Sony issued the following statement regarding a possible issue with the FE 35mm f/2.8 lens:
Notice to Owners of the Sonnar T* FE 35mm F2.8 ZA Interchangeable Lens
March 31, 2015
Sony has recently become aware that some of the Sonnar T* FE 35mm F2.8 ZA E-Mount lenses sold during and after November 2014 are experiencing an issue when customers attempt to update the software to the new version released on March 4, 2015 (from Ver. 01 to Ver. 02).
Sony is planning to offer repairs for the affected lenses free of charge.
(Please contact the Sony Support Center listed below. Applications for repairs will also be accepted through the Sony website.)
In the case that the software update completes with no trouble, there is no need for repair.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
【Malfunction Symptoms】
The software update freezes at the screen below when the customer initiates the software update (from Ver. 01 to Ver. 02) that was made available on March 4, 2015.
Update that has frozen Update that is proceeding normally
If the above symptom is exhibited, please remove the battery from the camera when the update freezes.
The lens can continue to be used with the pre-update Ver. 01 software.
※How to check the software version
1） Power on the camera
2） Select [Menu]→[Setup]→[Ver.]
The software version installed on the lens will be displayed (as below).
【Affected model and production numbers】
SEL35F28Z Sonnar T* FE 35mm F2.8 ZA
α™ (E-Mount) interchangeable lenses
Purchased during or after November 2014
※Affected production numbers
Some, but not all, numbers from
1812043 – 1851015 (AE Version)
1840715 – 1850381 (CN2 Version)
Thanks to the anonymous source who sent this!
12 Responses
Please, don’t believe it 🙂 For me it is for sure First April Joke 😉
They will be replaced with 35 f1/4 lens.
Btw: Does someone know if Sony repairs the battery drain of the A6000? Seams like a hardware buck to me.
Wow that’s some coincidence – literally just before this was posted, I was testing out my new 35mm 2.8 and installed the new firmware. Does anyone know what the actual fault is? I can’t figure out what I’m supposed to be looking for from article, and I can’t find any original source from Sony.
look at Menu>Setup>Version: if it says Lens Ver. 02 everything is fine.
The lens firmware update changes the behaviour while starting up, it is fully usable with Ver 01.
“Please contact the Sony Support Center listed below” – where is the list?
I received the lens from sony on 23/3 but after that I could not upgrade to 1.2 I decide to return, than will buy the 28 mm F2 which for me it seems more interesting
Would be nice to have a link to the original Sony document.
I didn’t understand….
The firmware update is about the camera.
How can a firmware phisically dammage a lens??
AE version?
CN2 version?
On my 35 f.2.8 lens is written only the serial number.
What is it AE and CN2 Version?
I can’t find it written anywhere…..
If it is a Sony joke it’s not funny at all….
Look at the original Sony document:
http://esupport.sony.com/US/p/news-item.pl?mdl=SEL35F28Z&news_id=488
The lens is not damaged at all, sometimes the LENS firmware update is not possible. The lens is fully usable with Ver 01, improvements for Ver 02 are mostly the behaviour while starting up. The LENS firmware update has nothing to do with a body firmware update.
AE and CN2 are selling regions, AE=Europe-Asia, CN2=China.
Look at the OVP, after the product code follows a dot and the region code. Lenses or bodys never show the region code.
And this is not an april fools joke, but it happens rarely.
Thats lame, like really lame….