Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 review: Build and handling

Weighing just 186g, the FE 50mm f/1.8 is distinctly lightweight as full-frame lenses go, thanks to its predominantly plastic barrel construction. The finely ridged manual-focus ring has a hard plastic covering, while in a reassuring touch, the mount is metal. The lens is smaller than any of Sony’s FE zooms, and when used on an Alpha 7 body it makes for a fairly compact, discreet set-up. However, it’s not as small as Sony’s FE 35mm f/2.8 and FE 28mm f/2 primes, which use optics designed for the short flange distance of the E-mount.