We now look at the second of a new set of three compact prime lenses from Sony. They comprise this lens, the Sony FE 40mm f/2.5G, the previously reviewed Sony FE 24mm f/2.8G and the soon to be reviewed Sony FE 50mm f/2.5G. Although there are not currently many 40mm lenses available, it has in the past been a popular option for those who felt 35mm was too wide and 50mm too long as a standard lens. Very often the 40mm would be a slim pancake lens, and although the new lens is hardly in that category it is still compact and light and matches its two siblings very closely. Let's team it up with the 42MP Sony A7R III body and see what it can do.

One image can change us.

A picture, a moment can change the way we feel. Change how we see ourselves. Change our understanding and change the rules. Provoke and change history.

MPB puts photo and video kit into more hands, more sustainably. Every month, visual storytellers sell more than 20,000 cameras and lenses to MPB. Choose used and get affordable access to kit that doesn’t cost the earth. Sell the kit you’re not using to MPB. Trade in for the kit you need to create. Buy used, spend less and get more. Buy. Sell. Trade. Create.

Sony FE 40mm f/2.5G Lens Handling and Features

We have a compact and light lens, weighing in at a very modest 173g. Normally there is a supplied hood, but the review lens was sent without this. Within the bayonet fitting for the hood is a standard 49mm filter thread, a small size that will be inexpensive to source filters for. The all-metal design is very well made and is dust and moisture resistant.

The manual focusing ring is slim but has an excellent grip. Focusing is down to 0.28m (0.92 feet) in AF mode, giving a maximum magnification of 0.2x. Focusing in MF mode is down to 0.25m (0.82 feet), giving a maximum magnification of 0.23x. This is usefully close, although not as close as a macro lens would focus. All the usual Sony focusing options are supported, such as AF-S, AF-A, AF-C, DMF and MF. AF is driven by double linear motors and is fast, silent and accurate. There is no distance scale and also no depth of field scale, but to be fair it is difficult to see how these could be included, given the design of the lens.

The impressive aperture ring is ideal for both stills photographers and videographers. There are click stops at one-third of a stop intervals, and if desired the aperture can be de-clicked, particularly useful for video shooting. There is one permanent click stop for the A setting, which enables the aperture to be controlled by the camera.

There are a few controls around the barrel of the lens. The AF/MF switch is self-explanatory, as is the click on/off switch that controls the aperture ring. There is also a focus lock button that holds the focus position in AF mode whilst it is held down.

Optical construction is 9 elements in 9 groups, including 3 Aspherical. The diaphragm comprises 7 circular blades, for improved bokeh. This is quite a bit more complex than the 5 element designs of 40mm lenses for film SLRs, so bodes well for a high level of performance.

A full-frame lens of 40mm actually proves to be an excellent focal length, just about long enough to be acceptable for portraits and versatile for shooting everything from landscapes, architecture and street photography to general travel. Used on an APS-C crop sensor body, this gives a 35mm-equivalent field of view of 60mm, again an excellent length, but now a very short telephoto for just tightening up the composition compared to a standard lens.