Yongnuo 50mm f/1.8 review by Marc Alhadeff: “excellent performance”

Today the new Yongnuo 50mm f/1.8 E-mount lens is starting to ship out on Amazon and BHphoto.

Marc Alhadeff from SonyAlphaBlog tested the lens and concluded:

The Yongnuo 50mm F1.8S DA DSM (120 euros) is a very pleasant surprise : A Chinese lens with AF with very good to excellent performance in photo
In photo it is far better than the Sony E 50mm F1.8 OSS (280 euros)
The only drawback is in video with a capricious AF in this mode
Highly recommended for A6000 users if you are on a budget
For high end APS users having a A6500 / A6600 you may want to invest in the Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN (430 euros !) that is a bit better (but not 4 times better)

Pros
Very good to excellent sharpness
Very soft background blur
Very good color rendition
Good AF
Lens with electronics contacts so EXIF available and control of the aperture via the body
Cheap (120 euros)
Light and small

Average
Bokeh balls showing heptagon when closed down to F2.8 or more
Chromatic Aberrations wide open when facing the sun
Build quality is OK
Moderate distorsion and vignetting
No Optical stabilisation

Cons
unreliable AF in video with V4 firmware (could be corrected in a future firmware)

First review of the newly announced Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 SE lens

The Japanese site Fujiablog posted the first review of the new Voigtlander NOKTON 35mm f/1.2 Aspherical SE Sony E lens. On their website you can find many image samples. Here is their google translated conclusion:

Voigtlander NOKTON 35mm F1.2 Aspherical SE Sony E was a very fun lens to use with its unique and wide range of expressions. The unique bokeh, combined with the extremely bright f-value of f1.2, was very attractive.
When I used the same M-mount lens, I had the impression that it had a slight purple fringe, but this time it didn’t happen because of the optimization for the Sony mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera.
The characteristic of the image changes when the lens is fully opened and when the aperture is stopped down, and I think that the joy of taking the lens according to the image can be enjoyed and the joy of using it doubled.

There lens is not available for preorder on BHphoto.

Tamron 70-180mm review by CameraLabs: “compelling alternative to the Sony”

CameraLabs tested the new Tamron 70-180mm lens and concluded:

It produces very good image quality including a soft Bokeh and very usable close-up performance in a package that is much smaller, lighter, and cheaper than Sony’s FE 70-200mm f2.8 GM. It may not have all the bells and whistles of Sony’s professional zoom lens and its biggest disadvantage is the incompatibility with teleconverters. But it still is a compelling alternative to the Sony and clearly earns a recommendation!

Also Photographyblog published the full lens review:

Overall, unless you really, really need the extra 20mm reach of a “true” 70-200m zoom, the new Tamron 70-180mm F/2.8 Di III VXD is a truly unique lens that performs exceptionally well in almost every regard, and is therefore a deserved winner of our coveted Essential award.

Tamron 70-180mm FE lens is in Stock and/or shipping here:

In USA at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama and FocusCamera
In Germany at FotoKoch DE, Amazon DE, Calumet DE.
In UK at Amazon UK, WexUK, ParkCameras.
In Amazon EU stores at Amazon FR, Amazon IT, Amazon ES, Amazon NL.