Sharpness (Infinity)
I had taken shots from the scene below and cropped the center and bottom-right corner for sharpness comparison.
Sharpness Cropped Comparison Original Image
Center Sharpness
SEL24F18Z – Center Sharpness Performance Comparison
The center sharpness at the lens’s largest aperture F1.8, and the following F2 are a little grainy. Stopped down to F2.8, the sharpness is boosted significantly and retain sharp until F8. Sharpness started to drop at F 11 and decreased substantially from F16 to F22, which performed worse than the sharpness at F1.8. Maximum center sharpness hit at F4.
Corner Sharpness
SEL24F18Z – Corner Sharpness Performance Comparison
Corner sharpness was affected by the vignetting at F1.8 and F2. Stopping down to F2.8 did eliminate the vignetting issue but did not help much with the sharpness. Sharpness becomes better from F4 and hits the maximum sharpness at F8. Sharpness and details are well-retain from F8 until F16 while it slightly dropped at F22. In corner sharpness, the smaller/smallest aperture like F16 and F22 outperformed the corner sharpness at F2.8 and larger apertures.
Look and Feel
From the time I first touched the SEL24F18Z, it really gave me a WOW! Regardless of the matte black body finish, the metal-built exterior body, or even the weight, none of them make this lens feel cheap (you won’t hear a plastic sound or feel when you used your fingernail to knock at it). This is really a piece of serious prime lens for any serious photographer and photo enthusiast. The SEL24F18Z is quite heavy and not so compact in size. However, its weight and matte-finished metal body make you feel it is rock solid. When attached to the Sony NEX-6, they are well balanced in weight and have a perfect match appearance due to the matte black body for both the lens and the camera body.
SEL24F18Z – Attached on Sony Alpha NEX-6 without Lens Hood
The SEL24F18Z comes with a well-made pleather pouch, a standard lens cap, and a plastic hood. There are many cases where the plastic hood can be pulled into two different pieces easily due to the improper glued portions issue. Fortunately, my lens hood is a fine piece, so I hoped that it is because Sony had realized this issue and taken care of it.
The Pleather Pouch and the Plastic Lens Hood
Notice the little blue Zeiss logo?
SEL24F18Z – Zeiss Logo on the Left Hand Side of the Lens
It really makes the lens look and feel premium.
SEL24F18Z – With Lens Hood Attached
The lens hood is kind of “gigantic” when attached to the lens, as you can see the difference from the photos above. If you attached it oppositely, as shown below, it will cover almost the whole focus ring part such that the DMF and MF cannot be used at all.
SEL24F18Z – Lens Hood Attached in Opposite Direction
Sony E APS-C Sonnar T✻
Presented in ultra-high resolution.
Sony Zeiss Sonnar T✻ 24mm f/1.8 (fits , 49mm filters, 7.8 oz./221 g, 0.5’/0.16 meters close-focus, about $1,098) bigger. I got mine at Adorama. I’d also get it at Amazon or at B&H.
This all-content, junk-free website’s biggest source of support is when you use those or any of when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Sony and Zeiss do not seal any of their boxes, so never buy at retail or any source not on since you’ll have no way of knowing if you’re missing accessories, getting a defective, dropped, damaged or used lens, a customer return or if the warranty has already been registered to someone else online! The ship from secure, remote automated warehouses where salespeople or other customers never, ever get to touch your lens before you do, and they have the best prices, selection, service and return policies.
March 2016 SonyZeissCanonNikonFujiAll Reviews
Handheld Low Light Performance
The SEL24F18Z does not have the Sony OSS (image stabilizer). So theoretically, its minimum required shutter speed is 1/36″ (most cameras only available with 1/40″ instead). So how does this lens performs if the shutter speed stops down to 1/30″ and slower?
