Hello there, I’m Dylan John and all of that footage and
the example clips you’re about to see are all shot with the Sony 35 f1.8.
I’ve owned a lot of Sony lenses and this tends
to be the lens that I turn to the most, for a couple of reasons.
For one, the size and weight of this lens makes it so easy to carry around
on your camera all day and because of that it’s a solid choice for gimbal work as well. Actually,
I think as far as Sony full frame lenses go, aside from the pancake lenses they released,
this is one of the smallest. Next to my Sigma 24-70 this thing looks incredibly small and
it’s 27% of the Sigma’s weight. Obviously there’s going to be a difference when comparing a prime
to a zoom, but even next to the 24 GM, there’s a noticeable size difference and the 35 is pretty
much half the weight of the 24. In saying that, this lens has been so amazing to travel with. It
doesn’t take up much space and it helps to not make my already heavy camera bag even heavier.
The next reason this lens is great for video is because of the quality of shots it produces. As
you’ve seen in some of these example shots, this lens looks good. Especially considering you can
buy it new on amazon for about $750. Compared to some of my other lenses that I’ve sold organs for,
it’s pretty affordable. And if you want a used one, you can find it from $400-$500 on Amazon
and eBay. It’s also very sharp wide open. I find I’m just shooting on f1.8 most of the
time and I stop down when the situation calls for it. I do realize that the fact that it’s a
1.8 may turn some people off from the lens, but I rarely wish that it was a faster lens,
especially because the low light performance of some of these Sony cameras are incredible.
The third reason this lens is great for video is because of how quick and accurate the autofocus
is. For such an inexpensive lens, relatively speaking, I’m always shocked at how smooth
it’s able to focus. The other big thing to note is that unlike the 35mm GM lens,
this lens has very little to no focus breathing at all. It’s buttery smooth,
it’s fast when it needs to be, and it is accurate. I’ve never had an issue with it.
Reason number 4 is that the 35mm focal length is such a great medium between
wide and portraits shots. It’s probably my favorite focal length actually. If
you need to take a step back from your subject and take in more of the scene,
you can do so easily and it looks wide enough. You can also move closer for more of a portrait
shot and not have a ton of distortion happen to your subject's face. It’s a great medium
and if I were to pick one focal length to take out shooting, it’d probably be a 35. It’s a
great lens for youtube videos in my opinion. I actually use this lens for every single one of
the talking head portions of my YouTube videos. What you’re seeing right now is with the 35 1.8.
The last thing to note is that the build quality is fairly decent for such a lower
priced lens. The barrel and focusing ring feel all metal, so if you happen to knick
it against something while ninja walking backwards furiously with your gimbal,
it should hold up pretty well. The weather sealing is also pretty solid. I’ve shot with
this in some fairly heavy rain and the lens did fine. I haven’t had any fungus or mold in the
lens and I live in a tropical, humid place, so if the sealing was bad, I’d know by now.
So who should buy this lens? I would say if you don’t have the biggest budget to
pick up the latest greatest gear, then this lens is an amazing bang for your
buck option. And even if you do have the money for top of the line lenses,
it’s still a great option. If you do a lot of gimbal work and you need reliable autofocus,
this lens is tried and true. And if you travel a lot or shoot long hour days and thus weight
and size are really an important factor for you, then this may be a good fit. However, if you’re
someone who wants something faster than an f1.8 or you prefer your lens to be unbelievably sharp,
then check out the 35 f1.4 GM or for a cheaper option, try out sigma’s 35 f1.4. I haven’t tried
this lens out, but their art series lenses are always choice. Have a great rest of your day guys!