Best Sony FE 90mm f / 2.8 Macro G OSS Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals & Sales 2020:

The Sony FE 90 mm f / 2.8 Macro G OSS is presented as a formidable portrait weapon, supposed to produce very worked bokeh thanks to a diaphragm with 9 lamellae and well controlled spherical aberrations. The optics, stabilized (OSS) , offers a fairly classic approach to the macro with 1: 1 magnification ratios and a focus that will be 28 cm from the subject. For optimal macro photography accuracy, Direct Drive SSM-controlled focus adjusts two floating optical groups. The 90mm Macro has a dust and moisture resistant construction. Note that a manual focus system is available by pulling the focus ring. 

Best Sony FE 90mm f / 2.8 Macro G OSS Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals & Sales 2020

1. Sony SEL90M28G FE 90mm f/2.8-22 Macro G OSS Standard-Prime Lens for Mirrorless Cameras,Black

2. Sony SEL100F28GM 100mm f2.8 Medium-telephoto Fixed Prime Camera Lens, Black

3. Sony 100mm f/2.8 Macro Lens for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Camera

4. Sony SEL50M28 FE 50mm F2.8 Full Frame E-mount Lens (Black)

5. Sony SAL30M28 30mm f/2.8 Lens for Alpha Digital SLR Cameras

Ergonomics

This Sony FE 90mm f / 2.8 Macro G OSS imposes, there is no doubt! It is so impressive that we almost come to ask if the argument so far number 1 of the hybrid system (namely its compactness compared to the SLR) still holds. At the same time, to make freehand macro, it is better to have a lens that holds well in hand and weighs its weight, in order to be able to ensure maximum stability and make fine adjustments.

This 90mm is therefore over 13cm long and weighs over 600g. Good point, it has a design with constant congestion, whatever the focusing distance.

The manufacturing quality is at the rendezvous with a 100% metal chassis and a design ready to face the worst conditions of shots. The objective is relatively discreet insofar as the barrel is very loaded with indications and switches of all kinds. We find information printed on the reproduction report and the focusing distance (no dynamic indicator) in meters and feet. There is a programmable key, as on the 70-200 mm f / 4 for example, and two switches: the first to activate the optical stabilization and the second to manage the focusing range.

The focus is activated with a system of clips on its ring. It is the same kind of system that is found on the Olympus Pro optics or some Fujifilm. The focusing ring is perfect: it is comfortable, fluidity is optimal and precision is there. It even offers the luxury of real end stops.

In practice

The focal

A focal length corresponds to an angle of field – or angle of vision – covered by the camera equipped with the lens. The larger the focal length, the smaller the field of view: we speak of long focal length. Conversely, the shorter the focal length, the wider the field angle: we speak of wide-angle.

A 90mm macro is primarily designed to take macro photos. Either way, optics can also be used for other types of shots. Mounted on a camera equipped with an APS-C format sensor, this lens is equivalent to a 135 mm (coefficient of x1.5 at Sony).

The vignetting

All the lenses give an image whose periphery, and particularly the corners, are darker. The vignetting is measured in IL (Lumination Index): the value indicated measures the difference, in IL, between the amount of light received by the edges and that received in the center.

At the largest apertures, very slight vignetting is observed, which becomes negligible from f / 4.

The distortions

Objectives tend to “twist reality”. Geometric aberrations appear when one moves away from Gauss conditions. There are two types of geometric distortions: distortions in bearings and distortions in barrels.

The distortions on this 90 mm are very discreet, even really negligible.

Bokeh

The bokeh is to be related to the depth of field. We can compare it to the “quality” of the blur or to the way in which the objective goes from the net to the blur – a very subjective notion, even if certain elements make it possible to predict things – on images with shallow depth of field. It depends on many parameters including mainly the design of the lens, the shape and the size of the diaphragm.

This 90mm has a maximum aperture of f / 2.8 which allows it to provide fairly marked depth of field effects in standard use. It is very easy to detach a main subject from its background in a beautiful and soft blur. As long as the background is not too close to the subject, it will be drowned in a very diffuse blur and pleasing to the eye.

On the other hand, let us not forget either that the depth of field is intimately linked to the focusing distance. In macro use, at 28 cm, it is extremely short and requires formidable precision to position the plane of sharpness. The slightest error is immediately sanctioned!

Stabilization

The principle of an optical stabilizer is simple: the objective is equipped with a small lens mounted on a micromotor system which allows it to be mobile, that is to say to be able to move in two directions: vertical and horizontal. These micromotors are activated by a gyroscopic system which detects the slightest movements of the lens (and therefore of the photographer’s arm), and compensates them in order to correct them. Very schematically, if you raise your camera very slightly upwards, the lens in the objective moves downwards and the two movements cancel each other from an optical point of view: it is as if you did not have moved.

The presence of optical stabilization is a real plus on this 90 mm. On the one hand, because of the relatively long focal length, which more easily generates camera shake blurs; on the other hand, because of the macro function which enormously amplifies the phenomenon as the focusing distance becomes shorter. In standard use (non macro), we managed to go down with optical stabilization at 1/20 s, a theoretical gain of 2 EV. We have already seen better. Attention, the pseudo-rule of the inverse of the focal is no longer valid at all in macro: prefer exposure times as short as possible to avoid camera shake.

Sharpness

We tested the 90 mm f / 2.8 with a  Sony A7 II  and its 24 x 36 mm 24 Mpx sensor (5.9 µm side).

The notion of dive is quite delicate to deal with. This is what we can assimilate to the “feeling of sharpness” and / or to the “precision” that we observe on an image. It can be very different from one lens to another, from one focal to another and from one aperture to another. It can also vary between the center and the edges of the image. We usually say that the sharpness is optimal in the center and at the average openings: f / 8 or f / 11 for example.

In addition, the sharpness will depend on the definition of the sensor of your camera (we tested the lens with an A7 II of 24 Mpx) and the size of its sensor (24 x 36 mm for the A7 II). The smaller the pixels, the more the system will show its limits due to diffraction. This phenomenon increases as you close the lens diaphragm.

The A7 II has a definition of 6024 x 4024 px. Each pixel therefore measures 5.9 micrometers per side. The minimum aperture recommended to avoid diffraction problems is therefore f / 16!

The lab analysis is very short. There is not much to blame about this 90mm f / 2.8 which has excellent image quality from its largest aperture f / 2.9 to f / 16. The images show a remarkable and constant sharpness from the center to the most extreme edges; it drops to f / 22 due to diffraction.

STRONG POINTS

  • Manufacturing quality
  • Optical stabilization
  • SSM motorization
  • Focus ring
  • Maximum aperture of f / 2.8
  • Design: constant bulk and tropicalization
  • Outstanding optical quality
  • Consistency and consistency in the dive

WEAK POINTS

  • Slight vignetting at the largest openings
  • Very slight distortions
  • Optical stabilization performance

CONCLUSION

Impossible not to recommend this lens which will undoubtedly delight macro enthusiasts using the A7 system from Sony. The image quality provided by the Sony FE 90mm f / 2.8 Macro G OSS is very impressive. The images are full of fine details from the center to the edges, from f / 2.8 to f / 16. We have rarely observed such perfect consistency and consistency. The objective is of course all options: all-weather construction, constant bulk, customizable touch, optical stabilization and SSM motorization. The focusing ring is perfect for macro use which requires very high precision. In short, we recommend it without any hesitation.

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