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Full frame e-mount roadmap discussion by SAR reader Vlad.
Note: The following is a speculation, based on current rumors. It should simply serve as a conversation starter and shouldn’t be taken too seriously. Today’s topic is the full frame e-mount roadmap
It looks like the different colors denote different lines of lenses, i.e. Sony Zeiss (blue), Sony G (yellow) and the regular Sony (grey). If that is correct, Sony is trying to present the ILCE line in its best light during the introduction, but there will be more affordable Sony lenses coming towards the end of 2014.
There are 3 upcoming lenses (mid 2014), that we can more easily speculate on, as they are described to some extent in the roadmap:
1. Sony Zeiss ultra wide angle F4 zoom – based on the current offerings and the speed indicated here, it’s already pretty clear that they are going for size reduction. I’d expect at best a 16-35, but probably something shorter and I don’t think they’ll go wider than 14mm.
2. Sony Zeiss fast prime – nice job of leaving that wide open. If we still consider that the grey lines are Sony lenses, it means that there won’t be many Sony Zeiss ones coming for some time, so something around 85mm makes the most sense (given that we already have a 35 and 55) and I won’t expect anything faster than F2. I wouldn’t be surprised to see an F2.8.
3. G macro lens – here we can expect everything. Given the G denomination, I don’t think it will be anything short, a good entry for a first macro lens for a system that Sony obviously wants to make look good, makes me think of a 100mm. Easily F4. Or faster and shorter, 60mm F2.8?
As to the upcoming Sony offerings, it seems probable that they will fill in the gaps (such as a wide prime), but also provide budget alternatives to the Sony Zeiss lenses and include stabilization for some.
On the high-end, the new family of Zeiss manual lenses (not Sony Zeiss), will probably be of big interest to many, but I expect really high prices for those.
(http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/zeiss-will-launch-manual-focusing-lenses-for-the-a7-a7r/)
What do you think about these assumptions and what Sony or Zeiss lenses would you like to see most, come end of 2014 and through 2015?
87 Responses
If it the 85mm is a 2.8 I wait for another company to release a FF mirrorless camera that is compact and has a 85mm 1.8 to offer ^^
if Sony decide to make it 2.8 instead faster, this will make room for 3rd party lens manufacturers like tamron and sigma to fill the void. They won’t take away this change.
I think if Sigma would do an art lens 85mm 1.8 the A7 would be back in the game :3
For some reason Tamron does not seem to be interested in making fast primes, or primes at all other than macros. Luckily Sigma does good fast primes 🙂
Sigma don’t make fast primes for such low volume systems. Once the a7 sells a few Sigma might be interested, but that will be years away. Best wait for Someone else.
I would love to see some Samyang lenses specifically designed for the FE system. Not just with a mount adapter…
They have already annonced that they are converting lenses to FE-mount.
http://samyang-europe.com/index.php/new-products/77-samyang-ready-for-e-mount-full-frame
@Calle Yeah I know but I mean lenses specifically designed for the FE system that are really small. Not these huge DSLR lenses with built in E-Mount adapter.
It looks like Sigma might hold off producing FE lenses for now: http://sigma-rumors.com/2013/10/no-plans-from-sigma-tu-support-sony-a7-a7r-cameras/
An 85mm f1.8 doesn’t make much sense. Remember the A7 doesn’t have an optical view finder. Part if the attraction of ultra fast lenses for optical viewfinders, is that they allow a brighter image in the view finder. This is no longer required with the A7. Also the DOF of an 85mm at f1.8 is insanely short. To be on the money with sharps (with any consistency), on anything other than a still life…well you must be superman…f2.8 is perfectly fine with plenty of short DOF. If you want to go burn your money on an 85mm f1.8 go for gold…
I said this before. People who are defending this policy/Sony are the ones doing Sony much more harm than it’s critics. Sony won’t gain traction with a7 series. The only people that camera is good for is landscape and perhaps video. THE MASSIVE MARKET THAT CANIKON OWN WILL NOT BE INTERESTED. Therefore Sony STILL WON”T BE MAKING PROFIT.
Just wait for Fuji, they will show Sony who’s boss. They will release lenses that make people go “wow”. They will release lenses that people dump there DSLR’s for. Look at the X system now, the X camera’s are hardly refined yet some very high profile pro’s have already switched to Fuji. With the new X-E2 and 50mm 1.2 that will happen even faster.
