Lost in the midst of the high profile releases of the 35mm F1.4 G Master (my review here), the Sony FE 14mm F1.8 (my review here), and the yet untested (by me!) Sony FE 50mm F1.2 GM is a trio of compact, smaller aperture prime lenses by Sony.  The Sony FE 24mm F2.8 G, FE 40mm F2.5 G, and FE 50mm F2.8 G lenses are all very nicely built, fully featured, optically sound little prime lenses with smaller than typical maximum apertures.  Each of them retails for roughly $600 USD, which, while not cheap, is considerably less expensive than the larger, heavier, more expensive large aperture alternatives.  In many ways these lenses most resemble the Sigma iSeries in both design and function.  That’s particularly true of the FE 24mm F2.8G, which is a highly similar lens to the Sigma 24mm F3.5 DN that I reviewed earlier in 2021.  The two lenses have a similar build, size, and feature set, with the Sigma costing about $50 less.  In fact, in the past couple of years there have been a number of compact 24mm lenses that have been released at varying price points and aperture sizes, including the Tamron 24mm F2.8 OSD (my review here) and the Samyang AF 24mm F1.8 (my review here).  I’ll try to make at least some reference to each of these lenses as a part of my review.    *The tests and most of the photos that I share as a part of my review cycle of the FE 24mm F2.8 G have been done with the new Sony Alpha 1 which will serve as my benchmark camera for the foreseeable future (my review here).

I’ve praised Sigma and their iSeries for the recognition that not everyone wants massive, large-aperture prime lenses.  Many people initially transitioned to mirrorless cameras because they liked the concept of having smaller, lighter gear that continued to deliver exceptional image quality, and in the early years of transitioning to bigger sensor full frame mirrorless cameras that compactness was often lost.  There has been a “Renaissance of compactness” recently, though, and while companies continue to produce the larger, more expensive professional grade lenses, many of them have also begun to supplement those options with smaller and lighter alternatives.  It used to be that the market was bifurcated between “professional” (large, heavy, expensive, but with features) and “consumer grade” (smaller, lighter, smaller apertures, but cheaply made and without features).  Lensmakers have finally figured out that many people want smaller lenses that are still premium in terms of performance and features.  That is the case here, as the Fe 24mm F2.8 G, while very small, is also feature rich and has a beautiful construction.

There’s no question that lenses like this one are very welcome, but, as noted, Sony is ironically fairly late to their own party.  There are a fair number of viable alternatives to the 24mm F2.8 G, all of which are less expensive and several of which have their own unique advantages.  This is a lens that needs to validate itself by its merits, so join me in exploring whether or not that is the case.  Fortunately it is capable of producing a lot of beautiful images, so feel free to peruse the image galleries below or you can check out my text or video reviews.

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Thanks to Camera Canada for getting me a loaner of the lens.  They are my personal source for my gear and have been great to work with.   As always, this is a completely independent review.

Photos of the Sony FE 24mm F2.8 G

Photos Taken with the Sony FE 24mm F2.8 G

Gear Used:

Purchase the Sony FE 24mm F2.8 G @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany 

Purchase the Sony FE 40mm F2.5 G @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany 

Purchase the Sony FE 50mm F2.5 G @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany 

Purchase the Samyang AF 24mm F1.8 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay 

Purchase the Sigma 24mm F3.5 DN @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany 

Purchase the Sony Alpha 1 @ Camera Canada | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay 

Purchase a Sony a9M2 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay 

Sony a9 Camera:  B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada  | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay 
Sony a7RIV Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay 

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Purchase a Sony a7C @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay 

Peak Design Leash Strap:  Peak Design Store | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada  | Amazon UK

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