We’ve been playing with the new Sony 24mm f1.4 G Master lens for a little while and we’re pleasantly surprised.
Yes, we know that Fro Knows Photo leaked it before; and now we can officially admit that the Sony 24mm f1.4 G Master is real. This lens isn’t just an 24mm though and we can say with certainty that there really is innovation here. It’s got dust and splash resistance on top of being smaller and lighter than the options from Sigma, Canon and Nikon. Traditionally wide angle lenses with fast apertures were always huge. But with Sony’s new design for the Sony 24mm f1.4 G Master, photographers who own a Sony FE camera are bound to more or less glue this lens to their body.
So what are some of the big talking points about the new Sony 24mm f1.4 G Master?
- 11 aperture blades
- Two XA (Extreme aspherical) elements
- 445 grams
- 10 groups and 13 elements
- A big emphasis on corner to corner sharpness as well as keeping distortion down to the point where Sony is daring photographers to use it for portraiture
- Sagittal Flare supression; though personally I’m not sure that I like this due to how charming it can look
- Three inches in diamter
- Three and 3/4 inches in length
- Minimum focusing of 0.79 feet
- A newly designed motor to power focusing. 3x greater thrust w/ DDSSM (direct drive ssm) I’m personally wondering how this will affect the battery life of the camera that you’re working with.
- Aperture ring with de-click function
- Fluorine coatings
- 67mm filter thread
- $1,399.99 US / $1,899.99 Canada
- Available: October 2018
We got a chance to actively use the lens out in San Francisco recently and we were honestly very amazed at what this lens is. Not only is it super small, but it’s fast to focus with only a few issues. It also seems like a fairly decent deal. You’re getting a bit of weather resistance, a small lens that you can tout around anywhere with you, fast autofocusing, good image quality, and 11 aperture blades in a wide angle prime.