Also Samsung maybe a wild card. If they take the opposite strategy to Sony and make ‘crazy fast’ lenses, then Sony are done for. No one other than Sony loyalists will buy the a7 series.
I think the Sony policy makes sense when Zeiss release their full set of manual primes that are fast and expensive where Sony and Sony Zeiss lens are slower but still as sharp and have auto focus.
No it makes no sense. Manual focus lenses are for the very few. Very few people with DSLR’s would ever consider shooting with a manual focus lens. If people don’t want MF then again Sony can’t compete. Again you’re kind of comment will be the death of Sony if they choose to believe you view over others.
I canceled my order of the A7 because, in the end, I decided I wanted a fast 35 that has AF without using a giant adapter. That’s not going to happen it appears. Fast lenses that AF is what it will take to move me from my Canon 6D and I hate the bulk of my camera, but it has the lenses I prefer (and I’d be happy with just 2 lenses – fast 35 and a fast portrait lens).
The 6D with fast 35mm will still way bigger and heavier than a7 +adapter+fast a-mount 35mm
Rhys, what makes you think that it is Sony’s “policy” not to make “crazy fast” FE lenses for the FF e-mount cameras? A statement by a low-level operative at a New York show? Yes, they did split the difference and introduce a series of moderate-speed, high-quality lenses at launch, but I am willing to bet that we will have some “crazy fast” lenses coming in the next couple of years.
And, by the way, the A7/A7R cameras are doing very well indeed in the marketplace already.
+1
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Sigma make ‘crazy fast’ fe-mount lenses in future.
X-Mount to E-Mount adapter. Done.
Except for people who use a fast longish prime for low light evens – which is probably most photographers. Shooting subjects at normal distances at F/1.8 is no problem, and I’m no superman. The first 3 shots here are done at F/1.8: http://molnarcs.500px.com/events I’ve done lots of event work shooting the 85mm F/1.8 G Nikkor at F/1.8-2.8 without problems, and the focusing motor in this lens is on the slowish side (compared to the 50mm F/1.8 G).
My take on the roadmap is simply that the grey bands represent lenses for which either Sony won’t say how they are branded or doesn’t know yet. The details will be fleshed out in due course as the level of demand for the already announced Zeiss branded FE lenses becomes clear.
I fully agree, Bjorn. That is how Sony has drawn these road maps before.
+1
Yup!!!
I think the new lenses will be different speed and focal length combinations that don’t currently exist in A and E mounts but may be similar to old minolta lenses. I think the wide zoom will be 17-40/4.
Wide ZA = 14-24 f4?
Makes sense, given they seem to be going for a non-overlapping trinity with the 24-70 and the 70-200.
Thanks, Vlad. Hope the wide zoom is 14-24mm.
And faster than f/4!
At least f/2.8, f/2 would be a dream!
(Still a dream, i know.)
My hope for a 14 or 16mm fast prime, dies at least…
Nobody
I will have to disappoint you. The wide angle zoom is the lens marked with F4 on the picture above.
FF wide angle zoom at f/2? Definitely a dream.
Hope that the UWA is 14-24 and better than Nikon’s 14-24.
If it is 14-24, I will definitely buy it with A7r.
Me too. I’ll even be happy with a 16-24.
If one agrees with the wikipedia classification, “ultra wide” for full frame is below 24 mm. I really hope that they go much wider than that, maybe even starting at 10 or 12 mm. That as FE lens I would buy almost certainly in Zeiss quality.
I don’t need that wide lenses but I get that some people are capable to get nice photos with focal lenghts like 10 or 12mm. In my opinion they should make two lenses: an “ultra-ultra-wide” zoom, 12-24 or something and a more “super-wide”-zoom with something like 20-35mm. I think this would allow much better image quality for both of them and most people don’t need a fullframe 12mm lens.
The grey lines don’t have to be Sony lenses. Maybe they just didn’t reveal which type of lens they are. I highly doubt that there will only be 2 G lenses, 5 Zeiss lenses but 8 standard lenses instead for a full frame, high megapixel camera system… Keep in mind that there are other FE cameras rumored like an a9…
I hope the wide angle lens won’t be exorbitant wide like the Sigma zooms. In my opinion an 20-35 would be sufficient if it delivers very good corner sharpness at f8.
Agreed, they don’t have to be Sony ones, just an assumption I made based on the grey color of the 28-70. But, bear in mind, that this quite probably isn’t the complete roadmap.
