In a world where lenses are becoming generally bigger and heavier, it is great to see Sony introduce a trio of compact, light primes. First up is this Sony FE 24mm f/2.8G lens, for full-frame and crop sensor (35mm equivalent field of view is similar to a 36mm lens) Sony E mount cameras. It joins the Sony FE 40mm f/2.5G and the Sony 50mm FE f/2.5G, forming an attractive set of matching lenses. Let's have a close look at the 24mm first, coupling it with the 42MP Sony A7R III camera body.

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 24mm f/2.8G Lens Handling and Features

The lens is compact and light, weighing in at a very modest 162g. The lens is metal-bodied and dust and moisture resistant. A lens hood is supplied, but one was not sent with the review sample so the only comment is that it is attached via a bayonet fit. Within the bayonet is a standard 49mm filter thread, a relatively small size reminiscent of older manual focus lenses.

The manual focusing ring is well ribbed but quite slim, inevitably so given the small dimensions of the lens. In AF mode focusing is down to 24cm (0.79 feet), a maximum magnification of 0.13x. In MF mode focusing is down to 18cm (0.59 feet), a maximum magnification of 0.19x. This is about what would be expected from a traditional 24mm lens. All the usual Sony focusing options are supported, such as AF-S, AF-A, AF-C, DMF and MF.

There is a very impressive aperture ring that has videographers in mind as it can be de-clicked by sliding a small switch on the lens barrel. If click stops are switched on there are distinct detentes (click stops) at one-third of a stop intervals. Whether or not clicks are active, there is one permanent click stop at the A position, which is used when control of the aperture is set via the camera body. When de-clicked the aperture is also silent in operation.

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 8 elements in 7 groups, including 1 Aspherical and 3 ED (Extra-Low Dispersion). The diaphragm comprises 7 circular blades, for improved bokeh.

There is something delightfully simple about this lens in use. It focuses virtually silently, and certainly very swiftly and accurately. In full-frame terms, a 24mm lens makes a superb general-purpose wide-angle, suitable for architecture, street photography, landscape, interiors and even environmental portraits. In terms of APS-C format, cameras, the 35mm format equivalent would be 36mm, so in terms of field of view, it becomes a wide standard lens, one of the ideal choices of street photographers over many decades.