The lens is small, kind of ugly but the haptics are decent. Could have been better if Sony went out from the lab and took some images. The weight is great (of course, there are no big or advanced lens elements involved).
"Sharpness" is good with high resolution power and decent high contrast. Bokeh balls are ugly, bokeh is a bit so-so, LoCA is present but not very disturbing. AF is good and silent.
It's expensive. I guess that's what we have to pay for a metallic barrel and a button on the lens.
I bought and I'll keep it. That's not thanks to the image quality but for the feature set and low weight combined in a favorite focal length....Show more →
Thanks for the detailed review Jonas! I don't think rendering is ugly but I prefer more structured rendering compared to smooth.
p.13 #7 · Sony FE 40/2.5 G - A little darling. Samples and opinions welcome!
Depends on how you think about it. I believe it does. I also have several 35mm lenses and Voigtlander 40 1.2 but this lens definitely has its place in the kit. I don't see myself selling it as long I have Sony system or 40G Mark II comes out.
Almost as compact and light as Zony 35 2.5, but it is sharper, has less aberrations, better contrast, its autofocus is on par with GM for stills under normal light (drops in low light as it is only 2.5), AF is even better for video as the glass is tiny. Great tactile feel and build. I wish focus hold button would be bigger as it takes time for me to find it in vertical shooting (but it could be due to I switch lenses too often and there are obvious size limitations). Bokeh is not the most exciting but it is a modern quality bokeh on a sharp moderately bright lens, I'd say.
Roosterdad wrote:
Is this lens worth it if I already have the Sony 35mm 1.8?
p.13 #8 · Sony FE 40/2.5 G - A little darling. Samples and opinions welcome!
Roosterdad wrote:
Is this lens worth it if I already have the Sony 35mm 1.8?
It is everything already mentioned by lensfan.
Optically I can't compare them as I never used the 35/1.8. The 40G has a lot going for it though (you have probably already checked my user review...)
Now two years later i still have the lens, it works fine and the feature set is worth a lot to me. Weather shielding, aperture ring, the lens button, very fast and silent AF, better ergonomics than the GM lenses... It's a fine lens but only you can decide if it is a good lens for your use.
Is there anything with the 35/1.8 making you unhappy?
p.13 #9 · Sony FE 40/2.5 G - A little darling. Samples and opinions welcome!
Excellent review by Jonas B, as well as some good insights on the optical performance in this thread. Just adding some practical user experience with focus on the size/weight.
I got the 40/2.5 last month for a 3-day trip to Venice. The main motivation was to walk around as lightweight as possible. That meant: only 1 lens, no backpack, both hands free and quickly reachable (front). Paired this with an a7c and a mini slingback.
This worked very well and I took plenty of spontaneous shots which normally I wouldn't have bothered if the camera had not been instantly accessible. August is peak season so it can be quite a challenge to take a photo without other tourists in it - thus being fast is helpful. August is also extremely hot, so less to lug around makes the whole walking much more comfortable especially when it is a 8+ hour day.
Overall, while I cannot say anything about how it compares to similar lenses, I was very pleased with both the handling as well as the results. There are some lighter lenses in that FL range, but I needed good auto focus as well for environmental/street portraits. The only real downside was the lack of different FLs, but I actually expected worse - most of the times, I could find a workaround ('zooming with feet', panorama …).
Bottom line: This setup is of course a compromise solution, but it works very well as minimalistic approach to scenarios as the one described above.
p.13 #10 · Sony FE 40/2.5 G - A little darling. Samples and opinions welcome!
DistantPlaces wrote:
Excellent review by Jonas B, as well as some good insights on the optical performance in this thread. Just adding some practical user experience with focus on the size/weight.[...]
Thank you for the kind comment.
It seems as you have made use of the 40G is pretty much the same way I use it. And, you used it well (and also managed to avoid ugly goblins).
p.13 #11 · Sony FE 40/2.5 G - A little darling. Samples and opinions welcome!
The strength of the 40G is of course size, weigh and feature set. When I leave home with only one camera and one lens it still often is the 40G. So, I usually use for the random snapshots. Here is a quick and dirty triptyk of one of my grandchildren while out walking.
Image from May 2025, the girl is soon to become 3 YO.
p.13 #12 · Sony FE 40/2.5 G - A little darling. Samples and opinions welcome!
Jonas B wrote:
The strength of the 40G is of course size, weigh and feature set. When I leave home with only one camera and one lens it still often is the 40G. So, I usually use for the random snapshots. Here is a quick and dirty triptyk of one of my grandchildren while out walking. https://photos.imageevent.com/jonas_b/fotoforum2022andfw/250501_3xLiv_v3_FMforums.jpg
Image from May 2025, the girl is soon to become 3 YO.
Your granddaughter is an absolute doll! So sweet.
p.13 #13 · Sony FE 40/2.5 G - A little darling. Samples and opinions welcome!
I have the 24mm f2.8 G and am now considering this lens as a walkaround lens on the a7cr.
I've been fairly disappointed with the barrel distortion on the 24, and from what I've seen and read the 40 has very little distortion - have people had good success processing the RAWs in DXO?