Maybe the gray ones are just Kit lenses for each new camera 😛
Yeah the grey lines are just unspecified lenses. I hope 85mm will be F1.8, since they don’t have the guts to make it F1.4. Maybe Samsung will give us that, since they also did it for NX. In the meantime I will use my Samyang manual 85mm F1.4.
Best scenario is that the grey lines are ‘customer response’ lines – Sony is fence-sitting to see what lenses users want. Worst case scenario is (once again) Sony releases camera bodies of interest but fails to address it’s own lacklustre lens range.
+1
Yes and soft as buggery at f1.8…
12-24 will be the best but 14-28 also acceptable. If 16-35 like A-mount, I will keep my money in my pocket. 12-24/24-70/70-200 will be ultra set for FE.
With ISO at 800 still very good, I don’t care about fast lenses.
Yes, I also dont care about fast UWA lens…at long it is at least 14mm, reasonable sharpness, IQ and it would be good for me. Hope Sony will have a non Zeiss version as well.
Wide 14-24 or even wider would be great!
I saw a sligthly different road map presented two weeks ago in Germany, that indicated an UWA lens coming mid 2014 and a fast prime also mid 2014. As far as I remember, the UWA will be a Zeiss labeled lens, the fast prime will be a Sony “G” lens.
I think it’s the same one. The Zeiss lens with F4 above is the wide zoom and the G just after that is the fast prime, whatever fast means in this case.
Sony Ziess 24 – 70mm and G series 70-200mm. Will give you two very sharp lenses that will cover 99% of photography requirements.
So will someone explain the constant moaning about the lense range??
If I need a tilt shift I will just attach a canon tilt shift….How many other camera systems let you do that?!?
They want it now and not next year, also some want it to be f2,8. I’m into using primes or adapted now so I don’t really care bout the zooms yet.
The only thing I hope for Sony is to keep a faster prime or zoom as an option for future development cause the market is still new and things could change drastically
I want a pancake in the 40 to 60 range, some short lenses would be great
I don’t read Japanese is there a English translation of the image
Here is an English version. http://www.photographyblog.com/images/sized/images/uploads_ee2/news_images/sony_35mm_full_frame_roadmap-550×324.jpg
What is the obsession with ultra-wide zooms? The quality is never on a par with a prime lens. The A7r has what is arguably the finest non-AA sensor ever for a full-frame camera and with that high resolution it will become the premier camera for landscape photography. Zeiss is renowned for their full-frame ultra-wide T* Distagons: such as the 2.8 21mm, 3.5 18mm and their newest masterpiece, the 2.8 15mm. Zeiss also recently introduced the very fine Touit 2.8 18mm (FOV) lens for the NEX. They could easily adapt that compact lens design for the FE format. Sony needs a high-quality ultra-wide prime designed expressly for the A7r’s superb sensor, with special attention to corner sharpness, not another compromised zoom lens.
Landscape is about the only area this camera does compete in. Everywhere else it is outclassed.
The Nikon 14-24 may have obliterated conventional Canikon UWA primes, but not the aforementioned Zeiss primes. Plus it is way too large and heavy for the A7r. What I don’t understand is why Zeiss should release a UWA zoom before they offer a high-quailty prime in this range. Why should the now discontinued NEX line merit a superb 18mm Touit lens and not the A7r?
The two best FE lenses announced so far are the sharp 55mm and the acclaimed 35mm. Both are premium primes at a fair price point. Now they need to add a UWA prime to fill out the line. I am hoping for a 3.4 18mm, but would accept a 21mm. Zooms are too large and bulky for this small camera. Sony needs a killer prime lens here because 3rd party lenses like Leica M wides will struggle with this sensor.
For those who prefer the flexibility of a zoom, there is the soon to be released 24-70 Zeiss which starts out at a fairly wide angle. That should suffice and cover a much more useful range than a UWA zoom would. My two cents. 🙂
(this reply was meant for Adam below, not Rys. Sorry!)
Don’t mistaken between Sony Zeiss and Zeiss. The current Zeiss lenses offered on FE mount is all Sony Zeiss, Zeiss itself haven’t announced yet their plans for FE mount.
Oh and Touit is a Zeiss range and not a Sony Zeiss range. And yeah, you’ll probably see a FE 18mm made by Zeiss (not Sony Zeiss)
Sony would likely release a Sony Zeiss 85mm prime and a Sony Zeiss 14-24 f4 first.
