Sony FE 12-24mm f/4 G Review

Sony FE 12-24mm f/4 G Performance

Sharpness overall is very impressive, especially in real life images. When looking at the test chart results it is worth bearing in mind that a flat target at close range is not really what the lens is designed for. No doubt field curvature will mean reduced edge figures, but in the real world the results are very satisfactory.

At 12mm, central sharpness is excellent from f/4 through to f/16 and still very good at f/22. The edges show fair sharpness at f/4, becoming good at f/5.6, very good at f/8 and f/11 and then good at f/16. By f/22 the edges are fairly soft.

At 16mm results are excellent centrally from f/4 to f/16 and very good at f/22. The edges are very good at f/4, excellent from f/5.6 to f/11. very good at f/16 and softening by f/22.

21mm offers excellent central sharpness from f/4 to f/16, which remains very good at f/22. The edges are good at f/4 and f/5.6, very good from f/8 to f/16 and again soft at f/22.

At 24mm we have very good sharpness at f/4, becoming excellent from f/5.6 to f/16 and still remaining very good at f/22. The edges are good at f/4 and f/5.6, very good at f/8 and f/11, good at f/16 and soft at f/22.

CA (Chromatic Aberration) is highly corrected centrally at all focal lengths, an excellent result. The edges do show some fringing, pretty much the same at all settings, but this can be dealt with in software if required. For most subjects it is not much of a problem.

In terms of distortion, as mentioned this is a rectilinear lens and considering the focal length range it is very well corrected. 12mm shows -3.63% barrel distortion, which is quite obvious to the eye, but only really an issue with architectural subjects. It can be corrected using software. By 16mm this has become pincushion distortion, measuring +1.24%. It peaks at +1.77% at 21mm and measure +1.55% at 24mm.

No lens can be all things, and if there is a tangible weakness here it is with flare. Perhaps this is not so surprising with such a wide lens, but when shooting into a light source such as the sun then flare is quite dramatic. There is also a significant drop in contrast in these situations. In most shooting though contrast is excellent and the lens acquits itself very well.

Bokeh is the quality of gradation of the out of focus areas, and is probably not the strongest feature of such a wide lens. It is reasonably smooth, but not exceptional, but then again the sort of subject matter that the lens lends itself to does not necessarily have large out of focus backgrounds. The depth of field of a 12mm lens, for example, is quite extensive.

Value For Money

The Sony FE 12-24mm f/4 G lens costs £1699. Its most direct competitor would be the Sigma 12-24mm f/4 DG HSM Art lens available in Canon, Nikon and Sigma mounts, priced at £1399.

If used upon an APS-C format body, which might be considered a waste considering the cost, the direct competitors would be the SMC Pentax-DA 12-24mm f/4 (£799), Sigma 12-24mm f/4-5.6 DG HSM II (£649) and the Nikon 12-24mm f/4 G AF-S IF-ED (£979). Of course, these will not fit the Sony cameras (without an adapter), but the costs are offered as an indication of where the value lies in relation to other marques.

For more options have a look at the Top 15 Best Sony E / FE Mount Lenses. 

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