First post on this forum, so if asking about software in conjunction with lens is gauche, apologies.
p.13 #14 · Sony FE 40/2.5 G - A little darling. Samples and opinions welcome!
pillarpair wrote:
I have the 24mm f2.8 G and am now considering this lens as a walkaround lens on the a7cr.
I've been fairly disappointed with the barrel distortion on the 24, and from what I've seen and read the 40 has very little distortion - have people had good success processing the RAWs in DXO?
First post on this forum, so if asking about software in conjunction with lens is gauche, apologies.
...and your first reply is not really satisfying, I don't use the DxO software. But hey, the 40G distortion is totally normal, nothing at all compared to the 24mm. I use ACR (Adobe Camera Raw) and don't ever worry about distortion. Somewhere in this thread i showed the distortion and it's fully manageable. I don't see what DxO should have problems with it. I have also without problems put together stitched images (panos) and again it has been possible without any problems.
I still think the main problems with the 40G is the price and sometimes the bokeh.
p.13 #16 · Sony FE 40/2.5 G - A little darling. Samples and opinions welcome!
pillarpair wrote:
I have the 24mm f2.8 G and am now considering this lens as a walkaround lens on the a7cr.
I've been fairly disappointed with the barrel distortion on the 24, and from what I've seen and read the 40 has very little distortion - have people had good success processing the RAWs in DXO?
First post on this forum, so if asking about software in conjunction with lens is gauche, apologies.
Welcome to the forum!
DXO PhotoLab does excellent rendering of RAW files. I use it regularly. There is also DXO Viewpoint which does an excellent job with various kinds of distortion, volume deformations, and perspective distortions.
As for 24mm lenses, you might take a look at the Sigma i series 24mm/3.5. It is much esteemed--small, light, excellent rendering, and a 1:2 macro-like close focus ability. Great lens for street or travel or carrying along (like the 40 in that regard).
p.13 #17 · Sony FE 40/2.5 G - A little darling. Samples and opinions welcome!
chiron wrote:
you might take a look at the Sigma i series 24mm/3.5
The OP indicated that he dislikes lenses with geometric distortion. And all i-series wide Sigmas exhibit a fair amount. The f/3.5 version shows noticeable pincushion which has to be corrected in software.
I am not an optical engineer, but I suspect the recent (welcome) trend of reducing lens weight is explained by manufacturers giving up on geometrical correctness. My Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II has more distortion than my old Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 L, and that's (probably) why it's lighter.
p.13 #18 · Sony FE 40/2.5 G - A little darling. Samples and opinions welcome!
old-gregg wrote:
The OP indicated that he dislikes lenses with geometric distortion. And all i-series wide Sigmas exhibit a fair amount. The f/3.5 version shows noticeable pincushion which has to be corrected in software.
I am not an optical engineer, but I suspect the recent (welcome) trend of reducing lens weight is explained by manufacturers giving up on geometrical correctness. My Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II has more distortion than my old Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 L, and that's (probably) why it's lighter.
True, but the pincushion distortion is linear and easily. corrected. I don't think there is any very small wide angle without some distortion, as you suggest. The Sony 24/1.4 GM is a wonderful lens, with less distortion than most, but it is not especially small and is about $1000 more than the Sigma. So, if he wants small and wide, the 24/3.5 might be a good choice.
p.13 #19 · Sony FE 40/2.5 G - A little darling. Samples and opinions welcome!
Jonas B wrote:
...and your first reply is not really satisfying, I don't use the DxO software. But hey, the 40G distortion is totally normal, nothing at all compared to the 24mm. I use ACR (Adobe Camera Raw) and don't ever worry about distortion. Somewhere in this thread i showed the distortion and it's fully manageable. I don't see what DxO should have problems with it. I have also without problems put together stitched images (panos) and again it has been possible without any problems.
I still think the main problems with the 40G is the price and sometimes the bokeh.
I agree with Jonas here, the main issue is really the price. Performance is quite good, certainly good enough for me, but I often wished I had something faster when bringing it out. It is a great little lens to have in the arsenal, especially if it was $300-400, but current price of $798 is kind of ridiculous IMO. It better be a lens you want to use quite a bit.
I have both the 40/2.5 and the 24/2.8, I'm thinking of swapping them for a 24-50/2.8, which would be more practical. I'm tired of swapping lenses on the streets of Paris.
p.13 #20 · Sony FE 40/2.5 G - A little darling. Samples and opinions welcome!
patotts wrote:
I agree with Jonas here, the main issue is really the price. Performance is quite good, certainly good enough for me, but I often wished I had something faster when bringing it out. It is a great little lens to have in the arsenal, especially if it was $300-400, but current price of $798 is kind of ridiculous IMO. It better be a lens you want to use quite a bit.
I have both the 40/2.5 and the 24/2.8, I'm thinking of swapping them for a 24-50/2.8, which would be more practical. I'm tired of swapping lenses on the streets of Paris.
I purchased the 24-50/2.8 for the very same reason of not having to change lenses in nasty weather. The zoom is sharper and has nicer bokeh. I still like having the 50 f2.5G on my A7CR for a walk around at times though.
