Earlier today Sony introduced a new full-frame ultra-wide-angle prime lens – the FE 20mm F1.8 G which is both compact, fast, lightweight and has some very useful features with what seems like a pretty solid optical performance (at least from the initial hands-on videos).
Almost two years ago Sony introduced the compact FE 24mm f/1.4 GM which got a lot of positive reviews but is out of the budget for some users and not necessarily wide enough for others.
The new FE 20mm F1.8 G lens is even smaller and lighter but also wider and quite a bit more affordable (although you are going to lose some light with the f/1.8 aperture compared to the f/1.4 of the existing lens).
The new Sony FE 20mm F1.8 G lens
So let’s look at some of the specs of this new compact ultra-wide-angle marvel:
- 20mm lens with f/1.8 aperture and FF coverage.
- 14 elements and 12 groups including two advanced aspherical elements 3 extra-low dispersion elements).
- Nano and Fluorine coatings.
- Min focus distance of 18cm (1:5 magnification).
- 9 aperture blades.
- AF/MF and hold button as well as a declick aperture.
- 67mm filter.
- 373-gram weight.
- $900 price tag starting in March 2020.
This lens is about $500 cheaper than the 24mm f/1.4 GM lens and with the much wider frame and fairly good distortion (and distortion correction) Sony has in this lens it might become a very popular vlogging/selfie type of lens.
We are hoping to try this lens ourselves later this year but in the meantime, we have the first impressions of a number of photographers and YouTubers who had a chance to try the lens and seem to think very positively about it.
Dan Watson’s take on the Sony FE 20mm F1.8 G lens
Jason Vong’s experience with a pre-production unit of the Sony FE 20mm F1.8 G
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Iddo Genuth 
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