Sony FE 20mm ƒ/1.8 G Wide-Angle Lens Sample Images

Here are some sample images I’ve taken with the Sony FE 20mm ƒ/1.8 G prime lens. ¹

It’s an E-Mount lens designed for use with Sony’s full-frame mirrorless Alpha cameras. You can use it on Sony’s APS-C cropped-sensor cameras, in which case the focal length will be equivalent to 30mm.

The FE 20mm ƒ/1.8 G is an ultra-wide prime lens, but isn’t the widest lens in Sony’s lineup for their Alpha cameras—that would be the 12-24mm lenses (there are two; one is ƒ/2.8, and the other is ƒ/4), the new 14mm ƒ/1.8 prime, and the 16-35mm zoom.

It’s fast, with a maximum aperture of ƒ/1.8, making it good in low light. That large aperture also helps with a shallow depth of field, but with an ultra-wide focal length like this, that’s much less prominent unless the subject is very close to the camera. That said, while it’s not a macro lens, with a minimum focus distance of around 7 inches / 18 centimeters, you can get in very close to your subject, and I’ve included some examples of that below.

The lens is also relatively compact and light (weighing around 13 ounces / 370 grams), at least compared to some of the fast zooms, making it a well-balanced match with the Sony Alpha camera bodies.

I’ve recently been out shooting with the Sony 20mm on the Sony A1 full-frame body (aka, the Alpha 1, the ILCE-1, or Sony’s new flagship camera with all the bells and whistles).

It’s a lens I’ve enjoyed shooting with (particularly on the A1, which is a peach of a camera). The 20mm focal length has been a favorite of landscape photographers for a long time, because it packs a lot into the frame without tipping into the heavy distortion that many wider lenses get. It’s a very good option as a travel photography lens, although it’s less flexible than the more expensive and heavier 12-24mm and probably less versatile for most shooters than a fast 35mm or 24mm prime. I find it especially good for tight, indoor spaces, where the aspherical elements really come into their own to minimize wide-angle distortion. By way of comparison, I’ve previously posted sample photos I’ve shot with the Nikon 20mm ƒ/1.8 lens on a Nikon body.

In terms of performance, after shooting with it for a while, I can think of no complaints with this lens. It’s beautifully sharp, quick, and quiet. It’s relatively compact and very well-built, as is typical with Sony’s lenses.

The photos below have been lightly processed in Lightroom, but I haven’t applied any of Lightroom’s optical corrections. I have, however, left the camera’s default Lens Compensation settings on, which correct for chromatic aberration, lens vignetting, and barrel distortion. That’s in keeping with my purpose here, aimed at practical shooting results rather than lab optical tests.

With the current movement restrictions, I haven’t been able to get out and about to shoot with as much variety as I’d like, but hopefully, these are still useful for a practical sense of what the results from this lens look like when combined with a Sony Alpha full-frame mirrorless camera. I’ve tried to include a range of apertures as well as some that test corner-to-corner sharpness, chromatic aberration, and some closer shots to demonstrate the bokeh. I would have liked to include some night scenes for looking at flaring, etc, but the opportunity hasn’t come up.

Photos Taken with the Sony FE 20mm ƒ/1.8 G Wide-Angle

You can click on each image to open a full-size version.

Optical Correction Tools

I deliberately haven’t applied extensive corrections to these images. And the general rule of thumb in photography is that it’s better to get the shot right at the time of capture rather than trying to fix it after. That’s a great aspiration, but it’s not always possible to do if you’re bumping up against limitations or flaws in gear, conditions, or technique.

But it’s worth mentioning that there are some excellent tools available to help address common issues with lenses, such as distortion, chromatic aberration, and lens vignetting when editing the images. All-round image processing apps like Lightroom Classic and Capture One have solid tools built in already that often cater to specific lens profiles (or you can make your own).

Some more specialized tools can take it even further. DxO, in particular, sets the gold standard. Their software is built on the foundation of their incredibly deep archive of data from their extensive lab testing of the optical performance of lenses and cameras. But there are some other excellent specialized tools available. These are well worth a look (and have free trials):

• DxO Pure RAW (for a suite of automatic RAW file corrections enhancement)
• DxO ViewPoint (correcting for distortion and geometry)
• Topaz Labs Sharpen AI (in addition to standard unsharp tools, includes focus correction and shake reduction)
• On1 NoNoise (includes Tack Sharp AI, which applies sharpening)

Accessories for the Sony FE 20mm ƒ/1.8 G Lens

• Filters. It takes 67mm screw-in filters: Polarizer | UV/Haze | Neutral Density. There is likely some benefit in going with slimline filters, especially if you plan to stack them (eg. adding a circular polarizer on top of a protection or UV filter). That will help reduce the risk of corner vignetting.
• Lens Hood. The dedicated petal lens hood for this lens is model number ALC-SH162. If you opt for a cheaper aftermarket alternative, be sure to check that it doesn’t add any vignetting, which is a particular problem when adding hoods and filters to these very wide lenses.

Price & Availability of the Sony FE 20mm ƒ/1.8 G Wide-Angle Prime Lens

Sony has set the MSRP on this lens at $899.

Buy New

Check the current price and availability at:

• B&H Photo
• Adorama
• Amazon

Buy Used

You can also find used copies. Some good places to look are: 

• B&H Photo (Used Department)
• KEH
• MPB

Rent

If you’d like to try the lens out, or if you need it only for a specific shoot, another good option is to rent it. You can find this lens at:

• LensProToGo

1. The model number of this lens is SEL20F18G.[↩]

Images and product information from Amazon PA-API were last updated on 2023-10-01 at 04:20. Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon Site at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.