And this time it might just come from Sony itself!
(Image credit: Sony Alpha Rumors)
A new rumor suggests Sony could be planning to launch its first-ever pancake lens for full-frame Sony E-mount cameras. The news comes only days after Viltrox launched a crowdfunding campaign to put its full-frame E-mount pancake lens - the AF 28mm F4.5 FE - into production. If the rumor is correct, the alleged Sony FE 28mm F2.8 (SEL28F28P) would fill a gap in Sony's lens line-up, and it'd be ideally positioned to rival lenses like the Canon RF 28mm f/2.8 STM and Nikon Z 26mm f/2.8.
The current Sony FE 24mm F2.8 G is small, but not pancake small (Image credit: Rod Lawton/Digital Camera World)
The source of the rumor also states that Sony's lens would be a true pancake design, unlike the existing 24mm/40mm/50mm G lens trio. It's also claimed that the new lens would not be a G-series optic, so would likely be aggressively priced to compete with the Canon lens - somewhere in the $200 region would be plausible. Even this could seem a little pricey when compared to the $99 Viltrox AF 28mm F4.5 FE, but the rumor suggests the Sony 28mm may have a the edge on the Viltrox when it comes to features. While the Viltrox lens does have autofocus (something by no means a given for such a small lens, and at such a low price point), it lacks any aperture adjustment, or even a manual focus ring. The Sony lens is said to have both these features, along with sharp image quality at f/2.8, and the source claims vignetting is minimal.
The new Viltrox AF 28mm f/4.5 FE pancake lens (Image credit: Matthew Richards)
The E-mount continues to arguably be the most popular mount option for third-party lens manufacturers, with the likes of Samyang, Viltrox, 7Artisans and TTArtisan all releasing new E-mount lenses on a regular basis. While this is good news for Sony, as it makes the E-mount ecosystem more attractive to buy into, it seems Sony wants to tempt buyers away from this plethora of third-party lens options back to its own-brand offerings.
Sony Alpha Rumors wasn't able to verify the reliability of the source of this new pancake lens rumor though, so at this stage it should be taken with a generous helping of salt.
Ben is the Imaging Labs manager, responsible for all the testing on Digital Camera World and across the entire photography portfolio at Future. Whether he's in the lab testing the sharpness of new lenses, the resolution of the latest image sensors, the zoom range of monster bridge cameras or even the latest camera phones, Ben is our go-to guy for technical insight. He's also the team's man-at-arms when it comes to camera bags, filters, memory cards, and all manner of camera accessories – his lab is a bit like the Batcave of photography! With years of experience trialling and testing kit, he's a human encyclopedia of benchmarks when it comes to recommending the best buys.
