Back in 2019, we reviewed the Sony 35mm f1.8 FE lens and even gave it an Editor’s Choice rating. Don’t get us wrong, this is still a great lens for a great price point. But as time went on, we did more investigation into potential issues with the lens. Now, in 2023, when the lens is nearly 4 years old, we’re very confident that we’ve found what we think is a problem with the lens, as well as an issue with Sony’s marketing and statements about durability.
Before you go on, I’d like to remind everyone of our Ethical statements and standards. We do not take payment for reviews, and we don’t hide that information from you the way that many YouTubers do. You’d never see something like this from influencers or anyone trying to masquerade as the press on a platform like YouTube. We’re an accredited publication — which means that we’re actively used as a resource to be taught in schools. We’re also actively used as a technical resource around the industry.
Sony uses nomenclature such as dust and moisture-resistant design in their marketing efforts around their lenses. However, they are never clear about the different grades of each lens. As you’ll see in the two images below, they use the same language for their G Master lenses that they use for their others.
So if they’re both described in the same way, wouldn’t someone rightfully assume that they’d be similar? If a Jalapeno and a Scotch Bonnet pepper are described as spicy, which one is spicier? You wouldn’t know otherwise unless you tried them.
But this is a big problem throughout the photo industry with Japanese lens makers. They talk about durability, but they don’t specify them. More importantly, they’re not covered by your warranty despite marketing claims.
Because of this, we’re removing the Editor’s Choice award from the lens. It’s still a great lens for the price point, but the durability issues and the purposeful obfuscation of information we feel is a slap in the face to customer transparency.
Here’s the link to our full review of the Sony 35mm f1.8 FE. Below, you can find pasted our updated section.
Update 2023
Since this review was originally written in 2019, I personally bought and have actively used the Sony 35mm f1.8 FE lens. At times, I’d go outside to shoot with it in the rain. When my Sony a7r III would act up, I’d blame the issues on the hot shoe letting rain in.
It turns out I was wrong. It was this lens.
Since then, Sony has done very good work to improve the build quality of their cameras. Features such as having the shutter come down over the sensor to protect it from dust and moisture are welcome additions that the company added in. When pairing those cameras with Sony’s G Master lenses or Tamron’s silver ring lenses, the weather resistance in precipitation and dusty conditions is pretty solid.
But the Sony 35mm f1.8 FE and other lenses have weather resistance built in — but not to the same degree. And Sony says that there is moisture, dust, and splash resistance with their lenses. But they never give it any sort of grade or talk about it much. Though I’ve asked them and other brands to for years, they purposely obfuscate this information for customers. In this specific case, the Sony 35mm f1.8 FE paired with the new Sony a7c R made me truly realize that the problem is indeed the lens’s lack of a rubber gasket at the mount.
While this lens is capable and has weather resistance built in, Sony’s biggest problem is the lack of a sufficient rubber ring at the mount. It would otherwise ensure that dust and moisture don’t get in. Looking back on our original review, I’m pretty sure that this was the case of what was happening.
With all this said, the Sony 35mm f1.8 FE seems to be more weather-resistant in line with products I’m not sure I’d ever buy — like those from Sigma’s contemporary line. But with Sigma, at least, they say that the resistance is at the mount and nowhere else throughout the lens.
Realizing this after many years is truly making me reconsider selling all my non-G Master lenses and buying a single one. Then again, Tamron’s higher-end lenses suit my needs very well.
Because of Sony’s lack of clarity about durability, we’re removing the Editor’s Choice rating of this lens. However, we’re keeping the rating at 5 out of 5 stars.