Sony SEL-20F28 E-Mount 20mm F2.8 Prime Lens

Oh, wow, this lens is so much better than the 16mm (SEL-16F28). I know because I used to have the 16mm but sold it after getting this one. The 20mm is much sharper, better built, with a nice and versatile field of view. It also takes the two adapters sold for the 16mm (the wide-angle which I had for the 16mm makes this 20mm a 15mm; and the fish-eye which I don't yet have but intend to buy). In case anyone's interested, I own a NEX-6 and an A6000. I have most of the "reasonably priced" Sony E-mount lenses: the 20mm with the wide angle adapter; the 30mm Macro (a nice lens if you can get one for a good price), the 35mm prime (one of my favorite lenses for its field of view and its sharp, high-quality images); the 50mm prime (a nice lens, especially for portraits with good bokeh); the 16-50mm PZ kit lens (which I take along with the 20mm when I want to travel very light but still have a bit of a zoom on hand because it takes good, but not great, pictures as you can see clearly see once you've tried the primes); the 55-210 manual zoom (great range, nice and sharp shots, fairly bulky, but I got it for only $150 so can't complain) and the 18-105 PZ "G" lens (which is a superb carry-around lens if you don't mind its relative bulk--it's long and wide, but not too heavy). I've also tried the Sigma lenses (19 and 30mm) but thought, "These would be OK if they weren't so cheaply made (scratch easily) and so bulky and if they had OSS." So I returned them in spite of their low prices. I've also tried for a weekend, but decided not to buy, the Sony 10-18 and 16-70 zooms and the Zeiss Touit 32mm. These are built with high-quality materials and take great shots but they are way too expensive, in my opinion at least, for the relative increase in image quality over the much less expensive lenses. I'm sure somebody out there will want to quote image tests and pixel peeping comparisons to debate my opinion about this 20mm lens and/or the pricy Zeiss lenses, but my thinking is simply that this "mirrorless" line of medium-format cameras doesn't really need lenses that cost so much. I admit there is a small market for those lenses; they are priced for folks who are willing to spend 2-3 times the money for "something a bit better" (that's how Sony makes back the investment in building lenses that relatively few people will buy). If you really want to step up, I suggest that you skip the APS-C line altogether and buy one of the newest full-frame "A7" camera bodies and any one of the pricey full-frame lenses available for it. With 4 times the money invested, you can see some better images (all else being equal). But switching from APS-C to full-frame means you're not in the same ballpark at all, to use a worn expression. I can say all this with confidence because photography is a hobby for me, not a profession. I'm not taking pictures for National Geographic (I'd love to imagine doing so with my A6000 and one of my pedestrian lenses, but I am not a delusional man). What I am is happy with two Sony APS-C cameras I own. I make use of, and accommodate for, their relative merits. The broad collection of E-mount lenses I have covers most every situation I am likely to get into as a hobbyist. Even better, I bought all my lenses for about 60 cents on the dollar (another hobby of mine is being a bargain hunter). If you're the kind of photographer that I am, then you'll want to know that this SEL-20F28 lens is a very nice lens to have. I bought it as a "new but sold as refurb" here on Amazon for about 40% off its list. For that kind of money, it really shines as a small, versatile lens (i.e., close-up shots and landscape shots are both very good). It's smaller and faster and sharper than the kit zoom; it also costs much more than the kit zoom. I will add that my 18-105 "G" lens takes a noticeably better (sharper, better contrast, less aberrations) picture set at 20mm than this prime does, but then the zoom is only f4.0 (minimum through its range) whereas the prime is f2.8 and it's 1/10th the size. That's why I have both in my lens bag. I hope this long ramble helps someone decide whether or not to buy this lens. If not, hey, reading it was free. Peace.

This was a great assest as you can use it in another camera! The quality is superb! Adjustability wins.

They say the best camera is the one that you have with you, so I bought this to make my a7 more portable and turn it into a snapshot and street camera. The a7 will detect the lens and use Crop Mode instead of Full Frame, which gives you a 30mm view that is great for all around use. The image quality is not fine art level but good for what it is, an affordable and portable lens. There is slight distortion and vignette sometimes, but Sony has a lens correction feature built into the camera that does a great job of fixing them if they bother you. Also the more you avoid the extreme high or low F stops the cleaner the image will be.