SEL24F18Z – Handheld Performance Comparison
I manually focused on the right eye of the Pool (your left-hand side), shooting at F 1.8 with ISO 100. With a steady and firm hand, shot at 1/15″ can still produce blur-free sharp images. Slower the shutter speed to 1/13″ will be a challenge to get blur-free images while it is nearly impossible to do so at 1/10″.
From my experience, if you do some night street photography with the SEL24F18Z, it is better to ensure that the shutter speed maintains at 1/40″ or faster shutter speed. Use the aperture at F1.8 (that’s what you pay for, right?), and then boost up the ISO to ISO 400 or ISO 800 to get blur-free and sharp shots. If you take night landscape or portrait shots, just use your tripod and forget what I mentioned earlier.
Introduction
The Sony Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E 24mm f/1.8 ZA is a premium wide-angle prime lens for Sony NEX compact system cameras. It offers the equivalent angle of view as a 36mm lens on a 35mm camera and features a near-circular 7 blade diaphragm which creates an attractive blur to the out of focus areas of the image. It has a minimum focusing distance of 16cm/6in and a maximum magnification of 0.25x. Sony’s DMF technology allows for direct manual focusing after autofocus lock-on without having to switch modes. The Sony Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E 24mm f/1.8 ZA lens is currently available for £849 / $999 in the UK and the US, respectively.
Ease of Use
The Sony Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E 24mm f/1.8 ZA lens
Weighing in at 225grams, the alloy-bodied Sony Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E 24mm f/1.8 ZA is quite a substantial E-Mount lens that rather dwarves the compact Sony NEX-5N body that we tested it with, as shown in the photos below.
The Sony Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E 24mm f/1.8 ZA lens mounted on a Sony NEX-5N
The Sony Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E 24mm f/1.8 ZA lens mounted on a Sony NEX-5N
The Sony Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E 24mm f/1.8 ZA lens with the lens hodd fitted, mounted on a Sony NEX-5N
The Sony Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E 24mm f/1.8 ZA lens alongside a Sony NEX-5N
Build quality is excellent, but you’d expect that given the high price of the lens. The wide and ridged manual focus ring is the only external control of note and it utilises the NEX series’s fly-by-wire operation, which means that there are no hard stops at either end of the zoom range. There’s also no depth-of-field scale, distance scale or infrared index, a shame given the cost.
Front of the Sony Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E 24mm f/1.8 ZA lens
Front of the Sony Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E 24mm f/1.8 ZA lens
Focusing is usefully internal and manual focusing is possible when set on the specific camera body. The Sony Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E 24mm f/1.8 ZA lens has a metal lens mount.
Front of the Sony Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E 24mm f/1.8 ZA lens, isometric view
The Sony Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E 24mm f/1.8 ZA ships with a good quality case and a durable petal-shaped lens hood which attaches inside the lens barrel rather than outside. It accepts 49mm filters via plastic threads.
Rear of the Sony Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E 24mm f/1.8 ZA lens
Rear of the Sony Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E 24mm f/1.8 ZA lens, isometric view
At the 24mm focal length the angle of view is 61 degrees.
Field of view at 24mm
Focusing
The Sony Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E 24mm f/1.8 ZA lens has quite a wide focus ring. There are no hard stops at both ends of the range, making it a little more difficult to set focus at infinity. Polariser users should be pleased that the 49mm filter thread doesn’t rotate on focus.
When it comes to auto-focusing, the Sony Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E 24mm f/1.8 ZA zoom is a quick performer, taking about 0.2 seconds to lock onto the subject when mounted on the Sony NEX-5N that we tested it with.
We didn’t experience much «hunting», either in good or bad light, with the lens accurately focusing almost all of the time, and it’s also a quiet performer thanks to its in-lens motor, ideal for HD movie shooting.
Chromatic Aberrations
Chromatic aberrations, typically seen as purple or blue fringes along contrasty edges, are only notable by their complete absence from our test shots.
Light Fall-off
With the lens set to its maximum aperture, there is a little bit of light fall-off in the extreme corners, but it won’t affect your real-world shots.
