- A new optical design for top-end image quality.
- Quiet and smooth AF operation thanks to SSM Dust and drip resistant design High-grade metal body Superior Large-Aperture Performance.
- Dust and drip resistant design.
- High-grade metal body.
- Superior Large-Aperture Performance.
Product Description
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Sony introduces the long-awaited, Carl Zeiss full-frame,
large-aperture, single-focal-length lens with an all new optical
design that sets new standards in resolving power and contrast.
From the Manufacturer
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Planar T* 50mm F1.4 ZA SSM Prime Lens
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With a "normal" 50 mm focal length on 35 mm full-frame cameras,
this is an unbeatable choice for photographers who like to work
with a single prime lens, and a perfect starting point for a
superb Zeiss lens collection. A refined Zeiss Planar optical
configuration with two aspherical elements delivers superb
sharpness and contrast throughout the image at all apertures. A
9-bladed circular aperture can produce beautiful bokeh as well.
Technology
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Circular Aperture
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When changing your aperture to defocus the background, the light
sources appear blurred. This ‘bokeh’ effect of the blurred
background can be enhanced with circular aperture blades used in
this lens. Conventional aperture blades have flat sides creating
unappealing polygonal shaped defocussed points of light. α lenses
overcome this problem through a unique design that keeps the
aperture almost perfectly circular from its wide-open setting to
when it is closed by 2 stops. Smoother, more natural defocusing
can be obtained as a result.
Aspherical lens elements
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Aspherical lens design dramatically reduces spherical aberration
while also reducing lens size and weight. Spherical aberration is
a slight misalignment of the light rays projected on the image
plane. This is caused by differences in refraction at different
points on conventional spherical lenses which degrade image
quality in large-aperture lenses. Specially shaped “aspherical”
elements near the diaphragm restore alignment of light rays at
the image plane, maintaining high sharpness and contrast even at
maximum aperture and can also be used at other points in the
optical path to reduce distortion. Well-designed aspherical
elements can reduce the total number of elements required in the
lens, thus reducing overall size and weight. Advanced Aspherical
(AA) elements are an evolved variant, featuring an extremely high
thickness ratio between the center and periphery. AA elements are
exceedingly difficult to produce, relying on the most advanced
molding technology to consistently and precisely achieve the
required shape and surface accuracy, resulting in significantly
improved image accuracy and quality.
Carl Zeiss T* (T-star) coating
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Coated optics were pioneered by Carl Zeiss - and this superb lens
features the Carl Zeiss T* (T-Star) coating that virtually
eliminates lens flare, internal reflection and light scattering
that can otherwise occur at glass-to-air surfaces. The T* coating
contributes to outstanding image quality, with high contrast and
uniformly excellent resolution right out to the image edges. Not
simply applied to any lens - the T* symbol only appears on
multi-element lenses in which the required performance has been
achieved throughout the entire optical path, therefore
guaranteeing the highest quality.
Focus hold button
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Once you’ve adjusted focus to where you want it, pressing this
button on the lens barrel will keep the lens locked to that
focusing distance. The preview function can also be assigned to
this button through the camera’s custom settings.
SSM (Super Sonic wave Motor)
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SSM is a piezoelectric motor that contributes to smooth and
silent AF operation. The motor produces high torque at slow
rotation, and provides immediate start and stop responses. It is
also extremely quiet, which helps keep autofocusing silent.
Lenses that feature SSM also include a position-sensitive
detector to directly detect the a of lens rotation, a factor
that improves AF precision overall.
Additional Features
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Rear focusing elements
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Only the rear groups of the optical system move to focus the
lens, which allows for speedy AF operation and a shorter minimum
focusing distance. Since the front of the lens does not rotate,
operability is improved when shooting with a polarizing filter
attached.
2013 Sony Electronics, Inc.
All rights reserved. Sony, the Sony logo, Alpha, “α” and Super
Steady are trademarks of Sony. All other trademarks are
trademarks of their respective owners.