This was not planned. Took years to get here. But here we are.
For years I tried to choose a 50mm-ish lens for Sony. And do not even mention adapting. That number approaches infinity. (OK. I am being dramatic. But it exceeds a number I care to count to.) Here I will stick to Sony made FE full-frame autofocus lenses. I will admit that there are good third party autofocus options. Have tried quite a few.
Field Notes:
An impressive optical performance was undone by an underwhelming AF performance. A good lens and, while not expensive, I was looking for better at this price.
Field Notes:
An impressive optical performance was undone by… I cannot honestly say. I took plenty of pictures with this lens, but it did not do it for me.
Field Notes:
A combination of the two entries above. An impressive optical performance was undone by slightly less sluggish than native AF and… I cannot honestly say. I took plenty of pictures with this lens, but it did not do it for me. Also Sony did it better, but more on that below.
On to the Sony lenses. I choose lens size as an arbitrary order to list them in.
Will set the format for these Sony lenses here. What I like, what it is good for, and sample images.
What I Like
Everything I had liked about the SIGMA 45mm f/2.8 above, but better. Shares a similar aesthetic, solid build, and aperture ring. Adds a slightly brighter aperture, smaller size, more switches, and faster autofocus. And as the cherry on top if you add an aftermarket hood and cap it does a decent impression of a Leica Q, especially when combined with the A7C,
I cannot state strongly enough how fast, silent, and accurate the autofocus is. Easily keeps up with the swift performance of recent Sony cameras. Also exhibits great sharpness, colors, and a decent close focus distance. While f/2.5 does not sound impressive it is likely what allows the lens to be so small and when combined with the close focus distance allows for decent background blur.
What I Use It For
It is my everyday lens. Makes for a wonderfully small package and is so responsive. Add in the wider 40mm focal length and it allows one to capture more of a scene. But it is still a long enough focal length that photos of people look good also. Perfectly competent on any Sony body, but a perfect companion lens, especially when teamed with the Sony A7C. And those two combined would be my first choice for street photography.
Sample Images
What I Like
Affordable and competent in short.If budget is tight or you would just rather not spend more than you needed to this lens would do just fine. It is as close as Sony has ever come to a nifty-fifty. I have tried it numerous times, but it did not stick until a firmware update saved the day making the autofocus adequate. I always liked its optical performance. Images are reasonably sharp, background blur is perfectly fine, and I genuinely like the colors it produces. On top of that even though it is a bit plasticky, which is fine for a nifty-fifty, it is small, light, and seems to ward off dings and scratches pretty well. This is the one area where I think I went with this as my inexpensive choice over the Rokinon/Samyang 45mm f/1.8 listed above. It also has flare when pointed towards a light source that reminds me of old timey SLR lenses. Technically imperfect, but I like it.
What I Use It For
It is my knock about lens. Small, light and along with the Sony 40mm above it is also a great lens for the compact Sony A7C.
Sample Images
Sony Sonnar T* FE 55mm f/1.8 ZA
What I Like
Everything. It is the lens I always wanted, but was unwilling to pay for. And it has ZEISS written on it, which I am always a sucker for. Only acquired a copy recently after a used copy finally dipped to an amount I was willing to pay. My issue? F/1.8 50mm lenses did not cost nearly $1,000 in my universe. That is it. Otherwise, it is the business. It is reasonably small and light while being a well built metal affair. It is sharp with lovely bokeh and colors. On the other side of 50mm from the 40mm above it is well suited to people photos while still being flexible at 55mm. Amazing given its age, since it was one of the first Sony FE lenses offered, it had an autofocus performance that keeps up with the latest and greatest Sony bodies. That is more than I can say for the much newer FE 50mm above.
What I Use It For
It is the lens I bring when I really want to use the next lens, but the occasion does not warrant such or I would prefer a smaller, lighter package. And while a great optical pairing for high MP Sony bodies, it is yet another lens that is a great match for the A7C.
Sample Photos
What I Like
It is the most perfect 50mm lens I have ever used. As fast or faster and more silent autofocus than any of the lenses above. Perfect sharpness, colors, and I really like the bokeh. No optical imperfections that I could find. And for its spec it is not all that large or heavy. Not only is it lighter and smaller than its direct rivals it costs less and reportedly has swifter autofocus, even if only slightly so, than them also. And like these rivals f/1.2 also deliver it renders a depth of field for large objects from a distance such that I let go of my digital medium format solution.
What I Use It For
It is the precious. While its performance makes it suitable for any purpose, I typically only truck it out for formal photo shoots. This is mainly because its extra size and weight make smaller and lighter lenses preferable for daily use. It also cannot be ignored that this is a lens I would hate to drop or bump going about my day. And no matter what I use it for it impresses every single time.
Sample Images
Conclusion
I hope you were not expecting a suggestion… I got nothing. All of these lenses are great. In many cases, a reasonable person could use any one of them for every purpose above. This post was of a “what I like about each” variety. If you are so inclined to choose just one it is my hope that it will assist in that endeavor. Me? I am similarly afflicted as a friend on Instagram.
And this list above does not include Sony’s 50mm f/1.4 options. I am sure the same would apply for other brands. From personal experience, I would definitely be looking at another copy of the RF STM 50mm f/1.8 and their precious 50mm f/1.2 if I were shooting Canon and Nikon has similar spec lenses available. A lot of great choices out there.
Happy capturing.
-ELW
Eric L. Woods 
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