Light fall-off
Macro
The Sony Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E 24mm f/1.8 ZA isn’t claimed to be a macro lens, but it delivers a pretty good performance nonetheless. It has a minimum focusing distance of 16cm/6in and a maximum magnification of 0.25x. The following example demonstrates how close you can get to your subject, in this case a Compact Flash memory card.
Close-up performance
Bokeh
Bokeh is a word used for the out-of-focus areas of a photograph, and is usually described in qualitative terms, such as smooth / creamy / harsh etc. In the Sony Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E 24mm f/1.8 ZA lens, Sigma employed an iris diaphragm with seven rounded blades, which has resulted in very appealing bokeh in our view. We do realise, however, that bokeh evaluation is subjective, so we’ve included several 100% crops for your perusal.
Sharpness
In order to show you how sharp this lens is, we are providing 100% crops on the following pages.
- Ease of Use
- Sharpness: 1
- Sample Images
- Lens Specs
- Rating & Conclusion
- Main Rivals
- Review Roundup
Recommendations
This Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 offers near perfect optical and ergonomic performance on the Sony cameras. It’s ultra sharp at every aperture, has smooth bokeh that makes images look 3D, focuses fast and super close, it’s fast for low-light, and it has the perfect focal length for use on APS-C as the only lens you’d need. Remember, fixed lenses take better pictures.
It’s always better to get a great lens regardless of the price; economize on your camera, but never on your lenses.
The very best protective filter is the Hoya multicoated HD3 49mm UV which uses hardened glass and repels dirt and fingerprints, and is also multicoated.
For less money, the B+W 49mm 010 is an excellent filter, as is its multicoated version and the basic multicoated Hoya, but the Hoya HD3 is the toughest and the best.
Where to Get Yours
I got mine at Adorama. I’d also get it at Amazon or at B&H.
Don’t ever buy an exotic lens like this at a local, retail or chain store since it will have been played with by everyone before you pay full price for it as «new.» Sony and Zeiss do not seal their boxes in any way, so never buy at retail or any source not on since you’ll have no way of knowing if you’re missing accessories, getting a defective, dropped, damaged, demo or otherwise used product, a customer return or if the warranty has already been registered to someone else online. The ship from secure, remote automated warehouses where salespeople or other customers never, ever get to touch your lens before you do, and they have the best prices, selection, service and return policies.
Thanks!
Ken, Mrs. Rockwell, Ryan and Katie.
Chromatic Aberration
The SEL24F18Z did a great job in CA control. I take the center-cropped, and top-left corner cropped from the shot below for the CA comparison.
CA Comparison Original Image Cropped from Center and Top-left Corner
Corner Chromatic Aberration
SEL24F18Z – Corner CA 100% Cropped Comparison
I had tested with few different sets of CA shots at various scenes, and each of them has no problem with the center CA control. However, very minor magenta is found at the corner, but you have to zoom it in and compare very carefully to find it out. The magenta CA may become more evident if you shot at something really high contrast, for example, the white painted wall whose edge is just right in front of some dark background under a sunny day.
Sample Images
Nori Neon, 04 March 2016. Sony A7S II, Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 at f/2 for 1/60 at Auto ISO 800. bigger or camera-original file to explore on your computer (mobile devices rarely can display these at full resolution).
Nori Fountain, 04 March 2016. Sony A7S II, Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 at f/2 for 1/60 at Auto ISO 1,250. bigger.
Ryan, his MacBook Air and the Mr. Turtle Family, 04 March 2016. Sony A7S II, Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 at f/2 at 1/60 at Auto ISO 1,250. bigger.
Pops, Ryan and Katie playing basketball, 05 March 2016. Sony A7S II, Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 at f/8 at 1/320 at Auto ISO 100. bigger.
Ryan and Katie on the trampoline. Sony A7S II, Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 at f/8 at 1/500 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger.
Wine Cellar, 05 March 2016. Sony A7S II, Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 at f/2 at 1/15 hand-held at Auto ISO 250. bigger.