Damn it’s very confusing between Sony Zeiss and Zeiss =.=
Thanks for clearing that up, Adam! Yes, it is indeed confusing between Sony Zeiss and Zeiss. I now realize the chart above is not a roadmap of ALL forthcoming FE lenses, but just Sony lenses, including Sony Zeiss. The Distagons I was praising are strictly Zeiss MF lenses. I just hope that Zeiss is also working on my FE 18mm Touit Distagon for the A7r. 🙂
Yes, Adam is right, the Touits are a separate offering. At the link at the end of the post above, there’s a statment by Zeiss that they will introduce a new family of manual focus lenses for the new system, so this is where I expect that outstanding wide angle prime to be.
The Nikon 14-24 is pretty impressive and obliterated many UWA primes (probably only a few UWA primes that are still better then the 14-24)
Sony Zeiss would probably release a 14-24 f4 version first to complete the f4 trinity. As for 2.8 constant zooms or 1.4 lenses, I guess those interested should make a lot of noise so it’ll reach Sony Japan 😉
And the grey lines most likely mean open for consideration lenses, depends on what market wants.
I wonder why the people always ask for ultra wide angle lenses like 12 or 14 mm 🙂
When I started photography an ultra wide lens had 20 mm, 18 mm was ultra ultra wide and 15 mm (NIKON) was incredible. Nowadays 14 mm seems to be the “standard”.
I think a 14-24/4 Zeiss would be great, but I also would be happy to get a real sharp 17-35/4.
14-24/4 Zeiss is great but is not great for my wallet:)
The 100 mm macro is a very usefull focal length and will make a good addition.
Small f stops are very usefull in macro for good dof so a high quality f4 is a great idea.
To address the above I have decided instead to plump for a 21 mm Distagon: guaranteed corner quality over a saved 200 gms. It does not feel as heavy as, say, the Nikon 17-35. A new Zeiss 18-35, or better, an 18-40, would be welcome though. (How often is a 35 mm a sad compromise, when the next lens in the bag is a 50 mm? And those 40s available tend to be less distinguished Tessar designs.) Do we really need 14 mm?
But I am going to have to replace my indispensable and superb Nikon 70-200 VR2, that offers nearly 4 stops of VR, something not to be thrown away with an adapter. Now to save weight on a Sony I would be quite happy to be limited to a 65 to 180 mm (70 mm often proves too long on a zoom), even to 150 or 135 mm considering the crop potential of so many pixels, preferably f/2.8 over f/4. But a low-light, pro, 3 or 4-stop VR/IS is Essential. Not every pic is a landscape. In many circumstances it is impossible to do Theatre work etc. without VR.
Fuji is proving superb for People photography, and Street; maybe a new model will replace that special sensor that tends to clump Landscape greens. The Zeiss /Sony combination already found in the RX100 does produce lovely colours when out-and-about.
Yes! Why are we limited to traditional lengths, now that even super-zooms cross quality boundaries? Obviously it is simpler to create all-wide or all-long zooms, but a little overspill would solve the lens-in-the-case conundrum. So how about 17-40 mm f4; 55mm as is already available; 75 mm fast prime; 100 fast prime, Zeiss quality; 60 or 65-180 f2.8 or f4. Save weight; crop a little!
f2.8 does not make the sense for 85mm lens, at least f1.8.
Personally I’m a little mystified at the amount of nay-saying going on about this new system. Let me address a couple of the common ones:
1. Sony doesn’t have a lens lineup: by their own admission at the PDN Photo Plus show in NYC, the U.S. Sony people openly admitted that Sony is an electronics giant, and much less a lens manufacturer. So it only makes sense to me that they would be innovating and putting their best foot forward with the electronic device, the camera. This they have consistently done! And it looks like will continue to do for the foreseeable future. Sony has some fine lenses, and they have partnered with Zeiss from early on. Now they seem to be entirely happy to allow for people using lenses from other manufacturers. That is of practical necessity, but you won’t see such an open arms policy from any other camera maker. If you need a company whose focus is primarily on lenses, then go Nikon—they’ve made them for multiple formats, including large format and enlarging lenses, and they make binoculars and scopes of various sorts—I’m about to buy one of their rifle scopes. I even have some Nikon sunglasses. But I don’t need a big pile of lenses from Sony, just one or two that i really need, and I also shoot Tamron, Sigma, Rokinon, and Voigtlander lenses with my 2 Sony cameras. It looks like Sony has considered this from the start in this new system. Kudos to them, IMO.
