LensTip.com

Lens review

Sony FE 24 mm f/2.8 G

24 March 2021
Maciej Latałło

11. Summary



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Pros:

  • solid, weather-sealed mechanical construction,
  • very good image quality in the frame centre,
  • sensible image quality on the edge of the APS-C sensor,
  • very good correction of longitudinal chromatic aberration,
  • slight astigmatism,
  • moderate vignetting on the APS-C sensor,
  • excellent performance against bright light,
  • fast, silent, and accurate autofocus.

Cons:

  • some problems with lateral chromatic aberration,
  • high vignetting on full frame,
  • huge distortion on RAW files,
  • exorbitant price.
Out of the group of three new models, presented by Sony, the 2.8/24, the 2.5/40, and the 2.5/50, the first one was perhaps the most difficult to design. Those difficulties are reflected in the results of our tests. The list of assets is long, with several crucial points – we mean here especially a very good performance in the frame centre, including the maximum relative apertue, and an excellent performance against bright light, so difficult to achieve with such a wide angle of view.

We found several flaws as well; if you add them to the price, amounting to 700 Euro, you'll understand why the lens might be not as popular on the market as the Sony company would wish it to be. I think that, for example, few owners of 24-70 mm or 24-105 mm lenses will ever consider such a purchase. There are bigger chances that the owners of the Tamron 28-75 mm f/2.8 or the Sigma 28-70 mm f/2.8, presented not so long ago, might be tempted but once again the price point of the new Sony might prove to be a serious deterrent. After all the price tag of the Tamron is almost exactly the same as the price of the Sony FE 24 mm f/2.8G. If you are on a limited budget you'd rather look at such rival lenses as the Tamron 2.8/24 and the Samyang 2.8/24 – it's true they are less sharp but they are also almost two times cheaper.

Still, we wouldn't like to end this summary on a pessimistic note because the tested lens doesn't deserve it. It's a well-put-together, efficient instrument after all and, if you decide to buy it, we don't doubt you will be rewarded with really sharp photos.