Staircase, 05 March 2016. Sony A7S II, Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 at f/4.5 at 1/13 handheld at Auto ISO 100. bigger or camera-original file to explore on your computer (mobile devices rarely can display these at full resolution).
Yellow interior, 05 March 2016. Sony A7S II, Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 at f/2.2 at 1/60 at Auto ISO 100. bigger or camera-original file to explore on your computer (mobile devices rarely can display these at full resolution).
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Specifications
Name
Sony calls this the Zeiss Sonnar E T✻ 1,8/24 ZA.
Zeiss: Brand name of famous German lens company. (Lens is actually made by Sony under license in Japan; it’s not made by Zeiss.)
Sonnar: Zeiss’ trade name from the 1930s for a simple, 3- to 5-element moderately fast normal to telephoto lens; no technical relation to this lens.
E: APS-C lens for .
ZA: Solidarity with technical advances in South Africa (think Dr. Christian Barnard).
T✻: Zeiss’ trademark for its multicoating, standard on all camera lenses of all brands since the 1970s.
Sony Part Number: SEL24F18Z.
Optics
Sony Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 internal construction. Aspheric and ED Glass.
8 elements in 7 groups.
Two aspheric elements.
One ED glass element.
Internal focussing.
It’s multicoated, which Zeiss calls T✻.
Sony Zeiss Sonnar T✻ 24mm f/1.8. bigger.
7 rounded blades.
Stops down to f/22.
Focal Length
24mm.
When used on an APS-C camera, it sees angles of view similar to what a 39mm lens sees when used on a full-frame or 35mm camera.
No.
You have to let the AF system focus at infinity.
Depth-of-Field Scale
49mm.
Plastic.
ALC-SH114 hood for Sony Zeiss Sonnar T✻ 24mm f/1.8. bigger.
ALC-SH114 hybrid metal & plastic bayonet hood, included.
Vinyl sack, Sony Zeiss Sonnar T✻ 24mm f/1.8. bigger.
Unpadded vinyl drawstring sack, included.
7.800 oz./221.1 g, actual measured weight.
Rated 7.9 oz. (225 g).
Lens.
Caps.
ALC-SH114 hood.
Sack.
Paperwork.
Introduction
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B&H Photo — Video — Pro Audio |
The Sony Zeiss Sonnar T✻ 24mm f/1.8 is the world’s best normal lens for like the A6000.
This lens excels because of its perfect normal focal length (equivalent to 39mm on a full-frame 35mm camera), great speed, super-close focussing, great sharpness and superb bokeh. Its is always soft and smooth, easily superior to the bokeh of the $4,500 LEICA SUMMILUX-M 35mm f/1.4 ASPH FLE.
It’s so sharp and its out-of-focus backgrounds (bokeh) so soft that sharp subjects pop out from their backgrounds, making photos three-dimensional.
It has an electronic manual focus ring, that if activated in a camera’s menu system, can allow manual focus.
Bottom Line
The Sony Zeiss SEL24F18Z is an excellent prime lens regardless of its premium look and feel or excellent optics performance. It did a great job on the distortion control as well as the CA control. The sharpness is great from F2.8 onward but not from its largest aperture F1.8. The minimum focus distance of 16 cm and 0.25x magnification ratio gives a bonus to the close-up shot. Bokeh is pleasing but not so smooth and creamy, and it does not remain circular from F2.8 onward.
With its overall pros and cons, this lens will not likely let you down. However, this lens is really an expensive lens that is sold at a high price tag of SGD 1,699, where you have to think twice or more before you buy it.
In conclusion, the is no other lens that provides a similar focal length when writing this review; thus, it might be your only option right now. However, you may consider the much affordable alternative – Sony SEL35F18 (SGD 629); or the slightly cheaper alternative – Zeiss Touit 32 mm (SGD 1,599) for the more creamy and smooth Bokeh.
Before the end of today’s review, I had posted some shots from the SEL24F18Z below. Enjoy!