2. The obsession for speed with FF is a little overdone, IMO. Especially given today’s splendid low light performance! I’m more interested in the lens’ performance from wide open across the frame. My fast lenses–3 f1.4’s and one f1.8 primes, 2 f2.8 zoom’s—I never use them wide open, they are always stopped down. If something works great from f4 up I am happy. Especially for this new system—I agree with Sony: it’s the size and weight that are key for me. I have an A850—my kit for that is over 10 kilos. Having something just about as light and small as my NEX7 system? I’m on board, and am perfectly satisfied with the compromises. They seem entirely rational to me.
3. There is always the excellent Alpha mount system available. If the necessary compromises of E-mount and FE-mount don’t suit your shooting—-use the A-mount system. And there’s more coming on that front too. I can’t wait to see it. But I’m definitely buying an A7r after the first of the year….if I can get one!
Yes, things have changed quite a bit lately and manufacturers have to deal with stronger third-party lens offerings. This wasn’t the case several years ago.
i hope sony FE will launch ultra wide zoom 16-35mm/4, prime compact lens 24mm/2.8, 85mm or 90mm/1.8, 60mm macro lens, and 135mm/2.8 😀
I think the 12-24mm f/4 is likely. Possibly the 16-35mm but Sony seems to be avoiding overlap with both existing A & E-mounts (E as opposed to FE). 12-24 f/4 would actually be pretty useful on an NEX-7/6 for those who need ultra wide but not ultra-ultra-wide and plan to upgrade in the future. The two primes will be something in the 20’s and something in the 80’s or 90’s (I’m thinking the macro will be in the 100’s). I think at least one Sony lens will be a “travel zoom” that covers 24/28-105mm.
I imagine there’s a lot of debate about 1.8 vs 2.8 for the 80-90 prime. Personally I’m fine with f2.8 but then I have the excellent Contax G 90mm so I would not be tempted unless it was faster. Even then I’m guessing it will be large and heavy.
I meant to imply debate within Sony about the speed of the 80/90mm lens.
Here’s hoping Sony will have a basic set of Zeiss FE lenses (28, 35, 55, 85, 135) in place by the time I get round to buying my A7 next year. Well, okay, I can make do with the 24-70mm zoom at a pinch, so Sony needs just to give me either a 100mm Makro Planar 2.8 or 135mm Sonnar 2.8, thank you kindly.
I would suggest a 24mm rather than 28mm. they have a great lens design to start with.
In regards to UWA lenses… Here’s 3 secrets that are not secret:
1. Fast lenses aren’t more expensive because they are better
They are more expensive because speed makes lens design horrifically complex. This forces companies into exotic solutions… but a slower lens design allows for better image quality and fewer compromises. See Leica. Unfortunately, the market is conditioned to cry for fast lenses and specs vs. looking at ultimate IQ
2. Ultra wide angle zooms are generally crap. Fast ones are more crap.
Even the best UWA zoom on the market (21-35mm f/3.5-4 Vario-Elmar R ASPH) has corner issues. Our demands for even more exotic specs (12-14mm, fast aperture) leads to even more compromises.
3. Photos taken at 14-16mm are rarely good.
Search your soul. Search your EXIF data. You know it’s true. Why tempt yourself? Wider than 18-21mm is essentially a novelty.
BOOM
+1
Really hoping for a 20-35mm f4 or something like this.
That’s good info. But I don’t need UWAs. No, thanks, I’d rather Sony-Zeiss focused on delivering standard (which they are) and portrait primes (85mm, 100mm and 135mm, none of which are even on the roadmap).
Never used anything wider than 21mm, and even that was for just less than a dozen shots. In lieu of 28mm, a direct AF copy of the Zeiss 25mm/2.8 Biogon ZM lens would indeed do me just fine. If you have ever used and seen what that lens can do, you’d know f2.0 is really not necessary.
