Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Sony’s new ultra-wide, ultra-bright lens is the widest E-mount prime yet

Introducing FE 20mm F1.8 G | Sony | Lens

Sony’s E-mount lens lineup just gained a new member. Announced on February 25, the Sony FE 20mm f/1.8 G is the widest prime lens yet for the native full-frame E-mount family. While Sony has zoom lenses that go even wider, the 20mm offers a brighter f/1.8 aperture along with a design that’s ideal for astrophotography, street photography, environmental portraiture, and video, the company says.

Recommended Videos

The lens is designed with two advanced aspherical elements and three extra-low dispersion elements, developed to squelch distortion such as chromatic aberration while also working to ensure sharpness. Sony says the lens offers “corner-to-corner image quality,” even when shooting wide open. Bright wide-angle lenses are typically great for astrophotography, so Sony has used several design elements that help capture the stars without sagittal flare, a type of distortion affecting pinpoints of light.

Sony

The lens’ autofocus system allows for capturing sharp subjects that are 7.5 inches or more from the front of the lens, which translates into roughly a .2x magnification ratio for close-ups. Two extreme dynamic linear motors are built in. Despite the wide angle, that f/1.8 should help blur out that background.

Besides the usual stills that a 20mm is good for — like astro, street, landscapes, and environmental portraits — Sony says the FE 20mm f/1.8 G is also designed for video. The dual autofocus motors, image quality, and small size, the company says, translate well to video use.

The lens weighs 13.2 ounces and takes up less than a four-inch slot in the camera bag. As part of the G series, the lens is dust and moisture resistant. Controls on the lens include a focus hold button and aperture ring with an on-off switch. While many wide-angle lenses have a rounded front that prevents them from accepting filters, the Sony FE 20mm f/1.8 G is compatible with some 67mm filters.

“We’re driven by the needs of our customers and will continue developing the best tools to meet their creative ambitions,” Neal Manowitz, deputy president of Imaging Products and Solutions Americas, Sony Electronics, said in a statement.  “Our 56th E-mount lens, the new FE 20mm F1.8 G, is fast, lightweight, and extremely versatile, giving creators yet another compelling tool to help realize their vision.”

The Sony FE 20mm f/1.8 G launches next month, with a list price at about $900.

Hillary K. Grigonis
Hillary never planned on becoming a photographer—and then she was handed a camera at her first writing job and she's been…
Cool space video shows star trails stretching over city lights
A screen grab from a video showing star trails stretching over city lights on Earth.

NASA astronaut Don Pettit dazzled us on Tuesday with a gorgeous image showing star trails and city lights as seen from the International Space Station (ISS).

On Wednesday, he turned the "wow" dial all the way up to 11 by sharing a video clip from which Tuesday’s image was taken.

Read more
Blue Ghost’s moon landing shown in dramatic new footage
Images of the lunar surface captured by the Blue Ghost lander.

When the Blue Ghost lander reached the lunar surface on March 2, Firefly Aerospace become the first commercial company to fully succeed in a soft moon landing at the first attempt.

A week on, and a team at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia has just released first-of-its-kind footage of a lunar lander’s powerful engine plumes interacting with the moon’s surface, captured as the Blue Ghost touched down.

Read more
New Canon EOS R50 V could be the vlogger camera of the year
Canon EOS R50 V

Canon has just unveiled its new EOS R50 V as what could be the ultimate vlogging camera for creators.

Following the Canon EOS R50, this upgrade uses a V as it's all about the video extras. While you still get that premium mirrorless camera setup, now this also pulls in some of the great video features from the PowerShot V1.

Read more