Andrew Alexander from SLRgear (Click here) tested what should be the best available NEX lens to date. I invite you to read his full review that includes some graphs to show the lens performance. As expected this is a wonderful lens! Andrew says: “Considering the price, you would hope that the Sony 24mm ƒ/1.8 Sonnar T* ZA didn’t disappoint – and happily, it doesn’t. Sharpness is excellent even wide open, and other factors such as chromatic aberration, distortion and corner shading are well-controlled. The 24mm ƒ/1.8 proves to be an able companion to the NEX camera.”
What can I say? Well done Sony! Now we want more of this kind of lenses!
Reminder: The lens will be in Stock early/mid December. There are only a few stores accepting preorders right now:
US: Sony, Adorama.
UK: Amazon.co.uk, Jessops, Sony.
Germany: Sony.
France: Amazon.fr, Sony.
Italy: Sony.
Netherland: Sony.
42 Responses
What year will this lens come out. 2012 or 2013.
Yes, really good lens as we can see on different images done by testers. However, the Nex-7 really needs other high end lenses and it’s even not expected ! Another solution could have been the use of M-Mount lenses. But without microlenses technology, Nex-7 cannot deliver good quality image with them. We obtain better result with M-Mount lenses on Nex-5n than on Nex-7. Then, Sony, what are you doing now ? A Nex-6 (Nex-7 body with Nex-5n sensor), or new lenses ? A lot of users thought we had found the first real Leica-M competitor, but… failed !
The Sony NEX 7 is not a Leica M competitor. That badge will go to the soon to be announced Fuji LX10.
Yes, you’re right. However, the least we can say, is that Sony could have taken over the important market of M-Mount lenses users… It was a wonderful opportunity expected by many users. I was of them…
We don’t even know the LX10 specs, yet.
The LX10 is still vaporware. Vaporware doesn’t have specs, just wish-lists assigned by fanboys 🙂
The Fuji X100 blew away the $2000 Leica X1, which it directly competes with. If the LX10 has been designed with the same quality as the X100 then it could easily give the Leica M some serious competition. We’ll have to wait and see if it pans out.
You’re wasting your time if you expect Sony to aggressively market optics for any camera. NEX, ALPHA whatever just be ready to be disappointed.
I frankly don’t care if Sony “aggressively” markets their lenses or not. I just care that they sell them, which of course they do, and I’ve bought four for my a850, including 3 Zeisses. They’re terrific lenses and I’m not disappointed at all.
This might be my next purchase, but I’m also considering waiting for the NEX-5 firmware update and then getting the new A-mount adapter and some fullframe Zeiss glass instead. Somehow that seems like the better investment.
Poor shutterbugs wasting precious time and light with their “woulda-coulda-shoulda talk…why not, Jean-Michel, put the Zeiss 24mm on the NEX-7 and go out and take pictures -rather than mindless M lens blubbering (which has nothing to do with the Sony-Zeiss combination)!! Dig it?
I ordered the NEX-7 with this lens specifically to replace my M8.
I’m sorry for interupting you, but am I wrong? When I look at the test images on this SLRGear test, I see terrible chromatic abberations and quite a quirky distortion. Also the f1.8 shot is far from beeing consistently sharp. This is actually not what I would expect from a $1000 prime lens.
Yes, this is for sure a good lens and I’m longing for a NEX-7 as well, but these test images are consternating me.
The Pany 20/1.7 seems to have better optical performance overall. See http://www.slrgear.com/reviews/showproduct.php/product/1295/cat/all
Both at wide open, the Pany is genrally shaper even though it is a tiny bit brighter. At F2, the Pany becomes sharper still where as the Zeiss barely improves. Also, the Zeiss’s distortion is pretty bad but the Pany basically doesn’t have any (because it is software corrected?).
I expected much better for a $1000 Zeiss branded lens. It is a shame that it doesn’t seem to perform as good as Pany’s pancake, which is smaller, lighter, and cheaper at 1/3 the price.
Agreed, it is outperformed by the Pany 20mm at every aperture. I would expect much more at 3x the price and many, many times the size. The NEX-7 is impressive, but the lenses range from mediocre to embarrassing. What’s the point?
Yes it does but an even better comparison (fair one too) is the Panasonic 25/1.4 which is much better again than the 20/1.7 and still only just over half the price of the zeiss and still smaller..
the 20/1.7 is software corrected, but I believe the 25/1.4 doesn’t need to be..
Look at how far we have not come.
30 years ago, every SLR camera sold in the US came with a 50mm f/1.8 lens. Now, to get the same (24mm x 2 = pretty much 50mm), it costs a thousand bucks.
Wait, what? How does that have any relevancy to anything?
The crop factor for APS-C is 1.5. The 24mm lens on Nex is roughly 35mm in 35mm film terms.
Nex-7 is aps-c so its 24*1.5 not 24*2 and 50mm optics are cheapest to develop
Will, you FAIL. You only need a Sony 35mm f1.8 DT for Alpha DSLRs to get the approximate equivalent of an old 50mm film SLR lens – that lens is dirt cheap and really quite good indeed.
I know you can buy an adapter to mount it to NEX, but I’d love an e-mount equivalent with OSS.
Andrea,
You said ” Well done Sony! Now we want more of this kind of lenses!”.
Actually, what I would like to see is a 24-50 f/1.8 Zeiss lens for $999.
Having the zoom capability at a fast constant aperture is very important for me. And I don’t care how big the lens would be. A single focal length is too restrictive, and I cannot justify buying such a lens at that price. I’m sure you’ll agree with me. Oh, and I’m sure Sony/Zeiss can pull it off.