That would be so awesome. I would rather a 24mm but other than that what you wrote is perfect. I think I will be getting a A99 depending on what A-mount Bodies sony releases in 2014. I loved my 135mm 1.8 sigma 50mm 1.4 when I had A-mount. It looks like those two lenses are on my list for repurchase.If sony had IBS in the A7 and the adapter did not disable the AF lamp I would be willing to deal with the adapter since at one point I was shooting with a nex-6 and 135mm 1.8 and that lens is pretty hefty.Sony may know what they are doing because I have now switched my plans for the moment and will probably use A & E mount instead of just E-mount. I guess I will play the waiting game and see what happens I don’t plan on shooting for money again until mid spring.
That would seem to be my plan for now, as well. I’m getting a secondhand A99 or A850 and collect Zeiss A-mount lenses while waiting for the FE line to fill out. I’m buying into Alpha for one reason, and one reason only:
Auto-focusing Zeiss lenses.
That I find Sony colours look great for portraits is a nice bonus.
To Ironymous:
If you don’t need video and/or live view, I’d get the A850 for the splendid OVF and the fairly compact (for SLR FF)form factor. Really lovely camera, I’ll use it til it dies. I’m a big fan of theses new EVF’s, but there are certain applications where an OVF is still the thing to have (until those EVF’s get even better in a couple of years…). But you’ll have to do w/o the video and the live view—only the clunky “preview” is available on the A850/900. Just a thought.
Hi everyone
Can someone tell me if the current e mount lens (for Nex) could give good results on a A7 ? Will the crop and vignetting not be a issue ?
Do I really need on having FE lens ?
Thanks a lot
I am sure they would give good performance in crop mode but what would be the point of having a full frame and use it in crop mode? If you plan to eventually get FF lenses then you might as well wait until you can get both the FF body and lens as it can only get cheaper as time goes on. If you see a good deal on a ff lens you want then that will always work with apsc. I would use what I have and only get FF lenses I am sure I want and worry about the body later. The price of the body drops pretty fast compared to a good lens.
You’ll want to upgrade/own FE lenses to make use of the Full Frame sensor, but if you do own some E mount lenses, you can wait it out if there’s no FE lenses that appeal to you at launch.
Yes, the current e mount lenses would likely give good results on a A7 since it’ll be just 10mp? and on the A7r 15mp which is in the ballpark for most E mount lenses 🙂
I don’t see myself switching to E-mount in quite a while, especially when so far there’s barely any FE lenses out there, Most of them don’t have a fast aperture, and they’re all made by Sony and Overpreiss.
But rich people, have at it. I’d love to jump on the bandwagon once there are reasonably priced lenses by third party manufacturers out there.
Price and High Quality != Overprice.
Overprice for someone = Low Logical.
100mm macro please.
Simply ask Zeiss to launch ZM lenses on E-mount and make sure the in body image engine can correct distortions and light loss for those RF lenses!
For AF lenses, high torque stepping motor should be used to improve the focus speed in conjunction with faster CPU for responsive CDAF!
My wish list for E-mount lenses:
Distagon 15/4
F-Distagon 16/4 Fisheye
Distagon 18/4
Distagon 21/4
Tilt & Shift 24/3.5 G
Distagon 25/2.8
Distagon 28/2
Distagon 35/2
Makro-Planar 60/2.8
Sonnar 85/2
Macro 100/2.8 G
Sonnar 135/2.8
APO Macro 200/4 G
I agree, but of course, there are no Distagons in the ZM line, only Biogons. I think the C compact trinity are ripest for conversion, most of all:
21mm C-Biogon 3.5
35mm C-Biogon 2.8
50mm C-Sonnar 1.5
Adding the Zeiss DC autofocus motor should add just a bit of girth to them. Say, 52mm or 55mm filters instead of their original 43mm. That’s good enough for me – keep the 49mm filter size standard for Sony’s cheap lenses.
And never mind the Planars – people should buy A-mount to get Planars. Just give us Sonnars on the longer focal lengths, 50mm and above. Sonnars are much more compact designs, have wonderful character yet with modern coating can be plenty sharp.
Macro Planar 100/2.8 G, indispensable quality! Add IS/VR please.
A prime regularly more helpful than either 35 or 50 mm would be a 42mm, the same as the diagonal of FF, the true ‘standard’ lens. Even Nikon’s 40 mm proves regularly of more use than the 50 (or 35), despite MF and poorer performance. So we could have ZM lenses: 21, 24, 42, 75, 100, 180 etc. And then some zooms with IS/VR, such as 17-42 (not 40!), 24-105 etc.
“Biogon dull care” — and corner smearing!
400mm f/4 APO. AF or MF, I don’t care.