from the front) so you don’t really need a filter.
• This lens does not have a hood, it has a rubberized front.

• The SAM (Smooth Autofocus Motor) is really silent!  I did not even notice it whilst I was testing the lens.  I only remembered about this after I changed my lens.
• It’s a fast lens, I think this is obvious, it’s a F1.8.
• It is rather small, less than half the size of the SAL1870DT kit lens.

I did some quick in-door shots with the lens wide open at f1.8 and at ISO100.  The depth of field is definitely much shallower than any of my other lens are capable of doing.  The picture below illustrates that the prawn is the only item that’s in focus.

These shots are without flash and in-doors.  With the lens wide open, it allowed me to take the shots at shutter speed of 1/20 (below) and 1/60 (above).

The street price of this lens is around RM500 in Malaysia and around SGD200 in Singapore.  Although it is comparatively more expensive than the Nikkor and even more so than the Canon equivalent, the really silent motor compensate for the difference.  Personally, I think this lens is a very good value buy.  A much needed lens for most beginners and novices and especially those who wants to take in-door candid portrait shots.