Sony releases Carl Zeiss Distagon 24/2 ZA SSM, 85/2.8 SAM and DT 35/1.8 SAM

July 27th, 2010 - 07:48:59 PM:

Carl Zeiss Distagon 24/2 ZA SSM, DT 35/1.8 SAM and 85/2.8 SAM

Sony has today released three new fixed focal length lenses, of which one was already pre-announced at PMA 2010, and two are completely unheard of until today.

The lenses are:

• Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 24/2 SSM, a medium-fast wide-angle prime lens with SSM focus motor, high optical and mechanical quality.
• Sony Alpha DT 35/1.8 SAM, a medium-fast “normal” lens with SAM micro-motor for APS-C sensor cameras.
• Sony Alpha 85/2.8 SAM, a medium-speed full-frame telephoto lens with SAM micro-motor.

The latter two lenses are clearly optimized for low price. The lens bayonet (and probably most of the rest of the lens barrel) is made of polycarbonate, and both feature the cheaper (but also noisy) SAM micro motors. Their medium speed results in very compact lenses and low weight of around 175 g. But as seen from earlier releases like the DT 30/2.8 Macro and the DT 50/1.8, this does not automatically mean that optical quality will be reason for complaints. With such conservative designs you can still expect high image quality despite the low price.

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