I got this lil lens to carry around while traveling and doing street photography, it pairs perfectly with my a6700, and it fits on my coat pocket. I really like how you can add a filter directly to the lens or on the hood itself. It's pretty fast, autofocus is quick, it's got focus ring and just feels solid. I had been looking for a small pancake wide angle lens and tried a 14mm, 16mm, 18mm and finally this one. Its exactly what I was looking for, the only thing in wish is it would go down to f/1.8 or 2.0

This lens accomplishes one goal very well, it's very small and light. But, it's otherwise not impressive and I was hoping for cleaner pics, etc. Auto focus is noisy and slow, not great for low light, etc, just not what I'd hoped for. Bit larger, but a far better lens for a prime lens, is the 1.8/35 and that's a great lens all around and what I will use an all around lens. I'd like to see Sony or another company develop a truly high quality pancake lens for the E mount.

I have been using a Sony NEX-7 for about a year and was desperate for a good (yet not too ridiculously expensive) compact prime lens. I chose the NEX-7 to have a great camera that remained portable. I initially used the SEL50F18 (Sony's 50mm f/1.8 E Mount) but found the pictures to be less sharp than expected with that lens; the 50 mm also made the camera more bulky. Then I finally got this lens. The 20mm f/2.8 has been providing much sharper images. In addition, it's low profile makes the camera extremely portable. I use it on a daily basis for most of my "casual shooting." The only drawback is what is inherent to a 20mm lens - your shots will still be wide-angle even with a 1.5x crop factor. This is not ideal for portraits and there is some mild distortion. However, for traveling and use in tight indoor spaces, it has been an excellent choice. I tend to favor prime lenses over zoom because of better apertures, size/weight, and my style of shooting. I just tend to compose better with a prime. However, if you're not used to using a prime lens or want to avoid wider angles, there are several other options available for NEX line. For those looking for a daily carry lens, this might just be the one.

Buy this over the Sigma 19mm. I've also written a review about that lens. I'm an armature photographer, and while my composition skills are becoming more proficient I still like to focus on sharpness. To me that is important (although some may argue otherwise). Either way, I love this pancake. Recently I've been shooting a little more wide angle for candids shots. This lens fits the bill! Unlike the Sigma 19mm there is sharpness throughout all aperture settings on this lens. The Sigma seems softer than I like at 2.8. That's my biggest complaint about that lens. This little lens is discrete with is pancake form factor, making it possible to store in a coat pocket if you'd like. This lens is also faster than the Sigma. I'd recommend this for street photography or candids. It is a little pricier then the Sigma but well worth it. I highly recommend this lens.

Was looking forward to taking this lens on my vacation in 6 days. Lens arrived in unsealed package but everything seemed fine. When I placed it on my camera I discovered the focus motor did not work. Very disappointing. I know Sony has exacting standards on quality control, so my guess is that I received someone else's previously returned defective item. Sadly this wouldn't be the first time this has happened. The only redeeming part of this story is that Amazon's return process is easy and I was issued a credit within hours of returning it to the Amazon pickup center. Next lens I buy will definitely he from BH.

Great pancake for Sony apes-c cameras.

中古で2万でNEX-3Nを入手してそれにこのレンズを付けていますが、普通のコンデジよりも大きいセンサーサイズAPS-Cセンサーのカメラなので良い感じに写真が撮れるレンズだと思います。 必ずカバンにいれてるカメラにすることができます。純正レンズなので信頼感もあります。

Muy buen lente, cumple con mis expectativas, buena calidad de materiales y cubre una buena zona para fotos que requieras amplitud

Una imagen dice más que mil palabras...

I used this for my vacation to the UK and it was great for carting around - light weight and easy to store away. Great for street scapes and landscape vista shots. I didn't have too many occasions to use it in low light conditions but it worked fine in the British Museum, for example. Not a high end prime, but then again not priced like one either.