A Look At The Sony FE 85mm F/1.8 And The Sony FE 100mm F/2.8 STF GM OSS

Tamron was not the only company announcing lenses yesterday. Late last night Sony also announced two new full frame lenses for its E mount system (FE lenses) both mid telephoto primes – the Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 and the Sony FE 100mm f/2.8 STF GM OSS.

B&H had a chance to talk to Mike Bubolo of Sony who explains a bit about both lenses and in particular about the Sony FE 100mm f/2.8 STF GM OSS which is quite unique. A 100mm lens with f/2.8 aperture is very common for macro (Sony does have a very capable 90mm macro mind you) but the new Sony FE 100mm f/2.8 STF GM OSS is not a macro lens. It is a very different type of lens which uses an apodization filter.

This is not the first AF lens with an apodization filter built in – we looked at the Fujifilm XF56mm F1.2 R APD lens about a year ago which also has the same filter built in (it is a filter which is dark in the corners and less dark in the center – it is used to make the Bokeh looks nicer – you can see some examples in the B&H video above).

The apodization filter of the Sony FE 100mm f/2.8 STF GM OSS

The main problem with Sony’s implementation is the light reduction – while the Fujifilm lens has an f/1.2 (light entering the lens) and a T/1.7 (light reaching the sensor), the Sony has only f/2.8 which goes down to T/5.6 – so you are loosing a hack of a lot of light in the process – making it less than ideal lens for shooting in low light conditions.

The lens does have some advantages – it includes image stabilization, 11 aperture blades and a de-click mechanism for video shooting.

More specs of the Sony FE 100mm f/2.8 STF GM OSS

Optical design consists of 14 elements in 11 groups.
Built in apodization filter (f/2.8 ~ T/5.6).
Optical image stabilization.
Af motor – Direct Drive SSM.
11 aperture blades.
De-ckick mechanism for video (and manual aperture ring).
Magnification – 1:4 (57cm min focus distance).
Advanced coatings – Nano AR.
Moisture-Proof and Dust-Resistant construction.
Weight – 700 grams.
Price: $1500.

The second lens Sony announced is more standard but is still interesting mostly due to it’s price point. Here are some of the specs of the Sony FE 85mm f/1.8:

Optical design consists of 9 elements in 8 groups.
New AF motor (for improved video work).
9 aperture blades.
Filter – 72mm.
Weight – 371 grams.
Price: $600.

You can find out many more product announcements, previews and reviews on our photography gear section here on LensVid.

Iddo Genuth

Iddo Genuth is the founder and chief editor of LensVid.com. He has been a technology reporter working for international publications since the late 1990's and covering photography since 2009. Iddo is also a co-founder of a production company specializing in commercial food and product visual content.