The Sony 135mm f/1.8 GM is a modern blend of masterful design and high-end results
posted Tuesday, February 26, 2019 at 11:00 AM EDT
Sony FE 135mm f/1.8 GM Field Test • Overview
By the end of 2018, Sony had pretty much covered the basic needs of photographers with their 30 full-frame FE lenses. It could even be argued that they had done this much earlier, but the 24mm f/1.4 really did put a nice cap on their work over the last several years. Now, thanks to fulfilling all the needs of photographers, Sony is free to make their specialty lenses designed for more niche use among shooters. That is the 135mm f/1.8 G Master. It is an optically stellar modern lens for the discerning portrait photographer, but it has a few nice touches that make it an appealing option beyond just the contingent of portrait shooters.
Announced today and available by late April for US$1900, this is the 31st full-frame E-mount lens Sony has released, and the ninth in the G Master line.
The Sony 135mm f/1.8 G Master has a lot to offer, including the claim of corner-to-corner sharpness with strong aberration control and limited vignetting. In those claims, our hands-on found them to be pretty much correct. Though it does have some chromatic aberration in some lighting conditions, and there is vignetting of some kind from f/1.8 through f/5.6, it's pretty minor and does not detract from the outstanding and consistent sharpness along with a very appealing bokeh.
There is a lot to talk about with Sony's latest professional lens offering, so check out our field test by clicking here.