A 24-50 f/1.8? At $999? From Zeiss?
Yeah, add another 9 to that and you’re in the ballpark I guess.
An f/1.8 zoom is unheard of in “quality land” lenses (there are some tv f/1.0 zooms but not comparable to DSLR lenses by a long shot). The oly f/2.0 zooms weigh and cost a fortune already, and you want an f/1.8 by Zeiss. hehe 🙂
Not forgetting that the Olympus is a 4/3, 2x crop lens.
ahahah, you’re joking, right?
for its price,size it should be at least f1.4
A 58mm f1.4 Zeiss would be a perfect companion … meanwhile, can we have a Sony 50mm in BLACK?
All of the Sony Zeiss DSLR lenses have been outstanding performers, worth the high price. I can’t wait to add this to my NEX-5N outfit. I just wish they offered more Zeiss glass for the NEX than just this one.
I believe it’s time for a change, people. Do not let the manufacturers fool you.
With modern facilities, improved technology and advances in the optical field – manufacturers today can produce very good lenses in a virtually automated fashion, and sell them with reasonable prices. I don’t buy all the bullshit they are feeding us.
It’s the same in the printers world – buy a printer for a cheap price, and the ink cartridges will cost you at least like the printer itself, if not more.
So once you buy into a camera system, they got you. If you want to have all the lens features (like the important Auto-focus), you must buy their lenses. So they allow themselves to sell you various lenses for high prices, simply because they know you’re forced to – even if those lenses didn’t cost much to manufacture.
“High margins” – sadly, that’s the name of the game.
What are you talking about? First the 24-50 f/1.8 Zeiss for $999, and now this? Are you trying to be funny or are you actually serious?
Dead serious.
I pay the premium price for zeiss and G glass, not only for optical performance (which is obviously fantasic), but also for their build quality. Now whenever I use a cheap DT kit lens, or have to take pics of guests with their rebel, I am in utter disgust with how… shitty those cheap lenses feel. Sure they are definitely marked up, but this is afterall a company trying to make a profit. I don’t feel screwed in any way with the lenses I have acquired thus far (Zeiss 24-70, 135, Sony 70-200G)
To me it reads like you have very little eye for the differences between a cheap standard lens like the 16mm and high end lenses like the 24 Zeiss. On top of that you propose ideas like a 24-50 f/1.8 Zeiss at $999, which speaks for itself.
Granted, I’m not the most knowledgeable person in the world when it comes to optics, but I do understand what it takes to get extra quality. Quality improvements in optics require exponential investments in order to acquire. That is the reason why a Zeiss lens is more expensive than a kit lens and why a Leica lens goes well beyond the Zeiss. Take into account all the technical elements, narrower tolerances, smaller number of units sold, a bit of marketing, and prices aren’t all that odd.
Of course the 24 Zeiss is not a consumer lens and obviously doesn’t deliver what you are looking for. That’s fine. Stick to kit lenses, save yourself some cash, and leave the Zeiss lenses for those who do care about the added performance and build quality.
Yes, You’re right in a way. Just look at the new Sony f:1,8/50mm and compare the results with the f:2/50mm ZM Zeiss (on the blog http://thepicturedesk.blogspot.com), with the Nez-7. 300$ vs 800$. May be, because of the different technologies developed for sensors, the best lens are the custom made lens for systems. The f:1,8/50mm Sony gives better results than the Zeiss ZM with Nex-7, for the 1/3 of the price. Even the f:1,8/50mm ZA for DSLR, really budget lens, has really good results on tests (Photozone.de), even it’s a cheap plastic lens.
Voigtlander is making lens on automatic line, under Zeiss lisence. Is it reasonnable to think that the difference of price between automatic and semi-automatic line can be justified ? Not sure. How Samyang can reach such good result for this price ?
A 24mm APS-C lens with good aperture is the best “everyday lens” but, with a nex body, it has to be compact.I don’t say pancake, I say compact and this one is not. The other problem is the price.
It is possible to build a quite wide angle lens compact, cheap with very good performance.
It’s not f/1.8 it’s f/2. It’s not 24mm it’s 30mm but it’s $299. If this one had existed for my nex-5 I would have definitely bought it.
Samsung NX 30mm f/2 test
http://www.photozone.de/pentax/534-samsung30f2
yeah, i really like Samsung’s lens lineup.
maybe if Samsung’s sensor tech mature, i might jumpship as well. : )
“Now we want more of this kind of lenses!”
Wait, I thought you wanted more pancakes.
The last Sony presentation in New Yok explain they will be 6 lenses coming in 2012 ; include a couple of pancakes, a high-end standard zoom (G lens) and a Zeiss Portrait lens !!
Yes Allan !!! and in the 6 are include a medium telephoto lens and a wide angle zoom
an AWESOME year is coming !!! with all those lenses i don’t need more !!
definitiviely i will invest in e mout system !!!
The question is when we will know the official roadmap with the characteristics and prices of the lenses. I don’t buy words 😉
This thing is in stock on SonyStyle China
https://www.sonystyle.com.cn/b2c_sony/catalog/setCurrentItem/%28xcm=SONY_PRD_800&layout=10_19_2_17&uiarea=2&next=seeItem&carea=4C329F2D92560119E10080000A640207&citem=4C329F2D92560119E10080000A6402074D2C0C39CE98025BE10080000A640206%29/.do
open box
http://www.mobile01.com/topicdetail.php?f=254&t=2459626&r=2&p=1