List Price: $349.99
Sale Price: $348.00
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This is the lens that Sony ought to have made when the first NEX cameras came out, a reasonably fast, medium-wide angle, pancake prime. It's a perfect focal length for street photography or casual snapshots. It's small and light, making NEX cameras reasonably pocketable. It's not exceptional, but reasonably sharp across the entire field of view, at least when it is stopped down. I love the size of this lens, though it is wide enough that the edges stick out on a 5n. Just a bit, but it's there.
I was hesitant to put a preorder into B&H when this lens was announced. Sony's previous wide angle prime, the 16mm was a poor lens. I borrowed a friend's and gave it back quickly. It just wasn't sharp, and surprisingly for such a short lens, it didn't focus quickly. There are no focus problems with the 20mm.
It was a relief to look at my first images from this new prime lens. They are are adequately sharp from f/4 and smaller apertures. At f/2.8 they are at least as sharp as the old 16mm was at any focal length. It's also nice to see Sony make a lens that is sharp in the corners. Except for the Zeiss 24mm, Sony's lenses tend to have great center sharpness but soft edges. My guess is that comes from too much focus on video lenses rather than still lenses. This lens is pretty sharp, at least at the apertures that I normally use 5.6-8. It's acceptable at 2.8 and pretty good at f/4. It's soft at f/16 but still usable. I'm satisfied.
One question is how this compares to the Sigma 19mm, which is a good lens. The two obvious differences are price and size. You can pick up an older model Sigma for $150 or less, which make it very attractive. The Sigma is very sharp in the center, from f/2.8 on, sharper than the Sony 20mm. However the Sony is definitely sharper at the edges.The Sony has some color fringing at the edges. The Sigma shows more flare when pointed toward the sun. Neither is a perfect lens.
The real question is whether or not the Sony 20mm is worth ~ $350. If you're just looking at price and image quality, that's tough compared to the Sigma. I just sold some old lenses so I had money burning a hole in my pocket. You can get an optically equivalent lens from Sigma for less than half the price, but the Sigma 19mm is twice as long and heavier, making the camera a bit much to put in a coat or vest pocket. It's also plastic and makes clunking noises (it's not a problem, some Sigma lenses just do that). The Sony 20 is metal with a nice finish, focuses faster and makes my 5n more or less the equivalent of the new Nikon Coolpix A, which sells for $1100. A new NEX 5r with the 20mm lens runs $900. Put in that light, the lens doesn't look quite as pricey. Okay the Nikon's lens is better but you're stuck with 28mm equivalent. The NEX has interchangeable lenses, which is why I'm sticking with it..
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